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kenyan painter michael soi and daughter, malli, design bag brand that has turned into hot cake

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eXtra.sharp Tuesday 02.09.2014 | www.x-news.co.ke

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US attacks Somalia Al Shabaab network

US military forces on Monday conducted an operation against Al-Shabaab network in Somalia, according to information from the Pentagon press. Press secretary for Rear Administration John Kirby said they are still assessing the results of the operation and further details will be provided later. P2

hitting terror bases: The Pentagon has confirmed it conducted an operation against the Al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia. The Obama administration has posted a Sh256 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, a Kenyan native and senior al-Shabab commander.

50 Cent buys twoyear-old son a ‘Mercedes Benz’

Timberlake charged with son’s murder P2

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Online shopping becomes more popular in Kenya P6

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NEWS

TUESday, September 2, 2014

US hits Somalia terror bases

From Page 1 “We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate,” he said.

No other information was immediately available. The Pentagon did not say who was targeted, where in Somalia the operation took place or why the operation was being conducted now.

But CNN reported that governor of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region Abdikadir Mohamed Nur Sidii confirmed to them that a suspected drone strike hit a small rebel-held village between the towns of Dhaab Tubaako and Haaway.

The governor said the attack appeared to target an Al-Shabaab

camp where top leaders of the group have been holding a meeting to discuss an ongoing joint offensive by Somali and AU troops against their strongholds in the country’s south.

He said those targeted appeared to include the leader of the AlShabaab militants, Ahmed Godane, but it was not clear whether he was injured.

Godane has been a driving force behind Al-Shabaab which has declared its affiliation to al Qaeda and has pressed for the group to launch attacks beyond Somalia.

There have been numerous terror attacks on Kenyan soil for which the group has claimed responsibility. Kenyan troops are also part of Amison soldiers

fighting to liberate the country from the grip of the militants.

But US is also said to have quietly deployed a small team of advisers to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in October 2013 to coordinate operations with African troops fighting to wrest control of the country from al-Shabab.

The deployment marked the first time regular US troops have been stationed in the war-ravaged country since 1993, when two helicopters were shot down and 18 Americans were killed in the “Black Hawk Down” disaster. US commandos have intermittently conducted raids and operations in the country as well, but the military has kept their activities cloaked in secrecy.

US classified Al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist group in March 2008.

Washington has since targeted AlShabaab leaders in Somalia with at least two operations to arrest them in the last one year.

On October 5, 2013, US Navy SEALs raided a seaside house in Barawe in an attempt to capture Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, a Kenyan native and senior alShabab commander.

The attack sparked a gunfight before the SEALs withdrew over the possible risk of harming bystanders.

The Obama administration has since posted a Sh256 million reward for information leading to Abdulkadir’s arrest.

A State Department bounty notice describes him as being about 35 years old, with a thick mustache and three missing fingers on his left hand.

Meanwhile, the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) also declared that military forces had liberated several important towns from the terrorists’ grip, in the Middle Shabelle and Hiiran regions.

“The Somali National Army supported by Amisom forces have faced little resistance from their advancement as al-Shabaab simply melted away when they heard the aligned forces are approaching,” the mission said in a written statement.

Australia police charge Arunga husband with his son’s murder

in trouble: Quincy Timberlake in a past event. Timberlake, husband to former Kenyan TV star Esther Arunga, has been charged with the murder of their two-year-old son.

Esther Arunga’s husband, Quincy Timberlake, was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with murder of their three-year-old son, Sinclair.

The Brisbane Times says Timberlake, who lives in Australia, was arrested and arraigned before Brisbane Magistrates Court to answer to charges of murder after an autopsy on his late son showed “significant” internal injuries.

Timberlake was remanded until December 4 when the case will be heard.

Arunga, a former TV personality, lives in Kallangur, Brisbane, with her husband Timberlake.

Their son was pronounced dead by paramedics who were unable to resuscitate him on June 18.

The couple claimed Sinclair was playing with his two-year-old sibling when he allegedly tumbled down the stairs. They only gave him pain-killers before letting him rest in bed.

When the boy’s condition worsened, they called paramedics who later informed police after pronouncing Sinclair dead.

Timberlake, a 2013 presidential aspirant, claimed his life was in danger before seeking asylum in Australia.

Ousted Lesotho premier due home from SA today Lesotho’s prime minister is set to return home today after three days in exile in neighbouring South Africa.

The return comes as regional mediators seek to reinstall him to power after an apparent coup.

“We are going home now, most probably we will be in Lesotho tomorrow,” Samonyane Ntsekele, an advisor to Prime Minister Tom

Thabane, said from Pretoria, where southern African states brokered a deal to end the crisis.

Thabane had fled across the border before dawn on Saturday as troops attacked key police installations and surrounded his official residence.

The military and a rival political party -- the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) – have

been accused of trying to oust the 75-year-old, a charge they vehemently deny.

South African President Jacob Zuma and representatives from governments in the regional bloc, SADC, had brought together leaders from Lesotho’s three ruling coalition parties to resolve their differences.

A joint statement said Thabane

will move to end the suspension of parliament, a key demand of rival parties.

The Southern African Development Community will also send an observer mission to the mountainous African kingdom to monitor political, defence and security developments.

There was no mention of an SADC peacekeeping force as had been

requested by Thabane, who will return to a country which for three days appeared to be without a government.

Police are in disarray after being forcibly disarmed by troops. The military is seemingly beyond political control, leaving ordinary people fearing for the future.

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NEWS | 3

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Ex female cop shot in Kayole robbery

Kenya contributes the most positive social good in Africa

A former female police officer was last night shot dead by police in a botched robbery in Kayole, Nairobi and a police pocket phone found on her. The woman had been linked to a number of robberies in the city before she was cornered at the scene of a planned robbery. Police say they found valuables, believed to have been stolen, on her. Nairobi police boss Benson Kibue said the she was part of a gang that employed many tricks to mug and rob.

A report published by the Economist shows that Kenya is one of the few countries that contribute positive social good to the world.

The report, referred to as the ‘Good Country Index’, ranks Kenya at position 26 out of the top 30 countries, and first in Africa.

Ireland, Finland and Switzerland are ranked the top three countries in the Index having contributed the most good to the world.

Libya is last on the Good Country Index, next to Iraq and Vietnam. The Index ranks countries that contribute to the betterment of other countries, and to the world by extension in the fields of international peace and security, science and technology, culture, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality, and health and well-being.

The ranking of 125 countries was created by collecting and merging data from organizations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other United Nations (UN ) agencies for over three years.

Media owners vow court action over proposed law Media owners have threatened to challenge in court a Bill that seeks to impose hefty fines on journalists for covering MPs against the wishes of the legislators.

Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill 2014, sponsored by Eldas MP Adan Keynan has stoked the latest controversy by proposing that journalists be fined up to Sh500, 000 for any reports that MPs deem unfit.

The Bill seeks to give the National Assembly and the Senate more powers to determine when they can be covered by the press and provides that journalists be punished for covering them against their wishes. This is a move widely seen as a scheme by the legislature to shield itself from public scrutiny. The Media Owners Association (MOA) yesterday vowed to move to court should the Bill be passed with its current provisions.

MOA chairman Sam Shollei said the proposed law will suffocate public participation in regard to the performance and conduct of MPs. “It has dangerous provisions that will stifle parliamentary reporting and crackdown on protests by civil societies as well,” Mr Shollei, who is also the Standard Group CEO, said.

