In Kenya a bruising and recurring drought is driving huge numbers of subsistence farmers away from rural areas, where they are increasingly reliant on hand-outs, into congested slums. Many farmers in the region have already abandoned the land, at least temporarily, in favour of producing and selling charcoal or breaking stones in a nearby quarry for a local construction company. The work is both back-breaking and ill-paid. A 20-litre jerry can of ballast is paid five shillings. - AFP Photos/Tony Karumba[imagebrowser id=10012]

Editorial

06 Aug, 2026

Need for dialogue

THE interior minister’s comments at an Islamabad seminar last week have sparked many a conversation about the ...
06 Aug, 2026

Bad press

THE government’s move to impose restrictions on international media will not only alienate the foreign press, it...
06 Aug, 2026

Automobile concerns

PAKISTAN’S automobile industry is at a critical juncture. Sharp cuts in tariffs on the import of completely built...
Updated 05 Aug, 2026

State of confusion

FROM the looks of it, America has no exit strategy to extricate itself from the disastrous war with Iran. US...
05 Aug, 2026

Pension decision

THE government’s decision to formally operationalise the new Defined Contribution Pension Fund Scheme is a step...
05 Aug, 2026

Preventable deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a...