Digital Space

  President Samia Suluhu Hassan took the decision to dissolve the entire board of the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) on Thursday in response to widespread dissatisfaction among Tanzanians over frequent power outages. The outages are attributed to power rationing in Tanzania, stemming from reduced water levels in dams and ongoing repairs to power lines. This situation has led to a significant 400-megawatt shortfall in the country's power supply. The move to dissolve the Tanesco board reflects the government's response to address the challenges and improve the electricity situation in Tanzania.

  Esther Passaris, elected under the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, has been publicly aligning herself with President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance. This move has drawn criticism from her party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Passaris faced backlash for her vote in favor of the controversial Finance Bill 2023, which increased VAT on fuel and introduced a housing levy that was later nullified. Despite the criticism, Passaris suggested that Kenyans, under Ruto's leadership, were united and no longer expressing grievances. William Ruto was born on December 21, 1966, in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya. He emerged as a prominent political figure and ascended to the country's top leadership position after winning the 2022 presidential election against his rival Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party Esther Passaris, who obtained a ticket from the Orange Democratic Movement, a key part of the Azimio la Umoja coalition, openly expressed he...

  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has entered into an investment agreement, committing around KSh 3.2 billion, for affordable housing projects in Kenya. This financing is intended to support the construction of 3,400 affordable housing units in the country. The affordable housing initiative operates under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and seeks to alleviate the annual housing deficit, estimated at 200,000 units in Kenya. The investment from IFC is part of efforts to address the housing challenges in the region. The agreement, signed on December 15, 2023, at the IFC/World Bank Headquarters in Upperhill Nairobi, marks a strategic partnership between the IFC and IHS Kenya. The IFC's investment involves an equity co-investment package of up to €19.3 million (approximately $20.9 million or KSh 3.2 billion). This investment is intended to be made alongside IHS Kenya Green Housing Partnership LLP and IHS Kenya Green Housing SCSp (the Fund). The funds will be used fo...

 The top U.S. military officer engaged in a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, according to the Pentagon. This marks the first such conversation in over a year, and there are hopes among U.S. officials that it could pave the way for a broader restoration of ties between the two militaries. The video teleconference follows an agreement between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month to resume military-to-military ties. These ties were severed by Beijing in response to a visit to self-ruled Taiwan by then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022. U.S. Air Force General CQ Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Liu Zhenli of China's People’s Liberation Army engaged in discussions covering "a number of global and regional security issues," as reported by Brown's office. General Liu holds the position of Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC)...

 The Palestinian head of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Bassem Ghaben, and three others were killed in an Israeli strike, as reported by Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Israeli aircraft targeted the infrastructure, according to statements from the crossings authority and the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory. The Israeli army and COGAT, the defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, have not immediately responded to requests from AFP for comment. The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, with Hamas attacking Israel. According to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures, approximately 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and around 250 were abducted during the conflict. The Hamas government's media office claimed that Israel's retaliatory assault resulted in the deaths of at least 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women. It's important to note that ca...

  The Colorado Supreme Court has determined that the former president is ineligible to hold office. However, there is skepticism that the U.S. Supreme Court will reach a similar conclusion. "This is how dictatorships are born." This was Donald Trump's reaction to the Colorado Supreme Court's decision disqualifying him from holding office and removing him from the state's Republican primary ballot. Whenever Trump references "dictatorships" nowadays, it warrants attention. His words strongly suggest an inclination toward dictatorial rule if he were to win in 2024. The intent behind his statement in a fundraising message sent out shortly after the news remains unclear—it could be interpreted as either a condemnation of the ruling or a prediction of how he would navigate such legal setbacks if he were to return to the White House. The fear of a potentially dictatorial Trump leveraging the presidency to manipulate the rule of law for political retribution is ...

 John Lennon/Paul McCartney Moments after I got the news that the Colorado Supreme Court kicked Donald Trump off the ballot in that state, I read the transcript of the decision. Part of the justification for disqualifying Trump was because of what he said in a press briefing more than six weeks before the election. “When asked at a September 23, 2020 press briefing whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election, President Trump refused to do so,” the court wrote. Some of Trump’s current paid supporters, destined to end up with lumps of coal in their stockings this Christmas, denied that this happened, and accused the court of misinterpreting what he said. I know differently. I was there. I asked the question. The court was right in its reference, and also left out the part where Trump told me that if you stop counting the votes there wouldn’t be a transfer of power at all. I’m pretty sure that will also lead to a few lumps of coal in Trump’s stocking, bu...