Fresh headlines and publisher-supplied excerpts from Kenya, Africa and the world—collected in one transparent, attributed briefing.
Controversial TikTok creator Hannah Benta has confirmed that she has separated from her partner, Steve Nice, bringing an end to their publicly followed relationship. Benta addressed the breakup during a TikTok livestream, where she responded to questions from followers about her personal life and living situation. “Nimeshaachwa na nimeachika, I have nothing else to lose,” […]
Read briefingHow politics and public money shape the economy Daily Monitor
Read briefingOga Obinna has addressed the controversy surrounding the death of Stoopid Boy, maintaining that he will continue giving people experiencing mental health challenges a platform on his show. Obinna said he had reflected deeply on the circumstances surrounding the death and the criticism that followed, particularly calls for him to reconsider hosting guests struggling with […]
Read briefingKisumu Airport passengers stranded as aviation strike drags on thetraveler.org
Read briefingBrazilian jetmaker targets Africa with 13-tonne cargo planes as continent carries under 6% of global traffic africa.businessinsider.com
Read briefingKenya has secured a major breakthrough in cancer treatment after signing an agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that will significantly reduce the cost of medicines used to treat several cancers.President William Ruto said the agreement between Pfizer and the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), under the Accord for a Healthier World, will cut prices of medicines for breast, stomach, colon, lung, prostate, oesophageal, leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma cancers by more than sevenfold.In some cases, the cost of treatment will fall from as much as Sh1 million to below Sh50,000 per treatment cycle, easing the financial burden on patients and families.President Ruto said the reduced prices will also make the Sh800,000 Social Health Authority (SHA) cancer treatment package sufficient to cover the cost of treatment without patients having to make additional payments.The agreement will further enable Kenya to access newer cancer medicines without the current waiting period of up to 10 years before such treatments become available to Kenyan patients.Ruto said the deal marked an important step towards strengthening Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage programme and improving access to affordable cancer care.The President, who is the African Union Champion for Local Manufacturing of Medical Commodities, said Pfizer had also committed to making technologies and newer medicines available for local pharmaceutical production in Africa.He made the remarks after receiving Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla at State House, Nairobi.Bourla was accompanied by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, US Embassy Nairobi Charge d’Affaires Susan M. Burns, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga and Pfizer officials.Ruto expressed appreciation to Pfizer for its investment in Kenya and its contribution to improving access to cancer treatment.The agreement comes as Kenya continues efforts to expand access to specialised treatment while reducing the financial burden associated with cancer care under the country’s Universal Health Coverage agenda.Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
Read briefingPrediction-market operator Kalshi has permanently barred former US congressman George Santos from trading on its platform.The company alleged that Santos, who was expelled from Congress following a series of fraud and identity-theft charges, placed bets in February related to his own attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, according to a notice of disciplinary action.Kalshi said its compliance team concluded his activity showed signs of insider dealing, prompting the lifetime ban. It said it was acting independently without waiting for external enforcement action.Santos on X thanked Kalshi for the ban and said “Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for”.In 2025, President Trump ordered the release of Santos, who had been sentenced to a seven-year prison term for wire fraud and identity theft. He had served three months.In July, Santos agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a federal investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission into his State of the Union trades.Kalshi, alleging Santos used non-public information to place bets, issued a penalty of $71,356 (£38,000).The disciplinary moves land at a moment when prediction markets – which allow users to wager on outcomes ranging from elections to economic indicators – are facing heightened scrutiny.Both Kalshi and rival Polymarket have reported an uptick in unusual trading patterns, forcing platforms to strengthen monitoring systems and respond more aggressively to potential misconduct.Kalshi said Santos’s case was referred to federal authorities earlier this summer after internal systems flagged suspicious behaviour linked to his account.The company said the case centered on his trades in a market tied to whether he would attend Trump’s address – an event he could directly influence.According to the company, its compliance team found he placed a series of sizeable bets between 2 and 25 February, some of which were based on false or misleading public statements about his plans.His comments moved contract prices, and he ultimately earned $17,839.57 from the trades.Santos has denied wrongdoing in various matters but has admitted to stealing identities of nearly a dozen people, including next of kin. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and served three months in prison before Trump commuted his sentence last year.He embellished much about his biography in the run-up to his election to Congress in 2022. The former lawmaker was only the sixth in US history to be expelled from Congress.The Kalshi episode underscores the growing compliance burden facing prediction markets as they attract more users and move closer to mainstream products. Regulators have signaled that platforms will be expected to meet higher standards as the industry matures, particularly when political or economic events are involved.Santos, who was expelled from Congress following a series of fraud and identity-theft charges, has remained a polarising figure in US politics.His criminal conviction led to a prison sentence of more than seven years, which Trump later commuted. Santos has denied wrongdoing in various matters, but has admitted to stealing identities of nearly a dozen people, including next of kin.The episode underscores the growing compliance burden facing prediction markets as they attract more users and move closer to mainstream products. Regulators have signaled that platforms will be expected to meet higher standards as the industry matures, particularly when political or economic events are involved.Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
