British vocalist and founding member of UB40 Terence Wilson better known by his stage name Astro, has died.

Astro died aged 64 after a short illness.

The news was confirmed by former colleague Ali Campbell.

"We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken," said a statement on Ali Campbell and Astro's Twitter account.

Adding ""The world will never be the same without him."

Astro left UB40 in 2013 and went on to perform with breakaway group UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro, which had played some concerts this year and was due to go on tour in 2022.

The original band broke through in the early 1980s with their unique take on British reggae and found success with hits like 'Red Red Wine' and 'Can't Help Falling In Love.'

In total, UB40 have recorded 39 UK top 40 singles and 28 top 40 albums, with Astro singing lead vocals on the hit 'Rat In Mi Kitchen' which reached number 12 in 1987.

The group also enjoyed success around the world, including in the US, where 'Red Red Wine' went to number one, as did another cover, 'Can't Help Falling in Love with You,' which spent seven weeks at number one in 1993.

The original line-up played together for three decades before Ali Campbell left in 2008.

A statement from the current UB40 line up on Twitter said: "RIP Astro.

"We have heard tonight, the sad news that ex-member of UB40, Terence Wilson, better known as Astro, has passed away after a short illness. Our sincere condolences to his family."

Apple Music today announced the latest featured artist in its Africa Rising artist development program as 24-year-old Nigerian-born Afro-fusion singer-songwriter, Buju (real name Daniel Benson).

“I’m happy and proud to be the next Apple Music Africa Rising artist', said Buju. "I appreciate the genuine love and support my fans and the Apple Music team have shown me and I promise to never stop.”

An acronym for “Beauty Underneath Just Understood”, Buju’s calling to be a performer manifested itself while he was unhappily studying IT at university. After fully realising his vision of being a singer, songwriter and record producer, he released his first single “Catch A Vibe” (2018) to hungry ears. 

It was his viral hit “Spiritual” featuring Zlatan (2019) that skyrocketed him into the charts, earning him a nomination in the “Rookie of the Year” category at Nigeria’s HipTV Headies Awards the same year, and then a win at the City People Music Awards for “Revelation of the Year” (2020).

Perhaps his biggest career milestone came in 2020 when he released a remix of his hit single “L'Enu” featuring his idol Burna Boy. He has frequently referred to the experience of getting to meet and work with the Grammy Award winner as one of the highlights of his life.

Buju’s debut album Sorry I'm Late, available to stream on Apple Music now, is a seven-track tour de force of modern Afrobeats hooks and traditional Afro-rooted melodies, and does an expert job in introducing the essence of his craft to a global audience.   

The latest music from Buju along with that of Africa’s hottest new artists, is available now on the Apple Music Africa Rising Playlist.

Apple Music’s Africa Rising, is an exclusive artist development programme and companion playlist geared towards identifying, showcasing and elevating rising talent and introducing the next generation of African superstars.

Africa Rising alumni to date include: Omah Lay, Manu Worldstar, Tems, Amaarae, Ayra Starr, Yaw Tog, Blxckie and Nikita Kering. Africa Rising sees Apple Music select six artists every year who each receive a minimum of two months of editorial support across the Apple Music platform including a launch interview with Nadeska on Apple Music 1. Nadeska has also launched a new weekly Africa Rising feature on her show highlighting the hottest new artists on the continent.

Africa Rising is the latest of many Apple Music initiatives aimed at taking African talent to the world. Now available in 33 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Apple Music 1 is home to Africa Now Radio with host LootLove which has featured interviews with some of the continent’s hottest artists such as Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Cassper Nyovest, Mr Eazi, Patoranking, Rayvanny, Kiddominant, Mayorkun, Fireboy DML, Adekunle Gold, Master KG, Yaw Tog, Blxckie and Nikita Kering.  

Last month, Apple Music announced artist/producer Tems as the latest addition to its Global Up Next program. Apple Music also selected Nigerian Afropop star Rema as its Up Next artist in 2020, following the addition of Burna Boy to the roster in 2019 and Mr Eazi back in 2017. Up Next is Apple Music’s global emerging artist program.

The sound of the crackle of rally exhausts filled the air today morning at the Karen Waterfront as a mini version of the East African Safari Classic Rally took off in earnest.

Teams from countries including USA, Bulgaria, UK, Zimbabwe, Oman and South Africa are competing for the ultimate prize against the strong Kenyan representation, including former winner Ian Duncan.

The three-day event will cover over 1,000 kilometres across the tough, but stunning, Amboseli terrain synonymous with the world's greatest classic rally.

