
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>OpenAI is testing a new feature that gives ChatGPT a memory to store information from a user’s previous chats—including their voice, tone and personal preferences—in order to create a more intensely customized experience for future requests.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Users will be able to choose whether they want ChatGPT to store a conversation, allowing the chatbot to remember specific details about the user over time to create more personalized responses, OpenAI&nbsp;<a href="https://openai.com/blog/memory-and-new-controls-for-chatgpt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;in a blog post.</p>



<p>The user will be able to control what information ChatGPT can store about them, the company said, though the chatbot’s “memories” will “evolve with your interactions,” allowing it to determine over time what information should be stored based on a user’s preferences.</p>



<p>If a user asks ChatGPT to create a birthday card for a child the user previously said likes jellyfish, OpenAI used as an example, ChatGPT may create a card featuring a jellyfish wearing a party hat.</p>



<p>The feature will be applied to other GPTs, including ChatGPT Team and Enterprises, allowing the chatbot to “remember your tone, voice and format preferences” while responding to certain tasks, while Books GPT will recommend books based on a user’s preferences, like favorite genres or top books.</p>



<p>Organizations will be able to upload data to ChatGPT, which will then create charts based on that data along with “three takeaways each,” while programming firms will also be able to store information about their programming language and frameworks to remember those preferences for future tasks, OpenAI said.</p>



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<p>By signing up, you accept and agree to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/terms-and-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terms of Service</a>&nbsp;(including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and you acknowledge our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Privacy Statement</a>.</p>



<p>Joanne Jang, OpenAI’s product lead, told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-13/openai-gives-chatgpt-the-ability-to-remember-facts-from-your-chats" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;that while the new memory feature can store information about the user, it was also designed to not save sensitive personal information like passwords, passport numbers or details about the user’s health.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>The feature will be available for some free and paid ChatGPT users this week before it becomes more widely accessible, OpenAI said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Memory for ChatGPT is the latest feature announced by OpenAI following the chatbot’s success over the last year. Last month, the company launched GPT Store, an online marketplace where users can share custom chatbots with others, after a two-month delay amid CEO Sam Altman’s ouster and subsequent return to the company. ChatGPT Team was also launched last month, a smaller version of ChatGPT Enterprise, which was released in August as an alternative for organizations to use the chatbot with “enterprise-grade security.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Altman, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15UZCAr3shU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spoke</a>&nbsp;over video during the Dubai-based World Governments Summit, reiterated his concerns about the possible dangers of artificial intelligence. Altman noted he was “not that interested in the killer robots walking on the street direction of things going wrong,” rather he was “much more interested” about the “very subtle societal misalignments” that could make the technology dangerous.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/01/10/openai-launches-gpt-store-where-creators-can-share-and-possibly-make-money-from-their-chatbots/?sh=4904127c7cae">OpenAI Launches GPT Store: Where Creators Can Share—And Possibly Make Money From—Their Chatbots</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>


In this photo illustration, the ChatGPT (OpenAI) logo is

ChatGPT Can Now ‘Remember’ Users—Including Their Voice, Preferences


<p>In a landmark move, Tanzania marked its first participation at the Mining Indaba, being held from February 5-8 in Cape Town, South Africa. This year&#8217;s event, the 30th edition of the conference, with the theme <em>Embracing the power of positive disruption: A bold new future for African mining</em>, focuses on the need for adaptation in the African mining sector in light of technological advancements and environmental concerns​​.</p>



<p>The Tanzanian delegation, comprising both government and private sector representatives, arrived with a clear message, encapsulated in their chosen theme: <em>Advancing mining investment to accelerate prosperity</em>. This move aligns with the Tanzanian government&#8217;s Vision 2030, aiming to intensify geoscientific surveys to tap into the nation&#8217;s rich mineral resources​.</p>



<p>​​​Anthony Mavunde, Tanzania&#8217;s Minister of Minerals, emphasized the vision at the indaba, presenting the government&#8217;s strategy to not only boost investment and economic growth but also focus on sustainable and responsible mining practices. &#8220;Our vision isn’t simply to dig up minerals, it’s to ignite the engines of prosperity,&#8221; Mavunde declared, underscoring a shift from traditional mining practices to a more sustainable and economically beneficial approach.</p>



