European Union Imposes Tariffs On Electric Vehicles From China
Europe
Business
The European Union has recently imposed massive tariffs on electric vehicles( EVs) from China. This aims to control the entry of electric vehicles from China to Europe and safeguard the local EV manufacturing companies in European countries. This escalates the existing trade wars between China and Europe as China was hit by tariffs on EVs by 45% on 4th October 2024. The majority of the European Union members voted for the imposition, while Germany and Four other nations were against the vote. Just a few months ago, the United States of America imposed stringent tariffs on EVs from China. China is expected to react to these new developments. The tariffs are intended to level the playing field and protect European companies from what is seen as unfair competition. China is preparing to counter the tariffs imposed on its EVs, by hitting the European Union with tariffs on items such as brandy, daily, pork, and automobile sectors. There are also plans by China to impose tariffs on gasolene vehicles with large engine capacities from the European Union. This conflict raises questions on how it is likely to spill over and affect the global economy. Investor’s confidence in the EVs industry within the European Union is expected to improve as they feel that their investments are protected leading to an increase in the share prices of companies in the EVs industry. This could have however lead to low adoption of electric vehicles in Europe as a result of the increase in prices of electric vehicles from China. The world is watching as this conflict unfolds before them and how it will provide solutions not to be entangled in similar technological wars. The European Union must however note and appreciate China’s global dominance. It must work towards collaborations and creating synergies with China to ensure consumer protection, and meeting goals towards cleaner fuel for environmental protection. The world is no longer unilateral but rather multilateral, as different nations seek to dominate different spaces of the global economy. The future of electric vehicles is uncertain due to such bans by the European Union and the United States of America. China however is expected to be even aggressive in global dominance in electric vehicles, as it has been far segregated by the West and the US for a long time. Being the largest manufacturer of EVs globally, such tariffs will have little effect on the Chinese Economy, as the government continues to provide huge subsidies in the EVs sector. Such subsidies from China are spurring the growth of entities in the EV sector, resulting in the affordability of EVs and their adaption globally
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Claudio Sheinbaum First Female President In Mexico Amidst Rise In...
NorthAmerica
Politics
Mexico elected the first female president Claudia Sheinbaum, who succeeds populist and former president Andres Manuel Lopez. The former president Andres Manuel Lopez managed to slash poverty levels in Mexico despite the divisive policies witnessed in his government. Having mentored Claudia Sheinbaum into power, the public awaits to see the changes that shall be effected by Claudia Sheinbaum's government in such a dynamic economy. With a GDP growth of 2.4% which amounts to $2.017 trillion Nominal GDP and $3.434 trillion GDP on Purchasing Power Parity as of 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum is expected to accelerate programs that would propel Mexico's Economy to more growth. The country is however faced with security issues on murder, armed robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, drug-related violence, and extortion. Mexico is a haven for drug trafficking cases. There has been inter-gang fighting among different drug sects as they take control of major areas more so in the border entry points. Most of the affected businesses are small businesses as they continue being extorted by such gangs. Reports have shown that extortion of businesses has increased by more than 60% since the year 2022 and is such a hard nut for the government to crack. Under former president Andres Manuel Lopez, Mexico experienced the worst violent periods in history, with more than 193,000 murders since 2018. For small businesses, carrying out their business without being caught in the crossfire between rival gang groups poses a challenge. This has made Mexico a highly risky place for small businesses thus pushing investors away from the country. The spread of gang control in different places in Mexico could make it harder for President Claudia Sheinbaum to fulfill her intended goals for Mexico effectively. It also requires stringent actions from her government to tackle crime rates and avoid the country heading to a Haiti situation, where Gangs control major cities. Mexico has become deadly for political candidates and officials, who are routinely targeted by organized crime groups. In recent times, the mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of Mexico's violence-plagued state of Guerrero was murdered just after six days since President Claudia Sheinbaum took over from Andres Manuel Lopez. The president in her first case aims to solve the crime rate in Mexico by first focusing on those areas that have high crime rates such as Colima, Tijuana, Acapulco, and Celaya, which make up a quarter of the homicide cases that are linked to organized crimes in the country. There are high expectations from the President as she voiced it's time for Women to show that they are capable of taking over leadership in the country. As she prepares to tackle gang violence, restraint is also needed to avoid plunging the country into further crime rates due to inter-gang fighting-
