Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 08 December 2023

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief:::  08 December 2023 

 


 

 




 


 

 


 

ü  South Africa: Sugar Company CEO Dan Marokane to be Named as Head of Power Utility - Reports

ü  Nigeria: FCTA Allocates $4.5m World Bank Grants to Fadama Programme

ü  Africa: More Than U.S.$ 1.8 Billion in Support for African Vaccine Manufacturing, Catching Up Missed Children and Pandemic Preparedness Approved As Gavi Board Steps Up 

ü  Nigeria: U.S. Will Support Nigerian Military in Application of Artificial Intelligence - Official

ü  Southern Africa: Botswana Extends Ban on South African Fruits and Vegetables

ü  South Africa: The EU Protects Its Companies From Big Pharma. South Africa Needs to Do the Same

ü  Sudan: RSF Seize Sudan Telecoms, Data Safety in Question

ü  East Africa: 4 East African Countries Are Going for Nuclear Power - Why This Is a Bad Idea

ü  Nigeria: Despite Delivery, Payment for Presidential Yacht Not Captured in 2024 Budget

ü  Nigeria: Why Nigerian Refineries Crashed - Ex-NNPC Group Director

ü  Disney: Elon Musk calls for boss to be fired over ad spat

ü  Mobile firms face £3bn claim for overcharging

ü  Lego Fortnite: Gaming giant launches Minecraft rival

ü  AOG Technics: UK fraud body makes arrest in aircraft parts probe

ü  EU to delay tariffs on UK electric cars until 2027

 


 

 


 <https://www.cloverleaf.co.zw/> 

 

South Africa: Sugar Company CEO Dan Marokane to be Named as Head of Power Utility - Reports

Cape Town — Dan Marokane is set to be appointed as chief executive officer of power utility Eskom, South African news website News24 reports.

 

Marokane is currently CEO at sugar producer Tongaat-Hulett and was previously head of group capital at Eskom.

 

News24 writes that it understands that a special Cabinet meeting has been called on Friday December 8, 2023 to approve the appointment, with an announcement imminent.

 

Eskom declined to give details on Thursday evening, responding only to an initial report in Bloomberg, which said Marokane was set to be appointed. Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said in a statement via text message: "Eskom would like to reiterate that the process of the appointment of the group chief executive is with the shareholder and once the decision is made, an announcement will be made public."

 

Former chief executive André de Ruyter gave notice of his resignation in December 2022, and abruptly exited his post early in February 2023.

 

South Africa is in the grip of an extended power crisis, with nation-wide rotational power cuts being used to manage the shortage of electricity.

 

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: FCTA Allocates $4.5m World Bank Grants to Fadama Programme

The FCTA received a total allocation of $15 million from the World Bank for the implementation of the Fadama FCT CARES programme.

 

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has allocated $4.5 million to the FCT Fadama CARES programme to implement three Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs).

 

The FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, disbursed the grants to the third batch of FCT FADAMA CARES beneficiaries for the year 2023/2024 dry season production in Abuja on Thursday

 

The FCTA received a total allocation of $15 million from the World Bank for the implementation of the FCT CARES programme.

 

 

The administration and the World Bank had set a target for the FCT Fadama CARES programme to provide grant support to 12,283 individual farmers and upgrade 17 wet markets across the territory.

 

Background

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many micro and small scale enterprises (MSEs) in Nigeria were forced to shut down, leading to job losses and a halt in the provision of essential services in poor communities. As a result, the number of Nigerians living below the poverty line has increased.

 

In response to the situation, the Federal Government of Nigeria partnered with the World Bank to implement a two-year emergency response programme called Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES).

 

The programme aims to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.

 

 

The World Bank has provided $750 million to be on-lent to the states and FCT, with each state receiving $20 million, FCT receiving $15 million, and the Federal CARES Support Unit being allocated $15 million.

 

Agricultural sector

 

While disbursing the grants, Mrs Mahmoud said ''the agricultural sector has been chosen as one of the critical intervention areas under the ''Renewed Hope Agenda'' to facilitate food and nutritional security, provision of raw materials to local industries, generation of employment for the unemployed youth, and contribute towards increasing the inflow of foreign exchange through export.''

 

She noted that the specific objective of the FCT Fadama CARES programme is to increase food security and safe functioning of the food supply chain in the FCT.

 

She further stated that the programme is deliberately designed to support the recovery of livelihood activities of the poor and vulnerable households engaged in agricultural value chains in the FCT with special consideration to women and unemployed youth.

 

''Its implementation is being anchored on the World Bank Community Driven Development approach for deployment of programme investments at the community level,'' the minister added.

 

Also speaking, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola, stated that other delivery platforms implementing result areas 1 and 3 of the FCT CARES programme, namely the FCT Cash Transfer Unit, FCT Community and Social Development Project, and Abuja Enterprise Agency, have since commenced the implementation of their respective DLIs.

 

In his remark, the Secretary of ARDS, Lawal Geidam, said the ARDS is always ready to provide the necessary support to the FCT Fadama CARES program in delivering this vital project.

 

''We will work with you closely during the project implementation and will not hesitate to make available to you our technical and financial resources to ensure its successful delivery,'' he said.

 

The items distributed at the event include fertilizers, seeds and agrochemicals, sprayers and personal protective equipment for crop farmers, day-old chicks and feeds for poultry farmers, juvenile feeds for fish farmers, goats for livestock farmers, and grinding machines for women processors.

 

-Premium Times.

 

 

Africa: More Than U.S.$ 1.8 Billion in Support for African Vaccine Manufacturing, Catching Up Missed Children and Pandemic Preparedness Approved As Gavi Board Steps Up Gavi's Board today approved the establishment of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), a financing instrument that will make up to US$ 1 billion available to support sustainable vaccine manufacturing in Africa

Efforts to translate pandemic learnings into concrete action further include the establishment of a US$ 500 million First Response Fund to ensure immediate financing for vaccine response in the event of a future pandemic, as well as extraordinary support for countries to close routine immunisation gaps created during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Board approved the inclusion of the new multivalent meningococcal vaccine into the Gavi portfolio, as well as the shortlist of new vaccines for Gavi's next Vaccine Investment Strategy

The Government of France and Africa CDC, alongside with European and international partners, will co-host a high level event in June 2024 to officially launch the AVMA mechanism as well as Gavi's investment case to support its next replenishment

 

The Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance today announced a series of decisions that will help lower-income countries tackle backsliding from the COVID-19 pandemic and be better prepared to respond toUS future health emergencies. The decisions were taken during a two-day meeting hosted by the Government of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, from 6-7 December.Concrete action in support of African vaccine manufacturing, future pandemic response

 

Following more than 18 months of close collaboration between Gavi, the African Union and Africa CDC, the Board today approved the establishment of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA). AVMA is an innovative financing mechanism aimed at establishing a sustainable African vaccine manufacturing industry capable of improving the region's resilience in the face of pandemics, outbreaks and other health emergencies as well as the health of global vaccine markets. AVMA was designed through an extensive consultation process that involved partners, donors, industry, civil society, and others.