<p>Tanzania&#8217;s participation in the conference is seen as a crucial step towards redefining the African narrative of mining, which has often been plagued by issues of environmental degradation and exploitation.</p>



<p>Key issues discussed at the conference included the role of Africa in supplying critical minerals for global electronic and automotive industries and innovative approaches to spur mining sector investment and employment. These discussions are particularly relevant for Tanzania, given its abundant reserves of critical minerals like nickel, rare earths, and graphite​​.</p>



<p>However, the path to mining prosperity is not without its challenges. The conference provided a platform for Tanzania to address hurdles impeding investment, such as taxation concerns and the need for equitable sharing of project returns. The government&#8217;s commitment to facilitating a conducive investment environment was evident, as noted by Kheri Mahimbali, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Minerals, who confirmed Tanzania&#8217;s dedication to responsible mining practices​​.</p>



<p>Tanzania&#8217;s debut symbolizes more than just participation; it represents the country&#8217;s commitment to playing a key role in the future of African mining.</p>


Key Speakers at The Investing in African Mining Indaba

Tanzania’s Strategic Debut At Mining Indaba: Forging A New Path In African Mining


<p><strong>ChatGPT and other generative AI are being widely used in higher education in school admissions. But now, students who’ve turned to AI for writing are turning back to people to make that work sound more human—and schools can’t possibly keep up.</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p><strong><em>“Tapestry.” “Beacon.” “Comprehensive curriculum.” “Esteemed faculty.” “Vibrant academic community.”</em></strong></p>



<p>They’re among the laundry list of colorful words, flowery phrases and stale syntax that are likely to tip off admissions committees to applicants who’ve used AI to help write their college or graduate school essays this year, according to essay consultants who students are hiring en masse to un-ChatGPT, and add a “human touch” to, their submissions.</p>



<p>“Tapestry” in particular is a major red flag in this year’s pool, several essay consultants on the platform Fiverr told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. Mike, an Ivy League alum and former editor-in-chief of the Cornell Business Journal who now edits hundreds of grad school applications each cycle through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiverr.com/capitoleditors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Capitol Editors</a>, said it’s appeared repeatedly in drafts from at least 20 of his clients in recent months. (He requested anonymity to protect their privacy.)</p>



<p>&#8220;I no longer believe there&#8217;s a way to innocently use the word &#8216;tapestry&#8217; in an essay; if the word &#8216;tapestry&#8217; appears, it was generated by ChatGPT,” he told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. Though many such words, on their own, could have come from a human, when a trained eye sees them used over and over again in the same cadence across multiple essays, “it’s just a real telltale sign.”</p>



<p>“There will be a reckoning,” Mike added. “There are going to be a ton of students who unwittingly use the word &#8216;tapestry&#8217; or other words in their essay that [may] not be admitted this cycle.”</p>



<p>This winter and spring mark the first full admissions season since the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2023/12/27/how-chatgpt-and-billions-in-investment-helped-ai-go-mainstream-in-2023/?sh=c63166e7176e">explosion and broad adoption of ChatGPT</a>&nbsp;and other generative AI, and in the education world, the fast-growing use cases for the technology have far outpaced school policies. Some educators are trying to fend off the tech with “zero tolerance” policies, while others are actively embracing it in their classrooms (Arizona State University, for example, is&nbsp;<a href="https://news.asu.edu/20240118-university-news-new-collaboration-openai-charts-future-ai-higher-education" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnering with OpenAI</a>&nbsp;to use ChatGPT Enterprise for tutoring and coursework). But short of cohesive, consistent rules for how AI can be used in the application process, if at all—and without tools that can reliably detect whether it has been—many students have turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its rivals for help. The uptake has given rise to a cottage industry of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiverr.com/categories/writing-translation/proofreading-editing/ai-content-editing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">freelance consultants</a>&nbsp;who specialize in plucking out suspicious AI jargon and making essays sound authentic.</p>



