New era for US drugs regulation as Biden administration reclassifies cannabis but pot businesses still can’t find a bank
Most Americans live in states where marijuana is legally available in some form. But there’s a continuing problem when it comes to banks: Many financial institutions don’t want anything to do with money from the cannabis industry for fear it could expose them to legal trouble from the federal government, which still lists marijuana as illegal.
Wary of disruptive Umkhonto Wesizwe’s influence, South Africa’s ruling ANC is investigating ex-president Zuma’s party for forgery
The new investigation into the MK Party came after a national newspaper reported on Sunday that a former party official has told police there was an elaborate scheme to forge some of the 15,000 signatures required for parties to register for the elections.
World humanitarian agencies raise alarm over ‘crushing levels of violence and displacement’ in Congo
Over the past few months over 700,000 people have been forced from their homes, bringing the total forcibly displaced to 7.2 million – an all-time high.
Kenya and Rwanda push for transnational plastics and toxic plastic chemical controls or protections
More than 50 countries supported a proposal by Rwanda and Peru for assessing what a sustainable level for plastic production might look like. Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, but today’s levels already “are unsustainable and far exceed our recycling and waste management capacities,” said Rwanda’s chief negotiator Juliet Kabera.
Kenya’s economy to steady further with $1 billion IMF tranche as shilling holds firm against US dollar
Robust lending to Kenya from the IMF and World Bank has helped the government to navigate a liquidity crisis. The East African nation received a $941 million lending boost from the IMF in January, which brought the size of its programme with the fund to $4.43 billion, with around $2.5 billion outstanding.
Arrest warrant out for forrmer Central African Republic president Bozizé for human rights abuses
Bozizé lives in exile in Guinea Bissau, where that country’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló said he had not received any request from Bangui about the arrest warrant, and that the country’s laws do not allow for extradition.
Biden’s lead over Trump narrows to one per cent in opinion polls six months to US election
Some 28 per cent of registered voters in the poll said they had not picked a candidate, were leaning toward third-party options or might not vote at all. The poll found 8 per cent of respondents would pick Robert Kennedy Jr, an anti-vaccine activist running as an independent, if he were on the ballot with Trump and Biden.
Kenyans in flood-prone areas ordered to evacuate or be ejected by force as death toll rises
With seasonal rains forecast to increase in the coming weeks, the Cabinet said residents of areas with flooding or landslides in the past, and residents near dams and rivers considered at high risk, will have to evacuate by Wednesday. Those who don’t will be moved by force.
How Indian Ocean Dipole weather swings set off torrential rainfall in Kenya that’s killed over 200 people
In the most tragic single event, at least 70 people were killed on Monday after water blew through a blocked river tunnel under a railway bridge in southwestern Kenya, causing a flash flood. The rain has displaced more than 100,000 people, swept away 30,000 homes and damaged roads and other infrastructure.
How Arsenal boss created untouchables ever ‘ready to drive, foot to the floor, every three days’
The perfectionist streak in Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta perhaps explains why he has become so attached to his crop of key performers. He believes the best players have to want to be ready to drive, foot to the floor, every three days. It’s a challenge he laid some years ago to a young Saka, using Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the ultimate example, the best who set the highest bars for consistent performance.