 

 

Gavi, as one of the largest purchasers of vaccines in the world, is thus sending a powerful signal to global markets that it will support African vaccine manufacturing. AVMA aims to make up to US$ 1 billion available to manufacturers at key moments in the development process as a way of helping offset high start-up costs and provide assurance of demand. By focusing on ''priority'' antigens, product profiles, and vaccine platforms, as well as constructing clear incentives for both ''fill and finish'' and drug substance production, AVMA will also support global vaccine markets by targeting clear unmet needs and help establish a thriving, sustainable, end-to-end African vaccine manufacturing ecosystem.

 

AVMA is the final pillar of Gavi's regional manufacturing strategy, with the first three pillars approved by the Board in December 2022. With this Board approval, Gavi can now consult widely on the final operational framework for AVMA, including the establishment of an inclusive steering committee, and processes for governance, monitoring and course-correcting as needed. These final pieces will be reviewed by the Board in June 2024, following which AVMA will be officially launched in that same month during an event co-hosted by France and Africa CDC, alongside with European and international partners.

 

 

Building even further on the theme of ensuring learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic are met with concrete actions, the Board also approved a US$ 500 million investment in a First Response Fund, part of a broader Day Zero Financing Facility, to ensure financing is immediately available from the start of a future pandemic. This decision responds to one of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, where it took time to fundraise in support of the effort to ensure equitable access to vaccines, slowing down the ability to respond quickly to countries' needs, and contributing to vaccine inequity. This investment is combined with Board approval to dedicate US$22 million to support pandemic prevention, preparedness and response activities across a broad coalition of vaccine-related partners and processes, including countries, civil society, strengthening immunisation and outbreak response activities, and aligning with international pandemic-related deliberations and mechanisms. This effort seeks to ensure a coordinated playbook for potential pandemic response, coverage of any gaps, and increased transparency and knowledge sharing across the full ecosystem. This Board decision will help create an inclusive approach, ahead of a potential future emergency, to ensuring all partners are ready to contribute in a coordinated response.

 

''Today's historic decisions illustrate the very best of our Alliance - collaboration across the full range of immunisation partners, constantly seeking to learn and improve, and most importantly, taking concrete action,'' said Professor José Manuel Barroso, Chair of the Gavi Board. ''Gavi has worked closely with the countries, the African Union, Africa CDC, G7, G20, and other donors, WHO, UNICEF, civil society, industry, and experts to put into place innovative mechanisms that have the power to reshape our approach to regional manufacturing and pandemic response, and we are grateful for the continued commitment of our Board to the effort to ensure no one is left behind with immunisation.''

 

Supporting countries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic

 

Gavi's Board also recognized the need for exceptional support to countries to close immunity gaps created during the COVID-19 pandemic, approving an initial amount of US$ 290 million to provide fully funded doses to help countries ''catch-up'' children who missed routine vaccinations. The amount approved is an initial estimate and is likely to evolve as countries finalise their plans. Given the urgent and one-time nature of this push, the Board recommended a permissive approach that waives country co-financing requirements, but strongly emphasized the need for robust country plans with risk mitigation measures including assessments of in-country vaccine stocks, phased supply to avoid wastage, and strengthened Alliance capacity to provide technical support.

 

Funding for AVMA, the First Response Fund, supporting a pandemic ready coalition of vaccine partners, and routine immunisation catch up activities is planned to be secured from COVID-19 savings available through the Gavi COVAX AMC's Pandemic Vaccine Pool, and has been extensively discussed with the donors to this mechanism.

 

Expanding access to new vaccines

 

The Board approved the inclusion of the new multivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MMCV) into the Gavi portfolio, which means at-risk countries will now be able to conduct mass preventive campaigns against multiple strains of meningococcal meningitis and then introduce the vaccine into routine programmes. Gavi has already helped countries to conduct outbreak response, preventive campaigns and routine vaccinations with the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine, leading to the near elimination of meningitis A outbreaks - a remarkable achievement. The new vaccine will help countries protect against additional strains before they become a larger issue, particularly significant as countries deal with an increasing number of outbreaks of several infectious diseases. Both vaccines are currently available for use in the Gavi-funded global emergency stockpile of meningitis vaccines.

 

The Board also confirmed the proposed shortlist for Gavi's 2024 Vaccine Investment Strategy, which will determine the new vaccines that the Alliance plans to introduce over the next strategic period from 2026-2030. The shortlist includes vaccines against tuberculosis (TB), group B strep, shigella, dengue, and potentially continued support for COVID-19, as well as the establishment of a stockpile for vaccines against hepatitis-E. The Board also approved the exploration of a learning agenda for vaccines against chikungunya and mpox, where Gavi will work with partners to continue to monitor the epidemiological situation. This Board decision now allows Gavi to work with partners to develop investment cases related to these vaccines, which will come back to the Board for approval in 2024.

 

 

''These decisions allow our Alliance to continue to execute on our core mission, expanding access to lifesaving vaccines,'' said David Marlow, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. ''Gavi can now make these new innovations available to the lower-income countries that need them the most, helping protect millions more against deadly infectious diseases.''

 

Following extensive country and partner consultations throughout 2023, the Board also met on the sidelines of the formal meeting to discuss the design of the Alliance's next five-year strategic period. The consultation process will continue through the first half of 2024, with the final strategy discussed for approval in the first half of US2024. This strategy will inform the investment case for Gavi's replenishment, which will seek to raise funds in support of the Alliance's work during the 2026 to 2030 strategic period.

 

France and Africa CDC to host high level event in support of Gavi replenishment, AVMA launch

 

At the Board meeting, the representative of the Government of France, on behalf of President Emmanuel Macron, announced that France, alongside with its African, European and international partners, will co-host a high level event in France in June 2024 for the official launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator. Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC, subsequently announced that Africa CDC will co-host the event. The representative of the Government of France also announced that France, on this occasion, will host the launching of Gavi's investment case, in support of its replenishment, which will raise funds for immunisation in lower-income countries for the 2026 to 2030 strategic period.

