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The basic pillars and principles of journalism dictate that we bring to the fore and remind the captains of industry or the movers, shakers, and decision makers the status, standards and living of society in order to ignite positive change.

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Championing social change and goodwill through poignant accounts, cultivating conversations and challenging the status quo.

Disrupted Nest

A series showcasing the fate of our endangered animal and plant species.

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Beyond All Senses

Imagine working in the service industry without hearing your customers.

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Rabiul Quluub

"The Spring of Hearts," is an educative animated miniseries targeting children.

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Video Of The Month

Over his 24 year-rule, the late President Daniel Arap Moi’s, Kenya’s second president, was responsible for the execution and subsequent cover-up of a number of massacres. Among them were the Bulla Karatasi Massacre in 1980, the Malka Mari Massacre in 1981, and the Lotirir Massacre in 1984.

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Studio 63 @Studio63_ke·

At 19 years old, Asha Mohamed is #divorced and drives a #taxi in Somalia, defying conventions to support her family in one of the world's most conservative and #dangerous countries.#s63

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Gunmen killed 36 people in two attacks in northern Nigeria yesterday, a day after insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades amid worsening security facing Africa's most populous nation, officials and residents said.#s63

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A bird last seen more than 170 years ago in the rainforests of Borneo has been rediscovered, amazing conservationists who have long assumed it was extinct.

The Black-browed Babbler has only ever been documented once -- when it was first described by scientists around 1848.#s63

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China's crackdown on Islamic culture has spread to

China's crackdown on Islamic culture has spread to Hainan province, home to a small population of Utsuls, a Muslim ethnic group.

Hainan province is China's southernmost territory, a tropical island of white-sand beaches, stately palm trees and, now, a small population of persecuted Muslims.

The Utsuls, the latest Muslim ethnic group targeted by the nationwide campaign conducted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to achieve
"the Sinicization of Islam."

The campaign is best known for its internationally condemned treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims, which the United States refers to as genocide.

But now the Utsuls, who are Sunni Muslims, are also coming under the campaign's strict controls.

Like Beijing's efforts to curtail Christians and Buddhists, the campaign against the Muslim Utsuls is designed to curtail religions so the CCP can remain the dominant ideology.

Gu Yi, a political commentator who is Muslim, told afp Mandarin that the CCP's Sinicization of Islam campaign is meant to eliminate Islamic culture.

"They do this because Islam has its own belief system and social structure, which is a serious threat to a totalitarian regime such as the Communist Party of China. They cannot tolerate groups that think differently," he said. "Therefore, they must carry out such a cultural extinction of the Islamic society." 

The goal of the Sinicization of Islam campaign is to cut off ties that Muslims have with Islam, so that Muslim ethnic groups throughout China lose any sense of unity their religion may provide, according to Gu.

After Beijing  accelerated the nationwide campaign in 2018, local governments issued specific measures including closing Islamic schools, mandating hanging the national flag at mosques, removing Islamic buildings, and replacing halal signs. They also banned minors under 18 from studying at the mosques and required Muslims to register their address and identification with the government. Authorities banned the use of loudspeakers, which can be used in the Muslim calls to prayer, and microradio transmission, which is used for listening to non-CCP approved programming. #s63

A bird last seen more than 170 years ago in the ra

A bird last seen more than 170 years ago in the rainforests of Borneo has been rediscovered, amazing conservationists who have long assumed it was extinct.

The Black-browed Babbler has only ever been documented once -- when it was first described by scientists around 1848 -- eluding all subsequent efforts to find it.

But late last year, two men in Indonesian Borneo, saw a bird they didn't recognise and snapped photos of it before releasing the palm-sized creature back into the forest, according to Global Wildlife Conservation.

Ornithologists were astounded to find that the Black-browed Babbler was alive and well, despite not having been seen since before Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species".

"It was a bit like a 'Eureka!' moment," said Panji Gusti Akbar, lead author of a paper on the discovery published Thursday in the journal BirdingASIA.

"This bird is often called 'the biggest enigma in Indonesian ornithology.' It's mind-blowing to think that it's not extinct and it's still living in these lowland forests."

Little is known about the creature with brown and grey feathers, which has been "missing" longer than any other Asian bird, according to the paper.

Researchers hoped to go back to the area where it was recently spotted, but Covid-19 travel restrictions could slow the effort.

"There is now a critical window of opportunity for conservationists to secure these forests to protect the babbler and other species," said Ding Li Yong, a co-author on the paper and a Singapore-based conservationist with BirdLife International.

