🔅 The Continent Calls for a Carbon Tax & Nigeria's Election Petition Result
Plus, Vodafone Takes to the Skies with Project Kuiper & Deaths in Guinea
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Eswatini
Markets:
🔴 Nigerian SE: 68,082.11 (-0.30%)
🔴 Johannesburg SE: 73,185.12 (-1.65%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 3,064.23 (+0.19%)
— Nairobi SE: 97.98 (0.00%)
🔴 US S&P 500: 4,452.51 (-0.29%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 3,122.35 (-1.13%)
China's Exports Down Again: "The World's Factory" Struggling | China’s exports have taken a hit for the fourth month in a row. Not great news for the “world’s factory” as the global demand for Chinese-made goods continues to decline due to coronavirus and the ongoing trade dispute with the US. This is a major blow to the country’s economy, which is already dealing with a property crisis and weak consumer spending. While the drop in exports and imports wasn’t as bad as expected, it’s still a downward trend. So if you were planning to buy a bunch of stuff from China, you may want to hold off.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
The Continent Calls for a Carbon Tax and Financial Reform
Africa just wrapped up its first-ever climate summit with a bold declaration for world leaders. The continent of 1.3 billion people (set to double by 2050!) is calling for a global carbon tax on fossil fuels, aviation, and maritime transport. The declaration will form the basis of the continent's negotiating position at November’s COP28 summit. Oh, and it’s also asking for the $100 billion-per-year climate finance promise made for developing countries 14 years ago to be kept. Kenyan President William Ruto said that $23 billion in commitments had been made at the summit earlier this week, which was held to reframe Africa as less of a victim of climate change and more of the solution. Not everyone was on board, though—some environmentalists reject the idea of carbon markets, which let polluters in the Global North offset emissions by investing in African green spaces. To them, African carbon markets are a bad deal for the continent—Africa earns less than $10 per ton of carbon, while other regions can get over $100. Doesn't sound too fair, does it?
Nigeria's Election Appeal: You Can't Win 'em All
The Presidential Election Petition Court in Nigeria has ruled against the main opposition candidates in the February presidential election petition, affirming Bola Tinubu's victory. It’s a familiar story—since 1999, no legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election in Nigeria has succeeded. But the fight isn’t over just yet. Both Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party and Labour Party's Peter Obi have been instructed to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court within 14 days. Despite the election challenge, Mr Tinubu was sworn into office on 29 May. The election was the most fiercely contested since the end of military rule in 1999, with three strong candidates for the first time. Mr Tinubu won with 37% of votes cast, against 29% for Mr Abubakar and 25% for Mr Obi.
Deaths in Guinea as Country Marks Two Years Since Coup
Four people have died in clashes between protesters and security forces in Guinea, as the country marked the second anniversary of a military coup. The Forces Vives, an alliance of political parties, trade unions and civil society groups, reported the deaths of four young men aged between 15 and 18 in a statement published on Facebook. They said two had been killed in the capital, Conakry, when armed security forces attacked the neighbourhoods of political activists. The other two teenagers had been killed the next day. All of this was on the eve of planned demonstrations against the junta. Guinea's military government is one of several in West and Central Africa that have taken power in a string of coups since 2020—and what's frustrating the opposition is how long it's taking them to hold elections as promised.
The EU's Aiming for a Rapprochement with Africa at the G20
The European Union is making a power play at this weekend’s G20 summit in New Delhi. With both Chinese and Russian presidents skipping the event, the EU plans to take advantage of their absence by hosting a high-level meeting with African leaders. It’s an attempt to show that the EU is serious about improving its relationship with the Global South, and perhaps also to make up for the legacy of colonialism.
Vodafone Takes to the Skies with Amazon's Kuiper Constellation
Vodafone has set its sights on the stars—Amazon’s Kuiper Constellation. The British mobile operator is teaming up with Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite constellation to extend the reach of its 4G and 5G networks in Europe and Africa. Instead of using fibre-based or fixed wireless links, Vodafone will be using Project Kuiper’s high-bandwidth, low-latency satellites to connect mobile base stations in remote locations to its core networks. Amazon is hoping to launch two prototype satellites in the coming months and start deploying production satellites in 2024. But Vodafone isn’t the only one jumping on the space-based mobile network train—Telefonica said last month it had teamed up with Starlink to provide internet connections to rural and remote customers.
Food for Thought
“One should punish a child the first time he comes home with a stolen egg. Otherwise, the day he returns home with a stolen ox, it will be too late.”
— Ethiopian Proverb.
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