Author: Khyree Riley

Kiev, London (25/3 – 50) Kiev is being bombed by the Russians, but despite the dangers the indiscriminate bombing brings, Ukrainians have their humor, and a bit of the “so what” attitude. Let’s call her Maria, because we don’t know her correct name and we don’t want to endanger the young coffee aficionado to targeted Russian attacks targeting the Ukrainian spirit of everything can be fixed with a good cup of coffee. The young Ukrainian barista keeps working despite today’s Russian missile strike destroying large parts of her cafe. “They won’t be able to break us,” Maria tells the reporter…

A few industry experts were asked to share their predictions and insights on the creative industry in 2024. The overall outlook is mostly optimistic,  with a few reservations, reports Vanessa Obioha Femi Odugbemi: Transforming Prophecies into Tangible Achievements As we embark on another journey around the sun, I think it is crucial for Nigerians to reflect not only on the passing of time but on the progress we have made toward our collective aspirations. In the realm of our nation’s creative industry, particularly Nollywood, the repetitive cycle of unmet goals and predictions warrants a recalibration of our approach. With a dynamic…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has revealed that Nigeria is currently losing billions of revenue to operators of Free Trade Zones in the country due to special status granted the operational areas within these zones. Speaking at the weekend during the conclusion of the Comptroller General of Customs Conference in Lagos, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi who spoke through the Deputy Comptroller General (DCG) Incharge of Excise, Free Trade Zone and Industrial Incentives, Jack Ajoku, said he has set a timeline of March 31, 2024 to meet with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMT&I) and…

Nyon, Manchester, Milan (19/12 – 31) The group phase of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League is to conclude this month. Names of the sixteen clubs who will compete in the knock-out phase have been released. On Monday, 18 December 2023, UEFA conducted the draw for the last-16 round, at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Defending champion Manchester City came out from the draw with the biggest smile as they will face off with the arguably easiest opponent. Pep Guardiola’s team will Danish champion Copenhagen, who were down at 37th in the UEFA club coefficient ranking. As the current title holder,…

Ethiopian Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Lemma Yadecha Gudeta believes the Nigeria Air joint venture (JV) “will happen” despite political setbacks that have stalled the start-up airline. Months back, Ethiopian positioned a Boeing 737-800 in Nigeria Air livery to Abuja to perform a route-proving flight as a final step toward securing an air operator certificate. But then the process stalled. “It was almost a done deal,” Gudeta told Aviation Daily during a one-to-one interview in London. “But there was a change of government, and the new authorities in Nigeria wanted to look into how the agreements were made.” Source : Aviation

The Kenyan population is projected to rise to 63.9 million, in the year 2030. The Principal Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, James Muhati revealed that the population aged between 15 and 34 years is expected to grow by 35 percent, hitting the 22.3 million mark in the same period.Muhati was addressing a meeting of the 59th Biannual Workshop of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), titled Demographic Dividend, Migration and Economic Opportunities in African Economies. The PS lauded the Government for its relentless efforts towards empowering the youth through education, skills development, and the creation of employment opportunities among…

A recent study says African countries are less likely to follow East Asia’s development model of expanding manufacturing to reduce poverty. The study predicts a decreasing share of factory jobs for most countries by 2050. The Center for Global Development (CGD) released the study this week. It said there will be fewer factory workers around the world in 2050. And the paper predicts that, even in poor countries with a lot of low-cost labor, manufacturing job growth will slow down. China may be an exception out of the 59 countries modeled in the study. The study said that China will continue to expand…

The rand was weaker in early trade on Wednesday ahead of South Africa’s mid-term budget statement and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day. At 0727 GMT, the rand traded at 18.7300 against the dollar , about 0.4% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded around 0.04% weaker against a basket of global currencies. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will at 1200 GMT present to parliament the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), which updates economic forecasts, adjusts the budget and make emergency changes to spending. “Investors will be watching Godongwana’s MTBPS address closely today to…

Recent reports claimed that Ukrainian special services were “likely” behind strikes on Russian-backed forces in Sudan. While still unconfirmed, this isn’t the first time Ukraine has thought about flexing its muscles beyond Europe to target Russia. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency previously devised plans to attack Russian forces in Syria with clandestine Kurdish assistance, according to a leaked top-secret U.S. intelligence document. The objective behind targeting Russian units in Syria was to potentially compel Russia to redirect its military assets from Ukraine to bolster its defenses in Syria. The Wagner Group, the same Russian mercenary organization implicated in atrocities in Ukraine and across Africa, has played…

Toronto, Atlanta (28/11 – 20) A wise old expression intones “Behind every bad borrower is a bad lender”. Like many such cute, amusing aphorisms, it is accurate as far as it goes … but what if? What if a loan approval is held up, then granted, after a couple of phone calls from the office of the Vice President? What if the borrower is a crony or relative of Mr. Big, which is what practically bankrupted Indonesia, when the Soeharto vampire children took out multi-hundred-million-dollar “loans” (wink wink) for projects whose profit-making potential was near zero? What is the potential…