Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) have begun a limited resumption of flight operations as of the evening of March 2, 2026. This follows a three-day total shutdown caused by escalating regional conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
Only a “small number” of flights are currently authorized to operate. These are primarily repatriation and special flights intended to assist the hundreds of thousands of stranded passengers.
Emirates resumed a limited schedule, giving priority to passengers with existing bookings.
Operating select flights, specifically targeting routes to Russia (Moscow, Kazan, etc.) and recovering flights from various regional locations.
Etihad Airways resumed limited operations from Abu Dhabi, mainly for evacuations to cities like Paris, London, and Mumbai.
Regular scheduled commercial services remain largely suspended until further notice. Air Arabia has suspended all UAE flights until at least 3:00 PM on March 4.
Authorities and airlines strongly advise passengers not to proceed to DXB or DWC unless they have been contacted directly with a confirmed departure time.
The situation remains highly dynamic due to the security climate, with over 90% of scheduled flights still facing cancellation or delay.
A man has been charged before the Milimani Law Courts over allegations of illegally distributing and selling pirated digital newspapers through WhatsApp.
Antony Mwanzia Kimeu appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Teresia Nyangena on March 2, 2026, where he denied two charges brought against him by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
According to the charge sheet, Kimeu is accused of unlawfully distributing and offering for sale digital copies of Daily Nation, Taifa Leo, Business Daily and The East African newspapers without the consent of the copyright owner, Nation Media Group PLC.
The prosecution alleges that the offences were committed between June 23 and July 10, 2025, at an unknown location within the Republic of Kenya.
It is further claimed that the digital newspapers were circulated and sold through a WhatsApp account registered under a Safaricom subscriber number ending in 0706****07.
Prosecutors told the court that the accused person infringed on the copyright holder’s rights by reproducing and distributing the digital publications for commercial gain without authorization.
Kimeu denied the charges when they were read to him.
The matter will proceed in court as scheduled, with further directions expected from the trial court.
The Milimani Magistrates court has fixed June 15 and 17, 2026, as the hearing dates in a Ksh106 million fraud case involving businessman and politician Jonathan Ngenga Ndisya and his co accused, Peter Kamau.
The matter came up before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Monday, March 2, 2026, for purposes of scheduling the hearing.
An earlier hearing slated for February 20, 2026, had been adjourned due to the absence of Ngenga’s advocate.
Ngenga informed the court that his lawyer had travelled upcountry to attend to an emergency, making it impossible for him to appear.
“Your Honour, my advocate has not been able to attend today’s court after he got an emergency from his upcountry and had to rush home to attend to it. It’s my prayer we postpone the hearing to another date,” Ngenga told the court.
The court subsequently set the matter down for hearing in mid-June.
According to counsel Joseph Mwanthi, who represents the second accused, the case is nearing conclusion.
Ngenga, listed as a director of Joncil Enterprises and Kamau, identified as an accountant at Agro Irrigation and Pump Services Limited, were charged in 2020 with conspiracy to defraud contrary to Section 317 of the Penal Code, obtaining money by false pretences and related offences.
The prosecution alleges that between July 1, 2018 and March 31, 2020, the two jointly conspired to defraud Agro Irrigation and Pump Services Limited of Ksh106,822,690.
It is alleged they falsely represented that Joncil Enterprises had deposited the amount into the company’s bank account as payment for goods supplied.
Ngenga faces an additional count of obtaining money by false pretences, with the prosecution claiming that between July 1, 2018 and March 12, 2020, he falsely asserted that the funds had been deposited into the Agro Irrigation and Pump Services Limited account.
Kamau, on his part, faces further charges, including allegations that he fraudulently transferred Ksh4,777,094 to his personal account between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019, funds said to have come into his possession by virtue of his employment at Agro Irrigation and Pump Services Limited.
He is also accused of stealing Ksh3,500,000 from Desire Flora (K) Limited, where he was employed as an accountant, by allegedly transferring the money to his personal account during the course of his duties.
In another count, Kamau is charged with fraudulent false accounting, accused of making entries to show that Joncil Enterprises had paid Ksh106,822,690 to Agro Irrigation and Pump Services Limited when no such payment had been made.
The case will now proceed to full hearing in June as scheduled.
Rwanda has strongly rejected sanctions imposed by the United States, accusing Washington of distorting the facts and unfairly singling out Kigali in the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The sanctions, announced Monday by the US government, target the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and senior military officials over alleged backing of the M23 rebel group operating in eastern Congo.
But in a sharply worded response, Rwanda said the measures “unjustly target only one party to the peace process” and “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict.”
Kigali argued that the Democratic Republic of Congo has repeatedly violated ceasefire agreements through what it described as “consistent and indiscriminate drone attacks and ground offensives.”
