🔅 Fela Kuti's Wild Ride with Roy Ayers
From Newsmax Gaffes to Controversial Marathons: The Week's Surprising Stories
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Pot, Meet Kettle: Newsmax Host Slips Up While Mocking Biden's Gaffes
Newsmax host Rob Finnerty found himself in the hot seat after a momentary lapse of his own while discussing President Joe Biden's gaffes and memory lapses.
During an interview with Rep. James Comer (R-KY) about the ongoing investigation into the Biden family, Finnerty cited former Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on the president. Hur, who was appointed to probe Biden's retention of government documents, ultimately declined to charge the president, stating that a jury would see him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
Finnerty, in an attempt to highlight Biden's alleged shortcomings, listed several examples from Hur's report, including the claim that:
"Biden didn't know that Africa was a country."
Wait, what?
That's right, Finnerty inadvertently revealed his own geographical blind spot by referring to Africa, the world's second-largest continent, as a country.
Roy Ayers' Wild Ride with Fela Kuti
In 1979, Ayers and his band set out on a journey through Nigeria with Fela Kuti's crew, and let's just say it was a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions.
Nabil Ayers, Roy's son, spoke to three band members about the "unforgettable trip" for The Guardian, and their stories are the stuff of legends.
The collaboration between Roy Ayers and Fela Kuti birthed some of the most iconic tracks in the history of Afrobeat and jazz-funk, and the cultural exchange left an indelible mark on everyone involved.
You can read the band members' amazing recollections here.
Beijing Half Marathon: Did African Athletes Let China's Star Win?
The organizers of the Beijing half marathon are investigating allegations that three African athletes deliberately allowed China's star runner, He Jie, to win Sunday's race.
Footage that surfaced after the race appears to show Kenya's Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, along with Ethiopia's Dejene Hailu, pointing to the finish line and slowing down before waving He past. It's as if they were saying, "After you, my dear," but in the world of competitive running, that's not exactly a common courtesy.
He, a 25-year-old rising star in Chinese athletics, finished just one second ahead of the trio.
Needless to say, the result didn't sit well with some Chinese social media users, who were quick to cry foul play.
The Beijing Sports Bureau, not wanting to let this incident slide, has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Great Divide: Poorest Countries Falling Further Behind in a Reversal of Fortune
The World Bank has sounded the alarm on a widening income gap between the world's poorest and wealthiest countries.
According to a recent report, half of the 75 poorest countries are experiencing a growing disparity in per capita income compared to their well-off counterparts. This marks the first time in the 21st century that we're seeing a reversal in development.
More than half of the IDA countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ayhan Kose, the World Bank's deputy chief economist and one of the report's authors, didn't mince words when he said, "We see a very serious structural regression, a reversal in the world ... that's why we are ringing the alarm bells here."
The 75 countries in question, eligible for grants and zero-interest loans from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), risk a lost decade of development without some serious policy changes.
Food for Thought
“The young bird does not crow until it hears the old ones."
— Tswana Proverb