Featured Twitpic: Rainbow from hillside in Kenya

"RAinbow in Nguruman" (Posted by @tchenya, April 29, 2009)

Featured Twitpic: Rainbow from hillside in Kenya

Featured TwitPic: Furry visitor at campground in Maasai Mara, Kenya

"What's black and white and visiting my tent?" (Posted by @katyleakey, Maasai Mara, Kenya)

Featured TwitPic: Furry visitor at campground in Maasai Mara, Kenya

Violence in Kenya kills 24

Per Reuters UK, At least 24 people were killed in central Kenya when members of the outlawed Mungiki gang, known as Kenya's version of the mafia according to Reuters UK, clashed with residents of the "Kirinyaga district out of Karatina" on Tuesday morning.

According to Rueters the gang is known for mutilations and beheadings. Per BBC, "the residents of Karatina decided to fight back because the sect had been extorting money from local people."

Twitterers from Nairobi share their frustration about the Mungiki sect.

1. 
   tafrijaplayer (Nairobi, Kenya) Is it ok for the locals in Karatina to lynch the Mungiki scoundrels?! Sad but its the only way to clean them out after our police failed ...
2. 
   lostwhitekenyan (Nairobi, Kenya) 411. 24 people killed overnight as Karatina residents battle Mungiki insurgents. Police say those killed on either side remains unclear
3. 
   lostwhitekenyan (Nairobi, Kenya) The wanainchi are fighting the mungiki whilst our politicians bitch and moan and achieve nothing, and they call this democracy
4. 
   kainvestor (Nairobi, Kenya) what will happen with that vigilante group thats killing mungiki sect member now once they eliminate them completely? they become mungiki!!

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Twitter users are already expressing their feelings on this recent development.

1. 
   iansplashturner (UK) I always forget how hard life must be in Kenya where the potential for violence must hang over you every day http://bit.ly/Cf7cS
2. 
   tchenya (Entasopia, Nguruman) dozens killed in kenyan violence http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8009512.stm some leader to stand up and lead Kenya
3. 
   swmaina RT @dailynation: (Nairobi) 25 dead in Kenya violence http://tinyurl.com/c5d7ss [#Mungiki]
4. 
   zalsio (Undisclosed) can the Kenyan Government do something on Mungiki

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Violence in Kenya kills 24

U.S. cargo ship escapes pirate attack

Per CNN.com, a U.S. flagged cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by Somalian pirates Tuesday as it headed for Mombasa, Kenya. The ship, which is carrying U.S. food and aid for Africans, has 20 Americans on board. The pirates fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at the vessel, which sustained damage but was not overtaken by the pirates.

Reaction from the Twitterverse indicates shock:

1. 
   JohnSimonds (North Carolina) liberty sun escapes pirate attack. US Ships 2, Pirates 0 15 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   smallmadeline (Maryland) what is up with all the US pirate attack? "yo ho ho and a bottle of rum". mmmmm... rum. 15 Apr 2009 from web
3. 
   pastortai (Austin, Texas) Another Pirate attack? C'mon guys that is sooooo 18th Century 15 Apr 2009 from mobile web
4. 
   KirstenParagona (Ipswich, Maryland) RT @andersoncooper: Morning Buzz: Another pirate attack on a US Ship! http://tinyurl.com/dd27rn -there has 2 b a way 2 stop this! 15 Apr 2009 from twhirl
5. 
   shady_j (Baltimore, Maryland) omg ANOTHER pirate attack tho? what year are we in again? 15 Apr 2009 from mobile web
6. 
   LeaZen (North Carolina) another pirate attack last night? I can't keep up.. 15 Apr 2009 from web

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U.S. cargo ship escapes pirate attack

A Day in Nairobi

Here's what some in Nairobi, Kenya, were tweeting about on Sunday. It included an apparent hostage situation at a local university.

1. 
   swmaina Am at internet cafe for 30 mins then off to the Bwindi park, I cant go gorilla trecking because 1) have to pay $250 and 2) I didnt book :( 29 Mar 2009 from web
2. 
   Daraku_Tenshi Nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap. Bliss. 29 Mar 2009 from mobile web
3. 
   EASHOWBIZ KU (kenya) is burning, ruiru campus burnt down. avoid the are . to all our fans 29 Mar 2009 from web
4. 
   danielduwa Looking to the skies & thinking the must be more billion civilization than the bail out... out there some where 29 Mar 2009 from mobile web
5. 
   kaboro @edObie Situation getting worse... A student has apparently been shot, hostels surrounded by GSU personnel. Offices burnt & comps looted. 29 Mar 2009 from mobile web
6. 
   kaboro @69mb Students trapped in campus... They are texting, calling me and putting info on Facebook etc #KU_Strike 29 Mar 2009 from mobile web
7. 
   lloydcommon finally its making it rain in nairobi.rain rain mek it rain,pour yo soothings on this global warming's pains..... 29 Mar 2009 from mobile web

A Day in Nairobi

Kenyans outraged over death of activists

Per The Standard, Kenyans expressed public outrage over Thursday's murders of prominent campaigners against illegal police killings in Nairobi. The murders spurred demonstrations earlier today.

