Zimbabwe to Develop $500m Cyber City, UK Parliament Closes TikTok Account, and Conjoined Twins Separated with VR Help

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.