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African women leaders  on Tuesday called for peace as opposition leader Raila Odinga  rejected the presidential  election results announced by IEBC.

Dr. Jennifer Riria, Co-Chair, African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) told journalists in Nairobi that political  candidates who may be aggrieved by the results  should seek redress through legal means and avoid actions that may escalate violence.

“We appeal to all mothers, Kenyans of goodwill and our faith leaders to earnestly pray for our country so that God will grant continued calm and peace during this period. As the womb bearers and Mothers of the nation we are confident that with God’s help, our country will get over this phase,” Riria said.

Josephine Sinyo Co-Chair, AWLN said that  Kenya has strong institutions with capacity to address disputes of any sort and urged  all parties that took part in the election to revert to these institutions as the rest of the country resumes daily activities.

“ We are aware that all our Four Presidential Candidates had signed a Peace Pledge to maintain peace before, during and after elections. We plead with them to be faithful to this commitment as well as any other decision made by the institutions mandated by our Constitution,” Sinyo said.

 Following field production commencing earlier this year, as well as the announcement of the local hosts, The Walt Disney Company (https://TheWaltDisneyCompany.com) Africa, together with its project partners, National Geographic, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and WildlifeDirect have today revealed both the title and the set of the highly anticipated National Geographic Kids programme.

Inspired by the programme’s aim to motivate lasting, impactful behavioural change in young viewers across the continent and create the next generation of environmental conservation leaders, the programme will be titled Team Sayari. Incorporating the Swahili term for ‘planet’, the title embodies the programme’s goal – to provide viewers with the knowledge, skills and tools needed to conserve and protect the natural world, in a fun way.

In the series, the young presenters will visit the wild to meet African experts in five countries across the continent to explore, discover, learn about our environmental challenges and be inspired to reduce their impact, protect and restore nature.

Filming has also commenced in a custom-built set in Nairobi, the SayariBasecamp. A first-of-its-kind in Kenya, the set embodies childhood imagination and adventure with a tree house-inspired hideout that is locally built and designed, including African-inspired and nature-based motifs, coupled with elements of advanced technology. It comes complete with a mission control wall, a cosy chill area and a lively interview spot. The Sayari basecamp was produced almost entirely from recycled and upcycled materials, true to the ethos of the show.

The central feature is a gigantic tree, with a textured trunk named Funzi (derived from the Swahili word for learning) featuring interactive artificial intelligence technology and a DNA helix, and which imparts knowledge about the environment and challenges our young presenters. To impart a sense of movement, Funzi’s inner section spins slowly during interaction.

Wood panelling, leafy foliage and porthole-style windows complete the ambience of a hideaway nestled in a tree, high in the sky. Upholstery on the furniture, that was made from organic materials, features dual-level African print, which provides layers of texture and pops of colour. The set’s shelving is hand-crafted, adding an element of quirkiness to the design. A live-edge table where the markings of the tree have been  preserved for a raw look, will be dressed uniquely per episode.

At basecamp, Funzigives the studio presenters, Mysha Hodson (13), Marita Lucas (12), Shanah Manjeru (14), Railey Mwai (10) and Adarsh Nagda (12) missions to complete, laying the foundation for the many adventures and fun throughout the episodes. It is also from this intriguing environment that they will link with other presenters from East, West and South Africa.

Team Sayari is the result of a collaborative effort between National Geographic, The Walt Disney Company Africa, USAID, the U.S. State Department and WildlifeDirect. The series, produced by local production company White Rhino Films aims to celebrate the environment and raise awareness of conservation and associated issues in a fun and relatable way, will air later this year on both National Geographic Wild and Disney Channel across Africa. There will also be engaging digital extensions on social media platforms that will allow viewers to further explore topics addressed in the series as well as an outreach programme that will extend the reach of the programme into countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

* As a strategic infrastructure project, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is aiding the realization of Kenya’s two flagship socio-economic transformation blueprints — the Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda.

* The SGR has enhanced Kenya’s trade with neighboring countries and offered an economic lifeline to member states of the East African Community.

* Within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the SGR is among many China-Kenya infrastructure cooperation projects which are leading the Sino-Africa cooperation.

by Xinhua writer Bai Lin

NAIROBI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — As a veteran insurance sales agent, Farahana Mghoi used to spend seven hours on matatus, the public service vehicles in Kenya, from her hometown of Voi in southeastern Kenya to Nairobi to meet a potential client. It was both slow and tiresome.