Kenyan police used tear gas at protesting students at one demonstration, per Reuters.

A Twitter user in Nairobi observed:

@intelligensia (Nairobi, Kenya): Nairobi University Students on state house road. Riot police on the scene.



Unidentified gunmen killed Kamau Kingara and Paul Oulo while their car was standing in traffic near State House, the official residence of the Kenyan president. Kingara was the director of the Oscar Foundation which, hours before the murders, was accused of being a front and a fund-raising body for a banned criminal sect called the Mungiki, per BBC.

Human rights groups blame the Kenyan police for the murders, but the police commissioner denied any police involvement.

Twitterers expressed their concerns about Nairobi's unstable climate:

@reachafrica (Kenya): Pray for peace in Nairobi. It's getting intense in town and we are on a very strict travel advisory.



@rhamdu (location unknown): Mungiki demo, then killing of 2 campaigners against police murders. No wonder Nairobi friends nervous yesterday



@Rombokins (location unknown): Kenyans now get to choose their poison: Police or Mungiki?



@kenyanpundit (Johannesburg, South Africa): Two civil society activists shot dead by police in broad daylight in Nairobi. WTF?! Police state creeping in...

Kenyans outraged over death of activists

U.S. leaders differ on Iran nuclear capabilities

The Jerusalem Post is reporting there are conflicts between the analyses of Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates whether Iran has the materials necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

Mullen, when asked by CNN's John King today, said that "quite frankly" the U.S. believes Iran has the materials for making a nuclear weapon. However, on NBC's "Meet The Press," Gates offered his opinion: "They're [Iran] not close to a stockpile, they're not close to a weapon at this point and so there is some time."

Twitterers across the globe shared their thoughts on what the debate over nuclear capabilities in Iran means to them:

@Helen06 (Cheshire, England): Following BBC news bad idea. They have just told me Iran have enough nuclear material to build a bomb. They have ruined my Sunday!!



@papei (Basel, Switzerland): U.S. Says Iran Has Enough Material for Nuclear Bomb… And then?!



@asteris (Thessaloniki, Greece): http://cli.gs/97nNuL (@BreakingNewz) US dispute on Iran nukes: JCS chair: likely close to making them / DefSec: not close Which is it, guys?



@dudeneyge (Barcelona, Spain) RT @BreakingNewsOn: U.S. believes Iran has enough nuclear material to make a bomb - 'believses...', like we all believed SH had WMDs???



@LarryBerezin (Morris Plains, N.J.): NYT reports that Iran has the material for nuclear bomb. Scary thought, eh?



As cited by Breaking Tweets on Feb. 26 in "Iran tests first nuclear power plant," Kenya is also watching the developments closely.

Kenya's president has Twittered about the nuclear program in his nation's development plan.

@MwaiKibaki (State House, Nairobi): Iran will assist Kenya in the making of a nuclear power plant in line with vision 2030. My son, Mr. Jimmy Kibaki, will be Kenya's pointman.

U.S. leaders differ on Iran nuclear capabilities

Dozens feared dead in Kenyan fire

Per the Sunday Nation of Kenya, more than 50 people have died in a fire near the town of Molo, Kenya. The blaze began when an oil tanker caught fire and exploded.

@kahenya of Nairobi was among the first to break the news on Twitter.

@kahenya (Nairobi): In true Kenya fashion, fire mayhem begins. Unconfirmed report that 50 dead in an oil truck/trailer fire in Molo.


Other Twitter users in Kenya reacted to the announcement with a mix of incredulity or even dark humor.

@Lilsony (Nairobi/Mombasa): Wow... something is very wrong with this country



@RafikiKenya (Nairobi): @JustDes It is unbelievable, will Kenyans ever learn to stay away from free fuel?



(Update: BBC News has death toll at 94 as of 8:13 GMT Feb. 1.)

Dozens feared dead in Kenyan fire