👋🏾 Goodbye, Next

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Good morning 🌤️ The first version of this week’s issue broke down how much of a bad boy Diddy has been per the civil suit his former partner Cassie filed against him. But the blurb was giving tabloid. And before the ink could dry, Diddy settled with Cassie faster than you can say, “It’s Bad Boy, baby.” So we decided to just send you down the rabbit hole if you’re interested.

Elsewhere, previously on “Not available in your region,” Amazon will soon let people buy cars on the platform, starting with Hyundai in 2024.

Have a good week!

—Gloria Mbabazi, Shem Opolot

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HEADLINES
👋🏾 Goodbye, next

You may need to copy this one verbatim on a sticky note and place it on your work computer for future reference. The Ugandan Court of Appeal ruled that your employer can fire you without reason or explanation. This came in a ruling in a case between Nassanga Saphinah Kasule and Stanbic Bank, where Nassanga's contract was terminated without reason. Nassanga was paid Shs. 17 million in lieu of three months' notice. Dissatisfied, however, Nassanga escalated the issue to court, which found that she had been wrongfully dismissed and awarded her Shs. 65 million. But…the bank appealed this decision, saying the law doesn’t require them to give any reason for terminating the contract of their workers if they give notice or pay three months' salary in lieu of the notice. Subsequently, the court declared that as long as employers throw in a three-month salary parachute, employers can dropkick employees out of their jobs without justification. The court also stated that a hearing is only necessary in cases of misconduct or poor performance.

🛢️ Oil Update

Uganda's Parliament approved legislation granting the government exclusive rights to import and supply fuel and petroleum products, aiming to eliminate Kenyan middlemen and lower fuel prices. This deal has been hotly debated, with some MPs expressing concerns about the potential monopoly of the Dutch commodity trader Vitol and its impact on the government's interests. The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), which registered a branch in Kenya to comply with regulations regarding the importation of petroleum products, lacks the financial capacity to directly purchase petroleum from overseas refiners. Hence the involvement of Vitol to finance delivery and payment terms. The branch is part of the government's strategic decision to enhance its involvement in ensuring the security of the supply of petroleum products.

🇰🇪 Kenya

Kenya’s superhero mission to restore peace and security in Haiti by sending 1000 Kenyan troops moved a step closer to realization after the Kenyan parliament finally approved the mission.

 🇷🇼 Rwanda

Dr. Sosthene Munyemana, once a healer, faces a French trial for alleged crimes during Rwanda's 1994 genocide. The former gynaecologist denies charges of organizing torture and killings. With 70 witnesses, this marks France's sixth trial on Rwandan massacres, amid diplomatic discord between the two nations.

🇹🇿 Tanzania

A Tanzanian citizen, Clemence Mtenga, who went missing during the Hamas-Israel conflict, was confirmed dead. Mtenga, part of a group in Israel for agricultural training, will be repatriated for burial. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also actively searching for Joshua Mollel, who is still missing.

Other headlines

Uganda - South Sudan border hit by 4.9 magnitude earthquake. 

Isebantu and Inebantu; The Busoga Royal Wedding.

Parliament rejects the government's disbandment of key agencies plan.

Journalists demand apology from Mpuuga. 

Nsenene hit hard by climate change.

Shs. 66bn to be spent on G77, NAM summits. 

ADF chief charged over killing of tourists in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

International Men's Day to be celebrated in Uganda on November 30.

In Serbia, Museveni launched a bar disguised as ‘Trade Hub’

Human Rights Watch wants a halt to digital number plates.

Police impound and destroy narcotic drugs worth Shs. 2.9 billion.

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BEYOND BORDERS 
Africa 

🇱🇷 Liberty in Liberia. Liberia elected a new president, and you can't relate to this because the outgoing president, George Weah, graciously conceded to his rival, Joseph Boakai, and accepted defeat. Weah also emphasized the need to heal the divisions caused by the campaign and come together as one nation and one united people. Boakai, a 78-year-old political veteran, is set to become Liberia's president after a narrow victory in the run-off vote over Weah, who initially brought hope, fame, and glamour to the presidency but faced criticism for corruption and administrative chaos during his term. Boakai’s win marks the high point in a long career spent within touching distance of power, including 12 years as vice president under Weah's predecessor Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and defeat in a run-off vote to Weah in 2017. Supporters say they want Boakai’s hard work, humility, and experience after six years of Weah's rule.

🇷🇼 🇬🇧 People Ping-Pong. The UK-Rwanda migrant deal suffered a major setback after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the asylum arrangement with Rwanda was unlawful due to concerns about the safety of refugees being returned to countries they fled from. The court's decision overturns a previous ruling that deemed Rwanda a safe third country for asylum seekers. Undeterred, the British Prime Minister is now planning to whip up some emergency legislation to rebrand Rwanda as the next best thing to a cozy cottage in the Cotswolds, all to fend off those pesky legal challenges. 