He said the move is meant to punish reporters and civil activists for their campaigns against parliamentary excesses including arbitrary increase of MPs salaries.

National Civil Society Congress president Moris Odhiambo also opposed the move saying MPs want to lock out the media to entrench corruption and impunity.

However, National Assembly’s majority leader Aden Duale allayed fears media fears saying any unconstitutional provisions will be removed.

Families seek State help to recover bodies Families of victims of a boat accident in Budalang’i have appealed to the government to help them recover the bodies of their loved ones which are still in the water four days after the tragedy ago. A boat ferrying 16 people capsized in River Nzoia at the Narera crossing with only nine of the passengers accounted for so far. The families have asked both the county and national government to send divers to boost the search and recovery of the bodies.

Moi’s 90th birthday party on at Kabarak

shut up! :Journalists at a past protest match. Media owners have threatened to to go to court to challenge the proposed parliamentary powers and privileges Act 2014.

Retired President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi today turned 90 in a historic feat to be celebrated at the Kabarak University in Nakuru County. Several politicians and businessmen have hailed Mr Moi as a statesman, and peace broker who was down to earth during the 24 years he served as president of the Republic. “A human beings lifespan is 70 years and Mzee Moi is extremely grateful to God for giving him the bonus,” his aide Lee Njiru said.

Obama, Cameron, Merkel, others banned from Russian duty-free shop David Cameron, Barack Obama and five other Western leaders have been banned from purchasing duty free goods at a Russian airport.

A sign banning Cameron and Obama, as well as Germany’s Angela Merkel, Canada’s Stephen Harper, France’s

Francois Hollande, Australia’s Tony Abbott, and Japan’s Shinzo Abe recently appeared in the far eastern city, i100 reports. “In line with the decision of Duty Free shop Administration these persons are not welcome here and will not be attended to a customer

[sic] in this shop,” it reads.

Six Ukrainian politicians – including president Piotr Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Vitali Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxer and current mayor of Kiev – are also banned, according to the

notice. While rudimentary signs denying entry to Mr Obama have appeared on shop windows across Russia in recent weeks, presumably in response to economic sanctions against Russia, the Vladivostok sign was professionally done.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

We’ve final say on land injustices, says body The National Land Commission (NLC) Taskforce on Historical Injustices on Monday pledged to have the final word on the matter.

Chairman Samuel Tororei said his team will provide the “closure” that previous bodies constituted over the injustices did not.

He said unlike their predecessors, the taskforce has been mandated to create an “implementation matrix” to be enshrined in law.

The taskforce is charged to define what qualifies as a historical land injustice, “past and present,” specify what form restitution for the victims should take and penalties for perpetrators of these injustices.

Section 15 of the National Land Commission Act mandates the commission to, “within two years of its appointment, recommend

to Parliament appropriate legislation to provide for the investigation and adjudication of claims arising out of historical land injustices.”

Vice-Chair Amina Hashi said the team will incorporate aspects of previous reports given the short amount of time they are working with, having been gazetted in May. The team has until February 2015 to have the legislation ready.

“Some of us have read the TJRC report so many times we can recite it from memory,” she said.

But even given the limited time they are working with, Hashi said the commission was committed to having a draft bill out by the end of December. “The law allows us to ask for an extension but we are keen to work within the time frame accorded to us,” she said.

Six presidents to attend Nairobi AU terror summit Six presidents are today expected to attend a oneday Africa Union Peace and Security Summit in Nairobi.

Idriss Deby (Chad), Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger), Goodluck Jonathan (Nigeria), Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud will be joined by President Uhuru Kenyatta to the meeting. Prime Ministers of Namibia and Algeria are also expected to lead their countries’ delegations to the conference as will the Burundi First Vice President.

The group has expressed concern over the continued threat posed by terrorism in Africa, particularly in the Sahelo-Saharan region, Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and the Central African region.

Terror groups such as the Boko Haram which have been carrying out attacks in northern Nigeria, Al-Shabaa and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda are top of the agenda.

The objective of the meeting is to undertake an in-depth review of the situation and ongoing AU’s efforts to combat terrorism in Africa within the framework of AU normative and operational instruments.

These include the cooperative mechanisms being implemented

by Amisom and agree on practical steps to enhance the implementation of AU counter-terrorism framework at national, regional and continental levels.

The meeting is due to agree on concrete steps to enhance the ongoing efforts to effectively address the threat of terrorism.

More on this story at

RIGHT TO OWN: President Uhuru Kenyatta issues land titles in Kilifi County. The National Land Commission says it has final say on what qualifies to be historical land injustices.

Drought puts North Kenya’s 350,000 in hunger risk Over 350, 000 people in Northern Kenya face starvation, to an assessment by a Government agency shows.

The National Drought Management Authority says crop failure in the last harvest has exposed residents of Baringo, Turkana and West Pokot counties to hunger.

The agency urgently requires Sh600 million to prevent a calamity.

NDMA Baringo County coordinator told journalists they have raised Sh322 million and appealed to well-wishers to help bridge the shortfall.

Meanwhile, Wajir South MP Abdullahi Diriye has warned that more than 60, 000 people in his constituency face hunger due to prolonged drought.

He said water pans have dried up as famished and thirsty animals and residents converge at the remaining water points in a drought-stricken region. He called for urgent intervention in the next few days to avoid loss of human and livestock lives.

www.capitalfm.co.ke

Agriculture ministers to discuss food security in Addis conference African ministers and business leaders have gathered in Ethiopia to consider ways to trigger a green revolution as a way of improving the continent’s food security. The African Green Revolution Forum which is set for Addis Ababa will focus on delivering agriculture-led economic growth in sub-Sahara Africa.

In June, the Africa Union issued a declaration of its intention to double food production and reduce poverty by half before the year 2025. About 1,000 delegates are due for the four-day meeting.

“I am proud that many African nations are becoming economic powerhouses, but without a viable agricultural sector and a strong rural economy, there cannot be

a viable future for Africa,” said International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) president Kanayo Nwanze. “Scaling up productivity in African agriculture so that it contributes to the prosperity of the women and men living in rural areas is an absolute prerequisite of prosperity for our continent,” he said.

Figures show that 200 million Africans are chronically malnourished while five million others die each year as a result of hunger.

It was against this stark backdrop that the heads of state and government attending the 23rd AU Summit adopted the Malabo Declaration, which include a call for greater effort to accelerate agricultural growth. “Africa’s smallholder

farmers produce the vast majority of food grown on the continent and they are the backbone of a sector that employs more than 65 percent of all Africans,” said Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) chairman Strive Masiyiwa.

“So when businesses, governments, researchers and farmers work together to strengthen our food production and distribution systems, they are seeking commercial success that will be shared across African society - and particularly for the poorest among us.”

The view was echoed in a recent report by Chatham House, a UK –based international think-tank which concluded that increasing agricultural productivity and adapting

farming to climate change were central to Africa’s development prospects.

The report’s authors said a key challenge was to attract funding for biotechnology projects on staple crops, such as cassava, which were often ignored by commercial funders because they had a limited market, the authors suggested.

They said there are opportunities to boost yields and increase resilience by improving existing crop varieties, and that “in some cases, biotechnology, and in particular genetic modification (GM), offers advantages over conventional plant-breeding approaches”, such as drought, pest and disease resistance.

The forum will focus on the wider issues of productivity and poverty reduction, ways of reducing post-harvest losses and climate-resilient farming. A report looking at the impact of climate change on the continent’s smallscale farmers is expected to be presented to the meeting today.

