Thursday, September 3, 2026
Kenyan president orders crackdown on foreigners operating small businesses
By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya
Kenya's President William Ruto has ordered a crackdown on foreigners operating small-scale businesses, saying local traders and hawkers need to be protected.
His announcement comes amid growing debate about the increasing number of African migrants involved in Kenya's vast informal economy.
"From next week, all [foreign] traders doing those small businesses should close them," he said, also promising to fast-track proposed legislation to preclude foreigners from certain areas of trade.
Ruto said Kenya remained open to foreign investment, but argued that investors - including Chinese traders - should create jobs and expand production rather than compete with Kenyans in small businesses.
"It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop," he said in an address to small-scale traders who had come to meet the president at State House in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday afternoon.
"We have made efforts to improve the economy, we have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya," said Ruto, who plans to seek a second term in election next year.
It is unclear how many foreign nationals are involved in small-scale trading or how many would be affected by the new crackdown.
Kenya hosts a large refugee population, some of whom live and work outside the country's refugee camps.
Government figures show that Kenya had about 857,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers by the end of June, with nearly 14% living in urban areas.
Kenyan law recognises the right of refugees to work and operate businesses, although they are required to obtain the appropriate documentation. Refugees wishing to work or engage in a trade or business can apply for a special permit.
In Nairobi and other major towns, migrants from the region can be found working in barber shops and salons, construction, operating motorbike taxis and street vending, as well as selling clothes, food and household goods.
Some have fled conflicts or economic hardship at home, while others have moved to Kenya in search of better opportunities under the relatively free movement of people allowed within the East African Community, a regional bloc made up of eight countries.
The growing presence of foreigners has at times caused tensions with local traders and workers who accuse them of competing for scarce jobs and business opportunities.
In July, a video of a Kenyan man confronting a Burundian trader in Nairobi and accusing him of taking opportunities from locals sparked widespread criticism.
The clash also prompted Fred Ngoga, an expert on regional conflict prevention from Burundi, to appeal for the protection of his country's citizens.
"The majority of Kenyans are decent and good people who welcome their brothers and sisters from Burundi," he said at the time, adding that most Kenyans had rejected the hostility directed at the trader.
UN warns of 'supersized' El Niño as countries prepare for impact
By Esme Stallard, LONDON England
The world has entered a "danger zone of extreme weather" as the impacts of El Niño start to be felt globally, UN head António Guterres has warned.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released the latest data on the natural weather phenomenon showing it could be the strongest for more than 70 years and last until at least February 2027.
El Niño changes weather patterns around the world, pushing some regions into drought whilst others experience stronger typhoons and flooding.
Forecasters also say El Niño will boost temperatures in some places, coming on top of rising heat globally from human-induced climate change.
"El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up," Guterres said.
The repoter spoke with governments and scientists about the measures being taken globally to reduce the risk of deaths, displacement and environmental damage.
Early warning systems have been strengthened and deployment of pre-emptive medical assistance, but the strength of this particular event has raised serious concerns particularly for vulnerable groups.
The WMO - a UN agency - said it has undertaken a "major mobilisation" to try to circulate its forecasts of potential extreme weather events, linked to El Niño, to as many communities as possible.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo warned: "El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world."
El Niño is a natural weather phenomenon that develops in the Pacific Ocean and is linked to a change in wind patterns. It allows warm water to spread eastwards and releases heat into the atmosphere.
Sea temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific have risen sharply in recent months - a clear sign of a strengthening El Niño.
In the Pacific's key monitoring region, surface temperatures have been well over 2C above average in recent weeks, putting it on track to be declared a "very strong" event.
But it is expected to surpass even that marker. Monthly sea surface temperatures could get close to 4C above average, forecasts suggest.
This would make it the strongest El Niño since at least 1950, by potentially a large margin.
Temperatures are even more exceptional below the surface of the Pacific - in places more than 8C above average.
Above-normal sea temperatures are also expected in other parts of the world including the Indian Ocean, tropical Atlantic and around parts of the Australian coast.
With its rich marine life, changes in ocean heat are of particular concern to Australia.
It has been plagued by marine heatwaves in recent years - driven by climate change.
El Niño is a natural phenomenon, but it tends to bring the kind of extreme heat which also drives those disasters, Dr Alistair Hobday, chief researcher at Australia's science agency, told the reporter.
This year, marine heatwave forecasts indicate the Great Barrier Reef will be spared the worst of the conditions, giving coral there more time to recover.