 

''France is honored to co-host, together with our African, European and international partners, a high-level event to take place in France in June 2024 to celebrate the collective success of Gavi and AVMA. Learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, building health sovereignty in support of partners' regional production agenda, and achieving vaccine equity must remain our top priorities On this occasion, we will be thrilled to support Gavi's leadership and unique contribution to global health by launching its 2026-2030 investment case,'' said Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, French State Minister for Development, Francophonie, and International Partnerships.

 

Appointments and Process Updates

 

Omar Abdi, Deputy Executive Director for Programmes at UNICEF, was appointed Vice-Chair of the Board, replacing Sarah Goulding, Assistant Secretary and Principal Specialist, Gender Equality, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia

Notes to editors

 

To learn more about the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator and how it will work, read this explainer on Gavi's Vaccines Work platform: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/african-vaccine-manufacturing-accelerator-what-and-why-important

 

Find out more about Gavi's vaccine investment strategies, and how they are developed: https://www.gavi.org/our-alliance/strategy/vaccine-investment-strategy-2024

 

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

 

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi's work here.

 

Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation - over 1 billion children - and prevented more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology - from drones to biometrics - to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org <http://www.gavi.org>  and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

-on GAVI.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: U.S. Will Support Nigerian Military in Application of Artificial Intelligence - Official

Mr Dean's brief visit to Nigeria is largely to deepen conversations around diplomatic efforts to increase stability and prevent conflict.

 

The United States is willing to support the Nigerian military in the adaptation and implementation of Artificial Intelligence to fight terrorists in the West African country.

 

This was stated by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS), Paul Dean, at a meeting with journalists in Abuja.

 

Mr Dean's brief visit to Nigeria is largely to deepen conversations around diplomatic efforts to increase stability and prevent conflict.

 

''We're here looking to strengthen what is already a very strong relationship on the hard security stuff. We're looking to cooperate in areas of artificial intelligence in the military and building a normative framework for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in the military,'' the senior State Department official said.

 

 

He noted that the ADS bureau is keen to support the use of artificial intelligence because it will help militaries improve their operations in a very tangible way.

 

''We want to encourage the positive applications of artificial intelligence in the military. This initiative that we and our partners have launched just last month is centred around achieving just that, maximising the tremendous value of artificial intelligence in military applications, and at the same time ensuring the international community has coalesced around a series of norms of responsible behaviour to make sure that we are reducing the risk of unintended consequences or negative applications.

 

''We are convinced that when states commit themselves to use this technology in a predictable, transparent, stable, and responsible way, the international community will be in the position of maximising the advantages while reducing the risks of irresponsible approaches,'' the US official said.

 

 

Nigerians are mourning the tragic incident that happened on Sunday night in Tudun Biri village of Kaduna State where over 100 civilians were ''mistakenly killed and many others were wounded'' by a drone ''targeting terrorists and bandits.''

 

The attack was the latest in recent errant bombings of residents in Nigeria. Between February 2014, when a Nigerian military aircraft dropped a bomb in Borno state killing 20 civilians, and September 2022, there were at least 14 documented incidents of such bombings in residential areas, according to reports.

 

The military has been under severe backlash after the latest attack.

 

''This kind of mistake or negligence can easily be avoided in this era of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) or Industry 4.0 that we are witnessing through the use of emerging technologies or destructive technologies. With emerging technologies such as the application of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, almost 100 per cent accuracy can be attained while using drones for wars and other military operations,'' Isa Pantami, the erstwhile minister of communications, wrote on his X account.

 

 

Mr Dean, the US official, expressed his ''deep condolences on the tragedy that happened earlier this week.'' He added that AI adaptation will help militaries improve efficiency, eliminate biases, and improve overall decision-making.

 

Speaking on the areas of collaboration with Africa's most populous country, Mr Dean said: ''I think we have a lot in common, and one thing I hope we can work with our Nigerian partners on, is projecting our shared leadership and our shared commitment to ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used, that chemical weapons are never used, and that countries who are incorporating artificial intelligence to their militaries, which will be all countries, are doing so in a stable, safe, reliable, predictable, and stabilising manner,'' he said.

 

Last month, the US and 47 other partners endorsed a groundbreaking political declaration on the responsible use of artificial intelligence and autonomy in military applications.

 

''We strongly welcome interest by our Nigerian partners to join us in endorsing this declaration and join us in working around this declaration to strengthen the 10 measures of responsible conduct that it contains to refine them and to work with us to build international capacity to implement them,'' Mr Dean noted.

 

''In my view, we are at a historic opportunity right now to work together with all of our partners to build from the ground up the international framework of responsibility for artificial intelligence in the military.''

 

He also said his organisation is willing to partner with the federal government to curb the proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country.

 

''The work of our Bureau is engaged in the full range of deterring conflict, promoting stability, and establishing norms of responsible behaviour in the military domain. And I think this makes us a natural fit for our partners here in Nigeria.

 

''We're here to cooperate in areas of mutual interest and concern regarding the prohibition of chemical weapons, the pursuit of nuclear stability, the responsible use of outer space, and the use of risk reduction measures to advance issues of regional security,'' he said.

 

-Premium Times.

 

 

 

 

Southern Africa: Botswana Extends Ban on South African Fruits and Vegetables

Cape Town — Botswana announced on Monday, December 5, 2023 that it would extend and expand restrictions on imports of some fresh produce from South Africa as it tries to become self-sufficient in food and cut its import bill.

 

Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi said the import ban had slashed the country's fresh-produce import bill by 71%.

 

Botswana, together with Namibia, extended its end December 2023 deadline to 2025. The number of products will double to 32, from July 2024.

 

Among the staples impacted will be potatoes, tomatoes and onions which are among the largest commodities affected.

 

While it could be good news for South African consumers, as the ban could lead to cheaper products at home, Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza is looking to engage with her Botswana counterpart as the government says that this is in contravention of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) trade agreement with other southern African neighbours.

 

The agricultural sector in drought-prone Botswana is relatively small, accounting for about 5% of economic output, with local farmers squeezed by cheaper imports from South Africa, according to reports.

 

South Africa supplied about 80% of the country's food before the two-year ban was initially implemented from January 2022.

 

 

 

 

South Africa: The EU Protects Its Companies From Big Pharma. South Africa Needs to Do the Same

Critical work done by South African scientists on mRNA vaccines for several diseases is at risk from patent claims from the pharmaceutical giant Moderna. Yet the government could easily protect this and other programmes by speeding up the passage of amendments to patent laws.