More than 150 species of birds around the world are considered "lost" with no confirmed sightings in the past decade, conservationists say.

"Discoveries like this are incredible and give us so much hope that it's possible to find other species that have been lost to science for decades or longer," said Barney Long, Global Wildlife Conservation's senior director of species conservation.#s63

The MPs will now scrutinize the referendum Bill at

The MPs will now scrutinize the referendum Bill at the Committee of the Whole House before it is passed through Third Reading for onwards transmission to the President for assent.

After passing of the Bill in both the Senate and National Assembly, the Speakers of the two Houses shall jointly submit the proposed law guiding the change of the Constitution to the President.

Kenya will head to a constitutional referendum in the coming months after the number of county assemblies approving the amendment Bill on Tuesday, crossed the threshold of 24 required to trigger a plebiscite.

While the Bill arising from the Building Building Initiative (BBI) process will still need to go to the National Assembly and the Senate, the referendum is as good as confirmed since the decision of the bicameral Parliament whether endorsing or rejecting the document will still result in a referendum.

County assemblies in Mount Kenya region such as Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Tharaka Nithi, which were widely expected to oppose the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2020, joined the growing list of those voting for it, bringing to over 30, the number of counties that have passed the proposed legislation by Tuesday.

Kakamega, Narok, Mombasa, Makueni, Kitui, Bungoma, Taita Taveta, Machakos, and Lamu were among those which voted to approve the Bill Tuesday.

With 10 more county assemblies debating the Bill this afternoon, the number is expected to rise even higher.#s63

Rwandan Hutu rebels on Tuesday, denied allegations

Rwandan Hutu rebels on Tuesday, denied allegations they were behind the killing of the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and instead accused the armies of the DRC and Rwanda.

Luca Attanasio died of his wounds on Monday, after a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy came under fire near the eastern city of Goma while he was on a field trip, according to a senior diplomatic source in Kinshasa and the WFP.

The Italian government confirmed the death and said an Italian policeman, Vittorio Iacovacci, and a driver it did not identify, had also died.

The DRC interior ministry blamed the killings on "members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)," a Rwandan Hutu rebel group that has plagued the region for more than a quarter of a century. But the FDLR rejected the allegation, in a statement received by Agence France-Presse (AFP) yesterday.

It said the ambassador's convoy was attacked near the Rwandan border.#s63

Another 86 dolphins were found dead on Tuesday, on

Another 86 dolphins were found dead on Tuesday, on an island off the coast of the southern African nation of Mozambique, the cause still unknown, the country's environment ministry said.

Dolphins had already been discovered dead on Sunday, at the same location, and total of 111 marine mammals have been found by the authorities.

"The team from Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Inhambane province found 86 lifeless dolphins on the west coast of Bazaruto Island," a ministry statement said.

The archipelago is located in the Mozambique Channel, between the Mozambican coast and Madagascar.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of their deaths, with researchers not finding any injuries or suspicious substances in their digestive systems, the authorities said.

The protected waters of the national park are home to dolphins, whales and dugongs in addition to 180 species of birds, among other animals.#s63

Nairobi has permitted Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashe

Nairobi has permitted Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia, to resume flights in Kenya’s airspace after the ill-fated plane received clearance to restart operations.

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it may resume flights on the model this year July, after grounding the aircraft for over a year.

This followed the early 2019 crash as the aircraft was flying to Nairobi, just months after another one of the similar type plunged into the sea in Indonesia.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Gilbert Kibe said, airlines including Ethiopian carrier is free to fly back the Boeing 737 Max into Kenya’s airspace after Boeing resolved the defaults that led to air mishaps involving the model.

“The airlines are free to fly Boeing 737 Max to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, there are no restrictions that we are going to impose,” said Mr Kibe.

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest, has said it will retain orders for new Max planes and according to chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam who spoke during a conference last week, it would have been economically unfeasible to switch aircraft types given it already operates an older 737 variant.

“We have made a thorough analysis technically, operationally, and commercially and we decided to continue with the airplane,” Mr Tewolde said.

Countries including United Arab Emirates, the UK, Canada and a host of other states in Europe have lifted the ban and allowed the aircraft to operate on their airspace. Like many African carriers, Kenya Airways was betting on the Boeing 737 Max 8 series to replace its retiring fleet of 737-700 in expansion bid.

The national carrier was considering buying Boeing 737 Max 8 even before the two accidents, as it is the only series in the Boeing family that it could acquire.