<p>Forbes asked more than 20 public and private colleges of varied sizes across the United States, from Arizona State and Georgia Tech to Princeton and Harvard, about trends in the use of AI or ChatGPT among applications and how they are handling candidates likely to have relied on it. Many schools declined to comment or did not respond; Emory spokesperson Sylvia Carson said “it&#8217;s too soon for our admissions folks to offer any clear observations.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“I no longer believe there&#8217;s a way to innocently use the word &#8216;tapestry&#8217; in an essay; if the word &#8216;tapestry&#8217; appears, it was generated by ChatGPT.”Mike, essay consultant and former editor-in-chief of Cornell Business Journal</p>
</blockquote>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>But editing consultants told&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>that if they were able to spot suspected AI use having read just dozens or hundreds of essays, admissions committees reviewing many multiples more could have an even easier time picking up on these patterns. Ben Toll, the dean of undergraduate admissions at George Washington University, explained just how easy it is for admissions officers to sniff out AI-written applications.</p>



<p>“When you&#8217;ve read thousands of essays over the years, AI-influenced essays stick out,” Toll told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. “They may not raise flags to the casual reader, but from the standpoint of an admissions application review, they are often ineffective and a missed opportunity by the student.”</p>



<p>In fact, GWU’s admissions staff trained this year on sample essays that included one penned with the assistance of ChatGPT, Toll said—and it took less than a minute for a committee member to spot it.</p>



<p>The words were “thin, hollow, and flat,” he said. “While the essay filled the page and responded to the prompt, it didn&#8217;t give the admissions team any information to help move the application towards an admit decision.”&nbsp;<em>(Disclosure: One of the article’s authors, Alexandra, has occasionally shared feedback with college applicants on their essays.)</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-demand-for-human-vibes"><strong>A demand for “human vibes”</strong></h2>



<p>In December 2023, an unusual request popped up on Indiana Pejic’s Fiverr account: “Could you edit and proofread my personal statement, 1,000 words? I partly wrote it with ChatGPT and would appreciate it if you could make it sound less robotic.” The request was from a Korean student applying for a PhD in Renaissance Literature at the University of Cambridge.</p>



<p>Pejic—a freelancer in Serbia who has three master’s degrees and one PhD—has edited roughly 100 personal statements and college essays through Fiverr. Though she initially feared her business would take a hit with the onset of ChatGPT, the reality has been quite the opposite: the AI boom has fueled unprecedented demand for editors adept at making computer-generated writing sound like the real thing. “ChatGPT is extremely wordy,” she said, and “there are many abstract words that don&#8217;t really connect well.” Today, she charges up to $100 to add “<a href="https://www.fiverr.com/indyomo/manually-edit-rewrite-and-humanize-ai-chatgpt-content?context_referrer=search_gigs&amp;source=top-bar&amp;ref_ctx_id=01d2d30f7d31403ab370b9c53cce4dc0&amp;pckg_id=1&amp;pos=2&amp;ad_key=2a7efde7-d2f5-4994-9e60-2f924d873cfa&amp;context_type=auto&amp;funnel=01d2d30f7d31403ab370b9c53cce4dc0&amp;seller_online=true&amp;imp_id=92806632-babb-46aa-8a8b-fb5fc7b31dfd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human vibes</a>” to AI-written essays. (Others offering similar services through Fiverr charge anywhere from $10 to $150 depending on the length.)</p>



<p>Lara Cantos, an editor and translator in Mexico, said she has seen so many repetitive groups of words and sentence constructions that she’s made a glossary of terms that set off AI alarms. “It’s specific terminology and sentence structure that starts repeating itself, and the use of the same adjectives again and again,” she said. (“Tapestry,” she noted, also makes recurring appearances.)</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“I partly wrote it with ChatGPT and would appreciate it if you could make it sound less robotic.”A student applying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge</p>
</blockquote>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>Mike, from Capitol Editors, says he, too, has kept a running list. It includes describing something that “aligns seamlessly with my aspirations” or “stems from a deep-seated passion,” or references one’s “leadership prowess,” “entrepreneurial/educational journey” and “commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.” (One structure that’s a giveaway, he added, is “not merely X, but Y,” or “not just X, but Y.”)</p>



