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Happy Weekend! Wikipedia has locked down editing “Recession.” The page about economic downturns was edited 180 times in the last week (compared to 88 times in all of 2021), so anonymous and new editors have been prevented from changing it.
Guess people feel the recession differently.
United Kingdom. The Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates by 50 basis points (1.25% to 1.75%), its biggest hike in 27 years. The BoE said that the U.K. will likely be in a recession later this year and that the inflation rate would peak at above 10% in the second half of 2022.
Europe. The Netherlands declared a water shortage. Lack of rainfall has led to a drought. In France, energy supplier EDF cut nuclear power production to keep rivers, which cool the plants, from overheating. Meanwhile, Europe’s Rhine River, a key shipping route, may close due to low water levels.
Taiwan. China has resumed its largest-ever military exercises in the waters around Taiwan, with numerous warships and fighter aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line. The exercises which included firing ballistic missiles and deploying fighter jets, follow the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the democratic island, which Beijing claims as its own.
2001 First GSM Launched in Nigeria
Econet Wireless Nigeria launched its operation pioneering GSM service in Nigeria. Before then, Nigeria was Africa's largest and most neglected telecoms market with fewer than one phone line for every 250 people.
NIGERIA
Stating Exclusion Grievance
The Story
There appears to be no end in sight on the protracted dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as the government stated that whatever agreements they reach will not be binding on state universities.
What's the FG's reason?
The federal government argues that it cannot compel state governments to work with any agreements reached with ASUU because education is not on the Exclusive legislative list of the constitution. In other words, since education is on the Concurrent legislative list, it means state governments are authorized to act according to what works for them on the matter, especially in the area of remuneration.
Aren't the states part of the negotiations?
When contacted on the subject, the Commissioner for Information in Ekiti state, Akin Omole, said on Wednesday that the state was not part of the ongoing negotiation between ASUU and the FG, so any agreement reached could not be applied to ASUU members in Ekiti State University, according to The Punch. The Benue state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Michael Inalegwu, while stating the state's noninvolvement in the ongoing negotiations, expressed hope that the government and the state's chapter of ASUU will reach a compromise.
What's ASUU saying?
The union insists that any agreements reached in the negotiations must be reflected in both federal and state universities. The union argues that the country's university system is a single entity, and that the current industrial action is being observed by both federal and state universities academic staff. "I can tell you that the renegotiation team is made up of pro-chancellors of state and federal universities. So, how can anyone say the agreement won’t be binding on state universities?", said Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the union's president.
The latest friction is primarily about remuneration. A committee led by the Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja, Prof. Nimi Briggs, is reported to have recommended a 180% pay raise for lecturers, while the FG is said to favour a 100% increase. While the FG's team is said to be working out the final details of the proposal, it remains to be seen how it plans to handle ASUU's latest demand. Source
AFRICA
Changing The Norm
The Story
For the first time since the country's independence in 1960, Senegal's ruling party and its allies have lost absolute majority in Parliament.
What's the impact of this?
Well, among others, the primary impact this will have is that the ruling party now has to rely on other groups in the parliament to pass legislation. In an election that the interior ministry said had a 47% participation rate, the main opposition coalition Yewwi Askane Wi won 56 parliamentary seats, while its ally Wallu Senegal won 24 seats.
Is this a reflection of the current government's performance?
Not exactly. The opposition's main concern going into the election had been the rumoured potential 3rd term bid by the country's President, Macky Sall, and a parliament majority for the ruling party would have largely secured such ambition. About seven million Senegalese were eligible to vote in the election. Sall's party, the Alliance for the Republic (APR) and its allies lost 43 of the 125 seats secured in the 2017 elections.
Source
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Chevening scholarships are awarded to individuals from all backgrounds who can demonstrate that they have the commitment and skills required to create positive change and can show how a UK master’s degree will help them do that.
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ASIA
Indo-Dragon Strike
The Story
Hundreds of workers in Indonesia's tourism industry have gone on strike, but not primarily to press demands for themselves.
How do you mean?
The industrial action was prompted by the government's decision to raise the price of seeing Komodo dragons, from $13 (200,000 rupiah) to $251 (3,750,000 rupiah) per tourist. The price hike led to a strike by almost 700 workers who earn a living through the tourist attraction of the Komodo dragons.
Why is the price increase so much?
About 220,000 tourists were attracted to the Komodo National Park in 2019 to see the animals. The sharp increase in price, according to the government, is to prevent the animals from being overexposed to humans by reducing the number of visitors who see them. The price hike is expected to discourage a significant number of tourists, raising concern among the industry's workers.
Why does the government want their exposure to humans reduced?
Komodo dragons are the largest lizard species in the world, and Indonesia is home to about 3,300 of them. Conservationists have, however, raised concerns that the animals are at risk of extinction, which they argue is worsened by too much exposure to humans. Authorities have previously considered alternative ways to limit their exposure, including banning tourists from the park completely or a costly membership scheme.
Servianus Setiawan, one of the industry's workers, argued that while it's essential to protect the animals, the livelihood of the industry's workers must not be jeopardized. "We support Komodo conservation but please come up with a sensible number, so we can protect Komodo dragons and so people whose livelihood depends on tourism can live", Satiawan said. Source
Terror attack: NRC suspends Lagos-Kano, Ajaokuta train services
FG postpones civil service promotion exams
Tafa Balogun, former IGP, is dead
NDLEA destroys ‘single largest haul’ of illicit drugs in Lagos
Nigeria breaks women’s para powerlifting record
Bandits attack AIG convey; orderly killed
FG confirms N1.14bn worth of vehicles for Niger Republic
Documentary: NBC fines Trust TV, MultiChoice, StarTimes N5m each
OPEC+ raises September output target by 100,000 bpd
UAE voices support for ‘China’s sovereignty’
Entrepreneurship Support Opportunity
Western Union Foundation Fellowship 2022
The Western Union Foundation Fellowship is for young entrepreneurs and community leaders who are from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities around the globe.
This 16-week-long program is designed to equip these next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders with the skills and experience to increase access to economic opportunity, have the opportunity to earn seed funding, integrate into their communities, succeed in the evolving nature of work, and transform their communities.
$25,000 in seed funding will be distributed among the Western Union Foundation Fellows based on progress and impact throughout the Fellowship.
Application Deadline: November 15, 2022. Apply Here
The Legal tussle threatening Eko Atlantic project. Punch
The essay employees published stating Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin “toxic”. Lioness
The 20 fastest growing (and declining) jobs of the next decade. Visual Capitalist
Science explains the most common recurring dreams. Inverse
Analyzing if you are cultivating knowledge or just consuming information? Sparring Mind
TRIVIA
Discover Africa: Facts or Fiction?
How many can you get correctly in 100secs? Fact or Fiction-
- Niger is a very wet tropical country.
- Pyramids are found only in Egypt
- Africa contains the largest number of freshwater fish species in a single body of water.
INTERNET GIGGLES
Written by Seun, Mercy, Kingsley, and Tosin.
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