Read briefingVictoria Beckham’s fashion and beauty business has made an operating profit for the first time since she founded it in 2008, the company has said. Victoria Beckham Holdings Ltd, which is led by the former Spice Girl as creative director, made an operating profit of £7.3m in 2025, accounts show, after years of losses.“We have all worked hard for a long time for this moment of profitability and growth,” Lady Beckham told the Financial Times.“We’ve been very transparent about the problems that we had in the business but have recovered and are now growing at a sensible pace. After 20 years, people don’t look at my brand as a celebrity brand any more.”Skincare success Last year, a Netflix documentary told the story of her attempting to establish a fashion brand and achieve profitability – and the series itself helped boost sales, “with particularly strong momentum in denim and jersey”, according to the accounts.The fashion side of the company delivered “strong double-digit growth” overall in 2025, they said, while the beauty side, which launched in 2019, “delivered one of its strongest performances to date”. That was led by the popularity of her Foundation Drops, which had a 25,000-strong waiting list and which doubled the size of the skincare part of the company.The Netflix documentary showed the former pop star talking about her attempts to overcome doubters to be taken seriously as a designer and entrepreneur, then running into financial trouble when the company was “tens of millions in the red”.The business was bailed out by her husband Sir David, who told the programme: “For her to have to come to me and say, ‘Can I have some… We need some more money, the business needs more money’ – that was hard for both of us because I didn’t have the money to keep doing this.”Lady Beckham said: “If he hadn’t believed in me I wouldn’t still have a business now.”She went on to get £30m investment by selling 30% of the company to NEO Investment Partners in 2017, who launched a restructure.‘Significant milestone’ That included tackling what Beckham admitted was “mindblowing” waste, including “flying chairs from one side of the world to another” and spending what NEO’s David Belhassen said was “70,000 a year” on office plants.In a statement on Monday, Belhassen, who is chairman of Victoria Beckham Holdings, said: “With two complementary growth engines in fashion and beauty, an increasingly international customer base and a focused operating model, the business is powerfully positioned for its next phase of profitable growth.”CEO Sybille Darricarrère Lunel said: “Achieving our first operating profit is a landmark moment for Victoria Beckham and reflects several years of disciplined execution and strategic investment. “Delivering this result against a more challenging luxury market and macro backdrop makes it an even more significant milestone for the business.”Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
Read briefingDolly Parton’s estate has announced a festival honouring the life and legacy of the late singer, set for London and Nashville.The “star-studded” two-day DollyFest will happen across two consecutive weekends in both cities in 2027, her estate said in a Monday press release, adding that the specific dates will be announced later.Parton herself dreamed up an earlier version of the event, where she would host and perform alongside other artists, but the original January 2026 event was called off before it was announced publicly, due to Parton’s health struggles, her estate said.“DOLLYFEST will be the party of a lifetime she wanted to share with the world,” her estate said. DollyFest will take the place of a traditional public memorial for the artist, who died at the age of 80 on 25 August after a brief battle with cancer.She was laid to rest at a private family funeral in Nashville on Friday, and placed next to her late husband, Carl Dean, at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in the Tennessee city, her great-niece said.DollyFest organiser Danny Nozell, the founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said the estate is not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in whatever ways they choose, but Parton did not want a traditional memorial.“It feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly,” Nozell said.“This is something that is authentic to her, something that feels right to me, and something that artists and fans around the world can participate in, while also giving everyone time to grieve, and giving everyone time to plan.”Originally from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Parton was a country music icon, philanthropist and businesswoman whose most famous songs included Coat of Many Colors, Jolene and I Will Always Love You. In a seven-decade career, Parton won 10 Grammy awards, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote thousands of songs.Parton took her writing seriously, and considered herself a songwriter over everything else. “It’s my way of expressing myself,” she said. “It’s my therapy.”Since her death, emotional tributes from celebrities, politicians, and countless fans have flooded social media.“A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, DOLLYFEST is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!),” Nozell said.Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