Since 2018, time spent on the 328-km journey has been reduced to four hours thanks to the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train service launched in May 2017.

Financed mainly by China and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation, the 480-km railway connecting Mombasa, the largest port in East Africa, and Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi is a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and is Kenya’s largest infrastructure project since its independence in 1963.

Mghoi said the efficient, reliable and affordable mobility, which the SGR has always guaranteed her whenever she travels to meet new clients, has boosted her career.

The SGR is “an extremely good experience in the last few years,” James Macharia, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure, housing and urban development, told Xinhua. “We can expect a lot more profitable operations going forward.”

As a strategic infrastructure project, the SGR is aiding the realization of Kenya’s two flagship socio-economic transformation blueprints — the Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda, said Philip Mainga, managing director of Kenya Railways Corporation.

LESS TIME ON ROAD, MORE OPPORTUNITIES

With the SGR, Mghoi is able to reach her destination on time and negotiate for a potential business opportunity with ease. She said the punctuality has helped her cement trust and confidence with her clients.

Mghoi belongs to a growing army of Kenyan skilled labor force, entrepreneurs and tourists who have embraced the SGR service.

The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR and the additional 120-km Nairobi-Naivasha SGR have also facilitated the hauling of bulk cargoes to the hinterlands.

With the SGR freight service, it takes eight hours to transport bulk cargoes like raw materials from the Mombasa port to an inland container depot in Nairobi, as opposed to around two days using the century-old Meter Gauge Railway constructed by British colonialists, said Edward Opiyo, terminal manager at Nairobi Freight Terminals Limited, a logistics firm.

As logistics firms are now able to transport bulk cargoes in a speedy, cheaper, efficient and environmentally-friendly manner, they have built a cordial relationship with major clients, Opiyo said.

Transit hours and the cost of hauling bulk cargoes to neighboring landlocked countries have also been reduced, injecting fresh vitality into regional supply chains, he said.

The SGR has enhanced Kenya’s trade with neighboring countries and offered an economic lifeline to member states of the East African Community, said Mainga.

In the last five years, the modern railway has transported 20 million tons of cargoes and about 8 million passengers, elevating Kenya’s status as a regional manufacturing, trade and logistics hub, he noted.

“I must say we are lucky. We are doing more exports and diversification of goods than before. We are seeing a dynamic change due to what the SGR is doing in terms of exports,” he said.

The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is projected to contribute 2-3 percent to Kenya’s GDP, said Mainga, adding that the railway has become a dominant player in Kenya’s pursuit of inclusive growth, as it has revolutionized transportation of passengers and bulk cargoes, stimulated commerce and investments and fostered job creation for local youth.

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, RESPECT, TRUST

Mainga said the SGR is also benefiting local people as skills transfer has reached 80-90 percent.

“Now our people are able to run the operations, to drive their locomotives, to carry on with signal work, to repair and maintain our wagons,” he said.

Recruited in 2017 by the SGR operator Afristar Railway Operation Company, Harrison Kinyanjui, a 26-year-old economics major, has received rigorous training on railway operation and management from Chinese tutors, and progressed quickly to become the first Kenyan to work at the SGR dispatch center in Nairobi.

Currently the assistant superintendent of the center, Kinyanjui said their work is to organize train operations using a centralized traffic control system in the center, which is “the brain and heart for all SGR train operations.”

“The Chinese experts have taught us very well. They now have the confidence to leave us to work independently, and we are very, very proud that we came here not knowing anything about train dispatching, but we are now very competent,” he said.

“You see the Kenyan government and the Chinese government work together. We want to thank both governments for the support they have given us,” said Mainga.

As Afristar has been committed to prioritizing safe operation, boosting movement of passengers and goods and enhancing localization, the SGR’s socio-economic outcomes have gained trust and recognition by the Kenyan government and people, Li Jiuping, general manager of Afristar, told Xinhua.

“To create high-performing Sino-Kenyan teams, Afristar fosters cross-cultural working relationships and promotes mutual understanding, respect and trust,” Li said.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is the first visiting head of state to travel by Kenya’s SGR in March 2019. He said the enhanced efficiency in handling cargoes has been beneficial to the economies of both Kenya and Uganda, and to other countries that depend on the Mombasa port for import and export, including Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the SGR is among many China-Kenya infrastructure cooperation projects which are leading the Sino-Africa cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian told Xinhua.