"[But] Southern Australia is getting slammed," said Hobday.
Last time a marine heatwave hit South Australia and Tasmania, there were starving penguins, fish kills, suffocating algae outbreaks, and jellyfish invasions.
Australia has recently introduced early warning systems for marine crises - this gives time for financial relief for fisheries to be established, relocation of crucial species and increased coral monitoring.
But this event is shaping up to be unprecedented - and Hobday admits he is quite worried.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Bus crash on Egypt's Red Sea coast kills 22
SOUTH SINAI, Egypt
At least 22 people have been killed in a bus crash in eastern Egypt, the country's health ministry has said.
Another 28 people were injured on the road between Red Sea towns of Dahab and Nuweiba in the South Sinai governorate on Wednesday morning.
Reports in Egyptian and Jordanian media say as many as 10 Jordanian nationals were among those killed in the accident.
The cause of the crash remains unknown.
The area is a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world.
It is unclear how many people were on board at the time of the crash.
In a statement, the Egyptian health ministry said all the injured people were being treated in three different hospitals.
Deadly road accidents are common across Egypt, with the authorities reporting nearly 6,000 fatalities in 2025.
Such accidents are often blamed on reckless driving and poor road maintenance.
Last month, 18 people were killed and 30 injured when two lorries collided in the north-eastern Ismailia governorate.
Trump $1 coin makes him first living president on US currency in a century
WASHINGTON, United States
Donald Trump's portrait has made its way on to a US coin - the first time a living president has appeared on American currency in a century.
On Wednesday, the US Mint launched the $1 coin with a portrait of Trump alongside the words "LIBERTY" and "IN GOD WE TRUST", to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
The special-edition coin captures "the spirit, pride, and legacy of a nation approaching its landmark anniversary", the US Mint said.
The coins - priced at $61 (£45) for a roll of 25 and $154.50 for a bag of 100 - were "not currently in stock" on the mint's website within hours of going on sale.
The coin has been "created to celebrate this historic national milestone" with a "once-in-a-generation anniversary design destined to become a standout addition to modern collections", the US Mint said.
They are also being sold in vending machines at the US Mint store in Washington DC.
While the coins have a golden colour they do not contain any actual gold. According to the US Mint, they are 88.5% copper with the balance being made up of zinc, manganese and nickel.
Chinese President Xi starts state visit to Egypt with energy, AI on agenda
CAIRO, Egypt
President of China, Xi Jinping, arrived in Egypt on Tuesday on a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran.
Xi and his wife were greeted on the tarmac by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the first lady, as well as a performance by an Egyptian folk dance troupe.
The two-day visit comes as both countries seek to manage the fallout of the months-long Middle East war, which began when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, throwing the crucial trade region into crisis.
Washington vowed last month to destabilise Iran economically, warning of expanded sanctions against Tehran's backers and partners that could hit Egyptian and Chinese banks, among others.
Xi's visit "comes at a time when China's economic interests are directly exposed to the US-Iran war", said Gamal Salama, political science professor at Egypt's Suez University.
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has presented itself as a neutral party in the Middle East conflict, repeatedly calling for a lasting ceasefire.
Egypt, a long-time recipient of US military aid, warned against regional escalation after a drone strike hit one of its ports in July.
China is "clearly seeking Egypt's cooperation in managing and shaping regional affairs", said Liu Jia, a research fellow at the Singapore-based Middle East Institute.
Beijing works closely with regional actors such as Egypt, which mediates between Israel and Palestinian groups, Liu added.
Both China and Egypt support an independent Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.
"China sees Cairo as a strategic power broker," said Salama.
Egypt's "relations with both Washington and regional actors give Beijing both political access and diplomatic leverage across a region where China wants a much greater say," he added.
Xi and Sisi are expected to discuss issues including the Gaza war, Iran, and shipping in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, according to Egyptian media.
"I look forward to renewing the friendship and working together with President Sisi to... map out a new blueprint for deepening the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership," Xi wrote in an editorial published in Egyptian media on Tuesday.
The Chinese leader's first visit to Egypt in a decade comes as the two nations mark 70 years of diplomatic ties.
China is a major exporter to Egypt, with its trade surplus reaching $12 billion in the first seven months of 2026, according to Chinese customs data.
The leaders are expected to sign agreements on artificial intelligence, transport, energy and investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Egyptian media reported.
The meeting with Xi sets Cairo up to land Chinese investments in its local AI and electronics industries, political scientist Salama said.
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)