 

Every year, industry's biggest players spend a combined US$4-billion on legal action. Even then, there was an audible gasp from the world's media when Moderna, which developed a Covid vaccine with the US government, announced it was suing rivals Pfizer and BioNTech for "patent infringement".

 

All three companies have made a fortune from selling Covid vaccines, and are now at war over the rights to the publicly-funded mRNA technology behind it.

 

After a year of suing and counter-suing in multiple jurisdictions, the European Patent Office stepped in two weeks ago and revoked one of Moderna's patents covering "respiratory virus vaccines". In doing so, the European Patent Office was seemingly defending BioNTech, a German company, from a "threat".

 

 

This is not unusual. In most countries, governments can intervene to protect companies viewed as important to their national interest and can review, revoke, or withdraw patents. Most countries, but not South Africa.

 

Under Nelson Mandela, South Africa fought Big Pharma to secure affordable generic HIV medicines, and in the pandemic, the government made a valiant attempt to do the same for Covid vaccines by seeking a global waiver of intellectual property rules. But arcane apartheid-era laws still accept patent requests from companies - without substantive examination of the merits of the patent application and without the due process right to challenge it before it is granted. And, once a patent is granted, patient advocacy groups cannot easily revoke it.

 

 

There is legislation drafted which could give us the ability to challenge patents before they are granted, among other much needed mechanisms such as compulsory and government-use licensing.

 

In 2018, Cabinet approved a new Intellectual Property Framework which would give us this most basic right. It is compliant with international trade rules and should not be controversial. But, despite the fact the government has said it wants this legislation, has drafted it, and has even trained examiners on it, the law has sat languishing on the desk of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel for several years. This has enabled Moderna to be granted far-reaching mRNA related patents in South Africa.

 

These patents put our widely-acclaimed mRNA vaccine manufacturing project, backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and others, at risk.

 

While the world quickly developed effective vaccines to combat Covid, intellectual property rules prevented us from making shots for ourselves. Western governments blocked our government's efforts to suspend these global rules, leaving South Africa to wait at the back of the global queue, eventually paying unreasonably high prices for vaccines. Then at the height of our third wave of Covid infections, Johnson & Johnson exported vaccines which had been completed at a factory in the Eastern Cape to Europe, prioritising European customers over South Africa and the continent.

 

 

It was a dark time for South Africa. But amid the devastation, some hope came in the form of a small biotech company in Cape Town, Afrigen, when the WHO announced it would be at the centre of a new Global South programme to deliver vaccines.

 

Sharing technology

 

Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech have all refused to share their technology with the programme. But scientists from Afrigen and universities in South Africa as well as the South African Medical Research Council developed an mRNA vaccine of their own, using the publicly available information from the vaccine which Moderna developed with the US government. They have now begun sharing the technology with partners across the Global South - and are exploring vaccines for diseases such as TB too.

 

In a future pandemic, the programme could be used to rapidly share vaccine technology between low and middle-income countries, so that we don't repeat the global inequality of the Covid vaccine rollout.

 

Except that Moderna filed far-reaching patents in South Africa which could be interpreted as covering any mRNA technology. And, under our faulty, unchanged intellectual property regulation system, the patents were granted.

 

Dozens of health and legal organisations have warned that the mRNA programme is vulnerable to patent claims from Moderna. While the company has given assurances that it will not enforce patents on its Covid vaccine in some lower-income countries, including South Africa, the work of the programme on other diseases remains under threat.

 

The Medicines Patent Pool, which is implementing the project for the WHO, wants each programme partner (in the Global South) to resolve the issue of patents itself. But, by suing Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna has signalled that it wants a total monopoly on mRNA technology. What, then, is Plan B if Moderna turns on the WHO-backed programme next?

 

When earlier this year, the Health Justice Initiative took legal action to force the Department of Health to disclose secret contracts with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, we won - and the documents revealed that vaccine procurement negotiations were one-sided, with pharmaceutical companies pressuring our government into unfair prices, terms and conditions.

 

Back to court

 

Now we are once again preparing to take the government to court to pass key provisions of the Patent Amendment Act. At the very least, we need proper patent examination, ways to oppose patents before and after they have been granted, and easy-to-use compulsory and government-use procedures in place. And we need this quickly.

 

We have seen how big pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson use our patent provisions to evergreen patents and then charge the state and sick patients more than they should by holding on to their patent monopolies.

 

We want to ensure that:

 

monopolies are not granted without examining their merits;

the public can exercise its right to oppose a patent before it is granted; and

the government can override patents and allow generic production where needed, as do the governments of many other countries.

It is our right in a constitutional democracy.

 

Hassan is founder and director of the Health Justice Initiative.

 

Views expressed are not necessarily those of GroundUp.

 

-GroundUp.

 

 

 

 

Sudan: RSF Seize Sudan Telecoms, Data Safety in Question

Khartoum — The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced yesterday it took control of the database centre of Sudatel (Sudan Telecommunications Group), raising many questions regarding the threat to sensitive information stored in the facility.

 

The RSF seized control of the Sudatel Data Centre in southwestern Khartoum, as announced in a video on their X page (formerly Twitter) yesterday. The video emphasised the RSF's commitment to securing the ''crucial'' database against potential ''war-related threats''.

 

People claiming to work at the centre, featured in the RSF video, reassured the public that the paramilitary group is ''diligent in protecting the site and providing logistical support''. Despite these assurances, some on X expressed fears about the centre becoming a military target.

 

In the background of the video, a second RSF speaker detailed the centre's significant information storage, including data from entities like the Ministry of the Interior, the Civil Registry, and several banks. ''Despite attempted bombings, the RSF successfully defended the building'', the speaker asserted.

 

 

Since the RSF announced its takeover of the Sudatel Data Centre, many in Sudan have questioned the significance of this move on social media platforms and WhatsApp groups. Some voiced concerns that the RSF's control might grant access to sensitive information related to governmental and corporate institutions.

 

Communication and IT expert Mohamed Hasan, however, downplayed these fears in a call with Radio Dabanga. Hasan explained that control over the Sudatel Data Centre ''doesn't necessarily mean the ability to access its information'', emphasising robust protection systems put in place, including restricted access ''granted only to authorised employees''. He nevertheless warned that ''it is not easy to erase stored information unless it is physically destroyed,'' referring to the possibility of sabotaging the data-storing devices.

 

 

'Collective memory'

 

The Sudatel Data Centre infrastructure plays a crucial role in digitalising governmental and public and private sector institutions. ''It benefits various Sudanese facilities, including companies, banks, governmental and educational institutions, and civil society organisations; about 75 per cent of government and private sector institutions are involved in the Sudatel database, if not all of them.''

