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š° Check and Balance
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Good morning š¤ļø It started as a joke, but people are using LinkedIn as a dating site. And honestly, we get it. LinkedIn has everythingāSunday-best headshots, socially acceptable self-aggrandizement (with a little more honesty), less short kings masquerading as six-footers, and A LOT of people happy to announce their exploits (so you can keep track of which bottle to put your straw in).
Have a good week!
āGloria Mbabazi, Shem Opolot
HEADLINES
š° Check and Balance
In a financial fracas fit for the legal ledger, DFCU Bank and its managers will face trial in the UK courtroom against Crane Bank's pursuit of monetary justice. The Supreme Court, refusing to grant DFCU an overdraft on legal immunity, deemed their appeal non-negotiable and slapped them with the expense billāa transaction too costly for the banking defendants.
Under the unrelenting fiscal baton of Sudhir Ruparelia, Crane Bank aims to recover a substantial $220 million from an alleged dodgy assets and liabilities shuffle to DFCU. DFCU, once the principal account holder, is now caught in the regulatory red tape of a legal audit while Crane Bank meticulously balances the books in pursuit of justice.
Looking aheadā¦
This week (January 15 to January 20), the polished pavements, luminous lanes, swept streets, and plugged potholes made in haste that have caused traffic interruptions in Kampala City recently will culminate in the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement at the newly constructed convention center at Speke Resort Munyonyo. While we pray for the spillover effect of Ugandaās Sunday-best mentality to reach our neighborhoods, we suggest you stay home this week if possible.
š°šŖ Kenya
The phrase ātoo good to be trueā is being kept alive in Kenya after President Ruto's visa waiver dreams turned into a $30 Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) nightmare, leaving international visitors upset as the highly-touted open borders have become open borders with an asterisk.
š·š¼ Rwanda
Burundi closed its border with Rwanda after accusing Rwanda of supporting rebels who carried out attacks near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, in which 20 people were killed.
š¹šæ Tanzania
The collapse of an illegal gold mine in northern Tanzania resulted in the tragic death of at least 22 people due to heavy rains and the disregard for safety procedures. Tanzania ranks as the fourth-largest gold producer in Africa, following South Africa, Ghana, and Mali.
Other headlines
300bn Shs to be lost in expired COVID-19 vaccines.
KCCA terminates 248 stages ahead of NAM and G77+China summits.
MPs block Trade Ministry budget over refusal to fire Permanent Secretary.
Non-Aligned Movement-NAMāall you need to know.
BEYOND BORDERS
Africa
South Africaās legal team at The Hague | Source: GETTY IMAGES
šæš¦ BIG S.A Energy. South Africa (SA) titillated international law enthusiasts everywhere and wrote history by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing them of committing genocide in the war on Gaza. The South African team presented evidence of mass killings, bodily and mental harm, forced displacement and food blockade, destruction of the healthcare system, and the prevention of Palestinian births. SA argued that these actions demonstrated an intent to commit genocide and demanded the UN's top court order an emergency suspension of Israel's military campaign in the Palestinian enclave. SA argued that Israel's offensive aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza. Israel, in its defense the next day, rejected the accusations of genocide and stated that SA was speaking on behalf of Hamas.
The court will rule on SA's request for provisional measures in a few weeks, but a final ruling on the charges of this magnitude could take years. SAās case, though bold and vociferous, will have a high bar to clearāthe court has never held a country responsible for genocide before.
The ICC and the ICJ are sometimes conflated with one another. Though both the courts are located in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC is not a U.N body, while the ICJ is the U.Nās highest court. The ICJ aims to resolve conflicts between states, while the ICC prosecutes individuals for committing crimes.
š¦ Buzz Kill. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Cape Verde mosquito-free, a feat shared with African companions Mauritius and Algeria. While many African nations grapple with malaria, Cape Verde's lower infection rates paved the way for this milestone. However,ā¦the WHO stressed the importance of keeping the health guard up to maintain this achievement by strengthening health systems and grooming medical pros to fend off any malaria comeback.
Other headlines
Return of piracy on Somalia waters to push up costs.
Sudan military junta rejects latest peace talks by IGAD.
UN peacekeepers' pullout process from DRC starts.
Nigeriaās Dangote refinery starts diesel, aviation fuel production.
TB Joshua exposƩ: How the disgraced pastor faked his miracles.
The rest of the world
āļø Jet Blues. You know whoās not having a happy new year? Boeing. Also, it might be time to make flight safety videos boring again. A Boeing 737 Max 9 jet from Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing due to a blown-out panel. Luckily, there were no serious injuries to passengers or iPhones on board, as the plane was still flying at about 16,000 feet after takeoff. An investigation is ongoing, and other airlines have temporarily grounded their Max 9s. Recent reports have raised concerns about Boeing's safety record, including previous crashes and accusations of prioritizing profits over safety.
Imagine boarding a plane, sitting near an emergency exit, ignoring the pre-flight safety video, and dozing off only to wake up to cold billowing winds, the wing of the plane as your footstool, and the face of God (if youāre lucky). (See the video here)
š A snail global economy. The World Bank forecast that global economic growth will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024, prolonging poverty and debt in many developing nations. Happy New Year, right?
Growth is projected to be 2.4% in 2024, down from an estimated 2.6% in 2023 and 3.0% in 2022. Excluding the pandemic, 2024 growth would be the weakest since the global financial crisis.
High inflation, interest rate hikes, ongoing supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflicts like the war in Ukraine, Israel, etc., are weighing on economies worldwide.
While the US registered 2.5% growth in 2023, the eurozone and China saw weaker growth.
The World Bank also took this opportunity to get ahead of any future shortcomings by warning that its goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 looks difficult to achieve given current economic conditions.
Developing nations face high debt levels and food insecurity issues.
The World Bank suggests accelerating investment in clean energy and climate adaptation could help boost growth, especially in emerging markets. However, this would require comprehensive reforms across fiscal, monetary, and trade policies.
NNāEBIGENDERAKO
Everything elseā¦
South Korea's Parliament voted to make breeding, selling, and killing dogs for human consumption illegal after a long-standing promise from politicians.
President Macron, Franceās youngest president, appointed France's youngest prime ministerā34-year-old Gabriel Attal.
Gang violence in Ecuador, sparked by a prison escape of a gang leader, led to 12 deaths, 130 hostages, and a state of emergency declared by the president.
The US and UK launched airstrikes against sites controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for recent missile and drone attacks by the Houthis on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Taiwan's election will greatly impact its relationship with China and the US, with two candidates in contrasting cornersāone for independence and one for closer ties with China.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the global equivalent of Ugandaās Independence Trade Fair but also the most powerful tech event in the world, ran from January 9 to January 12. Click here for the cliff notes, including a fully transparent 77-inch HD TV from LG.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to bitcoin, marking a major milestone for the cryptocurrency.
Microsoft briefly overtook Apple as the most valuable company in the world, with its $2.9 trillion market capitalization edging Appleās $2.89 trillion on Thursday.
The global software company SAP has agreed to pay over $220 million to settle charges that it engaged in bribery schemes in several countries, including South Africa and Indonesia, between 2014 and 2022.
Tiger Woods ended his 27-year relationship with Nike, during which he earned ~$500m.
PROCRASTINATION CORNER
Games and Puzzles
From Braingle.
What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Answer at the bottom.
Our picks
š” A timeline of the far future
š” The most dangerous shipping route in the world
š” How strong (or weak) is your passport?
Games answer
Answer: SHORT
Have a good week!
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