Boeing 737 Max 8 has been one of Boeing’s bestselling aircrafts after delivering over 370 planes since 2017, with placed orders of about 5,000 before the two accidents.#s63

Sudan's central bank sharply devalued the currency

Sudan's central bank sharply devalued the currency on Sunday, announcing a new regime to "unify" official and black-market exchange rates in an effort to overcome a crippling economic crisis and access debt relief.

The change is a key reform demanded by foreign donors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but was delayed for months as shortages of basic goods and rapid inflation complicated a fragile political transition.

The central bank set the indicative rate at 375 pounds to the dollar, several commercial banking sources said, from a previous official rate of 55 pounds. Recently, the dollar traded at between 350 and 400 Sudanese pounds on the black market.

The central bank will set a daily indicative rate in a "flexible managed float", a circular sent to banks said. Banks and exchange bureaus are required to trade within 5% above or below that rate.

"The decision is not a float, but a policy of flexible management," said central bank Governor Mohamed al-Fatih Zainelabidine.

Sunday's move had been expected late last year under an IMF staff monitoring programme, which could lead to relief on Sudan's estimated $60 billion in foreign debt, but was held up by political uncertainty.

As well as paving the way for debt relief, the devaluation would help stabilise the currency, reduce smuggling and speculation, and attract remittances from Sudanese working overseas, the central bank said in a statement.#s63

Dozens of Boeing 777 planes were grounded worldwid

Dozens of Boeing 777 planes were grounded worldwide on Monday, following a weekend scare on a United Airlines' plane that suffered engine failure and scattered airplane debris over suburban Denver.

The incident on the flight out of Denver -- which quickly returned to the airport after part of the engine caught fire and broke off -- prompted United and other airlines to ground planes with the same Pratt & Whitney engine.

While no one was injured in the Denver incident, the episode is the latest setback for Boeing, which only recently resumed deliveries of the long-grounded 737 MAX, following two fatal crashes of that plane.

Aviation experts said the incident especially raised questions about Pratt & Whitney and United over engine maintenance.

"It's nothing like the MAX," said Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. "After all these years of service it is unlikely to be a design issue with the engine, certainly it is something to do with maintenance."

The Denver incident followed a Japan Airlines 777 incident in December, involving the same type of engine, as well as an engine problem in February 2018 on a United flight.

"There might be a common theme" among the three incidents "but until the investigation is complete, we don't know that," said Scott Hamilton of Leeham News, an aviation news site.

Boeing said all 128 of the 777s with Pratt & Whitney engines were grounded following Saturday's emergency landing of United flight 328 to Hawaii.#s63

Seven election workers were killed during Niger's

Seven election workers were killed during Niger's presidential vote yesterday, when their vehicle struck a landmine, a local official said, marring a day meant to usher in the country's first democratic transition of power.

The West African country regularly suffers attacks by Islamist militants and had stepped up security to protect the poll, in which ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum is facing former president Mahamane Ousmane.

A vehicle belonging to the electoral commission (CENI) and carrying election workers to their polling stations hit a mine in the rural commune of Dargol in the southwest, said Harouna Mounkaila, the Vice President of CENI's local branch.

"They were leaving to drop off the ballot boxes and the members of the polling station," Moukaila told Reuters, adding that three other workers were seriously wounded. #s63

Israel and Egypt's energy ministers agreed on Sund

Israel and Egypt's energy ministers agreed on Sunday, to build a gas pipeline from the offshore eastern Mediterranean Leviathan field to Egypt, aimed at boosting exports to Europe, an Israeli source said.

Yuval Steinitz and his Egyptian counterpart Tarek El Molla "agreed on the construction of offshore gas pipeline from the Leviathan gas field to the liquefaction facilities in Egypt," the official said, asking not to be named.

The goal was "to increase the gas exports to Europe through the liquefaction facilities in Egypt, in light of the growing demand in Europe for natural gas," he added.

The deal was announced as Molla visited Israel, where he also met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi as well as Steinitz.

The energy ministers and their teams met "in order to enlarge and to increase the cooperation in energy," Molla said in a video released by Steinitz's office.

Leviathan, discovered 130 kilometres (81 miles) west of the Mediterranean port city Haifa in 2010, is estimated to hold 535 billion cubic metres (18.9 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.

US-based Noble and Israel's Delek, the consortium leading the development of the Leviathan and the smaller Tamar field, struck a $15 billion 10-year deal last year with Egypt's Dolphinus to supply 64 billion cubic metres (2.26 trillion cubic feet).

