US Vice President Kamala Harris visits Africa as Russia and China deepen roots on the continent
US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Africa later this month, her office announced on Monday, becoming the most senior Biden administration official to visit the continent. Her trip comes as the administration seeks to bolster its relationships with African countries, as competitors like Russia and China have made...
WhatsApp fights bill that compels tech firms to use non-existent ‘accredited technology’ to rein in child abuse
The head of Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service is currently in the UK to whip up a row with the government about end-to-end encryption. Speaking to journalists in London on Thursday, Will Cathcart, did everything but compare the UK’s proposed new internet law to the erosion of online privacy in countries...
Big Pharma tyranny: Hungry US corporates are now bullying Mexico into buying GMO maize
Today under a new – free but not fair – trade agreement, the US aims to force Mexico to not only accept genetically modified corn but also to overturn their ban on the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate), a probable carcinogen. Corporate money has always corrupted the political process in order to...
Report: Drought has killed 11 million livestock and over 6,000 iconic wildlife species in East Africa
Surrounded by kilometres of dried land and what remains of his famished livestock, Daniel Lepaine is a worried man. Dozens of his goats in Ngong, a town in southern Kenya, have died after three years of harrowing drought in East and Horn of Africa. The rest are on the verge...
Kenyan currency takes a beating as foreign reserves plunge to a year low, breaches EAC law
Kenya is facing an acute foreign exchange crunch, with US dollar reserves dropping to their lowest in eight years as its currency keeps plummeting against major global currencies. According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the plunge of the Kenyan shilling has been so substantial that it has even...
South Africa greylisted by G-20 for failing to act firmly on money laundering, terrorist financing
The greylisting of South Africa last month by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made waves in the country, occupying substantial media attention. South Africa became only the second G20 country to have been greylisted other than Turkey – an embarrassing fall from grace. Nigeria’s addition to the list...
Why China fined GlaxoSmithKline $500 million, deported top executive for bribing doctors to prescribe cancerous drug Zantac
Nevertheless, the warning signs continued to build up. A 1980 report titled “Glaxo, Ranitidine – Cause for Concern,” found that ranitidine could potentially form a potentially dangerous, and cancerous, compound in the stomach. Glaxo, which was seeking FDA approval for Zantac, prepared for “defensive action” to protect itself from the...
Experts vouch for decentralised economies, fear totalitarian systems by central banks via digital currencies
“We must prevent the introduction of central bank digital currencies “because that is the epitome of a centralised, controlled, even totalitarian system,” economist Richard Werner has warned. Speaking in a recent episode of The Kim Iversen Show, Prof Werner said the current inflation crisis the world is currently facing is...
Billionaire Richard Branson says family and business need not be separate, following your dreams emboldens your children
As we settle into the year ahead, it was wonderful to see so many enthusiastic submissions for my newsletter this month. As ever, it was a struggle to select just one question to answer, but something about this one from Derek Notnam really heartened me. He asked: What advice do...
Google parent company plans to shed 12,000 jobs worldwide as focus on Artificial Intelligence intensifies
Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), announced on Friday it will cut about 12,000 jobs, or 6 perc cent of its workforce, as the technology sector reels from layoffs and companies stake their futures on artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet’s shares rose almost 4 per cent in pre-market trading. The cuts...
