Africa

Ghana's Float acquires Nigeria's Accounteer

Ghanaian cash flow startup, Float, has acquired Nigeria's cloud-based accounting firm, Accounteer. Float had closed a $17 million seed round earlier in the year and will leverage Accounteer's subscription-based services to improve its own offerings.

Togo to set up Cybersecurity Centre

Togo has signed an MoU with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to establish a Cybersecurity Centre in Lomé. The African Center for Coordination and Research in Cybersecurity will act to investigate cybercrime within the sub-region.

iProcure secures $10.2m in Series funding

AgriTech startup, iProcure, has closed a $10 million Series funding round led by Investisseurs & Partenaires, it has been reported. The Agric-inputs supplier will launch a credit line for million plus customers and expand into Uganda and Tanzania.

Europe

NHS supplier suffers ransomware attack

NHS IT supplier Advance has been hacked and its data held hostage, the BBC has reported. Advanced provides patient check-ins and other digital services to the health organisation.

Manx Care faces fine over breach

Manx Care is facing a GBP 170,000 fine over a breach that exposed user data unless it put stringent measures in place to avoid a future repeat. The Isle of Man's Care Home had sent an insecure email containing private patient information to 1870 people.

Hackers target South Staffordshire Water

Hackers have targeted South Staffordshire PLC's water company, the BBC has confirmed. While the company said it could still supply water as needed, it worried that its corporate IT systems were compromised.

The Americas

Calm cuts 20% of staff

Meditation app Calm has cut 20% of its staff as pandemic-triggered boom fades, it has been reported. Other tech startups are also under pressure to cut cost, with Peloton already axing 3,000 people.

Experts doubt Elon Musk's Twitter bot claims

Elon Musk's claim that 33% of visible Twitter accounts were bot and spam accounts has been questioned. The creator of Botometer, the app which Musk used to make his claim, said Musk's methodology was questionable and that there were other indicators that needed to be applied before arriving at a conclusive figure.

WhatsApp lets you leave groups silently

New Meta updates will allow users to leave WhatsApp groups silently, a recent report has confirmed. Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the new changes adding that it improved privacy and maintained a secure chat experience.

Asia

Chinese tech giants share data with regulators

Chinese tech giants have shared algorithm data with Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regulators for the first time, it has been reported. Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are among companies who shared information with CAC.

Indians get Fifa 23 Ultimate Edition at 99.98% discount

Electronic Arts will honour a pricing error that allowed buyers on India's Epic Games to purchase Fifa 23 Ultimate at less than a dollar. Ultimate Edition is the final Fifa-branded game produced by Electronic Arts.

Samsung heir receives presidential pardon

Lee-jae Young, the Samsung heir convicted of bribery, has received a special presidential pardon. The South Korean government justified the decision saying Young was needed at the country's largest company to see to post-pandemic growth.

Africa

Ghana rejects Telecel's bid for Vodafone Ghana

Ghana's Ministry of Communications has declared Telecel's bid for Vodafone Ghana as unsuitable. Telecel had submitted a bid to take over Vodafone Group's 70% stake in the Ghana venture, but the ministry thinks it didn't have financial muscle to run the business after takeover.

Zimbabwe plans $500m cyber city

Zimbabwe is planning to build an ambitious $500 million mega Zim Cyber City on the outskirts of Harare. The new city will be developed by UAE's Mulk International, who have obtained a license to build a digital assets economic zone in the country.

Lami Technologies raises $3.7m in a seed extension round

Kenyan Insurtech startup has completed a $3.7 million seed extension funding round. Led by Harlem Capital, the new funds will be used to expand its offerings across Nigeria, Egypt, and Uganda.

Europe

UK parliament cancels TikTok account

The UK parliament cancelled its TikTok account because MPs feared data could pass on to the Chinese government. MPs say they want assurances that information won't be transferred to China before reinstating the account.

Oxford City FC to accept Bitcoin payments

Non-league club Oxford City Football Club has announced that will now accept Bitcoin from the public. Fans can now pay for matchday tickets and buy food at the stadium using digital currency.

WhatsApp won't lower encryption for any government

WhatsApp has said it will not lower security on its messenger app for any government. This comes as the UK government is fighting for a way to scan private messages in order to detect child abuse images.