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Web 3.0 Revolution: Transforming Kenya's Economy Through Blockchain Innovation
Africa
Technology
Web 3 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web that incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics. It aims to give users more control over their data and content and to enable more peer-to-peer interactions without intermediaries. Some examples of Web 3 applications are cryptocurrencies, decentralized apps (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and decentralized social media platforms. Web 3 is still in its early stages of development, but it has the potential to impact the economies of countries like Kenya in various ways. For instance, web 3 can: Provide more financial inclusion and access to digital assets for people who are unbanked or underbanked. Enable more transparency and accountability in governance and public services by using blockchain-based systems that are verifiable and trustworthy. It can also foster more innovation and entrepreneurship by lowering the barriers to entry and creating new markets and opportunities for creators, developers, and users. Enhance more social impact and empowerment by allowing communities to self-organize, collaborate, and fund their initiatives using Web 3 tools. However, it's good to note that, Web 3 also comes with some challenges and risks that need to be addressed. For example: Web 3 requires more digital literacy and education for users to understand how it works and how to protect their privacy and security online. Web 3 faces regulatory uncertainty and resistance from governments and institutions that may perceive it as a threat or a disruption to their authority or interests. Web 3 relies on reliable internet infrastructure and access that may not be available or affordable for everyone in developing countries like Kenya. Therefore, web 3 is not a silver bullet that can solve all the problems of the current internet or the world. It is rather a vision that offers new possibilities and challenges for the future of the internet. It will require more research, development, experimentation, collaboration, regulation, adoption, and adaptation from all stakeholders involved. Corporates and individuals must be prepared to evolve and how they will use Web 3 as a resource enabling them to have a competitive edge over organizations not relying on it.
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Ai Powerhouse: China's Unyielding Grip On Global Tech Supremacy
Asia
Technology
China has continued to show its prowess in innovation and technology surpassing other nations to being a leader in this sector. It is projected by 2030 that China will have integrated the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) fully, making it the only country to do so. The question that comes into play is how China has been able to be the pacesetter in utilizing AI. According to the US government research on the companies that have been able to fully produce the most accurate facial recognition technology using Artificial Intelligence, 5 of them taking the top spot are from China. A report by the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization showed China was leading the GenAI patent race, filing more than 38,000 between 2014 and 2023 against 6,276 filed by the United States in the same period. China has been able to install facial scanners that use AI in Railway substations in various parts of the country. China is betting big on AI making it one of its strategic goals for research and development. The huge population in China makes it possible for AI companies to use data from the population to assist in the algorithm development of AI. The world of academia and research is contributing to the AI growth in China, as more scholars are publishing AI materials and patenting AI breakthrough discoveries more than any other country. Companies such as Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba, ByteDance, and startups such as located in China are among the world's leading companies in AI in the development of cutting-edge AI technologies such as facial recognition, autonomous driving, natural language processing. China has been able to integrate the use of AI in major sectors such as Finance, Transportation, and Health. China’s global influence and export of AI technologies to other countries make it a haven to realize more success in AI. The large investments put in place by China in AI would lead to cheaper continuous automated monitoring software that would be used by enterprises. This could further lead to a rift between China and the West as they would try to put pressure China to standardize prices on such AI technologies. The SAS Mr vice president stated that such technologies need regulation as it is difficult to audit such systems to determine how well the privacy of users of AI technologies is safeguarded. Companies and researchers are still working on the best ways to evaluate AI models, which could prove important heading into the future.