According to the statement, these actions continue to cost lives and undermine peace efforts.
“Protecting our country is a badge of honour which the Rwanda Defence Force carries very proudly,” the government said.
Rwanda maintains that its security concerns stem from the presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia linked to perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis.
Kigali accuses the DRC government and its army — the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) — of working alongside foreign mercenaries, extremist ethnic militias known as Wazalendo, and the FDLR.
— Rwanda Government Communications (@RwandaOGS) March 2, 2026
The sanctions follow tensions surrounding the December peace agreement brokered in Washington by US President Donald Trump, which aimed to stabilize eastern Congo and reduce cross-border hostilities.
Rwanda says the DRC committed under the so-called Washington Accords to an “irreversible and verifiable” end to state support for the FDLR and associated militias — but claims Kinshasa has not taken meaningful steps to fulfil that obligation.
“Rwanda is fully committed to disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations,” the statement added.
Kigali also welcomed the resumption of the Joint Oversight Committee under the peace framework and called for an “even-handed approach from all partners.”
Eastern Congo has long been plagued by armed groups fighting over territory and mineral-rich land. The latest escalation has drawn international attention, with Washington accusing Rwanda’s military leadership of enabling M23 territorial gains.
The DRC government has welcomed the US sanctions, calling them a signal of support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
For Rwanda, however, the dispute reflects deeper security anxieties tied to the legacy of the 1994 genocide and cross-border militant activity.
The diplomatic clash risks complicating fragile peace efforts in one of Africa’s most volatile regions.
While the US is pressing for troop withdrawals and accountability, Rwanda insists security guarantees must be reciprocal.
The Russian Embassy in Kenya has issued a notice to its citizens in Kenya following airspace closures over parts of the Middle East.
In a statement on Monday, March 2, the embassy cited flight challenges caused by the situation and outlined steps for affected travellers.
“Due to the closure of airspace over Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE and Qatar, as a result of the armed aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran, we urge Russian citizens who were unable to depart from Kenya to transit points to take the following steps,” the notice read.
The embassy advised citizens experiencing travel difficulties to register with consular services and formally report their situation.
“Install the “Assistant Abroad” mobile application and, by any available means, inform the embassy about the difficulties encountered and register for consular services,” the notice added.
It also urged travellers to engage their tour operators and airlines directly to explore rebooking or refund options.
“Notify your tour operator about the problems with departing to Russia and contact the airline operating the flight or the agency that sold the ticket directly to clarify the possibility of rebooking or the terms for a refund/compensation,” the notice continued.
File image of Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei and Russian Ambassador to Kenya Vsevolod Tkachenko
Additionally, the embassy encouraged affected passengers to consider alternative transit routes where flights remain operational.
“Consider returning your ticket and traveling back to Russia via other operating transit hubs (Addis Ababa, Cairo, Istanbul, etc.),” the notice further read.
(Reuters) – The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force and top military officials over their role in ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and called for their immediate withdrawal from the mineral-rich region.
Rwanda has long rejected allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports the AFC/M23 rebel group, which staged a lightning offensive last year and now holds more territory in eastern DRC than ever before.
But the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday that the rebels’ gains would have been impossible without Rwandan backing. The State Department said separately that Rwanda’s support had enabled “horrific human rights abuses.”
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Rwanda’s government said the sanctions unjustly targeted only one party to the peace process and “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict.”
The statement said Kigali was “fully committed to disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations” under U.S.-led mediation, but accused Congo of failing to keep promises such as ending support for militias.
Congo’s government said it welcomed the sanctions, describing them as “a strong signal in support of respect” for its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
A spokesperson for AFC/M23 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sanctioned Rwandan officials include army chief of staff Vincent Nyakarundi, as well as the chief of defence staff, the special operations force commander and the commander of the 5th Infantry Division, according to the Treasury Department.
MEDIATION EFFORTS FAIL TO STOP FIGHTING
Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in December as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to broker peace in the region and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.
Just days after that ceremony, however, AFC/M23 rebels entered the eastern Congo city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, in the war’s biggest escalation for months.
They later pulled out under U.S. pressure, though the Treasury Department said on Monday that the rebels’ continued presence near Burundi’s border “carries the risk of escalating the conflict into a broader regional war.”
Fighting continues in eastern Congo on several fronts.
Over the weekend Congolese officials accused AFC/M23 of launching a drone attack on the airport in the strategic city of Kisangani, hundreds of kilometres from any active front lines.
AFC/M23 claimed responsibility for the attack late Monday.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Ryan Patrick Jones; Additional reporting by Clement Bonnerot and Ammu Kannampilly; Writing by Daphne Psaledakis and Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Costas Pitas and Daniel Wallis)
The Affordable Housing Board (AHB) has announced 49 job vacancies for Kenyans.