 

Hasan estimated the cost of establishing such data centres at ''millions of dollars'', considering them ''important assets of the wealth of Sudan''.

 

Mohamed Hasan urged the warring parties to ensure the safety of data centre workers ''as they are not a part of this conflict''. Referring to the Sudatel Data Centre as the ''collective memory of Sudan'', he warned against it becoming a military target.

 

The IT expert pointed out that the Sudatel Data Centre is one of the largest in Africa, noting that it previously won a regional excellence award.

 

-Dabanga.

 

 

 

 

East Africa: 4 East African Countries Are Going for Nuclear Power - Why This Is a Bad Idea

The east Africa region has the fastest growing population in Africa. Between 2013 and 2017, its growth rate was twice the African average. The region is also experiencing strong economic growth. It's sub-Saharan share of GDP has risen from 14% in 2000 to 21% in 2022.

 

Such growth translates to higher electricity demand. Among a variety of new energy proposals is building nuclear power plants. Earlier this year, Uganda announced plans to construct a 2,000MW nuclear plant 150km north of Kampala, with the first 1,000MW operational by 2031. Rwanda also recently signed up to a deal to build a nuclear reactor, while Kenya and Tanzania have made more or less similar announcements.

 

It is in many ways tempting for these countries to pursue a nuclear power plant build. Even a single large-scale nuclear reactor would typically double national electricity generation capacity. In addition, it is technology that is - in theory at least - able to provide a constant electricity output independent of weather, season or time of day.

 

 

Another factor that motivates many potential entrants to nuclear power is that it has historically been perceived in many quarters as confirmation of high technological status and proof of national respectability. This is despite many of the world's technologically and economically strongest nations now having shut down their nuclear plants. Germany and Italy are examples.

 

But there are several risks of choosing the nuclear path. The biggest in my view is financial. The costs of constructing, maintaining and later decommissioning a nuclear plant make this one of the most expensive forms of electricity generation. The actual cost is invariably a lot higher than originally announced.

 

Along with that, the construction period is usually many years longer than declared at the start.

 

In addition, safety issues can never be discounted when dealing with nuclear energy, as the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan amply illustrated.

 

 

The perilous path to nuclear

 

There are two arguments against new nuclear as currently considered by east African countries.

 

The first is financial. The construction cost of a new nuclear plant typically stands at about US$5 billion per 1,000MW. The cost of a 2,000MW build in Uganda would be of the order of that country's annual total tax revenue. As such, the project would rely on massive loans, which also come with considerable interest.

 

The second is the risk of complete political and economic dependence on the nuclear build sponsor country. France, South Korea and China are building a small number of nuclear plants outside their borders. China is now part of the Ugandan nuclear project.

 

But the country that has been by far most aggressive in promoting itself as an international nuclear plant developer is Russia. In 2019 it had already secured nuclear cooperation agreements with 18 African countries, with several more concluded more recently.

 

 

To circumvent the prohibitive costs, Russian nuclear developers have offered to provide comparatively low interest financing where repayments only kick in several years after the start of construction, and continue for several decades thereafter. The drawback is that the country develops a strong long-term dependence on Russia to meet one of its most basic needs: electricity provision.

 

The situation has been made more risky by the uncertainty of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine. The fallout from this war may well ruin and lead to the complete overhaul of the Russian state. This would result in the disruption and ultimate termination of projects already in progress, with the concurrent loss of all funding and resources invested up to that point.

 

East Africa's likely future energy mix

 

In view of the financial risk and high cost, and as global experience has shown that it typically requires ten or more years to set up a new nuclear plant from project approval to electricity production, east African countries should pursue alternatives for electricity production.

 

New medium-scale solar, wind and geothermal power-generating facilities would likely dominate the expansion of east African electricity generation capacity in the coming decade as they are cheap in comparison. Typical construction timescales are also much lower than nuclear or hydro megaprojects.

 

Take hydropower generation, which uses the natural flow of moving water to produce electricity. This source of power has been the most significant in east Africa for decades. Building more dams is both time consuming and at times controversial. Nevertheless, major projects using this technology are currently still being built. An example is the 2,115MW Julius Nyerere hydropower station in Tanzania.

 

Solar power - the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity - has an extremely low footprint in the region at the moment. Yet it is now one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation. Most countries in the region have extensive areas suitable for harnessing this source.

 

While not enjoying the wind resources of the Earth's oceans and mid-latitudes, wind farms can be considered in places, and are already in operation, such as in Kenya's Lake Turkana region.

 

East Africa furthermore has the Rift Valley and its volcanic activity in places. This offers the opportunity for geothermal power, a technology that converts the intense underground heat associated with cracks in the Earth's crust to electricity. This is already the leading electricity generation mode in Kenya and could be developed elsewhere.

 

Given all these factors, investing in a large and expensive nuclear build with uncertain completion timeframes that may end up being way more expensive than projected is ultimately simply not worth it.

 

Hartmut Winkler, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg

 

- original article.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: Despite Delivery, Payment for Presidential Yacht Not Captured in 2024 Budget

There are indications that the payment for the controversial N5bn presidential yacht delivered to the Nigerian Navy since June 2023 may suffer further delay.

 

This is because there was no budgetary provision for it in the 2024 Appropriation Bill submitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.

 

Following the National Assembly's refusal to approve the N5bn allocated for the yacht in the N2.1tn 2023 supplementary budget, checks by Daily Trust on Thursday indicated that there was no provision for it under the estimates for the navy in the 2024 budget estimate.

 

 

In the estimate, the navy got N192,486,785,619, out of which N33,364,499,710 would be for capital expenditure, N21,860,538,686 for overhead and N137,261,747,223 for personnel cost. In the breakdown of the projects, no mention was made of the yacht, even though the payment is pending.

 

This therefore raises concerns over the fate of the luxury boat and how the Federal Government intends to raise the N5bn to pay for the yacht, which according to the Nigerian Navy, was delivered to the country since June 2023.

 

During their deliberations on the supplementary budget early November, the two chambers of the National Assembly unanimously reallocated the N5bn meant for the yacht to the Student Loan.

 

The spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, had said there was no record of legislative approval for the procurement of the yacht, noting that any procurement without the approval of the lawmakers was unconstitutional and was therefore null and void.

 

 

Amid widespread criticisms over the procurement of a luxury boat for the President in the midst of worsening hardship across the country, the Nigerian Navy affirmed that it ordered for the yacht during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

The navy noted that the procurement of the yacht was long overdue, stressing that the yacht was for training and not for the pleasure of the President as widely believed.