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Adani's Power Play: Controversy And Ambition In Kenya's Mega Projects
Africa
Business
Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. The group's businesses include sea and airport management, electricity generation and transmission, mining, natural gas, food, weapons, and infrastructure. Adani Group has subsidiaries which are Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cement, ACC, NDTV, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Energy Solutions. According to Adani Enterprises's latest financial reports as of 2024, the company's total assets amount to $19.3 billion, with Adani being among the world's richest people. The company has continued to grow due to its diversification into different industries. They have expanded operations to other parts of the world. However, the company has faced stiff accusations on how it has managed to amass such huge health. In 2023, politicians called for a new investigation after the Financial Times reported that the Adani Group appeared to have paid over US$5 billion to middlemen for coal imported far more than market prices between 2021-2023. It has been accused of involving itself in improper business dealings. It alluded that Adani's close ties to the Prime Minister of India have made it hard to crack a whip on the Adani Group. The Swiss authorities have been allegedly conducting a money laundering and securities forgery investigation of the Adani Group since 2021, well before the first Hindenburg report which made the Swiss authorities freeze $310 million of Adani’s Group. The accusations point to Adani's manipulation of the stock which has been called the largest con in corporate history by using offshore tax haven accounts to drive the company’s stock prices high. The offshore businesses have been used by Adani to carry out its corruption activities. In recent times, Adani has received backlash from Kenyans as it seeks to enter the Kenyan Markets in different industries. Moreso, Kenyans are aggrieved by the lack of transparency in the dealings between Adani Group and the Kenyan government in the takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in a 30-year, 1.84 billion investment deal. More questions have also been raised by Adanis’s interest in building transmission power lines in Kenya in a 94 billion deal tender. Prices of electricity rates in Kenya are already high and would lead to more economic more pressure on Kenyans due to further increases in electricity rates to repay the amounts to Adani Group. The group has also been linked to Kenya’s healthcare at an investment plan of Ksh 104 billion through Apeiro Limited, the largest shareholder in the Safaricom consortium. This leaves Adani being exposed further and under public scrutiny as the Kenyan government enters secrecy deals with Adani. It questions whether the Government cares about its citizens or whether such projects have been hijacked by corrupt leaders in Kenya.
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Huawei Unveils The Future: World's First Tri Fold Smartphone Hits...
Asia
Technology
Huawei launched the Huawei Tri Fold smartphone one of its kind and the first Tri Fold phone in the world. The three-way foldable Huawei Mate XT has a 10.2-inch screen that folds twice to become a 6.4-inch normal-sized phone. The phone is the new thinnest portable computing device in the world with a 3.6 mm thickness. The Huawei trifold has a 50-megapixel main camera with a variable aperture that can switch between f/1.4 and f/4, meaning there are physical aperture shutter blades that open and close depending on user need. There’s also a Periscope camera that can do 5.5X optical zoom at over 120mm. These features are one-of-a-kind and are not available in the other foldable phone models from Google and Samsung. The phone runs on 16 GB RAM and a self-developed Huawei Kirin Chip. The Mate XT Ultimate's hinge system, named after the Tiangong space station, allows for "internal and external bending" using dual tracks and moving parts to ensure zero-gap folding. The hinge is constructed from a composite laminate with non-Newtonian fluid components, adding durability. The Huawei Tri-Fold has a single screen—a flexible LTPO OLED with a 120 Hz refresh rate and support for 10 billion colors. Its full resolution is 3,184 x 2,232 pixels, which adjusts to 2,232 x 2,048 and 2,232 x 1,008 pixels depending on the folding configuration. Huawei calls this display “3K,” positioning it as a middle ground between 2K (QHD) and 4K. The screen has a 92% screen-to-body ratio, with the fully unfolded 10.2-inch display boasting a 16:11 aspect ratio. Huawei also claims to enhance the display with "AI computing image The demand for the phone in China is so high that the stock is low forcing retailers to sell it at $6000 from a normal retail price of $2800 (20000 Yuan). Huawei XT Mate was announced at the same time Apple announced the iPhone 16 model in September 2024. This has resulted in the low demand for the iPhone 16 models due to the high demand for the Huawei Ri Fold Xt Mate. It’s unlikely that Huawei will release the Mate XT Ultimate outside China, especially given that the last international release of a Huawei foldable, the Mate X3, was 18 months ago. A non-ultimate version is also an improbable heading to the future as this is a luxury device targeting a niche market.
Read more4 MONTHS AGO