In a public notice on Tuesday, March 3, the board called on qualified Kenyans to apply for the opportunities.
“The Affordable Housing Board seeks to recruit qualified and highly competent staff to fill the following vacant positions,” read the notice in part.
The vacancies include the positions of Corporation Secretary (CS) and General Manager, Legal Services; General Manager, Fund Services; General Manager, Project Development (Architect); General Manager, Corporate Services; General Manager, Internal Audit; Manager, Legal Services; Manager, Home Allocation; Manager, Credit Management; Manager, Investment and Resource Mobilization; Manager, Project Management (Engineer); and Manager, Estate Management.
Other roles are Manager, Land Administration; Manager, Supply Chain Management; Manager, HRM and Administration; Manager, ICT; Manager, Accounts and Finance; Manager, Planning; Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications; Assistant Manager, Home Finance; Assistant Manager, Investment and Resource Mobilization; Assistant Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation; Principal Monitoring and Evaluation Officer; Principal, HRM and Administration; and Principal Credit Officer.
Affordable Housing Board Chairman, Jeremiah Simu.
The board is also seeking to fill the positions of Principal Records Management Officer; Principal Accountant; Principal Internal Auditor; Senior Supply Chain Management Officer; Senior Projects Management Officer (Urban Planner); Senior Planning Officer; Senior Legal Officer; Senior Investment and Resource Mobilization Officer; Senior Corporate Communications Officer; Credit Officer I; Supply Chain Management Assistant; and Records Management Officer I.
Additionally, AHB has vacancies for Projects Management Officer I (Quantity Surveyor); Projects Management Officer I (Architect); Office Administrator I; Senior Driver; Projects Management Assistant II (Real Estate); Estate Management Officer II; Land Administration Officer II; Customer Care Assistant II; Accounts Assistant III; Senior Office Assistant; Driver III; and Office Assistant III.
Applicants should submit their applications, including the cover letter, a copy of their National ID, copies of academic and professional certificates, testimonials, and a detailed CV, indicating current position, qualifications, working experience, names of three professional referees, current remuneration, and daytime telephone number.
The candidates are also required to submit their completed application quoting the job reference for the specific position addressed to the Chairman, Affordable Housing Board (AHB), P.O Box 27521- 00100, Nairobi.
The deadline for submitting applications is March 17 at 5:00 PM.
The County Executive Committee Member for Water, Irrigation, Environment, Sanitation and Climate Change, Hon. Onesmus Kuyu convened a high-level performance review meeting at the Machakos Conference Center with the six licensed water service providers operating within the county to evaluate their Financial Year 2025/2026 performance.
The meeting undertook a comprehensive review of revenue performance, with a strong emphasis on strengthening Own Source Revenue (OSR).
Key focus areas included improving billing efficiency, reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW), enhancing metering accuracy, digitizing billing systems, cleansing customer databases, and reinforcing debt collection mechanisms to boost financial stability.
Expenditure management was equally scrutinized, with discussions centered on strict adherence to approved budgets, prudent financial practices, compliance with Public Finance Management (PFM) principles, optimal staff cost ratios, energy cost control, procurement efficiency, and effective absorption of capital development funds. The companies were directed to rationalize recurrent expenditure to enhance long-term sustainability.
Customer growth and service coverage were also assessed, including new water connections, network expansion, service reliability, and the elimination of illegal connections.
The CECM emphasized that expansion must be aligned with existing infrastructure capacity and sustainable water resource management.
Additionally, pending bills and debt management were reviewed, covering supplier obligations, inter-agency liabilities, historical debts, and aged receivables.
The providers were instructed to develop structured debt repayment plans and strengthen receivables recovery strategies to improve cash flow and operational resilience.
Hon. Onesmus Kuyu reaffirmed that under the leadership of H.E. Governor Wavinya Ndeti, the County Government remains committed to enhancing water service delivery through financial discipline, operational efficiency, and expanded access—directing service providers to transition from survival mode to sustainable, growth-oriented operations that meet the needs of Machakos residents.
The National Youth Service (NYS) has announced a nationwide recruitment of volunteer servicemen and servicewomen.
In a public notice on Tuesday, March 3, NYS said the recruitment exercise will be conducted from Monday, March 16, 2026, to Saturday, March 21, 2026.
The exercise will be conducted from 8:00 am at designated centers across the country.
“The Kenya National Youth Service (NYS) wishes to inform the general public that a nationwide recruitment exercise for NYS volunteers (male and female) will be conducted throughout the Republic from Monday, 16th March 2026 to Saturday, 21st March 2026, starting at 8:00 a.m. daily, in accordance with the schedule and requirements outlined below,” read the notice.