Israel began pumping gas from Leviathan in December 2019 and exporting to Egypt the following month.#s63

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was a teenage grocery sto

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was a teenage grocery store worker in Myanmar's sparse and isolated capital until less than two weeks ago, when a gunshot turned her into a national symbol of resistance.

The death of the young anti-coup protester has sent a ripple of grief through the country, days after a bullet struck her in the head during a confrontation with police.

She had joined a massive rally in Naypyidaw, demanding the release and return to power of the country's ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Police dispersed the protest with rubber bullets, but Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was one of two people critically wounded by live rounds.

Her family marked her 20th birthday two days later while she lay unconscious on an intensive care hospital bed.

Hospital staff confirmed that she had died shortly before midday on Friday, 10 days after she was shot.

"We are heartbroken and cannot talk about it much now," her brother told AFP, adding that a funeral service would be held on Sunday.

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing is the first confirmed death from the anti-coup movement since the military seized power on February 1.

Immediately after her shooting, Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing became a household name across Myanmar and a rallying point for a civil disobedience campaign against the new military regime.

A 15-metre-long banner with artwork depicting the moment she was shot was hung off a bridge in Yangon, while some protesters have carried photos of her as they march.

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing's injury also brought scathing global condemnation of the junta.

"They can shoot a young woman but they can't steal the hope & resolve of a determined people," UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews tweeted.

Her death sparked an outpouring of emotional tributes on social media as the news spread on Friday.#s63

Forty-six small whales stranded on a beach in Indo

Forty-six small whales stranded on a beach in Indonesia have died, after rescue efforts succeeded in saving three others, local officials said on Friday.

Starting Thursday, at least 49 short-finned pilot whales arrived at a beach on Madura Island in northern Java, authorities said in a statement.

Large crowds gathered as a rescue operation was launched, with volunteers using tarpaulins or just their bare hands to try to push the pod back out to sea.

Curious onlookers took pictures and touched the whales, while others tried to splash water on them.

In the end, only three of the animals survived.

"The live whales had to be released together as they live in a group," said East Java governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa in the statement.

Parawansa said that officials had taken samples of the carcasses for further investigation into the cause of death.

He added that the corpses, which measure from three to five metres each, would be buried on the beach at low tide.

Offshore cross-currents in the area pose a danger to whales, as they can get caught between reefs close to land.

Pollution, abandoned nets and floating plastic waste are also dangers for marine animals.

In July last year, 10 pilot whales were found dead near Kupang, a town in East Nusa Tenggara province.

In 2018, a sperm whale was found dead in Indonesia with more than 100 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach, raising concerns about the Southeast Asian archipelago's massive marine rubbish problem.#s63

A rundown Pakistan zoo once home to what was dubbe

A rundown Pakistan zoo once home to what was dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" and notorious for housing animals in cramped concrete enclosures, has launched an ambitious $7.5 million makeover plan.

Animal rights activists had campaigned against the plight of Islamabad Zoo's biggest attraction -- a 35-year-old bull named Kaavan, the last remaining Asian elephant in the country -- who had lived alone since the death of his mate eight years earlier.

Kaavan was transferred to Cambodia late last year in a blaze of publicity after his plight caught the attention of US superstar Cher, who helped raise funds for the jumbo relocation.

While the elephant now has hundreds of acres to roam alongside dozens of companions in northern Cambodia, his last years in Pakistan were anything but tranquil.

Islamabad Zoo was bereft of any natural vegetation and many animals there developed classic caged behaviour, such as constant swaying or repetitive pacing.

Established in 1978 and eventually growing to 30 acres, keepers struggled to care for the zoo's residents.

Conditions were so bad that a High Court judge last year ordered it closed, and every animal to be relocated -- an exercise in itself that ended in tragedy.

Two lions died during their relocation when zookeepers attempted to pry them from their pen by setting ablaze piles of hay.

Pakistan's climate change ministry has now taken charge of the zoo's rehabilitation, with plans to establish a vastly improved conservation centre.

"We have temporarily shifted some 380 different animals -- including monkeys, nilgai (antelope), zebras and bears -- to different sanctuaries within and outside Pakistan," said Waqar Zakriya of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB).