The Americas

Conjoined twins separated with VR help

Brazilian twins joined at the head have been separated with the help of virtual reality, it has been announced. Surgeons from Brazil and the UK operated on the 3-year old kids while wearing headsets.

Twitter rejects Elon Musk's claims in court

Twitter has rejected Elon Musk's claims that he was tricked into agreeing to buy the micro-blogging site. Musk, who had planned a $44 billion buyout of Twitter, was backing out over claims the social media site misrepresented the number of fake accounts. Twitter wants to force Musk to go through with the deal.

Lyft hopes to make $1b operating profit in 2024

Lyft has adjusted its forecast for 2024, targeting a $1 billion in operating profit. The ride-hailing firm adjusted its outlook following strong second quarter performance that saw huge earnings.

Asia

SpaceX rocket crashes in Australia

A piece of SpaceX capsule crashed into a field in Australia. Experts say such space debris will become commonplace as space exploration continues at current scale.

India blocks BGMI game

Apple and Google have blocked access to BGMI in India following an order from the government. Experts believe the ban is due to BGMI's alleged link to China's Tencent. India had banned many Chinese apps in the past and some believe BGMI is a rebrand of PUBG, a popular game operated by Tencent.

Thai central bank to test crypto retail banking

Thailand's central bank has announced plans to test digital currency retail bank by the end of 2022. The Central Bank hopes to test the risks and opportunities in operating a cash-like digital currency retail bank.

Africa

Meta told to stop gagging whistleblower

Dozens of rights groups have slammed Meta and Facebook for gagging Kenyan whistleblower Daniel Motaung. The whistleblower is accusing Meta for poor terms of service and Meta has applied for a gag order because they believe his talking to the media would prejudice the case.

Ghana to introduce Consumer Protection Law

Ghana's communications ministry has announced plans to introduce legislation protection tech users in Ghana. The new lay will protect use data and avoid exploitation by tech firms.

€110m Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund launched

Cathay Innovation and AfricInvest have closed a €110 million funding for a Pan-African Venture fund, it has been reported. The fund will invest in young startups disrupting tech and improving lives on the continent.

Europe

UK government halts Manchester University agreement with Chinese firm

The UK government has stopped the Manchester University's vision-sensing tech licensing agreement with Beijing Infinite Vision Technology Company Ltd. The government cited security grounds for its action.

Russia fines Google over illegal content

Russia has fined Google $373 million for showing prohibitive material about the war in Ukraine. The communications regulator said Google showed fake news about Russia's military.

Samsung 'Running Woman' ad cleared by ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority has said Samsung's ad about a woman running through London at 2am was not irresponsible. Samsung had apologised after women's groups accused of tone deafness in the wake of women being attacked at night.

The Americas

US confiscates stolen $500k from North Korean hackers

The US Department of Justice says it has seized up to $500k worth of Bitcoin from North Korean hackers. The department has since returned ransoms to hospitals that had fallen victim to the hackers.

Apple settles keyboard suit

Apple has settled a butterfly-keyboard suit with customers by accepting to pay $50m. The claimants said Apple intentionally sold keyboards between 2015 and 2019 despite knowing they had problems.

Netflix sheds almost a million subscribers

Netflix has lost close to a million subscribers between April and June 2022, BBC has reported. Analysts attributed a return to pre-pandemic normal as well as price hikes as possible reasons for the fall.

Asia

China fines DiDi $1.2 billion

China has fined ride-hailing app DiDi $1.2 billion for breaking cyber security laws, it has been reported. The investigation had started right after DiDdi listed on the New York Stock Exchange. DiDi is no longer trading on NYSE.

Baidu launches self-driving taxi

China's Baidu has unveiled Apollo RT6, a new addition to its fleet of self-driving taxis. The taxis will still drive with a driver in case of safety needs.

Google agrees to licensing agreement in Indonesia

Indonesia says Google has agreed to comply with its new licensing rules for technology firms. The new rules allows the regulator the power to demand location of users and removal of illegal content.

Africa

Central African Republic launches crypto hub

The Central African Republic has launched a government-backed cryptocurrency hub called Sango. This comes after the country made Bitcoin legal tender. The hub will make it easier for the citizens to invest in the country's mining resources.

MapAfrica launches mobile app

MapAfrica has launched its mobile app to allow businesses and professionals to list their products and skills online. MapAfrica makes it easy to accept payments by connecting businesses with clients.