NEWS | 5

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Cameron ponders joining US in strikes against ISIL David Cameron has raised the prospect of Britain joining American air strikes in Iraq and Syria, stating that he is prepared to “act immediately” without first informing MPs if national security is threatened.

The Prime Minister said he would use a Nato meeting this week to review whether “military measures” were needed against the “barbaric” extremists of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

He used a House of Commons statement to set out a series of measures to

protect Britain from the thousands of European citizens who have travelled to Iraq and Syria and want to “wreak havoc on our country”.

However, there were fears on Monday that the plans could unravel after Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, threatened to block a key plank of the new anti-terrorism laws amid concerns that they infringe on human rights.

Mr Cameron was also accused of delaying measures to ban British citizens from returning to Britain if

they have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside Isil terrorists.

In his statement, Mr Cameron announced plans to give the police powers to temporarily seize passports at the border if people are thought to be travelling to Iraq or Syria.

He also said the Government will push through laws to either force terrorist suspects to relocate from their home towns or create “exclusion zones” where they are not allowed to travel.

People returning from Iraq and Syria

inothernews

Mini 50 Cent gets Mercedes

Benz for second birthday American rapper and actor 50 Cent and his son, Sire now have matching cars after 50 surprised him with a miniature motorized Mercedes ML450 SUV on his 2nd birthday.

The 39-year-old rapper - whose real name is Curtis James Jackson - surprised his son Sire with the little black convertible over the weekend. The Candy Shop hitmaker tweeted

a picture of the toddler, whom he has with girlfriend Daphne Joy, sitting in the tiny black car with his hands on the wheel.

He accompanied the adorable picture, which also shows his Mercedes in the background, with the caption: ‘My dad told me we gotta get this money, So back to work. #littlebossintraining (sic).’

likE fAthEr... rapper 50 Cent poses with his son Sire with a miniature Mercedes Ml450 SUV he bought the little boy for his second birthday.

will also undergo a compulsory “deradicalisation programme”.

The statement came as British forces flew more than nine tons of assault rifle ammunition to Kurdish forces in Iraq. Two RAF C-130 Hercules planes landed in Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, to deliver the ammunition and hundreds of sets of body armour, helmets and sleeping bags. Cameron said airlines will be prevented from landing in Britain unless they release details of all passengers on their planes.

Anticipated Ebola vaccine tests to begin this week The highly anticipated test of an experimental Ebola vaccine will begin this week at the National Institutes of Health amid mounting anxiety over the spread of the deadly virus in West Africa.

After an expedited review by the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers were given the green light to begin what’s called a human safety trial, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It will be the first test of this kind of the Ebola vaccine on humans.

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What others said today...

Raila aides still figh over 2013 elections: Vicious squabbles piting former key aides of Cord leader Raila Odinga against each other have come to light and exposed behind thescenes intrigues that may well have cost the latter the Presidency in last year’s polls. The fighting, exposed for the fist time, indicates that Raila’s campaign machinery was rocked by divisions that are likely to have given President Uhuru Kenyatta a free pass...

Digital kit to weed out fake civil servants: Fresh registration of civil servants started yesterday in yet another attempt to smoke out fake workers and fraudsters. In this round of registration, workers are required to give their fingerprints, have their retinas scanned and photos taken. To ensure only bona fide civil servants are in the books and their qualifications are properly captured, each civil servant is required to present original documents...

Moi turns 90: On a sultry afternoon in early 1985 in Nairobi, a dark unmarked green van pulled up at the gate of the General Service Unit ( GSU) headquarters on Thika road. An unidentified man stepped out of the vehicle. Accompanied by two uniformed soldiers, he walked through the gate and disappeared among a cluster of buildings in the heavily guarded premise.

He was not to be seen again in public...

Anxiety as Uhuru leads public servants in audit: It will be the most earthshaking public service personnel audit exercise in Kenya since Independence, involving an estimated 700,000 workers. But the thorough head-count and document verification is said to be sending shivers across all staffing cadres...

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BUSiness

businesstool

TUESday, September 2, 2014

Yammer will link you up with your customers

Online shoppers bloom, consumers embrace IT As more Kenyan’s steadily gain access to internet services, retailers and businesses are realising the benefits of setting up online shops.

They are slowly discovering that tech savvy Kenyan consumers would rather have a product delivered to the doorstep than be forced to commute to a nearest retail shop.

Using applications installed in smartphones and tablets, consumers can access a variety of clothing shops, electronic stores,

restaurants and entertainment facilities.

Researchers from data-collecting group, Euromonitor, estimate that by 2020, nearly everyone in Kenya will access internet. An estimated 14 million or 30 per cent of the population have access to the facility.

Kenyans are living in a world where ugali can literally be ordered at the touch of a button and delivered to choice destination in minutes. “Moving to sell online

is in the strategic plan for any company worth its name,” says a statement from Robert Murage of Jumia Kenya, a leading online retail store.

The Jumia Kenya website ‘www. jumia.co.ke is an example of a marketplace that allows almost anyone to sell new products in original packaging. From textbooks to shoes and sports equipment, the list of available items is rising.

The shop provides free delivery

for products worth more than Sh5,000. Those below the amount attract a delivery fee of Sh200.

OLX, an international online retailer with a Kenyan subsidiary, is popular among individual retailers out to make quick cash.

Bidorbuy, another online marketplace, allows sellers to list products on a website.

Entry of other players into Kenya has intensified rivalry for customers and website traffic to the advantage of buyers and sellers.

cityplans

capitalalert

UK gives Africa Sh954m to fight Ebola outbreak UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Wellcome Trust, and the Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance organisation (ELRHA) have opened a special funding window worth £6.5 million (Sh954 million) to help African countries check the spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak.

Through the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) programme, these organisations aim to come up research findings that could contribute to an effective response to the current outbreak.

Researchers and organisations from African countries have been asked to visit elrha.org for more details and send their applications to the R2HC programme before September 8, 2014.

Spokeswoman for the groups Gamala Luitel says the findings will “help draw lessons for future outbreaks of Ebola and other communicable diseases.”

The disease has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in West Africa.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared the situation an international health emergency.

Funding is being made available through the existing £6.5 million (Sh954 million) R2HC programme.

As small businesses adopt social media to connect with clients, some enterprises are discovering that more effort is needed to connect with customers.

Yammer, an online business tool, offers the businesses a more efficient way of linking up with clients.

“It is a secure, private social network for your company,” says a spokesperson for Yammer. “It empowers employees to be more productive and successful by enabling them to collaborate easily, make smarter decisions faster, and selforganize into teams to take on any business challenge.”

The tool comes in a variety of packages, with the basic being free to use. Other packages cost about Sh266 to Sh708 per user per month.

Founded by US-developers, David Sacks and Adam Pisoni, in 2008 and later sold to Microsoft in 2012, the tool has signed up more than 200,000 companies across the world.

Yammer can be accessed through a browser or mobile device. It enables users to connect and collaborate with co-workers anytime and at anywhere.

“It is a new way of working that improves relationships with customers and partners,” says a statement from the group.

The tool comes at a time when local sales companies are using social media apps, such as WhatsApp to communicate with teams and clients.

Yammer allows anyone to sign up for free by accessing yammer.com.

BASF Group Country Manager Graham Dean and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed during the official opening of the company’s manufacturing plant in Nairobi. Photo courtesy of CFM.