The centre will also include facilities to treat and rehabilitate injured indigenous wildlife -- the first of its kind in the country.#s63

Gunfire broke out in Mogadishu on Friday, when the

Gunfire broke out in Mogadishu on Friday, when the opposition tried to march against delayed elections in the Somali capital, sending months of political tensions bursting into the open.

Somalia missed a deadline to hold an election by February 8, when President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, was due to step down, sparking a constitutional crisis in the already-fragile state.

Farmajo and leaders of the country's federal states have been unable to resolve squabbles over how the vote is to be conducted, after hopes of hosting Somalia's first one-person, one-vote ballot since 1969 were abandoned due to security and political problems.

A coalition of opposition candidates have said they no longer recognise Farmajo as president and had vowed mass protests until he steps down.

A small group of protesters attempted to march down the main airport road, when shots rang out, sending them ducking for cover, according to AFP footage of the incident.

It was unclear who opened fire first, but one witness Yusuf Mohamed, reported a "heavy exchange of gunfire" between security forces and armed guards protecting opposition supporters.

Meanwhile witnesses and police confirmed an explosive projectile had hit an area hosting shops and restaurants just inside the airport gates.

"Something hit a restaurant inside the airport, it burned, I cannot say what it was but it caused a heavy explosion and fire that devastated the whole restaurant," said witness Liban Ali.

After the incident the opposition leaders addressed a press conference, charging the shooting incident was an assassination attempt and that rockets had been fired.

"Myself, several other candidates, legislators and other protesting civilians survived a direct attempt to get rid of us," said former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

By early afternoon gunfire had subsided in the capital. #s63

Kenya has petitioned the United Nation Security Co

Kenya has petitioned the United Nation Security Council, to urge wealthy countries not to hoard surplus Covid-19 vaccine supplies, adding its voice to calls for global production to be shared more equally.

Africa is struggling to secure sufficient vaccines to start countrywide inoculation programmes for its 1.3 billion people while richer countries have surplus doses that ran into the hundreds of millions.

Kenya through Foreign Affairs cabinet secretary Raychelle Omamo, made the plea at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, warning some nations could fall behind in the race to vaccinate their citizens and mitigate the pandemic if the vaccines remain elusive and costly due to hoarding.

"I salute the immense efforts made by the international community in the development of Covid-19 vaccines. However, this optimism is threatened by significant realities which perpetuate inequality and exclusion in our world," Ms Omamo said before the council on Wednesday, of which Kenya is currently a member.

"These include, the prohibitive cost of vaccines, limited vaccine supplies and manufacturing deficiencies, increased export restrictions on vaccines and their ingredients, the emergence of viral mutations and the erosion of global solidarity through the hoarding of vaccines, together with vaccine nationalism and opaque bilateral vaccine deals."

The African Union this month secured 270 million shots for the continent.

Those doses are expected to become available this year but few have arrived yet, while parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas are well into their vaccination programmes.#s63

Kenya’s ambassador to South Korea Mwende Mwinzi

Kenya’s ambassador to South Korea Mwende Mwinzi presented her credentials to the host head of state on Wednesday, settling a debate that raged for nearly two years over her nomination.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced, Ms Mwinzi was among eight foreign diplomats who presented their letters of credence to President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House in Seoul, signalling their full start of work as ambassadors.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta nominated her in May 2019, alongside other candidates for ambassadorial nominations, the issue of her US nationality had not cropped up.

But the National Assembly, which approved her qualification, said she must renounce her second nationality before taking up the post.

The MPs retained the caveat proposed by the Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations chaired by Mr Katoo ole Metito, however, and the report that approved other nominees meant that as others were approved and posted to their respective stations, Ms Mwinzi’s appointment letter was subject to parliamentary check of her nationality.

However, South Korea had already accepted her appointment.

Ms Mwinzi sued the National Assembly, seeking to have MPs barred from forcing her to renounce a nationality she said was acquired without her control.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the US, Ms Mwinzi, 50, told the court that being born of a Kenyan father and an American mother in the US meant she was technically a citizen by birth both in Kenya and in the US. She could not opt out.

In November 2019, she seemed to have scored victory after the High Court ruled that she cannot be forced to renounce her US citizenship as it was acquired by birth.

Justice James Makau ruled that the court could not force the government to deploy her as her vetting process involved parliamentary approval.

In his ruling, Justice Makau said the nominee falls within the category of Article 78(3)(b), which exempts persons who have been made citizens of another country by operation of that country’s law, without the ability to opt out.