Read briefingUS President Donald Trump has asked tech firm Apple to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America on its Maps platform to comply with his executive order changing the name of the Great Lake, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said. Burgum told Fox News on Monday that “the president has reached out to Apple directly”, adding: “I’m sure we may be seeing that change coming up soon.”Google made the switch for its US-based users over the weekend, though users in Canada still see the lake, which borders the province of Ontario and the state of New York, as Lake Ontario. The renaming has faced pushback in Canada, where one electrical utility company apologised on Sunday for its map displaying the Lake America name.Hydro One, a utility company based in Toronto, said in a post on X that the name appeared due to their use of a third-party mapping service.“We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference,” the company said in its statement. “We regret the error and apologise for any confusion it has caused.”Maps by other Ontario-based agencies also appeared to briefly display the name Lake America, including Hydro Ottawa and the Liquor Board of Ontario.Trump signed the executive order on Thursday seeking to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, following the collapse of trade negotiations between Canada and the US.The order directs Burgum to “take all appropriate actions” to rename the lake, including updating the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official US government map database.Google said in a statement on Saturday that its maps will display the Lake America name for US users to comply with the GNIS.It added that those in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario displayed. In the rest of the world, users will see the name displayed as: Lake Ontario (Lake America).Not all map providers are changing the name. MapQuest, an American free web mapping service launched in 1996, said “we’re not changing it” in a short Facebook post on Friday.The platform also unveiled a tool that allows users to change the lake to any name they choose and share their creations.After its announcement that it will not be changing the name of Lake Ontario, MapQuest rose to the top of the most-downloaded free applications as of Monday morning on the Apple App Store in Canada.Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large sign by the lakeshore on Saturday that read “Lake Ontario Now and Always” in both English and French, Canada’s official languages.“No one’s going to call it Lake of America,” Ford told American TV host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “It’s been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years. It’s going to continue being Lake Ontario.” The names of four of the Great Lakes – Ontario, Huron, Michigan and Erie – originate from indigenous words.Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
Read briefingBRITAIN’S FBI has frozen £10million of Premier League cash as it probes alleged criminality involving a crypto partner fronted by Lionel Messi. The National Crime Agency is investigating Sorare amid claims of unlicensed gambling. Sorare, which runs a digital card game backed by Messi and other stars such as Kylian Mbappé, denies any wrongdoing. The...
Read briefingTHE Duchess of Sussex is nervous about doing the school run while security for her family remains unsettled, a pal says. Meghan and Harry are in a secret luxury countryside location after returning to the UK. The pair have barely left the house since arriving last week and she is said to be worried about...
Read briefingBetter funding and equipment alone cannot transform policing without fundamental changes to leadership, independence, professionalism, integrity and institutional accountability.
Read briefingIMAGINE Britain had an ally whose intelligence know-how was so vital to our safety that the head of MI5 said the ally had “disrupted a huge quantity of terror activity inside the UK” and “saved many, many lives on British soil”. Imagine the same ally’s military equipment had saved the lives of British soldiers in...
Read briefingMIKEL ARTETA will look to bring in another attacker on deadline day but if his team keep defending like this, he should not have the hump with sporting director Andrea Berta. Arsenal are once again favourites to retain the title for a very obvious reason. And it is not because their front three strikes fear...
Read briefingBUKAYO SAKA fired Arsenal to a narrow victory over Aston Villa as the Gunners continued their perfect start to the season. Mikel Arteta's side ground out a close-fought 1-0 victory at Villa Park after a first half that lacked any real spark. Saka's tap-in second-half tap-in was the difference for Arsenal, who are yet to...
Read briefingUS Open: Birrell digs deep to win, Duckworth upsets Arnaldi tennis.com.auWatch Birrell vs. Marcinko (Women's First Round) | Disney+ disneyplus.comAussie Birrell saves match point, advances to US Open second round abc.net.auBirrell Vs Marcinko Set 2 Winner Odds | Kalshi oddsshopper.comKimberly Birrell v Petra Marcinko Odds sportsbook.fanduel.com
Read briefingOrengo defends his Linda Mwananchi presidential bid, calls for internal democracy People Daily
Read briefingPassengers stranded in Kenya amid aviation strike upi.com
Read briefingProsecutor urges jurors to convict Duane 'Keffe D' Davis at Tupac Shakur murder trial PBSBiggie Smalls’ still-unsolved killing keeps surfacing in a courtroom where no one is charged with it. Why? CNNDetective: Tupac suspect's murder confession 'unverifiable' Daily NationTupac prosecutor says Keffe D ‘went hunting’ for the rapper in closing statements NewsNationClosing arguments begin in trial over Tupac’s assassination Peoples Gazette Nigeria
Read briefingArgentinian football legend Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football. He shared a letter on Instagram explaining how difficult his decision was. Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from Buenos Aires.
Read briefingIsraeli forces demolish Palestinian homes in Nablus, while in Hebron settlers cleared land for a new outpost. Settlement expansion, land confiscation and demolitions are tightening Israeli control over Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
Read briefing"It was a beautiful day - and then people were screaming," one hiker tells the BBC, as 14 people are missing.
Read briefing‘Nothing is worth using.’ Residents in Nepal’s Devighat are returning to flood-ravaged homes, sifting through mud and debris to salvage whatever they can. More than 900 people have died, while around 4,200 remain missing across Nepal and Tibet.
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