German BASF plant to create jobs, lower costs German chemical manufacturing firm, BASF, has opened a concrete mixing factory along Mombasa Road, in Nairobi. The launch of the Sh1.2 billion plant coincides with a boom in the construction industry as demand for construction chemicals increases.

BASF, which is the world’s largest

chemical maker in sales, is targeting to meet the country’s growing demand for supplies and create job opportunities for Kenyans.

Dick Purchase, the firm’s Vice President in charge of construction, said the company expects to save Kenya a fortune by supplying local chemicals

instead of the previous system of importing finished products.

He said the factory is expected to improve efficiency while lowering costs for local developers, who will buy raw materials at more affordable prices.

Basf has been in African market for about 25 years where it imports finished products from

Germany. It has maintained presence in Nairobi since 2011.

“It takes a month to get material from Dubai to Nairobi,” said BASF Country Manager, Graham Dean. “It takes six weeks to get material down to Dar es Salaam and eight weeks to Kampala. By having a factory in Nairobi, we will reduce this to days.”

BUSiness | 7 TUESday, september 2, 2014

Norwegian companies eyeing Kenya

Kenya Investment Authority Managing Director Moses Ikiara (centre) at a previous event. Ikiara signed an investment deal with 22 Norwegian companies that are coming to invest in Kenya.

Hong Kong protests China’s ‘fake’ democracy

A civil disobedience campaign is looming in Hong Kong after China ruled out allowing its residents to freely choose their next leader.

Beijing had long promised that the chief executive of the region would be elected by universal suffrage from 2017, but made it clear on Sunday it would control

Pricedriver

Sugar prices up 30 per cent Sugar prices have jumped by as much as 30 per cent over the past two weeks, report officials from the Chemelil Sugar Company.

The price of a 50 Kilogram bag stands between Sh4,000 and Sh4,500, up from Sh3,450 about two weeks ago.

Following a move by the government to stop cheaper illegitimate imports from coming into the country, the price is set to rise even further as demand for local sugar increases. Consumers will feel the pinch within the next few weeks as retail prices are expected to follow suit.

“We are expecting the prices to increase in coming weeks should the government agencies continue cracking down on illegal sugar imports,” said Charles

Owelle, Managing Director of the Chemelil Sugar Company. “The crackdown has ensured only genuine sugar gets into the market.”

As the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) move to stem the illegal sugar imports, cane farmers also want to cash in on the market.

Kenya Sugarcane Growers’ Association Secretary General Richard Ogendo said farmers want local factories to pay up to Sh350 more for a tonne of cane.

Factories currently pay them a minimum of Sh2,800 per tonne but farmers want at least Sh3,150 per tonne.

Ogendo said that “the industry is slowly picking up after months of suffering.”

the nominating process.

Li Fei, the deputy secretary general of the National People’s Congress (NPC) standing committee, said that opening up nominations would create a chaotic society and that the chief executive needed to love the country and love the party.

“He has to be responsible to

Twenty-two companies from Norway are set to invest in Kenya after having identified projects and opportunities in the country.

Kenya Investment Authority Managing Director, Moses Ikiara, says the companies have identified 35 projects and opportunities in different sectors that include oil and gas, agribusiness, renewable energy as well as industrial aqua business.

The companies are seeking joint ventures with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as public-private partnerships with county governments.

“The Norwegian Government Agency for Trade, Investment Promotion is assisting the companies with entry into the market, both for trade and investment related opportunities after setting up its first office for the East

Hong Kong and to the central government,” Fei said, “If Hong Kong’s chief executive does not love the country and love the party then that cannot work in one country.’

NPC will allow only two or three candidates, who will be require to gain the backing of at least half the members of a

African region in Nairobi in February 2014,” said Ikiara.

He was speaking at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Norwegian trade agency and Kenya Investment Authority to increase trade, investments and economic development.

Areas of collaboration will include identifying trade and investment opportunities suitable for promotion to Norwegian Companies.

The total trade volume between Kenya and Norway in 2013 stood at Sh6 million compared to Sh336 million between Kenya and the East African Community (EAC) countries. As close to half of Kenya’s employable population is currently jobless, the Investment Authority hopes to create opportunities through the partnership with Norway.

nominating committee, which comprises Beijing loyalists.

The public will have no say in choosing the candidates, raising fears of what has been termed as ‘fake democracy.’ The activists have vowed to take over the city’s financial heart, which is known as Central, to press demands for genuine democracy.

Kenya’s pineapple export potential rising, experts say Pineapple farming is already booming in Kenya but the crop’s export potential is even greater.

Researchers from the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation say that though orange is the main fruit used to manufacture juice, pineapple is responsible for manufacturing the

region’s leading tropical fruit juice.

Sophia Huang, in conjunction with researchers from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have discovered that pineapples are more valuable than was originally thought.

“Juice is highly attractive for SubSaharan Africa, with growth of 3.7 per

POTENTIAL: A farmer harvests pineapples. Experts from FAO Kenya has a huge export potential for export.

cent a year,” say the researchers. “Kenya is a key example of a country that extracts value from fruit by exporting high quality fruits, both to other African countries and worldwide, as well as by processing fruits locally, especially for juice manufacturing.”

Kenya produces 2.4 to 2.6 million metric tonnes of fruit a year, with bananas taking the lead at 1.2 million metric tonnes), mangoes coming in second at 500,000 metric tonnes and pineapples third at 300,000 metric tonnes.

Pineapple farming is mostly done in Thika by fruit processing firm Del Monte, which produces canned pineapple and other fruit for the domestic and export markets. The FAO experts say Kenya’s fruit juice sector can compete well with international brands.

The main fruit processors in Kenya are Keveian, who make the Pick n’ Peel juice brand, Milly Fruit Processors, who make Picana, and Sunny.

They compete with Britania, the company that makes Splash juice in Uganda and Ceres, a company with operations in South Africa.

8|

DIGITAL

TUESDAY, SEPREMBER 2, 2014

Sit wherever you want with the wearable chair

The innovation of wearable chair allows one to sit wherever they want.

A gadget called a Chairless Chair is a wearable skeleton that lets you sit at a press of a button.

While the chair is inactive, it remains curtailed onto the wearer’s body. But pressing the unlock button locks the chair into place wherever one wants to sit.

The two-kilogramme gadget allows one to walk, run, and even climb.

It never touches the ground except when in use. The ‘absent’ chair is restrained to the hips and thighs by straps.

A damper supports the wearer’s body and it is powered by a 6V battery for 24 hours.

Chief Executive Officer of Noonee, the start-up company behind the gadget, says he wanted to solve the problem of having to carry a chair to every place that calls for sitting especially at work. “…standing for hours on end causes a lot of distress to lower limbs, but most workers get very few breaks and chairs are rarely provided, because they take up too much space. So I thought that the best idea was to strap an unobtrusive chair directly to myself,” says CEO Keith Gunura. Places such as workshops and surgery theatres that do not have enough space for chairs, yet one has to work while seated.

newboundaries

DrinkMate checks your alcohol content Driving home after a drink with friends is always a nerve wracking experience. You will either be stopped and screened by the police and arrested for driving under the influence or you might cause an accident.

DrinkMate is a small portable breathalyser that plugs in to your Android phone and tells you your blood alcohol content (BAC).

The 1.8 inch device has been labelled as the world’s smallest breathalyser and does not require a mouthpiece.

No more issues of hygiene arising from used mouthpieces.