ECO-PROTECTION A PRIORITY

Before the SGR project started, there had been fears that the railway could harm biodiversity, as it would snake through the Tsavo National Park, Kenya’s oldest and largest wildlife sanctuary, home to iconic species such as elephants, giraffes and zebras.

To ensure their safety, the SGR contractor built electric fences on both sides of the track, and wide underpasses at short intervals to facilitate their movement.

Besides wildlife, mangrove forests are well protected, too. Ali Mohamed, a 44-year-old resident of a serene village overlooking a mangrove swamp on the northwestern edges of Mombasa, said that besides regulating coastal weather, the installation of overpasses and culverts has ensured that there was minimal disturbance to the mangrove forest, which is an important fish breeding site.

“I visited the SGR when its construction started and witnessed restoration of the previously degraded sections of the mangrove forest in our locality,” said Mohamed, also founder of Bidii Creek Conservancy, a Mombasa-based green lobby.

The SGR has provided best practices on blending conservation with infrastructure development, he said.

Five years since its launch, the SGR has earned accolades from local officials and conservationists for prioritizing ecological protection along its corridor.

Nancy Githaiga, country director for Kenya at Nairobi-based African Wildlife Foundation, said wildlife protection measures initiated by the SGR contractor should inform future efforts to develop mega infrastructure projects while safeguarding integrity of biodiversity hotspots in Kenya.

Green ethos has been placed at the center of SGR operations, bringing benefits to local communities in terms of clean air and tranquil landscapes, said Mainga.

The design and execution of the project adhered to local environmental protection laws, ensuring a healthy relationship between the contractor and local communities, said Cosmas Makewa, station master at the Mombasa SGR Terminus.

Unlike trucks, SGR trains plying along the corridor have not been emitting smoke to the atmosphere, boosting Kenya’s quest for improved air quality, said Makewa.

The SGR project highlighted the viability of China’s vision of ecological civilization, according to Leopold Omondi, a campaigner with Nairobi-based green lobby Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. (Video reporters: Liu Chang, Li Cheng, Ruth; video editors: Ma Ruxuan, Zhu Jianhui, Hui Peipei) ■

By Fred Maingi
The National council of persons with disability(NCPWD) received a major boost after partnering with Ushahidi platform.
The partnership is aimed at addressing election monitorig initiative which aims to empower ordinary Kenyans to protect their votes by sharing real time information during the electionering exercise.
NCPWD Executive Director Harun M. Hassan thanked Ushahidi Executive Director Angela Oduor for the partnership and accepting to work togethe to achieve their goals and objectives.
“We welcome this collaboration with the National council for persons with disability (NCPWD) as we continue to mobilize Kenyans irrespective of their gender, ethnic background , religion and those directly involved in protecting their votes in the on-going election exercise. “Observed Angela Oduor.
She urged those with election exercise issues or wishing to share their concerns to communicate through their channels *603# and toll free SMS number 23102
The uchaguzi initiative is implemented through a broad network of civil society around uchaguzi as the national citizen-centric electoral observation platform that responds to citizen observations .
Uchaguzi is an election monitoring initiative partnership between Ushahidi and civil society organizations.

EASF applauds kenya election as most peaceful

Eastern Africa Standby force has said postponed county election wont affect the turnout.

Seychelles Ambassador Claude Movel who is the Deputy chief observation officer said the electoral body have done well ,he said

He urge Kenyans to remain peace until election results are over.

“Election is just a day but whatever we do will haunt a nation forever ‘so let politicians carry themselves with decorum when they loose or win “,said Movel.

EASF is covering covering to 10 countues under its watch including Nairobi and Mombasa.

Eastern Africa Standby force (EASF)observation team has applauded Kenya’s election as is well organized and the turnout was marvelous.

Ambassador Claude Movel the Deputy chief observation team said kenya has conducted a well organised election on the first day of the process and we urge politicak leaders to be patriotic and accept the outcomes after the counting is done”,he said

“Election is just a day but whatever we do will haunt a nation forever ‘so let politicians carry themselves with decorum when they loose or win “,said Movel.

EASF is covering 10 counties under its watch including Nairobi and Mombasa.

Warplanes of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conduct operations during joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 7, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.

The focus on Sunday was set on testing the capabilities of using joint fires to strike land targets and striking long-range air targets. (Photo by Wang Xinchao/Xinhua)

A warplane of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) takes off during joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 7, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.

