Nairobi's first and only evening newspaper appeared on the news-stands on Monday (8 October). The new, English-language newspaper is printed on the latest Web-Offset presses.

Kenya's first newspaper appeared back in 1902 - "The East African Standard." At one time the country had just under 50 newspapers, many printed in local languages. Many of the african papers were suppressed during colonial times. Today, the largest newspaper organisation in Kenya is the Nation group, publishing daily and Sunday editions of the "Nation" as well as the Swahili "Taifaleo". All three papers enjoy a wide circulation.

In its first edition, "The Evening News" said it was dedicated to the Kenyan President, Jomo Kenyatta, who edited a newspaper in the 1920's. On the front page of the first edition, one writer expressed the hope that there would soon be another "Evening News" in the Swahili language.

SYNOPSIS: On Monday, Nairobians were able to buy an evening newspaper for the first time in their lives. "The Evening News" proclaims itself "Nairobi's first and only evening newspaper." The paper is the latest in a long line of Kenyan newspapers. The country's first newspaper, "The East African Standard," appeared in 1902, more than 70 years ago.

Readers in Nairobi now have a choice of four English-language papers, plus others in local language. "The Evening News" is printed on the most modern offset presses.

The paper is dedicated to the Kenyan President, Jomo Kenyatta, who was the editor of a Kenyan newspaper in the 1920's. In a front page dedication, the President was praised as having "converted Kenya into a land of firm political stability and outstanding economic progress." Its first editorial described the problems the publishers had before the paper finally went on sale.

The paper's assistant editor, Godwin Wachira, carefully checked the layout of the first edition. One writer, welcoming "The Evening News", expressed the hope that there would soon be another "Evening News" on sale in Nairobi, printed in Swahili.

When the newspaper went on sale for the first time, readers were able to get all the latest news on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Besides world news, the paper has wide coverage of domestic news and sports.