With DrinkMate, the user does

phonejunkie

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.4 The Galaxy Tab 8.4 is one of Samsung’s latest tablets. With a great experience and has also been rated as one of the best compact tablets on the market. Here is a quick review of the Tab S 8.4.

Design: At first sight the Tab S will not really wow you since its design is rather familiar with all of other previous Samsung Tablets. Some have nicknamed it the “blown up Samsung Galaxy S5’’. The Tab S has exact same button layout as the S5 so if you are a user of the Galaxy S5 you will not face a hard time getting used to the

Tab S. The tablet is about 6.6mm thick and its one of the thinnest tablets in the market after the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet. The external speaker is at the top of the device when in portrait position and on the sides while using it on a landscape orientation.

Despite the similarity to the Galaxy S5 it does not have a removable back cover. The tablet’s thickness makes it easier to grip with one hand and to reach elements around the screen.

Display: The screen is an 8.4-inch Super Amoled display which offers

not have to touch their lips to the plastic.

The device is plugged in to a Micro-USB port of an Android phone, then the DrinkMate app is launched. The user then blows gently into an air inlet at the end of the device then gives it a few seconds for the sensor to pick up the alcohol content. The BAC results are displayed almost immediately.

The air inlet is designed in such a way that it directs air flow over the sensor allowing for precise readings.

The inlet also slows down airflow that comes in too fast and also the inlet is positioned in a way that quickly allows for the clearing of alcohol from the sensor after a reading.

a high resolution of 2560 x 1600 with a resulting pixel density of 359 Pixels Per Inch (PPI).

Performance: The device runs on the Exynos 5 Octa processor, with its Quad-core 1.9 GHz ARM Cortex-A15 processor coupled with a quad core 1.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A7 processor, along with the Mali- T628 GPU. This is Samsung’s tested in house processing package.

Here are the top 10 English Premier League apps 2Centre: Sky Sports TV is

Sky Sports Football Score

appdownload

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Barclays Football This is the official app from the sponsors of the English Premier League (EPL), Barclays. It has the latest fixtures, results, teams and live scores. It has updates from the social media including football banter and statistics on players and match from Opta.

One is also able to follow their favourite team through the app and they get notifications for any news regarding the team.

known for its quality broadcast Premier League games. They, too have a mobile app which covers domestic fand European league football.

ESPN FC: Through this app one is able to follow the EPL and other leagues. It also contains videos of post and pre match interviews and game highlights. It also includes podcasts and push notifications.

BBC Sport: An EPL app from one of the best stations that covers it.The app has all the BBC online content including live text

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commentary, video highlights and interviews, “as it stands” tables as matches are being played.

One football: This app covers more than 100 international football leagues and competitions live and in incomparable detail.

It gives live scores and commentaries, breaking news, transfer news, videos, tables, statistics and background information.

Premier League Live 2014/15: You can follow EPL matches live using this app.

It contains the full 2014/15 season fixtures for the Premier League, UEFA Champions

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League, Europa League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup Fantasy Premier League 2014/15: This is the best app for those who enjoy fantasy football. Fantasy managers are able to pick their team, review their team’s performance each Game week via either the pitch or data view and watch the live points update during Barclays Premier League matches and make transfers.

The FIFA Weekly: The weekly football magazine is now available on mobile phone. It is available every Friday both as a paper edition and as an intuitive

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e-Magazine.

FIFA 14 by EA SPORTS: This is the most played game by football fans. It contains, real players, teams and football leagues.

The game contains superior graphics so that one is able to feel the excitement of every pass, shot, and tackle with new touch controls as if they are watching the game live.

T Sport: It is the latest channel to air Premier League matches and it also has an app through which subscribers can watch live and on-demand content.

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art | 9

tuesday, sePteMBeR 2, 2014

Soi’s colourful bags hit town As contemporary artistes continue to pick framed canvases as the primary way of engaging with their works, Michael Soi has moved on to functional items-bags.

Soi and his six-year-old daughter, Malli, have developed a unique bag line that features hand paintings.

But this is not a direction Soi (and Malli) consciously took.

“It all began as an experiment really. I had been working on small 40cm by 40cm paintings, which were generally geared for the local market. I saw this as the merchandising part of

my career. “It (the move to bags) is just something that took a life of its own because as it is now I cannot meet the demand for the bags.

I just thought something functional would work for the Kenyan market better,” he told XNews.

Soi is well-known for his bold satirical works which serve as commentary on social, economic and political trends in Kenya.

“I talk about

corruption and commercial sex work. Kenyan society is one that loves to bury its head in the sand,” he said in a recent interview.

But his choice of subjects for the bags is one that even the hardest of conservatives would describe as tasteful.

“It is because I need to get Kenyans to own my art. I want to make a product that is acceptable to everyone, including children. So, I have to mind my manners when it comes to the bags.”

His side-kick, Malli, also contributes to the choice of subjects for the bags.

UNIQUE: Michael Soi (top) and daugher Malli (left) have created a line of painted bags that have become an instant hit around the world. He is yet to come up with a name for the brand, but Soi says he is thinking about starting a merchandising company, under which his products would sell.

ONE OF A KIND: A friend poses with some of Soi’s handpainted bags. The bags sell for Sh3000 each.

artshock Intricate paintings that spill off the frames onto walls Maki Ohkojima, a Japanese artist, creates intricate paintings often inspired by nature and animals. She works with a style she calls ‘’the mural beyond the frame’’ to create these masterpieces.

Maki says when she is drawing a picture, she envisions the drawing as

part of a larger picture. By drawing the way she does, the land and the picture become connected as one part of scenery.

The idea for painting beyond the frame came from her frustration at not being able to capture great scenery that she came across entirely on her camera.

“Malli chooses her own subjects; she is really independent for a six-yearold. She is the only student I have ever had and she has a mind of her own. Most of her subjects is usually stuff she sees around and she has at six years already developed an artistic vocabulary of her own.

“What I did with her was to try and get her to understand the basics here because I hope one day art and music will be brought back to the school curriculum. When that happens, she will have the necessary skills to excel in art if she chooses to pursue it as a subject,” said Soi. The bags sell for Sh3,000 and can be purchased from his studio at the Godown Arts Centre, Industrial Area.

None are, however, available for sale at the moment because Soi is working to complete a 200-bag order he recently received.

The artist is yet to come up with a name for his brand of bags, which are currently referred to as ‘Soi bags.’

“I haven’t thought about it because I have been flirting with the idea of starting a small merchandising company. As soon as that materializes, I will come up with a label.”

Like the paintings, his bags are scattered all around the globe. He managed to fuel their popularity by creating items that would appeal to the masses.

“I have over 600 bags all over the world. My bags were intended for the local person and I am happy that I see a lot of them here and there,” he said.

10 |

FUN

Ataui Deng rocks runways but also courts bad press TUESday, September 2, 2014

New York-based South Sudan model Ataui Deng struts the runways for huge fashion houses and is represented by Trump Model Management.

She has taken on runways for Vogue Germany, Jeremy Laing, Kai Kuhne, L’Wren Scott, Marie Claire France, Zac Posen and even Rihanna‘s Spring 2013 River Island collection. It is right to say that she follows in the footsteps of her supermodel aunt, Alek Wek. Her family relocated to San Antonio, Texas in 2004 to escape the civil war her country.

The beauty is fond of making headlines. If it is not for her amazing

modelling then it is for startling people.

For instance, in 2009 during the New York Fashion Week she slipped and fell on the Z by Zac Posen runway.