The focus on Sunday was set on testing the capabilities of using joint fires to strike land targets and striking long-range air targets. (Photo by Fu Gan/Xinhua)

DHAKA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday during his visit to Bangladesh that the United States is mistaken in three aspects regarding a reckless tour to China’s Taiwan region by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

He made the remarks in response to the latest situation and the quibbling of the U.S. side.

Firstly, Wang said, the U.S. side grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, adding that despite China’s repeated notifications and warnings, the United States went on its own way, and arranged for the third-ranking U.S. government official to make the so-called “visit” to China’s Taiwan region.

It must be understood that Taiwan is not a part of the United States, but a part of Chinese territory, and the U.S. side has made a public commitment about this, said Wang, adding that the U.S. side’s action is therefore a serious infringement on China’s sovereignty.

Secondly, the United States connived at and supported the “Taiwan independence” forces, he said, noting that any country must safeguard national unity and never allows separatist elements to behave recklessly.

Wang said the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the Taiwan region has included the pursuit of “independence” in its party platform, and in recent years it has tried every possible means to seek incremental “Taiwan independence” and create “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives openly backed it up, siding with the separatist forces against the Chinese people, he added.

Thirdly, it deliberately sabotaged peace across the Taiwan Strait. The United States, as known to all, always creates a problem first and then uses it to achieve its own strategic end, Wang said.

He noted that there are signs showing that the United States, by orchestrating Pelosi’s reckless tour to Taiwan, is trying to repeat its old tricks.

Washington is taking the opportunity to build up its military deployment in the region, which deserves high vigilance and resolute boycott from all sides, Wang warned.

He said China’s firm stance, as well as its justified, reasonable, lawful, necessary, open and proportionate countermeasures are aimed at safeguarding China’s sacred sovereignty and territorial integrity, preventing the U.S. attempt from “using Taiwan to contain China,” crushing the Taiwan authorities’ illusion of “seeking U.S. support for their independence agenda,” and earnestly safeguarding peace across the Taiwan Strait and regional stability.

Wang emphasized that the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs is the “golden rule” for the development of state-to-state relations and the “magic tool” for developing countries to protect their sovereignty and security.

Wang said China appreciates the understanding and support for China’s position by various countries, adding that as unilateral bullying acts happen from time to time, the international community should reach an even clearer consensus and make an even louder voice so as to jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and international law, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all developing countries.  ■

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — As China demonstrated the strong resolve and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, anti-China politicians using Taiwan to contain China will be nothing more than “a mantis trying to stop a chariot,” as the Chinese proverb goes.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region earlier this week despite China’s strong opposition. Her trip was made to seek personal political gains, build her so-called “political legacy” and divert public attention from her family scandal.

It is also the latest demonstration that anti-China politicians in the United States are using Taiwan as a pawn to strategically contain China. The Chinese people and international community have long seen the sinister intentions of Pelosi and others, which are bound to be shattered.

In response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China has taken a series of firm and forceful countermeasures against “Taiwan independence” separatist actions and external interference.

China announced on Friday sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members and eight other countermeasures. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has organized joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace off Taiwan.

Looking through the past century, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has neither backed down in the face of oppression and bullying by foreign powers nor given in to external interferences. Any attempt to obstruct China’s complete reunification, delay or even block the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will only make the Chinese people more united. Looking to the future, China will tackle all the obstacles with the utmost determination, confidence and endurance.

China must be reunified, and will surely be reunified, as is determined by the historical trend of the Chinese nation. The Taiwan question, which arose from national weakness and chaos, will be solved amid national rejuvenation. All the Chinese across the Taiwan Strait will share the glory of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. No one and no force can stop this.

History will prove that the despicable actions taken by anti-China politicians and attempts to rely on the United States to seek “Taiwan independence” are against the general trend of history. This is equivalent to a mantis trying to stop a chariot.  

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — In disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region. Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday announced the following countermeasures in response:

1. Canceling China-U.S. Theater Commanders Talk.

2. Canceling China-U.S. Defense Policy Coordination Talks (DPCT).

3. Canceling China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) meetings.

4. Suspending China-U.S. cooperation on the repatriation of illegal immigrants.

5. Suspending China-U.S. cooperation on legal assistance in criminal matters.

6. Suspending China-U.S. cooperation against transnational crimes.

7. Suspending China-U.S. counternarcotics cooperation.

8. Suspending China-U.S. talks on climate change.  ■