 

Navy budgets N10.3bn for barracks construction, renovation

 

Meanwhile, the navy said it would spend N3.5bn for the procurement of arms, ammunition, webbing and equipment, while about N10.3bn would go into the construction and renovation of barracks for its officers and junior ratings.

 

In the breakdown of its proposed projects, the navy said it planned to construct barracks accommodation for its officers in Calabar, Lagos, and Navy Town in the Asokoro area of Abuja. It said each of the projects would cost N420m.

 

Similarly, it said it would construct barracks for junior ratings in Kano and Lagos, also at a cost of N420m each. In addition, it said it would spend N3.3bn on the development of barracks accommodation in Abuja.

 

For barracks renovations, the budget estimate showed that the navy would spend a total of N3.9bn on the maintenance of barracks in Lagos, Abuja and Calabar.

 

-Daily Trust.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria: Why Nigerian Refineries Crashed - Ex-NNPC Group Director

He faulted the federal government's rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

 

A former Group Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alex Ogedengbe, said Nigerian refineries crashed because funds budgeted for maintenance and operations were not released.

 

Mr Ogedengbe, an engineer and a former managing director of Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries, spoke when he appeared as a guest on Channel TV's Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

 

The former NNPC director said even when funds were released, it would be late and inadequate to carry out maintenance works on the refineries.

 

 

''The three refineries -- Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries -- were built according to international standards. They were all tested for completion and performed at the time they were completed.

 

''They ran according to the design for many years. However, being government-owned facilities, not private ones, they were not run commercially. That's money did not come on time for maintenance. Not enough actually was given for the maintenance project,'' he said.

 

''So, they were just declining slowly because of lack of maintenance until they crashed - all of them crashed by 2018,'' Mr Ogedengbe added.

 

When one of the programme anchors asked him if he meant that monies were budgeted for maintenance of the refineries but were not released in all cases, he responded: ''Correct! You just summarised it for me. When I was the MD of Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries, we would budget to the (NNPC) corporate headquarters. (But) every month, we would receive between 50 and 60 per cent of our budget. We were supposed to make up the rest somehow.''

 

 

Asked who should be held responsible for the non-release of the budgeted maintenance funds, Mr Ogedengbe replied, ''Corporate headquarters of the NNPC. (This is) because all the refineries were subsidiaries of the NNPC corporate and the corporate headquarters release monies there.''

 

'Rehabilitation of old refinery not proper'

 

The Nigerian government recently resumed the rehabilitation of the three refineries.

 

The country's Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri, raised the hopes of many Nigerians when he said the Port Harcourt Refinery would be ready by the end of 2023.

 

But Mr Ogedengbe faulted the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery saying the Nigerian government ought to have built a new refinery which has new technology.

 

''Why is this old refinery being rehabilitated instead of building a new one? The Port Harcourt Refinery being rehabilitated by the federal government is an old refinery built in 1965 with different old technology,'' he said.

 

Mr Ogedengbe also expressed doubt that the Port Harcourt Refinery would be ready by the end of the year.

 

''If what I heard from that short, nine-minute release by the MD of the refinery is anything to go by, at best they will have some kind of mechanical completion by the end of December.

 

''The old refinery that is being repaired now, cannot produce more than 25 per cent maximum of crude oil. In other words, one barrel of crude will produce a maximum of 25 per cent of petrol. Whereas, the newer Port Harcourt refinery which is next door to the old one they are repairing can produce up to 48 per cent or 50 per cent of crude oil,'' he stated.

 

''So, overall, I don't expect any appreciable contribution. That is even if all the systems work. I don't have confidence in that right now from what I've seen.''

 

-Premium Times.

 

 

 

Disney: Elon Musk calls for boss to be fired over ad spat

Elon Musk has said Disney boss Bob Iger should be "fired immediately" after the company stopped advertising on X.

 

"Walt Disney is turning in his grave over what Bob has done to his company," Mr Musk said in a series of posts against the media giant.

 

It comes just a week after he told companies that joined an ad boycott of his platform, formerly known as Twitter, to "Go [expletive] yourself".

 

Some firms have paused advertising on X amid concerns over antisemitism.

 

Could X go bankrupt under Elon Musk?

Elon Musk launches profane attack on X advertisers

Disney did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on Friday.

 

Mr Iger made a shock return to Disney just over a year ago - less than 12 months after retiring - to steer it through turbulent times, as its share price plummeted and streaming service Disney+ continued to make a loss.

 

In his time at the company, he has been credited for driving major acquisitions involving the likes of animation studio Pixar, comic book company Marvel, Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox and Lucasfilm, the home of Star Wars.

 

These moves, as well as amusement park openings, helped the company's market value increase five-fold.

 

In a post on Thursday, Mr Musk appeared to allude to the recent box-office performances of some Disney firms, saying Mr Iger dropped "more bombs than a B-52".

 

The multi-billionaire also accused Disney of advertising on other social media platforms that allowed controversial materials.

 

Bob Iger and Mickey Mouse attend Mickey's 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on 6 October 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

 

 

Last week, in a profanity-laced outburst at an event in New York, Mr Musk slammed advertisers that had left X and warned that they would kill the social media platform.

 

He also accused companies including Disney, Apple and Comcast, which have paused advertising on the site, of trying to blackmail him.

 

"I don't want them to advertise," Mr Musk said in response to a question at the New York Times' DealBook Summit.

 

"If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go [expletive] yourself.

 

"Go. [Expletive]. Yourself. Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you're in the audience, that's how I feel."

 

Mr Musk was apparently referring to Mr Iger, who spoke at the summit earlier in the day.

 

X's chief executive Linda Yaccarino, who also attended the summit, has since reposted what she called Mr Musk's "candid interview".

 

She added her perspective on advertising that "X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you".

 

Mr Musk has been on a visit to Israel after he appeared to personally back an antisemitic conspiracy theory last month. He denied the post was antisemitic but apologised, saying it might have been the "dumbest" thing he had ever shared online.

 

However, many advertisers had already chosen to spend their money elsewhere.

 

In July, Mr Musk acknowledged in a post on X that ad revenue had fallen by 50%.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Mobile firms face £3bn claim for overcharging

Millions of UK consumers could receive payouts after a legal claim was launched against mobile phone networks.

 

Consumer champion Justin Gutmann alleges Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 overcharged customers for phones beyond the end of their contract. 

 

He is seeking damages of more than £3bn on behalf of 4.8 million people.

 

Responding, EE called the claim "speculative", while O2 said it hadn't been contacted.

 

Vodafone said it didn't have sufficient detail for its legal team to assess, and Three declined to comment.

