Standard Chartered picks new investment banking regional heads, source says
Steve Cranwell will head CIB operations for the United States, Europe and the Americas, Kariuki Ngari for Kenya and Africa, while Rola Abu Manneh will oversee the United Arab Emirates as well as the wider Middle East region and Pakistan.
Malaria vaccine rollout in tropical belt shines light on value of renewable power
The vaccine “cold chain” sees vaccines being stored and distributed through several layers, beginning with a national-level storage centre and cascading down to local facilities. In remote areas, where an electricity grid network is either absent or unreliable, the need for reliable refrigeration has long caused headaches, but huge progress has been made in recent years in developing fridges that use solar panels as a power source. Thousands of such devices are now in position across sub-Saharan Africa, ready to serve as the workhorse of the malaria vaccine rollout.
Temporary relief for Trump after he posts $175m bond in civil fraud case to avert asset seizures
The bond prevents New York Attorney General Letitia James from going after Trump’s properties, including Trump Tower, his 370-acre resort and golf course in Westchester and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump has denied wrongdoing and said the case is a political witch-hunt by James, a Democrat who sued him in 2022.
Far-right politics hits Elon Musk hard as consumers give his car brand Tesla and X wide berth
Tesla’s consideration score fell 8 percentage points from January alone even as Caliber’s scores for Mercedes, BMW and Audi, which produce gas as well as EV models, inched up during that same period, reaching 44-47 per cent.
Pope overcomes health concerns to preside over Easter Mass and appeal for peace in Gaza, Ukraine
Francis appeared in good form, despite having celebrated the two-and-half-hour nighttime Easter Vigil just hours before. The pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling respiratory problems all winter and his full participation in Easter services was not entirely guaranteed, especially after he skipped the traditional Good Friday procession.
PEPFAR: Pioneer of embattled global HIV programme recalls the hope after years of despair
Opponents say the HIV/Aids funding could be indirectly supporting abortion abroad, although the Biden administration and PEPFAR’s defenders say there is no evidence that it does. After a handful of conservative lawmakers threatened for months to block the funding unless restrictions were attached, a compromise was struck in late March that extends the funding for a year.
European football grapples with irony of Black players dominating the game, but can’t be hired to coach
Racism has long permeated the world’s most popular sport, with players subjected to racist chants and taunts online. While soccer governing bodies such as Fifa and UEFA have taken steps to combat the abuse of players, the lack of diversity in the upper ranks at major clubs remains an unsolved problem.
Canada to train troops from Caribbean nations in addition to $60 million for Haiti mission
The troops are due to stay in Jamaica for an initial period of a month and will train around 330 troops from Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.
American R&B icon Bruce Springsteen becomes first international songwriter to be made fellow of Britain’s Ivors Academy
Over the last half century, the Born to Run musician has sold more than 140 million records worldwide — from his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ to his most recent studio album Only the Strong Survive in 2022, with a liberal dusting of top honours along the way, including 20 Grammys, an Oscar and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Pop star Shakira revisits how she turned pain into ‘tears of triumph and tears of self-recognition’ in new album
In reality, the last few years haven’t been kind to Shakira. In 2022, after 11 years and two children together, she separated from soccer player Gerard Piqué, leading to what she’s called the “dissolution of my family.” She faced charges of tax evasion in Spain; in November 2023, she received a suspended three-year sentence and paid a fine of €7.3 million ($8 million) in addition to previously unpaid taxes and interest.