“The day is finally here. We’ve undertaken all efforts to ensure the safety of drivers, rally enthusiasts, passersby and wildlife, whilst putting on a magnificent show. Amongst other criteria, our course is designed to avoid populated areas and heighten general safety awareness among drivers and the community”, Event Director, Tash Tundo said.

This mini rally is being held as a precursor to the 10th edition that is set to take place on 10th –18th February 2022 and all plans have been put in place to ensure motorsport enthusiasts are treated to a spectacular show.

Leading the Kenyan charge will be Eric Bengi and navigator Gatimu Mindo, who competed in this year’s 2021 WRC Safari Rally, competing in the East African Safari Classic Rally for the first time in an iconic rally car, the Datsun 180B.

Other marquee rally brands such as Porsche, Ford, Skoda and Peugeot are joined by “Raid” vehicles including cars and buggies from CR-T and Land Rover.

In consultation with the Ministry of Health, the event competitors, organisers, sponsors and support staff will adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols including mandatory and regular PCR tests, social-distancing and wearing of masks.

“As a significant group of people, we have taken our responsibility with regards to COVID-19 particularly seriously, creating one of the largest sporting bubbles in Africa.” added Tundo. That sporting bubble will also bring significant investment into hard-hit, tourism sensitive economies such as Amboseli, with over 1,000 hotel rooms being occupied and an injection of more than $1m into the Kenyan economy.

Whilst the local economy benefits, the eyes of the world will be able to follow the rally through new technology innovations including live-tracking of vehicles, available at the rally website and across its social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

“Kenya is an amazing landscape for a rally. Whilst the terrain is challenging it is also absolutely stunning and we have a team of media capturing it with the intent of sharing Kenya and our rally with the world” Tundo said.

Multi-Award AFRIMMA Nominated South African rapper, BLXCKIE is gearing up to land on the shores of Kenya this week as part of a short tour of Africa which kicked off in Lagos, Nigeria last week. 

On his first trip around the continent, BLXCKIE is excited to travel to Nairobi for a series of events and key engagements with Kenyan artists and producers.

Through his dedicated hard work, the rapper has had an incredible 2021 with the release of his debut album B4Now on 21 May 2021 – which continues to be the no.1 Hip Hip Album in South Africa.

The 12-track album has proudly earned the no.1 spot on Apple Music, Spotify, Triller and Audiomack and over 1million streams on digital platforms.

Gaining vast popularity in the last 6 Months, Blxckie has attracted audiences from all parts of the continent and is taking the time now to connect with fans across Africa. 

In August 2021, Blxckie extended his project with 8 additional songs for B4Now Deluxe Album. Combined, the project boasts hit songs with notable features including Ye x4 ft Nasty C; Big Time Sh’lappa ft Lucasraps; Stripes ft Flvme; Woah ft Rowlene; Joy ft Oxlade; Tired ft Christer. He also brings in his Clout Internet fraternity on tracks Guns & Roses ft Alone; and Quickmaths ft LeoDaLeo.

Attaining international appeal, Blxckie has been featured on popular Apple Music shows; The Ebro Show with Ebro Darden and Africa Now Radio with well-known Nigerian DJ, Cuppy; for album hit singles such as Sika - which is off B4Now (Deluxe). 

An ambitious and intensive Mobile Cinema and Outreach Programme will start a nationwide journey in Mombasa on Friday, carrying the acclaimed film ‘The Elephant Queen’ to far flung corners of the country, with the objective of using it to inspire Kenyans of all ages towards an appreciation and understanding of elephants and the environment.

This family-friendly multi-award winning Kenyan feature documentary, filmed in the greater Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem, tells a stirring and intimate story of the most majestic and sentient animals in Africa, and stars the ultimate leading lady – Athena - an elephant matriarch who will do everything in her power to protect her family when they are forced to leave their waterhole.

There will be a public screening on Friday, 5^th November on the football field at the Mikindani Catholic Church next to Mikindani Primary School in Mombasa from 7:30 pm EAT with County Education Director and the KWS Senior Director for Coast expected as guests of honour.

The film, which celebrates Kenya’s extraordinary wildlife and biodiversity has won, amongst many accolades, the Cinema for Peace Award, the UN World Wildlife Day Biodiversity Award and Best Cinematography at DOC NYC.

Making the film took a small dedicated team lead by Directors Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone and Assistant Director Etienne Oliff, ten years. In that time elephants descended into crisis.

What the filmmakers observed - the poaching for ivory, the increasing human-wildlife conflict and the loss of elephant rangelands, convinced them that more needed to be done - and so ‘The Elephant Queen Outreach Program’ was born, with the objective of using the film and associated resources to inspire and unite Kenyan youth towards an understanding and appreciation of elephants, and the wild spaces that they and the biodiversity they support, need to exist.