<p>All the consultants&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;spoke to said that AI tools are fairly popular among international students applying for admission abroad who turn to the likes of ChatGPT because English isn’t their first language. In some cases, they’ll feed the AI ideas or prompts in their native speech to get started with a first draft; in others, they’ll rely more heavily on the tech. “I just received an order from a student in Switzerland applying for the U.S. with a ChatGPT-generated essay,” Cantos told&nbsp;<em>Forbes. “</em>Some of the AI-written content sounds like literal translations.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-higher-ed-wild-west"><strong>A Higher-ed Wild West</strong></h2>



<p>While AI tools that can write and refine large blocks of text continue to develop at a breakneck speed—becoming both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-45644-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">better at writing</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/use-of-ai-is-seeping-into-academic-journals-and-its-proving-difficult-to-detect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">harder to detect</a>—schools are struggling to keep up and reach consensus on how to address them in applications. And students, in the meantime, are both seeking out clearer policies (and pushing the limits) on what they can and cannot do with these tools.</p>



<p>“I don&#8217;t think there is anything even approaching a consistent approach to the problem,” said Chris Reed, executive director of admissions at Texas A&amp;M.</p>



<p>Each admissions office has different rules on AI use in applications—ranging from the University of Southern California’s stringent “zero-tolerance” policy, to Georgia Tech’s position that students are allowed to use AI as a “helpful collaborator,” to Texas A&amp;M’s stance that applicants can submit AI-generated content because the university has moved away from using the standard college essay as a writing sample. (In fact, one of the prompts for Texas A&amp;M’s honors program is to use an AI platform like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard to write an essay, and then&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/superamit/status/1740149257422913940" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">critique</a>&nbsp;how well it was able to present an argument.)</p>



<p>“So much of it just depends on the individual institution and how they&#8217;re using essays in their process,” said Reed from Texas A&amp;M, noting that some 30% of the admissions essays they now receive use AI in some capacity according to AI detection tool GPTZero.</p>



<p>Other universities are less flexible. At the University of California, which has 10 campuses across the state, prospective students may use AI for brainstorming and creating an outline but the final draft must be “independently written”—and answers that include an “unedited AI response” (such as a direct copy-paste from ChatGPT) could be flagged as plagiarism, spokesperson Rachel Zaentz told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;in an email. “It would be more work for [applicants] to try building a strong ChatGPT prompt than it would be to develop their own original responses to the questions,” she added.</p>



<p>The Common Application, used by more than a million students each year to apply to over 1,000 academic institutions, also considers “the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform” a form of plagiarism under its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.commonapp.org/files/Common-App-Fraud-Policy.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fraud policy</a>. Common App president Jenny Rickard told&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>“we investigate all fraud allegations, and if they are substantiated, we take appropriate disciplinary steps.” She did not say how, exactly, possible instances of AI-related plagiarism are investigated, though she noted the Common App does not use AI detection tools. The consequences, however, can be severe, and the disciplinary actions include reporting the findings to all member colleges on a student’s “My Colleges” list.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detection-an-imperfect-science"><strong>Detection, an imperfect science</strong></h2>