The pictures went viral and became big talk across the globe.

Ataui caused concern when she vanished on August 6 only to be found in a New York City hospital.

She had been out clubbing with her boyfriend who she lives with when she left to take a stroll. When she did not show up for two days, her boyfriend Grant Monohon, was alarmed and notified the authorities.

Speaking to New York Post, her

boyfriend Grant said, “It’s not irregular for her not to come back for a day or two. On the third day I was getting really worried.”

Her friends, together with Rihanna, who she has modelled for reached out to people to help find the missing model.

To the relief of many, the 22-yearold was found in St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. The New York Police Department told the New York Post that Deng had checked herself there.

The reasons for her admission were not revealed.

But as the say, there is nothing as bad publicity.

The fault in our stars Duration: 2 hr. 5 min.

Genre: Drama, Comedy Rating: PG-13 Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff Laura Dern and Sam Trammell Released: 6th June 2014 Box Office figures: $124,491,432 (Sh. 10.9 billion) Plot Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is a 16 year-old with thyroid cancer in her lungs. She spends her days watching television and being shuttled off to support group which she loathes by her mum. Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) is a 17 year-old also with

a touch of osteosarcoma cancer and has lost part of his left leg to the disease. Their paths cross at support group and therein begins their relationship. The two extraordinary teenagers share a mutual love for sarcasm, books and each other. Their love for a book, An Imperial Affliction takes them on an unforgettable journey as their relationship grows and unfolds.

Verdict The movie is filled with moments of laughter and tear jerking moments.

Definitely a good watch that is worth the 2hrs 15 minutes spent watching.

guiltypleasures Sofia Vergara loves lollipops Everyone has his/her poison and Sofia Vergara’s is sweet sugary lollipops.

The Colombian actress stars in the Modern Family series as Gloria DeldagoPrichett. Sofia, 42, was rated the 32nd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

She is a model, television host, comedian and producer.

the hitlist

chic: Ataui Deng on the runway.

In 2012, she bagged a Glamour Award for a comedy actress in addition to the collection of her previous accolades.

Being a cancer survivor and on continued medication, anyone can bet she deserves to forget all that at times and just relish on what gives her pleasure; sweet sugary lollipops.

Kimathi Street

Westlands

Buruburu

Kimathi Street

Kitengela

Club Rumourz

Vineyard Bar

Club Winds

I Club

Club 360

Reggea night

Hip hop karaoke night

Afrobeats with DJ Freddie

Request night for all with resident DJ

DJ Proff plays rock and old skul jams

Admission: Free Time: 6pm onwards

Admission: Free Time: 7pm onwards

Admission: Free Time: 7pm till dawn

Admission: Free Time: 7pm onwards

Admission: Free Time: 6pm onwards

PLAY| 11

forecast capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19

TUESday, september 2, 2014

HOROSCOPES

Don’t take everything at face value today, Capricorn. Information you receive might not be accurate. Someone could be repeating gossip or even creating it just to have something to talk about. Don’t take part in the discussion. Since your workload is likely heavy, forego the socializing in favor of finishing the tasks in front of you.

aquarius Jan 20 - Feb

You may be feeling a bit on edge today, Aquarius. Your self-confidence is shaky and you may feel in need of new challenges. The tedious tasks you have in front of you don’t inspire your imagination or creativity. Do what you can to get through this difficult day.

pisces Feb 19 - Mar 20

You and your mate may be experiencing some differences of opinion. It seems you each have definite ideas about some of life’s fundamental values and they aren’t completely in sync. Make an extra effort to communicate, Pisces. You may find that your values aren’t as far apart as they first seemed.

Aries Mar 21 - Apr 19

It isn’t exactly all lightness and harmony at home today, Aries. There’s tension in the air and it manifests in silly family arguments. Try to arrange separate activities for siblings, and encourage your partner to eat out with friends.

taurus Apr 20 - May 20

cancer Jun 22 - Jul 22

Today you may feel bored and frustrated with your life’s direction, Cancer. You feel buried under responsibilities, with no time left to do what you really want to do. You have other interests to pursue but no time to pursue them. It’s frustrating. You might want to rethink your priorities.

leo Jul 23 - Aug 22

You’re less optimistic and energetic than usual, Leo. Your mind feels sluggish - your whole body does, in fact. You’re either coming down with the flu or completely and thoroughly disheartened. This would be a good day to take some time off. Issues from the past may come back to haunt you.

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virgo Aug 23 -Sep 22

You may be discouraged about money matters today, Virgo. Perhaps a raise you’d been hoping for didn’t come through. Perhaps a professional project didn’t work out as you expected.

Now is the time to put your ingenuity to work and figure out a way to earn the money you need.

libra Sep 23 - Oct 22

If work is beginning to feel more like a burden than a joy, it may be time to rethink your job, Libra. Your personality is such that you need lots of room to stretch and grow. If you feel stifled, you know it’s time to find a new professional challenge.

scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 21

This could be a particularly stressful day, Taurus. Your workload is heavier than ever, thanks to the increased responsibility you’ve taken on. The day seems endless, yet there aren’t enough hours to get done all that needs doing.

You’re especially in tune with the environment and the people around you today, Scorpio. Such sensitivity is new to you, and you aren’t exactly sure what to do with the myriad messages that come into your head, seemingly out of nowhere. Even though this is outside your usual experience, try to accept rather than analyze.

gemini May 21 - Jun 21

sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21

Your self-confidence may be a bit low and you could doubt your abilities right now, Gemini. Don’t get depressed or disheartened. Your skills are excellent.

Try to look at your situation objectively and pinpoint why you aren’t progressing in your career as rapidly as you’d hoped.

Vote for your winning pick of today’s top three instamoments (below) by sending an email with the picture number to news@x-news.co.ke

You’re drawn to public service, Sagittarius. This desire propels you to volunteer your services with a group of some kind. You may feel a bit awkward at first, but your natural leadership abilities will soon kick in.

The group will be left wondering how they ever managed without you.

sudoku

’s o ayhot d er p st ing e Y nn i w

ng s i n n in tio W p ca

1. Send a caption for the photo above to news@x-news. co.ke. The winning caption gets published on this page.

1. All dreams are valid-Kennedy Bakari, Nairobi.

2. I hope the top floor does not have a bathroom- Alexander Gichio, Umoja.

3. I live in mansion, true story-Dorris Kiala, Embakasi.

Dear Daughter — by Elizabeth Little

Yesterday’s solution

yoursay

Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeated.

Twenty-six-year-old Janie Jenkins was born into fame.

She had it all; brains, looks, connections and criminal record. Ten years ago, Janie was convicted of murdering her mother. She has now been released due to a technicality and she plans to carefully use her freedom.

She hopes to prove her innocence by finding her mother’s killer. Janie has one clue; her mother’s last words to her. She sets out across the country with the American press on her tail. The media are convinced that she has escaped with murder. She has to do everything to get them off her back so that she can focus on the important matter; finding her mother’s killers.

mustread

Registration of civil servants needs constant monitoring Yesterday the President launched a public servant registration system (Crackdown on ghost public servants starts, September 1, 2014). While this may be a great plan

for ensuring that everyone in the service is accounted for, I am quite disturbed about the effectiveness of the system. Unless the records are publicly presented periodically, I

can’t be convinced that some crafty individuals will not penetrate the securities and manipulate it to their advantage. Just my view.

