1. 2.8Million Voters Registered in Week 1

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says it registered some 2.8 million people in the first week of countrywide voter listing ahead of the March 4, 2013 general election. A statement from the commission said the number represented a 75 percent success rate against their target to register 3.7 million voters by last Saturday.

2. New Government Spokesman Appointed

President Mwai Kibaki has appointed Muthui Kariuki, to be the new government spokesman. Muthui, formerly a media and communications advisor to vice president Kalonzo Musyoka replaces Alfred Mutua, who resigned in September this year to pursue political ambitions.

3. Smokers More Likely To Suffer Mental Decline

People who smoke over the age of 50 are more likely to suffer forgetfulness, poor organisation and slower thinking, according to new research. Smoking not only causes lung disease and health problems, but is also linked with mental decline such as forgetfulness and slower thinking, new research has shown.  For those over 50, smoking can lead to accelerated decline in brain function, with those enjoying cigarettes showing poorer scores on memory tests than non-smokers.

4. Interconnection Drop to Lower Call Rates

Competition in the telecommunication industry in the country is expected to go a notch higher after the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) on Monday announced a drop in the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) to Sh1.44 from the current Sh2.21. The new rate which mobile phone operators charge for interconnecting customers is backdated to July 1, 2012.

5. East Africa State Eyes Regional Bonds

Regulators in five east African countries are working to allow companies to issue regional bonds for the first time, a crucial step to bring the area's capital markets closer. The east African bloc of 130 million people has been edging toward economic and political integration and in 2005 introduced a customs union that helped double intra-regional trade in five years.

6. Africa Suffocates Telecom's Growth by Hoarding Spectrum

African governments are stifling telecoms development by failing to sell more bandwidth to mobile phone operators, a mistake that could undermine growth in the world's poorest continent. After an explosion in the use of mobiles for phone calls, consumers in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are increasingly using them to access the Internet.

7. Transcentury Gets KES 70 Million in Dividends from East Africa Cables

TransCentury, a Kenyan headquartered company with a primary focus on investing in infrastructure across Africa, stands to earn 70 million Kenyan Shillings ($812, 280), as East African Cables announces an interim dividend of 40 cents ($ 0.004) per share. As majority shareholder of the cable producing company, investment group TransCentury will receive a payment of almost 70 million Shillings ($812,280) as a dividend on its 173 million shares – a stockholding which sees TransCentury own 68.3 percent of the cable company.

The all-new 2013 Toyota RAV4 SUV is a secret no more, at least as far as its exterior and interior looks are concerned, after a second set of photos made their way across the internet. We'll remind you that earlier today, we shared a first batch of pictures of Toyota's next compact crossover, which will rival the likes of the latest Honda CR-V, Ford Escape ( Kuga in Europe) and Subaru Forester (just to mention a few of its competitors) on a global level.