With the support of BESTSELLER® Foundation, in collaboration with the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and under the leadership of Victoria Stone and Etienne Oliff, a creative team of writers, literacy specialists, illustrators, colourists, educationalists, playwrights, consultants and theatre specialists was recruited from across Kenya and abroad, and over a period of three years a dynamic toolbox of conservation education resources, all based on the film, was created.

This remarkable ‘must-see’ set of materials includes a series of 28 literacy-based learn-to-read books based on the film's wildlife characters and themes, short elephant videos, children activity packs, coloring-in books, podcasts from the making of the film, inspirational theatre toolboxes for children of different ages and fascinating interviews with leading Kenyan elephant experts, all designed to inspire young Kenyans towards careers in wildlife conservation and the natural sciences.

In each resource, authentic natural history is woven into engaging stories and narratives, all of which may, with time, inspire a new generation of Kenyan conservation leaders.

Housed on the program’s website, www.elephant.co.ke, all these resources are available free-of-charge in East Africa.  

This is not the end of the story, for the directors and their partners recognized that it was critically important that the film, ‘The Elephant Queen’, which was filmed entirely in Kenya, be seen by Kenyan youth, and in particular those living alongside the country’s protected areas with the reality of increasing human-wildlife conflict.

With the ongoing support of BESTSELLER® Foundation and joined by Save the Elephants and Kivukoni International School, the concept of a ‘Mobile Cinema’ was developed, specifically to show the film across the country, in English, Kiswahili & Maa.

With the enormity of the venture and the importance of its impact, a dynamic team of Kenya engagement  & facilitations specialists  was carefully recruited (https://elephant.co.ke/mobile-cinema ) and over two months, immersed into wildlife and trained in the use and dissemination of the film and associated Elephant Queen outreach materials.

The team left their base at Kivukoni International School to begin their nation-wide journey, travelling aboard a customized, self-contained 4x4 Bedford lorry and carrying super-sized solar-powered Airscreen-cinema equipment (www.airscreen.com)

Their objective is to follow a strategic pre-determined GIS-based route designed in association with Vulcan Earthranger (www.earthranger.com) and in collaboration with governmental and conservation and civic organizations across the country to screen the film and engage hundreds of schools and communities around national parks and protected areas including Shimba Hills, Tsavo East&West, Chyulu Hills, Amboseli, Maasai Mara, Laikipia, Samburu, the Ndoto Mountains and the Turkana Basin.

It is likely that this pioneering initiative will serve as a prototype for film-based mobile conservation education programmes that are replicable and scalable to other parts of Kenya and neighbouring countries.

The Elephant Queen Outreach team will make all information open-source, allowing other groups to benefit from the years or research that has gone into planning The Elephant Queen Mobile Cinema.

The film has already inspired and unified millions of people around the world towards a greater understanding and appreciation of Elephants and wild-spaces, and raised thousands of dollars for wildlife education.

The goal is now to do the same in Kenya and by bringing the film home to where it was made, inspire and nurture an appreciation and understanding of our country’s extraordinary natural heritage.

The Government through Interior ministry has dismissed a gazette notice making rounds on social media, stating that tomorrow (Thursday) will be a public holiday.

The purpoted gazette notice states that tomorrow is a public holiday to mark Diwali, a holiday celebrated by Hindus globally in the months of October or November of every year. 

Through its official twitter handle the Interior ministry termed the notice as fake.

“The Government has not declared a public holiday on Thursday, November 4, 2021. The purported gazette notice declaring [tomorrow as] a holiday is fake,” reads the tweet.

The Sarova Stanley Hotel has introduced Swahili Fridays to its offering as it seeks to diversify its menu so as to complement customers’ ever evolving palate needs.

The city hotel, located in the heart of Nairobi, will offer an array of Coastal delectable cuisine that has always been a favorite among Kenyans and International guests.

Swahili Fridays will take place every Friday at the Hotel’s Pool Deck Restaurant that serves al fresco buffet-style meal located on the fifth floor.

Customers can now enjoy the popular, samaki wa kupaka, bhajia, mbaazi, mahamri, viazi karai among other tantalizing meals that will be part of the Swahili experience complete with ukwaju and other delightful coast bites.

In an era where customers are looking for experiences over and above food and beverage offering, hotels have been tasked with re-inventing menus especially during the pandemic in line with trends taking over.

A new menu is not just a chance to show what the chefs can do or keep regular customers engaged with the restaurant, it is also a fantastic chance to get new customers through the doors.

