Top news items in Kenya's major media outlets

NAIROBI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The following are the news highlights in Kenya's major media outlets on Thursday.

-- For the second year running, girls topped the charts in Form Four exit exams released for the first time before Christmas.

The number of candidates who attained the highest overall mean Grade (A Plain) in the examination remained almost equal in 2016 and 2017. Some 142 students attained Grade A this year compared to 141 candidates in 2016. (Daily Nation)

-- Plastic bag manufacturers are now secretly working at night to produce the banned carriers in a bid to outsmart authorities, the environment authority said Wednesday. Kenya has been globally lauded for the ban. (The Standard)

-- Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of using tactics that imperil dialogue. NASA noted that Kenyatta is imperiling Kenya by trivializing the current crisis and unleashing threats against opposition leaders. (The Star)

-- Kenya is among 16 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) bloc countries that are commodity export-dependent, translating into low levels of development and high poverty rates. (Business Daily) Enditem