 

The "Loyalty Penalty Claim" - which is being filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal - is being brought on behalf of consumers who bought contracts made up of a mobile phone and services like data, call minutes, and texts.

 

Mr Gutmann, a former executive at Citizens Advice, estimates that 28.2 million UK mobile phone contracts could be affected from 2007.

 

If the claim is successful, someone who had contracts with just one of the mobile operators could get more than £1,800, he estimated.

 

Mr Gutmann said when the contracts were initially agreed, the cost of repayment during the minimum term of the contract - which is typically 24 months - included both the cost of the mobile and the use of services.

 

He alleged that the UK's four biggest network operators and their parent companies did not reduce the amount they charged customers once their minimum contract term ended - despite the fact that consumers had already paid for their mobile handsets.

 

This meant existing customers were charged for something they had already paid for, and that they were charged more than a new customer on, for example, a Sim-only deal, he added.

 

"If our claim is successful, it will finally stop these firms from taking advantage of their loyal customers and stop the immoral practice of loyalty penalties," Mr Gutmann said.

 

It is an opt-out claim, which means qualifying consumers would be automatically included on the claim for free unless they follow specific steps to opt out, according to Mr Gutmann.

 

A spokesperson for EE said the firm "strongly disagree with the speculative claim being brought against us".

 

"EE offers a range of tariffs and a robust process for dealing with end of contract notifications. The UK mobile market is highly competitive space with some of the lowest pricing across Europe," the spokesperson said.

 

Vodafone told the BBC: "This has just been brought to our attention and we don't yet have sufficient detail for our legal team to assess."

 

An O2 spokesperson said that to date "there has been no contact with our legal team on this claim".

 

"However, we are proud to have been the first provider to have launched split contracts a decade ago which automatically and fully reduce customers' bills once they've paid off their handset," the spokesperson added.

 

The firm said it had been campaigning on this issue since May and has called on other operators to introduce changes that would prevent consumers overpaying for smartphones they already own.

 

Jack Drury, 27, from St Albans, says he paid a tariff covering the cost of his device and airtime three years after he'd paid off the handset debt

It's something Jack Drury, 27, from St Albans, experienced earlier this year.

 

He told the BBC he is "delighted" with the claim.

 

"For many of us, a monthly fee is the most affordable way of accessing tech. But it should be clear what proportion of that fee is repaying a device, and what is paying for the mobile services," he said.

 

Cost of living: Tackling it together

How to check if your phone is out of contract

Since February 2019 providers must contact customers via letter, email or text message to warn them their contract is about to end.

They don't have to tell you the cheapest deal available to switch onto, so it's worth contacting your provider or shopping around to get the cheapest deal.

If you're not sure when your contract runs out you can text the word INFO to 85075 at any point. Within minutes you should receive a reply letting you know when your contract expires and what any early termination charges will be.

.

The 'loyalty penalty'

It is not the first time the issue of existing customers in the UK overpaying has been in the spotlight.

 

In September 2018 Citizens Advice submitted a super-complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), raising concerns that longstanding customers were paying more than new customers for mobile contracts, as well as broadband, cash savings, home insurance and mortgages.

 

The CMA investigated and found the "loyalty penalty" was a significant problem hitting millions of people, including those who could least afford it.

 

In 2020, new Ofcom rules were brought in requiring firms to let mobile and broadband customers know when contracts are ending and if better deals are available.

 

Last year, the watchdog said that since the new rules were introduced, the number of out-of-contract broadband customers had fallen by more than one million.

 

Since 17 June 2022, it said providers need to provide customers with a contract summary before they can give their consent to enter a contract.

 

This year, Vodafone and Three announced they had struck a deal to merge and create the UK's biggest mobile phone operator, with around 27 million customers.

 

Representatives from the companies told MPs their planned merger would not increase prices, despite it reducing the number of competitors in the mobile market.

 

It's not known how long the claim could take to go to court. Mr Gutmann has previously represented UK consumers in legal challenges against UK train operators and Apple.

 

Mr Gutmann filed the claim against Apple - which is unrelated to the claim to mobile network providers - in June 2022. The case was given the go-ahead by a UK court last month.

 

He said disputes of this size often take a few years to resolve.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Lego Fortnite: Gaming giant launches Minecraft rival

The massively popular video game Fortnite has launched a high-profile collaboration with Lego.

 

Crafting has always been a key part of the online shooter, which has more than 400 million registered players.

 

Now it has released an entirely new survival game mode, where players will do their crafting with Lego bricks.

 

And it seems to have drawn inspiration from Minecraft - a Lego-style block-building and crafting game - which is the best-selling game of all time.

 

The new game mode can be accessed by launching Fortnite - which is free-to-play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.

 

Fortnite technically has multiple game modes, but its online battle royale is by far its most popular, where up to 100 players compete to be the last one standing.

 

Minecraft, on the other hand, is a survival game in which players build structures as well as craft tools and weapons.

 

When Fortnite first released it came with a similar crafting survival mode, named Fortnite: Save the World, which was released before its battle royale mode even existed.

 

But the extraordinary popularity of Fortnite: Battle Royale - itself inspired by the Japanese thriller film of the same name and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - completely dwarfed the game's other modes, and Fortnite is now known to most as an online shooter with crafting elements.

 

All of this means the new collaboration is in a way bringing Fortnite back to its roots, but the link-up with Lego is more than just a facelift.

 

Gameplay footage shows that the game world has changed dramatically, with structures and characters throughout all based on Lego products.

 

And there are moments clearly inspired by Minecraft, with the player building a fence around sheep, growing vegetables, and eating around a campfire, as well as chopping down trees to get materials to build with.

 

But fans of Fortnite will not be surprised by the high-profile collaboration, as the game is known for it - having previously held in-game concerts with real celebrities such as Marshmello and Ariana Grande.

 

Despite having a massive 70 million monthly players, Fortnite developer Epic Games wants more.

 

"This is absolutely about expansion," said president Adam Sussman.

 

"This is also an expansion in terms of having these experiences appeal to a wide variety of audiences, ranging from kids to teens to adults."

 

Children and teens

There have been a massive amount of Lego games over the years, all the way from 1997's fan favourite Lego Island to modern tie-ins with Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel.

 

But these games, much like the bricks themselves, are almost always rated as suitable for young children.

 

Fortnite, on the other hand, is rated PEGI 12 in the UK and EU, meaning it is considered suitable for children aged 12 and over. It has a similar rating in the US.

 

To deal with this, Mr Sussman said Epic had worked on parental controls and online safety features to make sure the game was suitable.