Sarova Stanley was the very first luxury hotel that was launched in Nairobi City in 1902, more than a decade before World War 1. It is the hallmark of heritage that has, for more than a century, played a key role in the growth of Nairobi as a city as well as in the conservation of tourism in Kenya.

Featuring a pool terrace and 3 restaurants, Sarova Stanley offers an eclectic mix of dining and entertainment options.

In addition to the pool deck restaurant, it also has Thorn Tree Café which is an open-air, bistro style café and Thai Chi which offers authentic Thai cuisine.

Over the years Sarova Hotels and Resorts has grown to become an exemplary hospitality group known both locally and globally for its commitment to preserving Kenya’s heritage and top-notch standards of service as evidenced by its diverse properties across the country.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia on Tuesday inspected the ongoing works at the construction of the Sh4.5 billion Makupa bridge.

The CS said that once completed, the 457-metre-long Makupa Bridge will ease traffic in and out of Mombasa.

The bridge he said is expected to be ready by May next year to replace the old causeway that was constructed in 1929 and give back Mombasa it's island status.

He stated that the bridge will have about four to six lanes with one completely dedicated for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

"Traffic that has been witnessed in this area will be a thing of the past once the bridge is done, it is going to be wide enough with about 4-6 lanes with one dedicated for the BRT system," said Macharia.

Macharia added that there was also a provision to include a section for the commuter rail on the bridge that will be used to ferry passengers from the old railway station in Mombasa town to Miritini SGR station.

He stated that aside from solving the traffic menace, the construction of the bridge will have a huge environmental impact on the ocean once the course way is removed to allow water flow freely under the bridge.

"We did alot of feasibility studies especially environmental assessments before embarking on the project, once we open it up, we expect the garbage dumped in the water to clear itself and for the fish to regain their breeding grounds," said Macharia

He said that one section of the course way had been closed to allow construction works to go on adding that the contractors undertaking the project had been asked to out in more effort because the project had delayed with four months.

To support the bridge, the CS said that a number of road projects were being done including the Sh28 billion Changamwe interchange and the expansion of the Airport access road.

The CS and team were on a three day tour of projects being done under the 'Mombasa Port Area Development' which involves other major projects not only in Mombasa county but across the coastal region.

 He mentioned that government's plan to dual the Mombasa-Malindi highway in two lots will be done at a cost of Sh15 billion.

Lot one will be from the Nyali Bridge to Mtwapa at a cost of Sh7.5 billion then followed by Mtwapa to Kwa Kazengo in Kilifi at Sh7.5 billion too.

Earlier in the day the CS had toured the Sh.2.2 billion 56 kilometers Bamba-Ganze-Kilifi Highway that was launched by president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017 promising the residents that the project will be completed in the next three years. 

He stated that the Jubilee government had pumped in close to Sh3.6 trillion in mega investment projects at the Coast to transform the development and economic face of the region.

"The coast region is a hub for tourism, we want to invest here with modern airports, roads, commuter rails and bridges to make sure that we have an alternative from Nairobi to Mombasa in diversifying our development agenda," he said.

He added that they had begun receiving requests from international airlines like KLM and the Turkish Airline to start direct flights to Mombasa.

Tanzanian music sensational Zuhura Othman alias Zuchu has come out to show her support for Kenya Tik Tok sensational Azziad Nasenya.

Through her instagram story, the 'Sukari'hitmaker called on her supporters to vote for Azziad.

“Our very own @azz_iad has been nominated on E Peoplechoice award pls let’s go hard on her,” she posted.

Azziad has been nominated for the E! People’s Choice Awards under the African social star category. The only East African Star to be nominated for the award.

Azziad is battling out with Lasizwe (South Africa), Oddity (Nigeria) and Boity Thulo (South Africa).

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has resolved to continue with the countrywide voters registration exercise pending a  court ruling on its appeal, set for today (Wednesday).

In a statement released on Tuesday evening IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said the exercise will continue until further advised.

“On 1st November 2021, the High Court sitting in Eldoret issued exparte orders prohibiting the Commission from closing the national voter registration exercise scheduled to end today 2nd November 2021. The prohibition was ordered to subsist until 9th November, 2021 when the case will be heard interpartes,” said Chebukati.

Adding " “The Commission properly advised on the legal and operational ramifications of the Court order, moved to court today to challenge the order. The case will be heard tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8am. Meanwhile, the Commission has directed that pending hearing of the case tomorrow, registration process will continue taking place until further advised.”

The registration exercise that began on October 4 was scheduled to end on November 2.