— Ruth Cherono, Nairobi

TUESday, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Sport

Man United grab Falcao from Monaco

Manchester United have agreed to sign Colombia striker Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco, with the option of buying him at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old has throughout the summer been linked with a move away from the French Ligue 1 side, who he joined for Sh7.3billion in May 2013.

Falcao has scored 11 goals in 20 appearances for Monaco. Louis van Gaal’s side, like most of Europe’s top clubs, had been made aware of Falcao’s availability over the past 48 hours.

United’s Premier League rivals Manchester City opted not to pursue a deal as they could not make space in their squad for the Colombian.

Falcao had also been linked with Arsenal, Italian champions Juventus and Spanish side Real Madrid.

Rumours of a move to European champions Real gathered pace on Saturday when a comment on his official Twitter account, which was later deleted, read: “Dream come true

#halamadrid”. In a later post Falcao indicated the first tweet was fake, saying: “I have to refute a story about a tweet I have not done and that is a photo montage.”

Speculation over his future grew when he was dropped from Monaco’s squad shortly before Saturday’s draw against Lille, after being expected to start.

Falcao has made three appearances in Ligue 1 this season after returning from anterior cruciate ligament damage he sustained in January.

He will become Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal’s fifth summer signing after defenders Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, midfielder Ander Herrera, and forward Angel Di Maria.

Netherlands international Daley Blind is also close to joining the club from Ajax.

United have made a poor start to the Premier League season, collecting two points from three games, and scoring only twice.

STANDING TALL: Ian Ngatia (center) won three gold medals at the Brookside East African Secondary School Games in Dar es Salaam

Kenyan swimmers bag 56 medals in regional secondary schools tourney Kenyan swimmers excelled in the ongoing Brookside East African Secondary School Games in Dar es Salaam by winning a total of 56 medals.

Out of the medals, 29 were gold, 23 silver and four bronze as the swimming exercise ended at the University of the Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Team Kenya won 29 gold medals out of the 30 on offer.

Burundian swimmers denied Kenya the gold on offer.

Swimmer Ian Ngatia, who

lifted three gold medals in 50m breaststrokes, another in the 100m and one in relay said he had a good experience at the Tanzanian main city.

“It was good to take part in the school games, especially in my speciality, competing with the best students from the region give one a lot of experience,” said the St Mary’s High student.

Swimmer Emily Muteti was also impressive as she was named the victress lodurum.

Saahil Haruni won the award of victor lodurum.

In selected results, Muteti won girls senior 50m butterfly with 46.16 seconds. Teammate Marina Rozanski bagged silver with 1.12.07 minutes as bronze went to Gift Lunkus of Uganda in a time of 1.12.09.

It was a 1-2 for Kenya in the 50m butterfly after Saahil stopped the clock at 39.27 seconds, Ahmed Abdulkadir timed 44.99 for silver.

14 |

sport

Tuesday, sePTeMBeR 2, 2014

10 Kenyans in Africa team to Continental Cup Federer storms ahead in US Open Five-time champion Roger Federer sat out a twohour break for torrential rain before racing into the US Open fourth round early Monday morning on a stormy, humid New York day which saw David Ferrer crash to defeat.

Second-seeded Federer, the champion between 2004-2008, came back from a set down to defeat Spain’s Marcel Granollers 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 running away with 20 of the last 24 games of the match which had been interrupted due to rain and the threat of lightning.

Federer, bidding to become the oldest Grand Slam champion in more than 40 years, clinched his 70th win at the tournament on the back of 57 winners and 13 aces.

But the 33-year-old had struggled in the first set where he slipped to 2-5 down against the world number 42 before he grasped welcome respite in the locker room to sit out the storm.

“It was a good match and I managed to turn it around as Marcel was on fire at the start,” said Federer. “The break helped me and when I came back I played some great tennis.

i did it: Caleb Ndiku celebrates a past victory. He is one of the 10 Kenyans in Africa’s team to the iAAF Continental Cup in Marakech, Morocco.

Kenya will contribute 10 runners at the IAAF Continental Cup to be held at the Grande Stade in Marrakech on September 13 and 14.

African champions Caleb Ndiku, Julius Yego, Jairus Birech, Hellen Obiri and Eunice Sum have been included in Africa’s team for the season-ending competition.

Boniface Mucheru, the bronze medal winner in the 400m at the African championships, is

in the 4 x400m team that also includes African champion Isaac Makwala of Botswana, and Wayde Svan Niekerk of South Africa.

Ndiku, the 2014 Diamond league winner in the 5,000m, said it has been a perfect year which he intends to end on the high at the continental Cup. He won the race at the Zurich Diamond meeting in 13:07.0.

He was chased home by Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris, who

had set a world-leading time in Stockholm a week earlier.

“My season has been great, from the Diamond League wins, the Commonwealth title, African title and now overall Diamond winner, the year couldn’t have been any better,” said Ndiku.

“I want to thank my fans for cheering and support all season long, I promise to continue working hard to for better results,” he said.

Italy’s oldest goalkeeper is still going strong At the age of 45, Andrea Pierobon holds the record for being the oldest professional player in the history of Italian football.

Pierobon plays for his home town Cittadella in Italy’s second division (Serie

ripe old Age: Andrea pierobon of Serie B club Cittadella is the italy’s oldest goalkeeper.

B) and entered the record books last May, when he out-aged the former Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta, who retired in 2008 aged 44.

Pierobon’s younger teammates call him ‘Nonno’ -

Italian for Grandad - but it’s a joke which he takes with good grace.

“It’s a nice thing. Many players in their twenties tell me ‘I’ll never manage to keep playing at your age’, but the respect I feel does not only come from fellow footballers.”

“Everybody pays me a lot of compliments for my long career - the managers of the clubs we play against and the referees. “This proves that I’ve always been a fair and honourable person throughout all these years. That’s why everybody respects me.

They make fun of me, but they respect me a lot.”

Having spent 27 years in the game and played in more than 600 professional games, Pierobon’s tireless career

hasn’t gone unnoticed, even among the well-paid stars of Italy’s biggest clubs.

“Last season we went to Milan to play Inter in the Cup. I still have the shirt that keeper Samir Handanovic gave me. At the beginning of the game he came to me, congratulated me on my career and said: ‘I hope I’m also playing when I’m your age’.

“Then he asked if we could exchange shirts at the final whistle. It was a pleasure, as he is one of the world’s best goalkeepers and I’ve kept his shirt as a lucky souvenir.”

Pierobon says there is no secret to his longevity in the game other than eating sleeping well. He says he also goes easy on the alcohol.

SPORT| 15

TUESday, september 2, 2014

Cech to fight for Stamford Bridge space Petr Cech is not leaving Chelsea and will fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.

The Czech looked certain to quit west London after losing his position as first-choice keeper to Belgium international Thibaut Courtois.

His agent admitted in July he had been approached by Paris St Germain and Monaco, while Real Madrid also registered interest.

Cech, who has won 11 major trophies in 10 years at the club, also insisted he did not want to sit on the bench this term.

But the 32-year-old is not prepared to

give up on his Chelsea career just yet.

Cech showed his intent by reporting for training on his day off after being left out of the starting XI against Burnley.

Rival Courtois has urged him to stay, while manager Jose Mourinho has always insisted he wanted to keep him despite refusing to rule out a move.

Another reason Cech was a possibility for departure was because of Chelsea’s need to part with one of their foreign players to comply with rules set by the Premier League and Champions League.

the fighter: Petr Cech has vowed to stay at Stamford Bridge and fight Thibaut Courtois for the number one space.

