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- 🏃🏾♂️ A Hasty Retreat
🏃🏾♂️ A Hasty Retreat
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Good morning 🌤️ Considering the prevalent predilections in this period, this might be relevant for some of you soon: Doctors now know what causes pregnancy nausea in 67% of pregnant women—a hormone called GDF15, which the fetus produces. To treat pregnancy nausea, women should be exposed to the GDF15 hormone before pregnancy.
Have a good week!
—Gloria Mbabazi, Shem Opolot
HEADLINES
🏃🏾♂️ A Hasty Retreat
The Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) completed its troop withdrawal from North Kivu province in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the DRC government decided against renewing the mandate of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) troops, who were on a peacekeeping mission in the province. The Ugandan troops' commander expressed disappointment with the premature withdrawal, citing unmet disarmament and integration goals. Tasked initially with reclaiming territory from the M23 rebels and establishing a buffer zone, the multinational troop cast from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and South Sudan has exited the stage without a grand finale, leaving the audience with mixed feelings and an unresolved plot.
But…Hope springs eternal because regional states in the Great Lakes Region have committed to resolving the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC via the decade-old Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework.
🍷 Wine and Dine
Kiiza Besigye for Gen Z’s, aka Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, warned his party members against falling for what he called the "Shs. 100 million siren song." Bobi alleged the hefty sum was a cunning bribe sandwiched in the Shs. 55.6 billion parliamentary supplementary budget. Despite Kyagulanyi's cautionary tale, some NUP MPs seem to be cozying up to the coins, declaring their intentions to keep the cash. The budget has sparked controversy for allegedly sneaking in classified expenditures for the State House.
Kyagulanyi, ever the performer, also took center stage to address the drama surrounding his statements on homosexuality, accusing President Museveni of orchestrating a political sideshow.
🇰🇪 Kenya
Kenya is set to roll out a visa-free regime on January 1, 2023. According to President Ruto, this initiative aims to simplify business regulations, facilitate access to finance, and promote regional economic integration. Kenya's support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) seeks to create a borderless market for African businesses.
🇷🇼 Rwanda
Rwanda's noise crackdown takes a holiday break as the Rwanda Development Board announced that opening hours would be extended between December 15 and January 7 until 2:00 am on working days and all-hours on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays.
🇹🇿 Tanzania
A Tanzanian student, Joshua Mollel, missing since October, was confirmed dead in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israeli government reports he was killed after being taken hostage. Mollel was studying in Israel. Clemence Mtenga, a fellow student, was also confirmed dead in November. Details of Mollel's death remain unclear.
Other headlines
Court martial dismisses, jails four UPDF officers over torture.
EACOP: Pipes to move crude oil from Hoima to Tanga arrive.
Shs. 1.2 Trillion more for roads okayed by Parliament.
Ugandan runs for Congress in America.
China donates SUV cars for NAM, G-77 Summits.
BEYOND BORDERS
Africa
A Jumia rider makes a delivery | Source: CIO Africa
🏍 Goodbye, Jumia Food. Once dubbed the “The Amazon of Africa,” Jumia announced plans to shut down its food delivery business, Jumia Food, in all seven African markets (Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Ivory Coast). Here’s what you need to know:
Jumia Food currently represents around 11% of Jumia's overall merchandise value. The company is focusing on growing its core online retail business instead.
Jumia was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.
According to one report, Jumia's customer base has declined 24% since the third quarter of 2022.
While your days of finding tissue stuck on top of your cold pizza delivery might be behind you, Jumia Food's closure will leave a gaping hole in the African food delivery market, raising questions about its future and the challenges facing major players.
🇸🇴 Exclusive Relationship. Somalia officially joined the East African Community (EAC) party, becoming the 8th member in a grand ceremony at Uganda's State House. The ink dried on the Treaty of Accession as presidents gathered, with South Sudan's Salva Kiir holding the EAC chair. The rush to expand gets bombastic side-eye, as Kenya and Tanzania's big economies are accused of playing trade traffic cops. Furthermore, the EAC's hasty growth continues to draw criticism as political tiffs between member states overshadow the bloc's ambitions.
Other headlines
ECOWAS finally suspends Niger Republic.
D.R. Congo seeks UN help with the upcoming election.
Zuma says he will not vote for ANC in South Africa’s election.
Sudan: Fighting spreads to Wad Madani, which has been spared from violence until now.
The rest of the world
Heads of State at COP28 | Source: GETTY IMAGES
🌤️ The cop-out at COP28. The COP28 climate summit in Dubai ended with roughly 200 nations agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels in a "just, orderly, and equitable manner" and accelerate renewable energy and efficiency efforts. The summit considered the following five options for phasing out fossil fuels:
Phasing out fossil fuels in line with the best available science, the IPCC's 1.5 pathways, and the principles and provisions of the Paris Agreement
Phasing out unabated fossil fuels and rapidly reducing their use to achieve net-zero CO2. Unabated fossil fuels are fossil fuels that are produced and used without interventions that substantially reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted throughout their life cycle.
No language on the future use of fossil fuels. (No prizes for guessing who suggested this.)
Rapid phase-out of unabated coal power this decade
Transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner
But there were considerable challenges:
Challenges in defining terms: Defining terms like 'best available science' and 'unabated' is proving to be a challenge for COP28.
OPEC's influence: OPEC is urging its member countries to refuse to sign off on any final statement that targets fossil fuels.
Global perspectives: Developing nations like China and India are concerned about the cost and scarcity of energy resources if fossil fuels are phased out.
Some climate activists were disappointed that the deal did not mandate an absolute fossil-fuel phase-out. While the agreement represents progress, it is not enough action to limit global warming to 1.5°C, according to UN climate chief Simon Stiell.
NN’EBIGENDERAKO
Everything else…
Shortly after President Putin began his re-election campaign, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is serving time in prison, went missing.
Israel’s military said they accidentally shot and killed three Israeli hostages during a ground operation in Gaza, where at least 130 people remain captive after the October 7 Hamas attack.
The 193-nation United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding measure for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.
Two of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, will avoid the Red Sea and take longer routes around Africa after attacks on ships by Houthi militants near Yemen.
The EU has reached a provisional deal to introduce the world's first comprehensive laws regulating artificial intelligence.
London’s High Court ruled in favor of Prince Harry in a lawsuit against a British tabloid for illegally reporting on the private lives of celebrities
PROCRASTINATION CORNER
Games and Puzzles
From Braingle.
You've come to hear; you've come to see
We ask you do so quietly
Be the end too foreseeable
It will not be agreeable
Though you are happy to attend
You will not look at your best friend
For your spouse who's done you no wrong
The silent treatment two hours long
Entertainment is here for all
By simply staring at a wall
What am I?
Answer at the bottom.
Our picks
💡 This is the best time of the year to watch this video
💡 The slowest depreciating cars
💡 How Pantone, the company of color, makes money
Games answer
Answer: a movie theatre or a cinema
Have a good week!
— Too Long; Didn’t Read (TLDR)
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