<p>It’s no wonder Common App isn’t relying on tools that promise to weed out AI-generated content: it’s still&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/14/prove-false-positive-ai-detection-turnitin-gptzero/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">notoriously inaccurate</a>, so much so that OpenAI shuttered&nbsp;<a href="https://openai.com/blog/new-ai-classifier-for-indicating-ai-written-text" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its own AI detection software.</a>&nbsp;Leaders in the space like GPTZero have changed course, now offering schools high-level analysis of how AI is being used in applications rather than pinpointing problematic essays. Other creators of detection software have warned against the use of the technology in admissions altogether.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>Disciplinary actions for using AI on The Common Application&nbsp;include reporting the findings to all member colleges on a student’s “My Colleges” list.Jenny Rickard, CEO and President of Common App</p>
</blockquote>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>Eric Mitchell, a PhD student at Stanford who built&nbsp;<a href="https://ericmitchell.ai/detectgpt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DetectGPT</a>, called it “a total minefield,” cautioning that while research into detection software is worthwhile, the resulting tools are simply not ready for primetime in higher ed. College admissions is such a critical moment in a person’s life, he said in an interview, and “the cost of falsely condemning someone&#8217;s essay is just so high, [that] I&#8217;m not sure we can accept a 2% false positive rate.” It’s unclear how widely schools are using this software in admissions, but both Mitchell and GPTZero’s CEO Edward Tian said educators have expressed interest.</p>



<p>Like a majority of the schools&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;contacted for this story, GWU’s dean of undergrad admissions did not say whether AI detection tools are part of its review process. But he did make a case for aspiring attendees to avoid ChatGPT and its peers altogether.</p>



<p>“By the time a student is filling out their application, most of the materials will have already been solidified. The applicants can&#8217;t change their grades. They can&#8217;t go back in time and change the activities they&#8217;ve been involved in,” Toll said. “But the essay is the one place they remain in control until the minute they press submit on the application. I want students to understand how much we value getting to know them through their writing and how tools like generative AI end up stripping their voice from their admission application.”</p>


Chatbot ChatGPT

Did You Use ChatGPT On Your School Applications? These Words May Tip Off Admissions


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Hospitalizations for Covid spiked 20% in the week after Christmas, according to new <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with an increase in Covid deaths, and flu hospitalizations and deaths, solidifying what experts predicted to be a “severe” season for respiratory illnesses as Americans traveled and gathered for holiday celebrations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>There were 34,798 Covid-related hospitalizations during the holiday week ending in Dec. 30, 2023, a 20.4% increase from the week prior, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a>&nbsp;from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<p>Covid-related deaths were up <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_percent-covid-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">12.5%</a> during this period, with the highest concentrations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma.</p>



<p>New Omicron Covid variant JN.1 made up&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">61.6%</a>&nbsp;of all Covid cases in the two-week period between Dec. 24, 2023 and January 6, up 22.8% from the previous two-week period.</p>



<p>There were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm#ORIAM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">39 states</a>&nbsp;with high or very high levels for respiratory illness, including Covid, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus—this is up from 34 states the previous week.</p>