Other headlines

Malawi President Chakwera bans himself and his cabinet from foreign travel.

Sudan asks UN to terminate its political mission.

Burkina Faso, Somalia to get Russia’s first grain shipment.

South Africa asks ICC to investigate alleged Israel war crimes.

Ethiopia’s only foreign-owned financial company ends operations. 

DRC signs deal for SADC troops deployment.

Madagascar returns to normalcy after elections.

EAC states meet in Uganda to fast-track the start of SGR.

The rest of the world 

🇺🇸 🇨🇳 The Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which was attended by 21 member countries, was held in San Francisco on November 16-17. Under the theme "Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All," the summit tackled issues such as harnessing new technologies (AI mostly) to unleash dynamism across the region, promoting free trade agreements, and diversifying supply chains away from China in the context of evolving globalization. But…everyone—nations and Silicon Valley alike—was really interested in whether Xi Jinping and Joe Biden would kiss and make up, due to recent geopolitical tensions. To this effect, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping side-barred at the summit and agreed on curbing fentanyl production and resuming direct military-to-military communications, but failed to agree on major geopolitical issues, such as North Korea’s growing aggression, Iran’s influence in the Middle East, and Taiwan’s sovereignty. But perhaps the best heat check for how the meeting went was that China agreed to send new pandas to U.S. zoos.

🍿 OpenAI debacle. A lot has changed a week after we sang OpenAI’s praises, not least of which is that the Open AI board of directors fired the CEO and widely recognized face of the AI revolution, Sam Altman, without telling the company’s main investor—Microsoft. Here’s the tea timeline of events: 

November 6: Sam Altman delivers the keynote address at OpenAI DevDay in San Francisco, where he unveils major announcements and advancements (customizeable GPTs, etc.) that could change the landscape of AI.
November 14: Altman posts on Twitter (we’ve decided not to call it X) that there would be a pause in signing up for ChatGPT Plus due to a surge in requests after the DevDay announcements.
November 16: Altman appears at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, speaking on AI.
November 17: The OpenAI board of directors fired Altman, citing concerns that he was not "consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities."
November 18: Altman's sudden ousting leads to a string of senior researchers and executives, including co-founder Greg Brockman, resigning from the company.
November 19: The Verge reported that the board was in talks with Sam Altman for him to return as CEO.
Now: We’re watching Elon Musk’s app with baited breath while Sam Altman tweets flippantly.

The entire tech community is monitoring the situation, sniffing around for clues about the circumstances involved in Sam Altman’s firing. Our favorite theories are:
Scary—The AI achieved consciousness
Boring but likely—tensions between the board’s non-profit and Altman’s for-profit ambitions
Wild—Altman had an improper relationship with an AI

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NN’EBIGENDERAKO
Politics and Government

Former UK prime minister and the face of Brexit, David Cameron, appointed British Foreign Secretary

Nepal banned TikTok to predict social harmony.

Business and Finance

Emirates and FlyDubai bought A LOT of Boeings recently.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stand at Google’s antitrust trial.

Airbnb acquires AI startup for just under $200 million

Advertisers flee X/Twitter after Elon Musk backs antisemitic post.

Science and Technology

Microsoft launched AI chips to compete with Nvidia.

Google wants to replace your rainmaker.

Apple says iPhones will support RCS in 2024.

UK becomes the first country to approve CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy for treating diseases in patients.

Sports

The Cricket World Cup is going on (*crickets*).

Rumors of Formula 1 demand in Vegas might’ve been greatly exaggerated.

ESPN launched ESPNBet because there aren’t enough betting companies.

Lifestyle and Entertainment

André 3000 made a great album to fall asleep to.

Kevin Hart to receive humor’s greatest honor—The Mark Twain Award.

PROCRASTINATION CORNER
Games and Puzzles

From Braingle.
My author's uncertain yet my title's the same,
I contain random text yet order's my aim.
Read me one day and see my pages are totally bare.
Try again another day and the words will be there.
I'm not a book of magic although it may sound,
I can predict the future, and inside, your life can be found.
Move my eye, I become involved in lactic extraction.
But that's just a clue, a minor distraction.

What am I?

Answer at the bottom.

Our picks

💡 Read: How to stop checking on your ex

💡 Travel: The 50 best places to travel in 2024

💡 Broswe: How maths built the modern world

Games answer

Answer: A diary

Have a good week!

— Too Long; Didn’t Read (TLDR)

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