Mono open bank expands to Kenya

Nigeria's open banking startup, Mono, has expanded its operations to Kenya. Mono allows businesses to access confidential financial data while accepting direct bank payments.

Europe

British Army's social media accounts hacked

The British Army's YouTube and Twitter accounts were hacked, according to the Army. The hackers uploaded several crypto videos with images of Elon Musk on YouTube. Meanwhile, the Twitter account retweeted NFT tweets. The army is investigating the situation.

Improved Online Safety Bill to do better on child abuse images

Ofcom will receive better tools to force tech firms to do better in removing child abuse media on the internet. When parliament amends the Online Safety Bill, Ofcom will be able to impose up to 10% of the offending firm's global turnover

MPs want ban on some Chinese CCTV cameras

A number of Lords and MPs are calling on the UK government to ban CCTV cameras manufactured by Hikvision and Dahua. The group claims both companies have been linked with human rights violations in China.

The Americas

Theranos's Balwany convicted of fraud

Theranos executive, Ramesh Sunny Balwany, has been convicted of fraud by a US court. He had claimed, together with founder Elizabeth Homes, that Theranos's device could detect hundreds of diseases with only a few blood samples. Both execs will be sentenced later in the year.

Apple to launch Lockdown Mode to fight spyware

Apple is launching a new Lockdown Mode to help at-risk users to protect their devices against spyware attacks. Activists, journalists, and high-risk users can block unknown users from calling, among other functions.

Disney's Facebook and Instagram accounts hacked on Thursday

Disney has announced that its Instagram and Facebook accounts were hacked on Thursday. The hacker posted racist remarks on the company's accounts.

Asia

Twitter is challenging India's order to take down tweets

Twitter is fighting an Indian government order to take down certain content on its platform. Filing a petition in Karnataka, Twitter claims the order demonstrated excessive use of political power by the government.

China's COVID-19 app limits travel history tracking

China is limiting its scrutiny of citizen's travel history, it has been reported. The app will now monitor a citizen's previous seven-day travel history instead of 14. This is part of the government's ease of COVID-19 restrictions.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics looking to make camera modules for Tesla

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has said it is in talks to provide a number of camera modules to Tesla, Reuters has reported. The company added that it could not disclose the size of the deal yet.

Africa

MFS Africa buys US-based GTP

MFS Africa, a digital payment processing firm, has acquired US-based Global Technology Partners in a $34 million deal. The acquisition will allow MFS Africa leverage GTP's mobile payment solutions to empower more than 320 million mobile wallets across Africa.

Safaricom and Visa unveil virtual card

Safaricom has partnered with Visa to launch the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual Card. The new card will allow Kenyans to easily shop for items from 200 countries around the world.

Klasha completes $4.5m funding round

Lagos-based e-commerce network, Klasha, has received $2.1 million to complete its $4.5 seed round, it has been announced. Klasha will expand to five African countries with a newly-branded KlashaCart app.

Europe

UK will not comply with EU common charger directive

The UK will not comply with the EU's new common charging cable initiative. The EU has finalised agreement to ensure all portable devices use a USB Type-C charging cable by 2024.

UK acquires first ever quantum computer

UK's defence ministry has acquired a quantum computer, making it the first government institution to do so. Quantum computers are designed to be faster and more efficient at solving complex problems.

Robots aiding surgery in the UK

New robots are being used to aid surgery at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton. The two 'Da Vinci' robots were deployed in surgeries for cardiothoracic, colorectal, and other patients to tackle backlogs due to covid.

The Americas

YouTube allegedly not tackling fake Elon Musk livestream scams

Elon Musk has accused YouTube of failing to tackle fake livestreams showing the Tesla boss. Dozens of streams popped up allegedly showing the Tesla boss talking about crypto giveaways in what has been described as scams.

Apple to introduce Pay Later scheme

Apple is planning to introduce a buy now pay later scheme as part of the new iOS 16 operating system. Pay Later will allow customers to make installment payments over six weeks at zero interest charges.

AI-driven ship crosses the Atlantic

An AI-powered crew-less ship, Mayflower Autonomous Ship, has crossed the Atlantic and landed in Canada. The ship crossed 2,700 miles of open water to dock in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Asia

India loan app schemes blackmailing users

Loan app scammers in India are blackmailing users after collecting their data. Victims attracted by easy hassle-free loans are now forced to pay more than they took out after their phones get hacked.

