🚢 The week of the sub-tweet

Good morning 🌞 The submersible story was contentious for many reasons: the schadenfreude, the Simpsons prediction, the rich white man hubris, the allure of “eat the rich” ideology, and the memes. Goodness, the memes. None of us is seeing heaven.
The story was big enough to make it here but trivial enough to make it to our opening anecdote, so you can skip it and get to the “real” news.
The US Coast Guard searched an area one-tenth the size of Uganda for five passengers who paid $250,000 each to descend to the ocean's depths to view the Titanic wreckage. However, the Coast Guard found debris believed to be from the passengers’ shoddy vehicle of choice—the Titan submersible. All 5 passengers are believed to be dead.

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Headlines

💰 Big donor energy

Uganda’s favourite rich uncle, the IMF, cleared and approved Uganda to receive pocket money of $120 million. When we say eleta manya ki? This is what we mean. The money is being released under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement which provides medium-term financial assistance to low-income countries. The funds are meant to facilitate post-COVID-19 economic recovery and growth.

🧾 Stamp duty to the rescue

Under pressure to increase the tax revenue to GDP ratio (and seemingly incapable of widening the tax base), URA warned that failure to pay stamp duty on agreements or memoranda relating to the purchase and transfer of property is punishable by penalties, imprisonment or both. The URA notice said land transfer or purchase was subject to stamp duty at a rate of 1.5% of the value of the land, determined by the chief government valuer. URA issued similar warnings to stakeholders in agriculture, music, arts, and drama, urging them to comply with tax obligations.

🌾 Farm to [European] table

The next time you’re ‘outside countries’, you may not have to endure cold sandwiches or avocados the size of tomatoes. More than 500 agribusiness companies from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania will benefit from the European Union market under the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) established in 2018. The EU market is valued at about Shs. 8.68Tn and products such as tea, coffee, spices and avocados from the region continue to hit the European market in increasingly large quantities.

Other headlines

Security scrutinised over Kasese tragedy | URA staff to wear body cams

Tanzania temporarily suspends permits for traders exporting to Uganda.

The Uganda Aviation Expo | MOH to enforce drinking age of 21

Uganda Airlines’ maiden trip to Mecca | Mapenduzi joins NRM

Court sets ruling date over Justice Amoko’s burial

Family of 5 hacked to death in Masaka | Court rules on WhatsApp group ejection

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Not an AD: Buy a brick

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Beyond Borders 

🌍️ Africa

🇿🇦 Dark and [now] dry. According to the BBC, 70 million litres of clean treated drinkable water are lost daily in South Africa. That’s enough water to fill 30 Olympic size swimming pools. Daily. Vast leaks, sewage problems, load-shedding, poorly maintained infrastructure and water supply that cannot meet demand are affecting an SA water industry that is giving Uganda in the 90s. Consequently, wealthier neighbourhoods are digging private boreholes, and exacerbating inequality.

🇿🇲 Take me out on a debt. In a leadership masterstroke by President Hichilema, Zambia reached an astounding deal to restructure its $6.3bn in debt owed to governments abroad, including China, marking a breakthrough for indebted nations around the world that have faced lengthy negotiations with their creditors. The agreement was reached at a summit in Paris and calls for Zambia's debt to be rescheduled over more than 20 years with a three-year grace period during which only payments on interest are due.

🇰🇪 New deal, who dis? Touted as the most comprehensive agreement Kenya has ever negotiated with the EU, Kenya ostensibly hid its homework from other EAC members and signed a 25-year bilateral trade agreement with the EU that holds promises and perils. On one hand, Kenya gains access to European markets. On the other hand, there's the looming threat of European products flooding Kenya and drowning out local industry.

Other headlines

AU force in Somalia shrinks | Kenya gets $199m for refugee transition plan

Gambia bans India drugs after child deaths | Controversial Ethiopia dam almost done 

EALA members refused to speak Kiswahili in assembly

🗺️ The rest of the world

🇷🇺Coup de grâce? In a sensational wet dream for the West and its allies, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of Wagner—a Russian paramilitary group that has been fighting for Russia in Ukraine—and his troops took control of a Russian military headquarters, prompting accusations of a coup from top generals and a statement from President Putin calling it a 'betrayal'. A legitimate coup by Wagner would be consequential from Putin’s palatial balcony in Moscow to the dry lands in Mali and Central African Republic where Wagner routinely meddles; however, in a long June night and a day, Prigozhin allegedly cut a deal with Belarus and Putin and his troops made an about-turn. In a war fought on battlefields and bulletins, it’s hard to know which side is up. We wait to see which propaganda machines will win.

🇮🇳 Guess who’s coming to dinner? India Prime Minister Modi visited the US to discuss the two countries’ "deepening economic ties." With the US and China in the ‘off’ phase of their “on again, off again” dance, India has picked the perfect time to cut in, rest their hand on the small of America’s back, and offer a sanctuary for the diversification of US companies' manufacturing bases. For its opportunism, India expects its dalliance with America to develop further with a potential deal with Tesla and a nod to manufacturing military jet engines. Back home, Modi boasts a contentious human rights record, but who has time for such trifles, right?

Nn’ebigenderako

Politics and Government

Ukraine war update | US Pentagon accounting error gives Ukraine $6.2Bn

Deadly cyclone in Brazil | ~41 women died in Honduran prison riots

Canada’s immigration laws bolster its population | 29 injured in Paris gas explosion

170 people died due to India’s intense heat wave | Brazil’s Trump on trial

US/India reach landmark jet engine deal | The Panama Canal is drying up

France offers Tunisia cash to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean by boat

Business and Finance

The largest aircraft deal ever | Tesla’s growing charging standard

Intel to spend $58Bn in expansion | Gannett sues Google

Alibaba replaces Jack Ma | FTC sues Amazon

Science and Technology

EU declares smartphones must have user-replaceable batteries by 2027

Ancient Mayan city discovered

The blood-brain barrier | Long read: AI’s human army

Sports

Corruption 🤝🏾 Olympics | Jordan's “Flu Game” shoe sold for $1.3M

The Spurs draft Victor Wembanyama #1 | Our parents were wrong about video games

US to host FIFA Club World Cup in 2025

Lifestyle and Entertainment

Jonathan Majors appears in court 

Elon vs. Zuckerberg in a cage match is a lose:lose match we’ll watch

Marvel used AI to create the Secret Wars opening sequence and 🥴

Highlights from Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton show or watch the whole thing

TIME Magazine’s latest list | Rihanna stepped down as CEO of Savage X Fenty

Procrastination corner

Games and Puzzles

From Digg: Can You Find This Bear's Missing Bow Tie That's Lost In A Sea Of Flowers?

Answer at the bottom

Our picks

☎ The world’s biggest iPhone

🏠 Mbu: The top 10 best places to live

🍛 The 50 best restaurants in the world

Games answer

Answer:

Have a good week!

— Too Long; Didn’t Read (TLDR)