<p>Flu cases increased by <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">17.5%</a>, and there were <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm#NHSN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">20,066</a> flu-related hospitalizations, up over 5% from the previous week, according to the CDC.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/preparing-for-a-tripledemic-holiday-season/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>&nbsp;in November 2023 that experts were preparing for an intense tripledemic holiday season. “It’s going to be a severe respiratory virus season,” associate director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, said in a statement. The tripledemic is a simultaneous rise in Covid, flu and RSV cases, which typically peaks during the winter season each year. Because of an uptick in respiratory illness-related hospitalizations, several healthcare systems across the country have reinstated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/01/04/heres-where-mask-mandates-are-coming-back-as-covid-cases-and-hospitalizations-rise/?sh=6e54ea132542">mask mandates</a>. Healthcare facilities in New York City began requiring masks for all patients, visitors and staff earlier this week. After the Illinois Department of Public advised hospitals to increase their mitigation efforts in December, several hospitals reinstated mask mandates, including Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center, Cook County Health and Endeavor Health. Berkshire Health System in Massachusetts began requiring masks on Wednesday, citing a “<a href="https://www.berkshirehealthsystems.org/news/winter-respiratory-viruses-on-the-rise-bhs-reinstitutes-masking-and-updates-visitor-guidelines" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">significant increase</a>” in local respiratory cases. After Los Angeles County entered the&nbsp;<a href="http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ncorona2019/masks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">medium level</a>&nbsp;for Covid hospitalizations last month, the county required masks in all its hospitals.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>New Covid variant JN.1 has been driving an increase in Covid cases across the country as it’s been rapidly spreading. JN.1 only made up&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3.3%</a>&nbsp;of all Covid cases during the two-week period ending in Nov. 11, 2023, so it’s grown by almost 60% in a little over two months. The World Health Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/20/jn1-covid-variant-of-interest-spreading-fast-in-us---heres-what-to-know/?sh=4fafa4dc10cc">classified</a>&nbsp;it as a “variant of interest” in December 2023, meaning it’s spreading in a way that may pose “an emerging risk to global public health.” JN.1 is an offshoot of the highly mutated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/28/what-to-know-about-rapidly-spreading-pirola-covid-variant-ba286-and-if-vaccines-offer-protection/?sh=27f10c0e1978">Pirola</a>&nbsp;(BA.2.86) strain that was spreading rapidly last fall. Some healthcare experts worried Pirola wouldn’t be protected against the updated monovalent Covid vaccines since they specifically target XBB variants. However, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer-BioNTech said their shots provided some protection. Because of how rapidly JN.1 spread, the CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/SARS-CoV-2-variant-JN.1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it was the “fastest growing variant in the United States.” WHO also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/18122023_jn.1_ire_clean.pdf?sfvrsn=6103754a_3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acknowledged</a>&nbsp;JN.1’s growth, stating it made up the majority of all BA.2.86 subvariants circulating globally, though available evidence suggested it posed a low risk to public health.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/01/04/heres-where-mask-mandates-are-coming-back-as-covid-cases-and-hospitalizations-rise/?sh=6e54ea132542">Here’s Where Mask Mandates Are Coming Back As Covid Cases And Hospitalizations Rise</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/preparing-for-a-tripledemic-holiday-season/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Preparing for a ‘Tripledemic’ Holiday Season</a>&nbsp;(Cedars-Sinai)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/20/jn1-covid-variant-of-interest-spreading-fast-in-us---heres-what-to-know/?sh=4fafa4dc10cc">JN.1 Covid ‘Variant Of Interest’ Spreading Fast In U.S. — Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/28/what-to-know-about-rapidly-spreading-pirola-covid-variant-ba286-and-if-vaccines-offer-protection/?sh=1493441c1978">What To Know About Rapidly Spreading ‘Pirola’ Covid Variant BA.2.86—And If Vaccines Offer Protection</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


TUNISIA-HEALTH-VIRUS-TOURISM-HOSPITAL

Covid Hospitalizations And Deaths See Double-Digit Spike After Holiday — Amid Surge In Respiratory Illnesses


<p><strong>More than a decade has passed since South African Paralympian, Oscar Pistorius, known as ‘blade runner’, shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a locked bathroom door. Now out on parole, he is at home, as experts and social media weigh in.</strong></p>



<p>Oscar Pistorius, once hailed as a trailblazing Paralympian, has been released on parole after nearly nine years behind bars in South Africa. His release, confirmed by the country’s prison authorities, marks the end of a journey that has for years gripped the attention of audiences worldwide.</p>



<p>“He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home,” concluded the statement from South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services today.</p>



<p>Pistorius, an acclaimed sprinter and gold medal-winning athlete, was convicted of shooting his then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the bathroom door of their Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The subsequent case became widely publicized both locally and internationally due to both Pistorius&#8217; and Steenkamp&#8217;s prominent social profiles, as well as the horrific end to what had appeared to be an iconic celebrity relationship.</p>



<p>The shooting of Steenkamp not only ended a life but also marked the start of a convoluted legal saga. Initially convicted of culpable homicide, Pistorius&#8217; sentence was later ruled murder after a series of appeals and retrials, highlighting the complexities and nuances of the judicial process.</p>



<p>The relentless media scrutiny brought unprecedented attention to South African legal proceedings, influencing public opinion and raising critical questions about celebrity culture, media ethics, and the justice system&#8217;s handling of domestic violence cases.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="595" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-162069565.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60887" style="width:638px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-162069565.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-162069565-300x174.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-162069565-768x446.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Outside the Pretoria High Court on March 4, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Herman Verwey/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>“He has served more than 50% of his sentence. And the parole, or rather the Correctional Services Act and the regulations make provision for parole… He is being very carefully monitored, and the conditions are there… The parole board has set stringent checks on him,” comments William Booth, a defence counsel in South Africa specializing in criminal law, to FORBES AFRICA.</p>