Interested candidates must be Kenyans citizens and residents of the respective Sub-County of recruitment, be aged between 18 and 24 years, attained a minimum mean grade of D plain in KCSE, and possess a valid certificate of good conduct.
File image of President William Ruto during an NYS passout parade.
The applicants will be required to produce the original national identity card and academic certificates and submit one set of photocopies at the recruitment center.
NYS noted that the candidates should be willing to undergo a medical examination during and after the recruitment exercise, be prepared to undergo Basic Paramilitary Training, and be ready to offer voluntary service to the nation in any part of the country.
Following the recruitment exercise, successful candidates will report to the NYS Paramilitary Academy in Gilgil or the NYS Technical Training Institute (NYSTTI) in Naivasha on the dates and times indicated in their respective calling letters.
NYS warned that any form of corruption will lead to automatic disqualification from the recruitment.
“Canvassing or offering monetary or other inducements for admission is an offence that may result in automatic disqualification and/or prosecution,” the service added.
At the same time, NYS announced 500 vacancies for privates in the service.
Interested candidates must have a minimum KCSE mean grade of D+; have undergone NYS training; possess a national trade test; and have no criminal record.
The candidates are required to download and complete the application for employment form from the Public Service Commission website, complete it, and email it to director.generalnys@gmail.com.
Alternatively, applicants can submit their applications through the post office; Commandant General National Youth Service, P.O. Box 30397 – 00100, GPO Nairobi.
The Kenya Meteorological Department has listed 22 counties likely to experience heavy rainfall that may result in flooding as downpours continue across several parts of the country.
Speaking on Monday, March 2, Acting Director General Edward Muriuki said the affected counties span western Kenya, the Rift Valley and the highlands east of the Rift Valley, where rainfall has persisted in recent days.
The counties expected to receive heavy rainfall, which may lead to potential flooding, are Kisumu, Siaya, Busia, Migori, Homa Bay, Kisii, Nyamira, Kakamega, Bungoma and Vihiga.
In the Rift Valley region, Nakuru, Baringo, Kericho and Bomet are also on alert.
In the highlands east of the Rift Valley, Nairobi, Kiambu, Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Embu and Meru have been listed among areas likely to continue receiving significant rainfall.
Muriuki noted that regions already experiencing rainfall should brace for continued downpours in the coming days, increasing the risk of flooding.
The Kenya Met boss noted the reliability of current forecasts and urged the public and relevant agencies to make use of them.
“Our forecasts are pretty accurate nowadays, they are reliable, they are useful, and should be used. We used to be very general,” he said.
File image of Edward Muriuki
Elsewhere, Kenya Met has predicted moderate to heavy rains across eight regions this week, saying rainfall intensity is expected to increase over the next seven days.
Regions set to experience the moderate to heavy rains include Central Highlands, Lake Victoria Basin, Rift Valley, South-eastern Lowlands, and the Coast.
Western, North-eastern, and North-western Kenya regions will also experience showers this week.
“As illustrated in the 7-day cumulative rainfall map, rainfall is expected to increase in intensity and spread across several parts of the country during the period.
“Moderate to heavy rainfall, with isolated heavy events, is likely over the Central Highlands, Lake Victoria Basin, Rift Valley, South-eastern Lowlands, the Coast, Western, North-eastern and North-western Kenya,” read the forecast.
The weatherman also forecast that the Coast, South-Eastern Lowlands, North-Eastern, and North-Western regions of Kenya will experience maximum daytime temperatures exceeding 30°C.
Meanwhile, parts of the Central Highlands, Central Rift Valley, and areas near Mt. Kilimanjaro are expected to record minimum nighttime temperatures below 10°C.
The forecast comes days after the Met department noted that several parts of the country have already met the rainfall onset criteria, while others are expected to experience a delayed onset.
The department pointed out that the March to May period remains the major rainfall season over most parts of Kenya and much of equatorial East Africa.
“The March to May period is the major rainfall season (Long Rains) over most parts of Kenya and much of equatorial East Africa.
“The highest seasonal rainfall amounts (greater than 300mm) are normally received over the Lake Victoria Basin, the Highlands West of the Rift Valley, the Central and South Rift Valley, the Highlands East of the Rift Valley (including Nairobi County), and the Coastal Strip (Fig. 1),” the statement read.
However, the department warned that rainfall performance may fluctuate in the coming weeks.
“Indications suggest that the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is likely to transition to less favourable phases from mid-March, which may result in a reduction in rainfall amounts and an increased likelihood of dry spells, as the convective environment becomes suppressed over some regions,” the statement continued.