Beijing to allow Ant Group IPO after crackdown

Jack Ma's Ant Group has allegedly received initial green light to commence the group's initial public offering, it has been disclosed. Sources claim the firm might begin listing efforts in Hong Kong and Shanghai as early as July.

Disney+ challenges markets in MENA Region

Disney+ has launched its streaming platform across the Middle East and North Africa to capture a young and eager population. The streaming platform is now live across 16 Arab-speaking countries.

Africa

Mobile money transactions fall in Ghana

The value of mobile money transactions in April fell by 3% after government passed the e-levy, the Bank of Ghana has reported. This comes despite a rise in mobile money accounts from 49.9m to 50.2 million.

Egypt's Esaal secures $1.7 in seed round

Egyptian healthtech startup Esaal has secured $1.7m in seed funding. The 2018-founded startup will use the funds to advance services across the MENA region, it was reported.

54Ggene signs MoU with Senegal's National Academy of Sciences and Technology

54gene has signed an MoU with the National Academy of Sciences and Technology in Senegal. The healthtech firm will establish SEN-GENOME, a genomic database of Senegal's population.

Europe

Watchdog investigates Google over dominance

The UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing Google over its dominance in the online market. The CMA wants to know if the tech giant is favouring its own products in Google searches.

UK fines Clearview AI over privacy charges

UK's privacy watchdog has fined Clearview AI for illegally storing images of UK residents. The Information Commissioner's Office has slapped a £7.5m fine on the company, demanding illegal images be deleted.

NI police illegally shared data with foreign law enforcement

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) illegally shared personal data of 152 persons with United States law enforcement. The Information Commissioner's Office is investigating the case.

The Americas

Canada to ban China's top two telecommunications companies

Canada says it will ban Huawei and ZTE from its 5G phone networks. Canada claims the move will boost the country's internet infrastructure and improve security; Huawei considers the move political.

WhatsApp is launching business chat feature

Meta has announced that it will launch a business chat feature for WhatsApp Business. The new feature will allow small businesses to communicate with their customers free of charge.

New bill to stop US companies from accepting digital yuan

US Senators are proposing a new bill that will bar tech giants from hosting apps that accept digital yuan as payment. They fear the apps will allow China to spy on US citizens.

Asia

Airbnb to quit China

Airbnb has set out plans to quit China as lockdown directives continues to impair tourism. The company will remove all listings by summer from a country contributing only 1% of Airbnb's global revenue.

Iran allegedly offered bribes to Instagram moderators

Iran allegedly offered to bribe Instagram's Persian language content moderators to remove accounts belonging to journalists and activists. Iran's intelligence service allegedly offered up to $10,700 in bribes.

India's SpiceJet suffers ransomware attack

Ransomware attackers targeted India's SpiceJet airline on Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded after boarding. The airline announced it has since rectified the situation.

Africa

Google Translate adds 10 new African languages

Google Translate has included 10 new African languages to its database. The languages include Twi, Bambara, Ewe, and Lingala. The new additions are part of 24 new languages included in the translation database.

Kenyan sues Meta over content moderator role

Daniel Motaung, a former content moderator for Facebook is suing Meta and contractor Sama over human trafficking and poor mental health support. The Kenyan said he was paid $2.2 per hour to moderate content that included beheadings. He said the job ad failed to warn applicants of the extreme content beforehand.

Lemonade Finance integrates with UK's TrueLayer

Africa-focused Lemonade Finance has announced that it is now integrated into TrueLayer's open network. This integration makes it easy for customers to verify their bank accounts in order to send money through Lemonade.

Europe

Bedfordshire released pupils data online

A council in Bedfordshire has admitted to submitting personal details of special educational needs pupils. The council of Bedfordshire has availed itself to the Information Commissioner's Office for investigation.

Royal Mail wants 500 new delivery drones

UK's Royal Mail wants to add a fleet of 500 new drones to allow it deliver mail to remote locations. It hopes to add at least 200 over the next three years alone, pending approval from aviation authorities.

UK accuses Russia of satellite attack

The UK is blaming Russian hackers for cyber-attacking satellite internet company in Viasat. This occured before the start of the invasion of Ukraine, and caused for clients outages across Central Europe.

