26th August 2022 | Advertise | Shop | Archive
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Good morning. Something to make you mushy this chill Monday morning - A 99-year-old Pennsylvania woman recently met her 100th great-grandchild. Even more special because Peggy Koller wanted to be a nun when she was a junior in high school. But she got married and welcomed 11 children. Then came 56 grandchildren. Then came the 100th great-grandchild.
Really awwww.
Pakistan. Over 1,000 people have been killed in floods. The flooding, which has destroyed almost 1 million homes, is the worst seen in Pakistan in at least a decade. The province of Sindh has received nearly eight times its average rainfall for the month of August.
Japan. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says Japan will push for an African seat at the United Nations by using its place on the world body’s Security Council. In June, Japan was one of the five countries elected to hold a non-permanent seat on the UNSC for the years 2023 and 2024.
Russia. The Kremlin is offering financial benefits to Ukrainians who move to Russia. The decrees include a pension of approximately $170 per month to people who were forced to leave Ukraine after Russia invaded the country. There is also a one-time payment to pregnant women.
Angola. The governing party has claimed victory in last week’s election after the electoral commission put its vote at 51%. This would give President Joao Lourenco a second five-year term and extend the rule of the Marxist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, which has governed since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Pop sensation Michael Jackson is born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, United States. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
NIGERIA
Piggybacking on the Sauds
The Story
The Nigerian government has backed Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Abdulaziz Bin Salman, in his call for stakeholders to promote stability in the global oil market.
What's this about?
Bin Salman had said earlier that the stability of the international oil market is more important than the price of oil, which seems to attract more attention from stakeholders. "In a way, the market is in a state of schizophrenia, and this is creating a type of yo-yo market, sending erroneous signals at times when greater visibility and clarity and well-functioning markets are needed more than ever to allow market participants to efficiently hedge and manage the huge risks and uncertainties they face", Salman said.
What are the issues in the market?
Analysts have highlighted a disparity between what's on paper and the physical realities of the oil market, which limits how players in the oil market can manage the uncertainties in the market. Expressing the government's support for Salman's call, Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva, reiterated the need to address the disparity and create a more stable global oil market. "A stable oil market benefits all – consumers, producers, and investors alike. It is also a catalyst for global economic growth", Sylva said, adding that the current extreme volatility in the market calls for caution. Source
EUROPE
The Holy Rail
The Story
Germany has inaugurated the world's first railway line powered entirely by hydrogen.
What's the significance of this?
Hydrogen trains have been projected to help decarbonize the rail sector by phasing out climate-warming diesel, which still powers 20% of trips within Germany. The fleet of 14 trains, provided by French industrial giant Alstom to the German state of Lower Saxony, replaces diesel locomotives on the 60 miles of track connecting the cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde, and Buxtehude.
How does hydrogen power the trains?
A “zero emission” mode of transport, the trains mix hydrogen on board with oxygen present in the ambient air, by way of a fuel cell installed in the roof that produces the electricity needed to operate the train. The new fleet, which cost $93m, will prevent 4,400 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere each year. "We are very proud to put this technology into operation together with our strong partners as a world premiere", Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said in a statement.
According to Alexandre Charpentier, a rail expert at Roland Berger, about 15-20% of the regional European rail market could run on hydrogen by 2035. Trains are, however, not the only machineries in need of the hydrogen fuel. Road vehicles, aircraft, as well as heavy industries such as steel and chemicals, are all looking towards hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions. Ironically, hydrogen is currently “95% derived from the transformation of 'fossil fuels', almost half of which come from natural gas”, according to the French research institute IFP, which specializes in energy issues. Source
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EUROPE
Finn Hot Water
The Story
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has been under fire since footage of her partying began making the rounds on social media about two weeks ago.
Is partying a crime in Finland?
No, but the uproar isn't just about the partying. She made headlines when videos of her drinking and dancing at a private party were released. While she admitted drinking a small amount of alcohol, she insisted that her decision-making abilities had been unimpaired, and “could have left to take care of government tasks” if necessary. Some have claimed drugs were consumed at the party. And “to clear up suspicions,” Marin took a drug test, which came back negative.
Didn't that satisfy her critics?
That's not all. Marin, 36, apologized again after a photo taken at her home of two women kissing and holding up their shirts with a “Finland” sign appeared in a TikTok video. “I think the picture is not appropriate, I apologize for it. Such a picture should not have been taken", she said. Marin had invited friends to come to the official residence after the Ruisrock music festival on July 8.
Did she violate any laws with the invite?
No, she didn't. The PM said her guests’ names had been cleared in advance to security personnel at the residence. She added that "otherwise nothing extraordinary happened”. While she has received support from members of her party and from women across the country, others have suggested that, though it is her right to party, there are more pressing issues to be dealt with instead of drinking and dancing. The real lesson here seems to be that Marin needs better friends. Source
66% sickle cell patients live in Africa – WHO
Army dismisses soldiers accused of killing Islamic cleric
INEC warns against campaigns in churches, mosques
Oyakhilome tackles languages extinction with 7,000 translations
Peter Obi: Don’t listen to candidates speaking through proxies
Football megastar Paul Pogba in ‘insane’ blackmail, kidnap plot
Cockpit fistfight between pilots leads to Air France suspension
Excitement builds as NASA’s moon rocket readies for liftoff
India demolishes 100-metre-high ‘twin towers’ outside New Delhi
Major destruction after Israel targets missile facility in Syria
POLITICS TODAY
Redefining Nigeria's Political Socialization
A man, they say, is a product of his environment. This is so because the environment of a man has a great influence on his life. A man, whether consciously or otherwise, internalizes the various trends in his society, and his interaction with society is strictly influenced by such trends. When a child is born, the family brings him up in a way that will equip him with relevant knowledge of the society and its culture, so as to make him become a worthy member of such society. As the child grows, he goes to school, makes friends, joins groups, and is further exposed to happenings in the society. He gets to know the norms, values, beliefs, and traditions which make for the approved pattern of behaviors of such society. This process of learning about one’s society is what we call socialization.
Visualizing the world's biggest military spenders. Visual Capitalist
How to: Instead of ghosting, learn to say no. Harvard Business Review
Daylight Saving and the Politics of Time. Alex Dalenberg
Sonnets from the Cherokee (Poetry). Poets
The world’s best cities for cyclists. TimeOut
TRIVIA
Having taken this quiz? It's a quiz about cultures around the world.
How much about other people's cultures do you know? Look at this -
- What's the traditional dance of Hawaiian people?
- In which culture is coffee a religion?
INTERNET GIGGLES
Written by Seun, Mercy, Kingsley, and Tosin.
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