Top news items in major Kenyan media outlets

The following are news highlights in major Kenyan media outlets on Friday.

-- President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday evening nominated the new chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and six commissioners and forwarded the names to Parliament for vetting. (Daily Nation)

-- A paltry 89,000 students from about double the number last year scored between C+ and A grades in Kenya's Form Four national exams, whose results were released Thursday in shocking performance. There has been rampant cases of cheating in national exams in the past, prompting the government took steps to curb the vice. (The Standard)

-- Banking sector expected to shed more jobs in 2017 as lenders seek to protect their profit margins under the interest rate capping regime. (Business Daily)

-- Opposition Cord suspends its planned New Year protests to await the Senate's final decision on the contentious election laws. The coalition had called for mass action on January 4 to protest changes to the electoral laws, after it failed to block their passage in the National Assembly last week. (The Star)

-- The shilling remained steady this year against the U.S. dollar and other hard currencies buoyed by diaspora remittances. A comparative analysis from December 2015 to December this year indicates the shilling appreciated marginally from Sh102.3 to average of Sh102. (People Daily) Endit