The US federal government is to resume executing death-row inmates after a 16-year hiatus, the justice department has announced. Attorney General William Barr said in a statement he had directed the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to schedule the executions of five inmates. Mr Barr said the five had been convicted of murders or rapes of children or the elderly. The executions have been scheduled for December 2019 and January 2020. “Under administrations of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals,” Mr Barr said in a statement. “The Justice Department upholds the rule…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY CYNTHIA WAIRIMU Often, when faced with something as trivial as flu, we simply walk into a chemist and buy cold caps and move on with life. This is pretty much what is referred to as Self Medication, where you self-diagnoses and self-medicate without consultation or prescription from a doctor. Now on the upside, you save on time going to see a health practitioner, and costs such as consultation fees and laboratory tests, and the internet is so easy to access and even form a diagnosis. However, this is a very dangerous habit that has such adverse consequences. Our bodies…
BY brenda viola Looking back, there are a lot of things I would have done differently. Growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor, a pilot, a teacher, a lawyer, etc. At least that is what I said to see the radiant smile on my mother’s face and the proud look my father gave me. Mother was happy, and father was delighted. What more could a seven-year-old ask for? Nothing. And so I grew up, always seeking the approval of my father and the assent from my mother. Those two were my world. Maybe I could have engaged in…
BY DR TOM ODHIAMBO The campaigns for the Democratic Party leader to take on Donald Trump at the next elections in America have taken an interesting turn. Bernie Sanders, he who shook the world of American politics by making socialist sounding policies appeal to the masses is suggesting that he would tax the middle class in order to fund programs that help poor Americans including healthcare for all. His opponents don’t think that that would be a good thing. They argue that the middle and working class are overtaxed. But what about the poor, Sanders seems to be asking. If the middle…
New innovations in financial IT solutions are opening several opportunities for finance decision-makers in Africa. But realising the full value of these innovations will require leadership and vision.Earlier this year, the financial platform service M-Pesa announced that it has more than 20.5 million active users and over 27 million subscribers across Africa. This represents an important milestone for the continent and demonstrates the importance that innovations can have not only on financial systems but also on the broader society. Still, with the advent of AI, blockchain, and big data analytics, businesses are faced with an even broader array of innovations…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Since the late 1960s the Internet has rapidly evolved, evident in the introduction of other technologies such as artificial intelligence (A.I) and cloud computing. According to the Digital 2019 April report, between 2018 and 2019, there were 350 million new Internet users bringing the total to 4.4 billion active Internet users worldwide. Organizations have since learnt that in order to grow and expand, they have to be where the customers are, as they can no longer rely on transacting in operational silos. Before, organizations used to host their business metrics in databases or spreadsheets in-house but this…
BY VICTOR ADAR Quick Response Codes, popular as QR, are basically symbols which can be scanned using a Smartphone to reveal certain information or basically to direct a user to a web page. They are a type of barcode that is able to store a lot of information – it is more of an upgrade of the barcode technology. One can scan by simply holding a Smartphone over a code and pressing a button used when taking pictures. Use and creation of these codes started in earnest in the 1990s in Japan. But why is it catching on now? Is…
By Antony Mutunga Lately, whatever you do has to be shared on networks, from narrating instances to sharing thoughts and feelings on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These social media sites have become our lives, from just being a medium for people to stay in touch to being used as a tool for marketing. Regardless, its main aim to be a medium of staying in touch has been its purpose among a majority of the people. With billions of people connected to social media, new trends on the Internet keep coming up. Year in year out, people get treated…
The Association of Women in Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK) has partnered with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, a State department for mining, to organise the Kenya Gem and Jewelry Fair (KGJF), an annual event that aims at providing a platform for industry players to network and do business. The third edition of the fair, which hopes to position Kenya as a gem-trading hub was held in July at Movenpick Hotel, Westlands. Projects manager Victoria Wahu talks to Victor Adar about the challenges and opportunities in gem trading. What does the KGJF entail? The Kenya Gem and Jewellery Fair entails…
BY DAVID ONJILI Kenya’s position in the world of athletics is not disputable. From Kipchoge Keino, Paul Tergat, the late Samuel Wanjiru, Lorna Kiplagat, Catherine Ndereba, Paul Bitok and Eliud Kipchoge are just but a few among the many other world-beaters who’ve brought pride to the nation. High altitude training town of Iten remains a great practice place for athletes from across the world. Ultimately, you are more likely to be recognized abroad as a Kenyan because of the fame of these athletes. So in mid-2015, Navalayo Osembo and Weldon Kennedy; out of a shared frustration that the nation was…