<p>The conditions of Pistorius&#8217; parole, as outlined by South African correctional services, underscore a set of requirements. His life, once marked by the freedom of the running track, is now confined to the boundaries of his uncle&#8217;s residence in the upmarket suburb of Waterkloof, Pretoria. Additionally, his rehabilitation includes therapy for anger management and programs addressing gender-based violence, a nod to the underlying issues his case has brought to the fore as well as stern adherences to a daily routine and a ban on alcohol consumption.</p>



<p>The most significant condition to his release, which is quite uncommon to parole cases, is his strict adherence to a media blackout.</p>



<p>“I think the reason for that is because the case has been dealt with worldwide in the media on all platforms,” Booth explains. “They feel that he should not give interviews, be paid for those, write articles or have articles written or even, let&#8217;s say write a book and get paid for that. So I think that is the feeling in this instance. And in many cases, when people are released on parole, there&#8217;s never any fear of the person going to speak to the media, because it&#8217;s not a case that the public have any particular interest in. But here, certainly the world and the public internationally, and, of course, nationally, have a very specific interest in this matter.”</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-476628927.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60886" style="width:702px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-476628927.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-476628927-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-476628927-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> <strong>(Photo by Herman Verwey/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Even with these conditions in place, activists hold strong views about granting parole to a person convicted of murder in South Africa, a country with one of the highest femicide rates in the world.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="636" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-161658209.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60889" style="width:304px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-161658209.jpg 636w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-161658209-186x300.jpg 186w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em>Reeva Steenkamp</em></strong>.<strong><em> (Photo by Mike Holmes/The Herald/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>“Thirteen years and five months was a very lenient sentence in the first place, but that he got out after serving only [over] eight years in prison just reflects the legal system&#8217;s inability to address femicide as a pandemic,” says Sabrina Walter, Chairperson of Women For Change, a non-profit organization advocating against Gender Based Violence and Femicide in South Africa.</p>



<p>“I still maintain that Oscar Pistorius should have served the full sentence for the brutal murder of Reeva. Given the severity of the crime, I feel that justice has not been adequately served. My thoughts are with June today and everyone who dearly loved Reeva.”</p>



<p>The most resonant voice in the aftermath of Pistorius&#8217; release is that of June, mother of the late Steenkamp, issued in a statement early this morning. While acknowledging the inevitability of Pistorius’ parole, she stated that she and her “dear late husband Barry” have never been able to come to terms with Reeva&#8217;s death, or the way she died.</p>



<p>“Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time?” Steenkamp said in her statement on Friday. “There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence. With the release of Oscar Pistorius on parole, my only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva&#8217;s legacy.”</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-478398457.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60885" style="width:520px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-478398457.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-478398457-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-478398457-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em>Oscar Pistorius at the Pretoria High Court on March 13, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa.(Photo by Alet Pretorius/Foto24/Gallo Images &#8211; Pool /Getty Images)</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, established in her honor, continues to address issues of domestic violence and support women in need, reflecting her commitment to social change.</p>



<p>As Pistorius begins his life under the conditions of parole, the case leaves a lasting imprint on public discourse surrounding the criminal justice system, the treatment of high-profile figures within it, and the ongoing challenges in addressing domestic violence.</p>


Oscar Pistorius Is Convicted Of Culpable Homicide Of Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius Granted Parole After Nearly Nine Years In South Africa Prison; Reeva Steenkamp’s Legacy Lives On


