1. NSE Eyes Mining Sector with New Market Segment

The Nairobi Securities Exchange is fast tracking operations in the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) to attract incoming players in the natural resources and mining sector. This will help the companies listed in the segment to comply with the law that requires them to issue at least 35 per cent of the shareholding to local investors.

2. Tea Factories Target Carbon Credit Cash with Green Energy Schemes

Four tea factories under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) in Nyeri County are set to venture into a multi-million shilling hydro-electric power project. Under the renewable energy project which has seen almost all KTDA-managed factories venture into small hydro electricity generation, the four plants will invest Sh1.3 billion in the venture.

3. Regional Pact to Address Engineers’ Shortage

There is only one engineer for every 65,000 people in the East African Community (EAC) which emphases that there is a gap that needs to be filled in this sector of the economies. Registrars from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania witnessed by representatives from Burundi and Rwanda and institutions of Engineers held the signing ceremony for the Mutual Recognition Agreement for Professional Engineers in the East African Community.

4. WipeOut: The App that Enables Users to Delete Data from Stolen Phones

Mobile users can now retrieve important business contacts and text messages or wipe out important personal details in the event that their phones are stolen or destroyed, thanks to a new mobile application called WipeOut. It is an application that features software which will allow users to pay KES100 per year to back up and store their data, KES500 per year to wipe out confidential information and KES650 per year to backup, restore and wipe out data.

5. Striking Nurses Face the Sack

Nurses who have defied the government’s order to return to work will begin receiving their sacking letters on Tuesday, Chief Nursing Officer Chris Rakuom has said. Mr Rakuom said since the nurses refused to obey the directive by Medical Services minister Anyang’ Nyong’o, they would be shown the door.

6. How Much Money Should You Make As A Musician?

According to a Music Salary Guide from the Berklee College of Music, Vocal Artists should not earn anything less than KES 13,000 per gig. However, this applies to musicians living within the United States. For a local artist, the cost of living should be accounted for in order to make a slightly more accurate assessment.

7. Survey Says Kenyans Feel Poorer

A study by research firm Ipsos Synovate on a sample of 2,000 respondents found only a quarter of the population think their economic condition has improved since 2007 while  18 per cent felt their condition had not changed. The spillover effects of the 2008 post-election violence on productivity and harsh weather conditions are among the key factors that have contributed to the perception among the 56 per cent who feel their economic condition had worsened.

8. NASA Crashes Two Probes into a Mountain, On the Moon

A pair of NASA moon-mapping probes smashed themselves into a lunar mountain on Monday, ending a year-long mission that is shedding light on how the solar system formed. The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft had been flying around the moon, enabling scientists to make detailed gravity maps. The probes sped up slightly as they encountered stronger gravity from denser regions and slowed down as they flew over less-dense areas.