The Americas

EA Sports to stop making FIFA-branded games

EA Sports has ended its relationship with FIFA due to high licensing cost. The gaming firm will release new titles in 2023 under the name, EA Sports FC.

Apple discontinues the iPod

Apple has announced that it will stop producing the iPod Touch after 21 years. Apple's last update of the iPod came in 2019.

Google unveils new Google Pixel Watch

Google has unveiled its new smartwatch at a developer conference. The Google Pixel Watch is 4G-compatible and can be paired with an android device.

Asia

Toyota cuts production due to Shanghai lockdown

Car manufacturer Toyota is suspending production across its plants due to coronavirus lockdown measures in Shanghai. Tesla has also halted production until measures are eased in the Chinese city.

Thai army boycotts Lazada over ad video

The Thai army is boycotting online retailer, Lazada, over a video it alleges mocked Thailand's ruling family. The boycott came after a user accused Lazada of mocking the royal family in a TikTok video.

Xiaomi faces legal probe in India

China's Xiaomi is facing legal probes in India over its business practices, it has been reported. India's financial crime-fighting agency accuses Xiaomi of illegally funneling funds out of the country.

Africa

Bitcoin is legal tender in CAR

The Central African Republic has approved Bitcoin as the country's new legal tender. This makes mineral-rich CAR the second country after El Salvador to declare cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Vodafone and MTN sign roaming agreement in Ghana

Vodafone Ghana and MTN Ghana have both signed a national roaming service in Ghana. This means users will be automatically ported to the other network in areas where one has no coverage.

PEG Africa acquired by Bboxx for $200m

Ghana-based solar company PEG Africa has been acquired in a $200 million deal by cleantech startup Bboxx. The London-based startup aims to bring affordable pay-as-you-go electricity into African homes.

Europe

DJI pauses drone operation in Russia and Ukraine

Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI, has paused all of its operations in Ukraine and Russia, it has been reported. The firm has stated that its drones are not for military purposes.

Bases offer flying car driving lessons in the UK

Pal-V has opened training bases in Coventry and Oxford to offer lessons for flying car enthusiasts. The Dutch company is in the final process of securing licenses to begin operations.

Telecoms firm suffers fake reviews blackmail

Southampton-based circle.cloud is being blackmailed into paying for fake one-star reviews to be removed from its Google profile. The company has criticised Google for how it has handled the blackmail and for delaying in removing the fake reviews on its site.

The Americas

Amazon suffers first loss since 2015

Amazon ahs suffered its first loss since 2015 due to rising costs and slowing online sales, the BBC has reported. Online sales slumped some 3% in the first three months of the year despite growth in other sectors.

Musk loses appeal to reverse tweet oversight deal

Elon Musk has lost an appeal to reverse a deal where regulators exercised oversight over his tweets about Tesla. The deal was signed after he falsely claimed to have secured funding for his car firm.

US, 55 others set new internet rules

The US has joined 55 other nations to establish a new set of rules to govern the use of the internet, it has been reported. The "Declaration for the Future of the Internet" aims to protect human rights and promote free flow of information.

Asia

India to take on Walmart and Amazon

India is setting up an open e-commerce network that will compete with giants Amazon and Walmart, Reuters has reported. This will help curb the dominance of the two US retail sites.

Weibo shares user locations to promote good behaviour

China's Weibo has announced that it will start publishing user IP addresses in a bid to curb "bad behaviour," it has been reported. The new settings cannot be turned off by users.

Toyota signs EV agreement with Thailand

Toyota Motor's Thai subsidiary has signed an agreement with the Thai government on incentives that will promote the use of electric vehicles. Incentives include subsidies and tax breaks to reduce the cost of acquiring an EV.

Africa

Kenya imposes new rules for streaming platforms

The Kenya Film and Classification Board will task content creators and streaming platforms to classify 70% of their content for age appropriateness under new regulations. Defaulting parties will pay a fine of $860 for each violation, and will be subjected to a longer content classification system.

DiDi leaves South Africa

Chinese ride-hailing firm, DiDi, has halted its South Africa operations as part of its new strategy. The world's second largest ride-hailing platform had operated for only a year in South Africa after launching in April 2021.

Egypt's Pylon raises $19m to scale operations

Egyptian infrastructure management platform has raised $19 million in a seed round, TechCrunch has announced. Led by Endure Capital, the fund will help the startup scale its water and electricity management platform.

