KENYA

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday declared the appointment of top judicial figures by the country's president null and void because he had not been consulted.

The African Union said on Friday it would form a panel of heads of state to solve the leadership crisis in Ivory Coast which would come up with a legally binding settlement within one month.

Kenya's central bank cut its benchmark lending rate on Thursday for the first time since July, in a surprise move seen as a bid to curb rising Treasury bill and bond yields.

Canada's Africa Oil Corp said on Wednesday it had completed a farmout agreement for three east African exploration blocks to London-listed Tullow Oil Plc, which now holds a 50 percent stake in each of them.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, who played a vital role in the 1998 al Qaeda bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people including 12 Americans and wounded thousands of others, has been sentenced to life by a Manhattan federal court.

The average price of the top Kenyan tea grade edged higher to $3.83 per kg at this week's auction from $3.81 per kg at the previous sale, although many lower quality teas remained unsold, brokers said.

The Kenyan shilling ended unchanged on Monday against the dollar but is expected to come under pressure from end-month corporate dollar demand while stocks eased as investors sold off Kenya Power and Lighting.

Favourable weather and currencies boosted Kenya's 2010 tea crop and export earnings to record levels, and the sector overtook horticulture as the country's top hard currency earner, officials said on Monday.

The Kenyan shilling was barely moved against the dollar on Friday as traders squared positions but they said high oil prices were likely to stoke dollar demand and weigh on the local currency next week.

Plans for a delayed 300 MW wind farm in Kenya can now proceed after lenders agreed to rely on the government's assurance that it backed the plan, instead of proper guarantees, the chairman of the project said.

Safaricom's second tranche of its five-year medium-term note worth 4.5 billion shillings was fully subscribed, the Kenyan mobile phone operator's chief executive said on Thursday.

Mauritius private equity group Ciel Capital plans to venture into Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, in the first half and is in talks with key players in various sectors, a senior partner said.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said an African effort to mediate Ivory Coast's disputed poll had failed on Wednesday, blaming incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and warning of harsh sanctions or force if he did not step down.

Barclays Bank of Kenya, majority-owned by British lender Barclays, is cutting 200 management-level staff, or about 5 percent of its workforce, to cut costs by an unspecified amount.

South Sudan appealed for investors to plough $140 million into its war-hit wildlife parks, seeking to kick-start a tourism industry and wean itself off oil months ahead of its expected independence.

Talks to end Ivory Coast's post-election standoff remain in deadlock, with no sign Laurent Gbagbo will agree to step down as president and his rival unwilling to meet him until he does, mediators said on Tuesday.

U.N. peacekeepers in Ivory Coast fired warning shots into the air to disperse angry supporters of incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo on Monday, and police fired return shots skywards in an incident that left three wounded, witnesses said.

Safaricom, Kenya's largest company by market capitalisation, dragged down the main index after losing more than 4.0 percent on Friday.

The Kenyan shilling firmed against the dollar on Friday after the greenback lost ground against major hard currencies, increasing investors' appetite for riskier assets.

Uganda's shilling looks set to plumb new record lows against the dollar over the next week due to soaring foreign exchange demand from the oil sector, while Kenya's unit should strengthen slightly.

The Kenyan shilling KES= edged up against the dollar on the back of higher coffee and tea prices at auctions this week, but signs of a drought in the country could limit the currency's gains, traders said on Thursday.