 

"One of the things that we recently implemented was a rating system, so each piece of content is rated appropriately for the audience," he said.

 

"And we allow - through our parental controls - the parents to decide what type of content their kids will be able to see.

 

"As an example, [the Fortnite Lego mode] is E10+ rated, whereas Fortnite is T rated. We believe with that rating, we can appeal to the younger audiences and attract a whole new set of audiences that will come and experience Fortnite now."

 

However, Fortnite has faced some criticism in the past, in particular from Prince Harry, who said in 2019 the game was "created to addict".

 

But Eurogamer editor-in-chief Tom Phillips said such comments were often levied at video games in general.

 

"A lot of that criticism is: how do people spend their time, how are they interacting with other people on the internet?" he said.

 

Ultimately, he said people can choose which game to play based on their interests, and if they don't like shooting games they can simply avoid them.

 

"Battle royale, by its very nature, you're going to be in combat, you're going to be shooting people. And there are people who either just don't want to engage with that, or there are people who, like with Lego, are probably a bit too young for that."

 

For Lego, it may be unknown what will come from the link-up with Fortnite but its chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin said that was the price of ambition.

 

"Every collaboration and everything that you do, especially things that are ambitious, carry a lot of unknowns with them," she said.

 

"We don't yet know exactly how the game is going to land, what kids want to do versus what others would like to do, which things are gonna resonate and which things will not.

 

"So there are some plans already on the kinds of updates and new ideas that are going to be coming... other types of games that will start also being available on the Fortnite platform over the course of 2024."-bbc

 

 

 

 

AOG Technics: UK fraud body makes arrest in aircraft parts probe

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal investigation into suspected fraud at a UK-based aircraft parts supplier.

 

Investigators from the SFO carried out a raid early on Wednesday, making one arrest.

 

Earlier this year, UK, US and European regulators issued alerts to firms to check parts from AOG Technics.

 

They were asked to trace the provenance of parts directly and indirectly supplied by the firm.

 

AOG has supplied parts for the world's best-selling passenger aircraft engine since 2015 to a number of major airlines globally.

 

Ryanair, as well as US carriers such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta, are some of the operators investigating engine parts that may have come from AOG Technics, according to reports by Bloomberg.

 

None of the above airlines immediately responded to a BBC request for comment.

 

Jet2, EasyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic told the BBC that AOG was not one of their suppliers.

 

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic do not operate aircraft powered by the CFM56 engines in question.

 

While it had previously been reported that Tui had been affected, the airline said on Wednesday that it is not an AOG customer.

 

It confirmed that it had previously been sent one single plane as a "lease-in", where one engine was affected - but regular maintenance checks put the part in doubt, which was then replaced.

 

Airline adverts banned over 'greenwashing' claims

Ryanair denies passengers must pay to download boarding pass

The UK aviation watchdog, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), issued a safety notice in August, which prompted some companies to take a small number of planes out of service temporarily as a precaution.

 

It is understood that any affected airlines in the UK have since had the parts replaced and have resumed flying.

 

AOG Technics mostly sold to overseas companies that install airline parts but some UK airlines were also affected, the SFO said.

 

The fraud watchdog's director Nick Ephgrave said the investigation dealt with "very serious allegations of fraud", with "potentially far-reaching consequences".

 

The body is working with the CAA and other regulators in a bid to "establish the facts as quickly as possible", it said.

 

A spokesperson for the CAA said that it had been working closely with watchdogs in the US and Europe to prevent any safety issues from coming up.

 

Independent aviation expert John Strickland said that he could not recall "a similar situation in my career".

 

"It is a cause for concern for manufacturers and airlines alike," he added.

 

But Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the US Department of Transport, previously told the BBC's World Business Report that passengers should feel reassured if they were flying with a major, reputable airline from a country with a big aviation industry, like the US or UK.

 

She described airlines as the "first line of defence" and pointed out that laws require them to isolate, put a red tag on and lock up in a secure vault any potentially "bogus parts".

 

The BBC could not immediately reach AOG Technics for a comment.-bbc

 

 

 

 

EU to delay tariffs on UK electric cars until 2027

Tariffs on electric vehicles traded between the UK and EU will be delayed for three years, the European Commission has proposed.

 

It comes after carmakers on both sides of the Channel warned they were not ready for the change to post-Brexit trade rules planned from January.

 

The rules were meant to protect the EU car industry, but the 10% tariffs were likely to lead to huge costs.

 

EU member states still need to approve the plan at a meeting next week.

 

The Commission had initially rejected the idea delaying the rules, despite pleas from carmakers and the UK government.

 

But on Wednesday, the Commission said the "one-off extension" was needed to support the bloc's car industry, which was still struggling with the impacts of the pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and competition from US subsidies.

 

Under EU "rules of origin" that were due to come in from January, cars produced in either the EU or UK would need to have been largely made from locally sourced parts to qualify as being tariff free.

 

The aim was to protect the European industry from cheap imports from countries such as China, which has become a dominant force in the global electric vehicle (EV) market.

 

 

But in terms of cross-Channel trade, the rules would have meant that EVs needed to have batteries produced in either the UK or the EU, and many carmakers warned they would struggle to meet the criteria.

 

The pace of local battery production has been slower than expected, leaving manufacturers reliant on imports.

 

Heavy costs

Industry bodies raised concerns that the rules would cost European manufacturers £3.75bn over the next three years.

 

There were also fears that steep tariffs could make electric cars more expensive to produce and potentially push up prices.

 

The UK government had been lobbying the EU to postpone the rules.

 

While the Commission's move will not be a huge surprise, carmakers will be relieved on both sides of the Channel given the tariffs were due to come in from January.

 

The UK is by far the largest export market for European manufacturers, with 1.2 million vehicles being delivered to UK ports last year. At the same time the UK sells more cars to the EU than any other region.

 

Although it has proposed a three-year delay to the rules, the European Commission said it would add a clause to the Brexit trade deal making it "legally impossible" for the extension to last any longer. This, it said, would lock in its rules of origin from 2027.

 

The Commission also said it would provide €3bn in funding over the next three years to help boost European battery manufacturers.

 

The new deadline places UK electric car production in the spotlight, with plans for so-called gigafactories, such as Jaguar Land Rover's in Somerset, being announced, but none close to producing batteries yet.

 

Doubts also remain over a site in Blyth in Northumberland which has been earmarked for making car batteries.--bbc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2023

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

 


Padenga

Econet

RTG

 


Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from s believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and d from third parties.

 


 

 


(c) 2023 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:  <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> bulls at bullszimbabwe.com Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77 344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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