All that time, the Foreign Affairs ministry had insisted she was not a diplomat yet.#s63

South Africa has held its annual International Pub

South Africa has held its annual International Public Arts Festival (IPAF), despite the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures.

Turnout was low but those attending welcomed the street festival, held on February 10-14, as a chance to get out of the house.

The annual street arts festival strictly followed the government’s COVID-19 rules, including no groups larger than 50 people, said one of the organizers, Alexandre Tilmas.

“The best way was to split people. Because we are painting outdoors, and the artists are outdoors, every guest that wants to visit us, we put them in tiny little groups and send them to visit the neighborhood.”

The artists changed the landscape in the Salt River neighborhood, a former industrial area made famous by the colorful murals.

The five-year-old festival usually attracts artists from abroad.

But this year, because of the pandemic’s travel restrictions, just two showed up to create their murals.

Despite the low turnout, festivals like the IPAF should be held to boost South Africa’s struggling tourism sector, said tour guide Analisa Zigana.

The World Travel Awards has voted Cape Town Africa’s leading festival and event destination for the last three years.

But the tourism sector also is suffering amid the pandemic and Cape Town cancelled all big events again this year.

Nonetheless, festival attendees like Laeti Maboang welcomed the break from pandemic lockdown measures aimed at preventing the virus from spreading.#s63

The only cyclist on a busy highway, Steven Odhiamb

The only cyclist on a busy highway, Steven Odhiambo is narrowly overtaken by a fast-moving minibus.

"It's just a jungle, just fighting for your space on the road," says the 30-year-old video editor, who picked up cycling again at the onset of the pandemic after 20 years without a pedal stroke.

It is a risky business but since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Odhiambo has avoided crowded public transport and taken his chances on two wheels navigating the hectic roads of the Kenyan capital.

"I am much safer on a bicycle," said Odhiambo, adding that he was able to social distance, and travel faster because he's not stuck in traffic.

He wears a bright yellow vest and blows a whistle to make his presence known on his morning rides to the office.

It is a harrowing 15-kilometre (nine miles) journey without the protection of bike lanes, and he must navigate between antiquated trucks, speeding SUVs and motorcycles criss-crossing the lanes.

Despite the perilous conditions, not to mention two minor accidents, Odhiambo has no intention of backpedalling.

He says he lost 20 kilogrammes (44 pounds) getting in the saddle, and made significant savings on transport thanks to a used bike he purchased for about 15,000 Kenyan shillings.

"The best way to sensitise people about cycling and going green is to show people the benefit of it," he said.

Odhiambo is among a growing number in Nairobi, switching to cycling since the pandemic, despite a critical lack of bike paths.

It is a promising sign in a city where air pollution has increased 182 percent since the 1970s, according to a recent study by the University of Birmingham, and traffic jams cost an estimated $1 billion in lost productivity every year.#s63

A driver accused of striking and killing US rapper

A driver accused of striking and killing US rapper Nicki Minaj's father in a hit-and-run has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

Charles Polevich, 70, was charged with "Leaving the Scene of an Accident with a Fatality and Tampering with Evidence," New York state's Nassau County Police said on Twitter.

Polevich, who pleaded not guilty, was released on a $250,000 bond, his lawyer Michael Scotto told CNN.

Minaj's 64-year-old father Robert Maraj, was walking down the street in the municipality of Mineola on Long Island on Friday, when he was struck by a car.

The driver fled the scene and Maraj was taken to the hospital where he died on Saturday.

Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago but raised in a Queens neighborhood not far from where her father was struck, has not yet issued an official statement.#s63

The coronavirus pandemic might not seem like the o

The coronavirus pandemic might not seem like the obvious time to build new movie theatres, but in cine-mad France, it will take more than a virus to dampen passions for the big screen.

On a recent morning, forklifts were whirling as workers rushed to complete the five-screen theatre by the end of March.

It is not the only one. France saw 22 new cinemas open their doors in 2020, despite theatres being unable to operate for much of the year.

Several more are under construction or being renovated.

France, the birthplace of moving pictures, has almost always had the highest cinema attendance in Europe.

Even though attendance was down two-thirds last year, the country weathered the disruption better than most -- in part because it could still rely on its prolific, homegrown movie industry.

France is also known for its network of tiny independent cinemas dotted across its villages and small towns.

The new multi-million-euro Cine Sologne complex in Romorantin is being built in an out-of-town car park, and replaces the old Palais in its medieval centre, which attracted around 70,000 spectators a year but lacked the technology and comfort needed to rival home cinema offerings.#s63

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