SuperSport, Menengai Oil in Sh12m basketball sponsorship Pay TV channel SuperSport and Menengai Oil Refineries have offered Sh12million for the Kenya Basketball Federation national classic league 2014 season.

Supersport will commit Sh8million as Menengai, through flagship brands Kabras Sugar and Top Fry, will donate Sh4million.

A large chunk of the cash will go towards supporting live broadcast of the league that is halfway season with a target of at least 50 games.

“We are starting to see that

basketball is moving in the right direction. We are most excited about nurturing such a sport to appeal to a wider audience just as we have been able to achieve with football in the eight years we have been in the industry,” said SuperSport East Africa General Manager Auka Gecheo.

“Eight games down the line and the 2014 season is already giving fans a lot to be excited about than in previous seasons,” Gecheo said.

He said with support from stakeholders, basketball in Kenya is set

to scale higher levels, just like the Kenyan Premier League.

“Our objective is to replicate success and grow the Kenya Basketball Federation into one of the greatest leagues in Africa, while growing its popularity locally to gain national pride and support,” Gecheo said.

KBF chairman Paul Otula said: “We are grateful to partners for support and we hope all teams will show their commitment to the game as we seek to raise our standards.”

Kwanthanze wallop Rwanda’s Scolari to retain volleyball title Kwanthanze beat stubborn Groupe Scolari Indangaburezi of Rwanda 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 27-25) in volleyball girls’ finals to win the title for a second year running.

Kwanthanze coach Justing Kigwari said he had to make key decisions which eventually bore results in the finals played on Sunday.

“I started with top players in Captain Ann Lowen, Irene Mbula, Lilian Leilei, that as engineered to get results early

enough,” he said.

Kwanthanze went into the match on the offensive and with good blocks and sharp attacks raced to 25-18, 25-18 victory in the first two sets.

Indangaburezi, knowing well their survival depended on the third game, matched Kenya’s points in efforts to win and force the proceedings to the fourth set.

Indangaburezi, which is under development centres run by Kenyan-born coach Paul Bitok, improved blocks and attacks to

keep the gap tight.

“The girls are tired for playing in extreme weather conditions. But we thank God for winning the overall title.”

Kwanthanze principal Paul Mutua said victory means his school is a perfect breeding ground for future players. In the boys category, Malava were beaten 2-3 by St Mary’s Kitende of Uganda. In girls’ play-off that was a Kenyan affair, Malava beat AIC Kosirai 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-16) to bag bronze.

Still great friends: Luis Suarez poses with Steven Gerrard (and a Barcelona shirt) at Melwood on Monday.

Suarez back in Anfield... but only to say goodbye Luis Suarez on Monday turned up at Liverpool training ground but the Sh11bilion Barcelona star is only there to clear out his locker.

The 27-year-old striker arrived with a cheeky gift for Steven Gerrard - a Barca shirt with his name and number on it - and the Liverpool skipper put the picture on his Instagram account.

It was accompanied by the message: ‘He is back bearing gifts emotional saying goodbye to the main man this morning best wishes to a phenomenal player.’

Gerrard was presumably able to hide the disappointment he feels at Suarez’s departure.

Over the weekend he the Liverpool captain was quoted saying: “I thought he was going to stay… I thought we’d have got another year out of him.

“I was actually already on the floor when I saw the bite because we knew we were going out. It was a double blow, knowing you’re going out of the World Cup and knowing you’re going to lose your best player.

“I knew there was no way back for him then and I knew he was going to engineer a way out.”

Suarez has not yet played for Barcelona because of his four-month ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup. Barca looked as if they needed the Uruguay star during their opening La Liga match, a nervy 1-0 victory over Villarreal.

Suarez also left a huge hole upfront for Liverpool which has been filled by the arrival of Mario Balotelli from AC Milan.

16 |

SPORT FUN

TUESDAY, SEpTEmbEr 2, 2014

back to spain: alvaro negredo moved to Valencia on loan

to london: danny Welbeck is an arsenal player after signing a five-year deal from Manchester United.

The Sh121.9b summer splurge

A busy transfer deadline day which ended early Tuesday morning capped a record Sh121.91 billion in summer of spending in the Premier League.

Radamel Falcao’s loan move to Manchester United was the major deadline day deal. The Colombian striker’s Sh876million switch, Daley Blind’s Sh2.01billion move to United and their sale of Danny Welbeck to Arsenal for Sh2.34billion helped set the new landmark.

Overall deadline day spending was Sh12.41 billion, Sh8.03 billion less than last year. But there were bigger

Ronaldo questions Real transfers after stuttering start to the season Cristiano Ronaldo has suggested that he does not completely agree with the transfer business done by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez this summer.

Perez began the summer by spending over Sh16.06 billion to bring World Cup stars James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas to the Santiago Bernabeu, continuing the club’s galactico policy.

More recently an apparent need to balance the books has seen Angel Di Maria leave for Manchester United for around Sh10.95 billion and Xabi Alonso sold to Bayern Munich in a surprise

Sh1.46 billion deal.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who won the long-awaited 10th Champions League title, have begun the new campaign poorly losing the Spanish Supercopa to cross town rivals Atletico and being shocked 4-2 by Real Sociedad in La Liga last Sunday . The injured Portugal captain said he did not want to talk too much about the transfers while hinting he himself would have done things differently.

“I have my very clear opinion, but I must calculate and I cannot always say what I think because tomorrow I will be on the front of the papers,” he said.

loan ranger: radamel Falcao was snapped up by Manchester United from Monaco.

deals like United’s Sh8.72 billion British record signing of Angel Di Maria. Financial analysts Deloitte said Louis van Gaal’s near Sh21.9billion spree was the highest gross transfer spend in a single window by any club.

On deadline day, most of the major transfers were announced after the 01:00am (Kenyan Time) with clubs given an hour’s grace to finish deals they had started. Falcao’s surprise move was announced at 01:30am, 32 minutes after Welbeck’s move was confirmed. Manchester City revealed Alvaro Negredo had been sent on

trendingnow So, that’s what they are for…

Most modern cars, especially the sedans (saloons) have spoilers at the back. A spoiler is that thing that sits on top of the trunk (boot) lid. While its inventor might have had a function for it, some clueless individuals, after giving it critical thought, have found practical uses for spoilers.

Messi to miss friendly with Germany Argentina captain Lionel Messi will miss his side’s friendly against world champions Germany on Wednesday due to a groin strain, his club side Barcelona confirmed on Monday.

The match offers Argentina an immediate chance for revenge

for their agonising 1-0 extratime defeat to Germany in the World Cup final last month.

Messi suffered the injury in Barca’s 1-0 win away to Villarreal on Sunday and will also miss a charity match in Rome on Monday.

“Leo Messi will remain in

loan to Valencia at 01:28 City also allowed England international Micah Richards to go on loan to Italian side Fiorentina, with United striker Javier Hernandez going on loan to Real Madrid. Hull were the busiest Premier League side on transfer deadline day, signing four players, including Palermo striker Abel Hernandez for a reported club-record shs1.46billion and Premier League trio Hatem Ben Arfa, Gaston Ramirez and Mo Diame. Crystal Palace broke their club record to sign Sh1.02billion Wigan midfielder James McArthur.

Barcelona as a precaution due to a strain in his right adductor.

Barca’s number 10 will miss the match for peace in Rome this evening and will also not be able to participate in the match between Germany and Argentina,” Barca said in a statement on the clubs website.

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