Europe

London police arrest three over Club Penguin site

The City of London police has arrested three co-conspirators for allegedly running an unofficial Club Penguin site. The three were arrested on the wishes of Disney, who intend to bring copyright charges against the culprits.

Online market for hacked accounts shut down in global operation

Raidforums, a marketplace for stolen private data, has been shutdown in an operation that saw its 21-year-old founder arrested in the UK. Diego Santos Coelho, a Portuguese national, awaits extradition to the US.

Sex abuse victims want stronger Online Safety Bill

Victims of child abuse have written to the UK government to request a strengthening of the Online Safety Bill. They want tech giants to be forced to stop child abuse through livestreams and video calls.

The Americas

Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter

Tesla's Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $40 billion. As the biggest single shareholder of the micro-blogging site, Musk has offered to purchase the remaining shares for $54.20 each.

Crypto expert jailed over North Korea sanctions

An American crypto expert has been jailed for five years for helping North Korea evade sanctions, the BBC has reported. Virgil Griffith gave a presentation on blockchain technology in North Korea despite being denied permission by the US State Department.

Amazon not adding crypto to payment options

Amazon's CEO has said the retail giant is not adding crypto as a payment option anytime soon, Reuters has reported. Andy Jassy added that NFTs could be sold on the platform, however.

Asia

North Koreans targeted in $600m crypto heist

North Korean-linked hackers were allegedly involved in the theft of $615 million from online gamers, it has been reported. The game, Axie Infinity, allowed gamers to rack up crypto points through gameplay.

Fears over privacy emerge over new criminal procedure bill in India

A new Criminal Procedure Identification Bill in India has raised fears among human rights organisations. The new bill makes it mandatory for all arrested persons to provide biometric details including retina screens; data could be held for up to 75 years.

Chinese iPhone maker halts operations

A major Chinese iPhone maker has halted operations amidst lockdown measures in Shanghai. The city was locked down in March following a surge in coronavirus cases.

Africa

Ghana's parliament passes e-levy bill

Ghana's parliament has passed the controversial e-levy bill. When passed into law, the bill will enforce 1.5% fee on mobile money and digital bank transfers.

Moove and SWVL partner to rollout electric buses

Moove and SWVL have announced a partnership to rollout more electric buses, it has been reported. The partnership will also scale-up Moove's vehicle financing model to include Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan.

Tushop raises $3m in pre-seed round

Kenya's Tushop has raised $3 million in a pre-seed round to scale its activities across the country. Tushop allows communities to buy groceries in a bulk while enjoying free delivery.

Europe

UK cyber-centre warns against use of Russian technology use

UK's National Cyber Security Centre has urged organisations to reconsider their use of Russian-made software. However, it said individual use of software like Kaspersky was safe.

Uber receives license to operate in London

Ride-hailing app, Uber, has been granted a two-and-a-half-year license to operate within the city of London. The company had been denied operational license in 2019.

Ukraine's main ISP suffers cyber-attack

Ukrtelekom, Ukraine's national telecoms operator, is just recovering from a cyber-attack, the BBC has confirmed. The company said it limited access to individuals to reduce risk to critical infrastructure.

The Americas

US charges Russians over cyber-attack

The United States has charged four Russian employees over a hacking campaign against global energy firms. Their actions are said to have affected 135 countries between 2012 and 2018.

Facebook in alleged campaign against TikTok

Facebook's parent company, Meta, allegedly paid a consultancy firm to publish reports undermining TikTok. The campaign was designed to show TikTok as a "danger to American children".

Spotify paid $7bn to music rights holders

Spotify paid out $7 billion in revenue to music industry rights holders 2021, the streaming giant has confirmed. In addition, it also paid up to 130 artistes more than $5 million over the past year.

Asia

WeChat suspends accounts linked to NFTs

China's WeChat has suspended some accounts linked to NFTs to curb speculation in digital assets. Though NFTs are not illegal in China, trading in crypto has been banned.

Israel's Beewise raises $80m

Israeli robotic beehive maker, Beewise, has raised $80 million from private investors, Reuters has reported. Beewise uses technology to save bees from climate change, helping farmers harvest more from their yield.

China cracks down on tax evaders in streaming market

Chinese authorities are cracking down on tax evasion in the live-streaming industry, it has been reported. The tax regulator will require platforms to report streamers' identity and earnings every six months.