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The World Health Organization said it is tracking a new coronavirus “variant of interest” called JN.1, an offshoot of the highly mutated “Pirola” strain that is spreading rapidly around the world and has become the fastest growing variant in the United States.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>JN.1 is an offshoot of the highly mutated omicron variant BA.2.86, often given the nickname “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/09/06/modernas-updated-covid-vaccine-is-effective-against-pirola-variant-as-concern-over-new-strain-grows/?sh=6dd42d971a06">Pirola</a>,” which some experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/28/what-to-know-about-rapidly-spreading-pirola-covid-variant-ba286-and-if-vaccines-offer-protection/?sh=5d1849481978">worried</a>&nbsp;could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/08/pirola-latest-covid-variant-spreading-in-uk-health-data-suggests" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evade</a>&nbsp;protection from prior infections and vaccination and trigger a large wave of disease like the original omicron variant did when it emerged.</p>



<p>As the WHO already classified BA.2.86 a “variant of interest”—a strain of virus with genetic changes known or believed to affect traits like transmissibility, immune escape and disease severity and that is spreading in a way that could pose “an emerging risk to global public health”—and tracked JN.1 as part of this group, it was already considered to be a “variant of interest” anyway.</p>



<p>The WHO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/18122023_jn.1_ire_clean.pdf?sfvrsn=6103754a_3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;JN.1 now merits its own standalone classification on account of its “rapidly increasing spread” around the world, adding that it now makes up the “vast majority” of BA.2.86 descendents reported.</p>



<p>The UN agency stressed available evidence, while “limited,” suggests the strain poses a “low” risk to public health.</p>



<p>That assessment was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/SARS-CoV-2-variant-JN.1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">echoed</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early December, when the agency said the JN.1 variant was responsible for between 15% and 29% of Covid cases and was the “fastest-growing variant in the United States.”</p>



<p>Both health agencies said updated booster vaccines will continue to protect against severe disease and death from JN.1, as they do for other variants, and that there is no sign the strain causes more severe disease compared to other variants.</p>



<p>Forbes Daily: Get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.Sign Up</p>



<p>By signing up, you accept and agree to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/terms-and-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terms of Service</a>&nbsp;(including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and you acknowledge our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Privacy Statement</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



<p>“The continued growth of JN.1 suggests that it is either more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems,” the CDC said in early December. However, the agency said it’s not clear how much JN.1 is contributing to the recent uptick in Covid activity given patterns of infection normally observed this time of year. It’s also not clear whether JN.1 produces a different set of symptoms to other variants, the CDC said, noting that symptoms “tend to be similar across variants.” Severity and types of symptoms “usually depend more on a person’s immunity and overall health rather than which variant causes the infection,” the agency said. The CDC said it will continue monitoring the situation and that Covid activity is likely to increase over the month of December, urging people to get vaccinated “if you haven’t received one this fall.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>JN.1 is on&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">track</a>&nbsp;to become the dominant variant in the U.S. in a matter of weeks. The agency’s latest projections estimate the variant was responsible for up to 30% of cases as of December 9, up from between 6% and 11% two weeks earlier. It trails dominant variant HV.1, which was responsible for an estimated 27% to 33% of cases as of December 9 and 30% to 34% of cases two weeks before that. In the CDC region covering the Northeast—New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands—JN.1 is already the dominant variant and responsible for an estimated 32% of cases. The variant is on a steep upward trajectory in other areas as well and is responsible for between 15% and 26% of cases in regions monitored by the CDC.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>1,159,864. That’s how many Covid deaths there have been in the U.S. since January 2020,&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to CDC data. Since early September, there have been around 1,200 to 1,400 Covid deaths across the country each week, some of the lowest figures since the pandemic began and down from a peak of nearly 26,000 around the start of 2021 when omicron drove a wave of cases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>There is another category that sits above the WHO’s “variant of interest” class that the organization has not used since the emergence of omicron. The “variant of concern” threshold, which would likely secure the variant a Greek letter moniker like alpha, beta or delta, is reserved for strains that pose a significantly increased risk to public health. Such variants would have been shown to be more contagious, cause more severe disease or escape the protection of vaccines and treatments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/SARS-CoV-2-variant-JN.1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;JN.1 is still closely related to BA.2.86, despite what the differences in name suggest. The difference comes down to how variants are named, the CDC said, and explained that “there is only a single change between JN.1 and BA.2.86 in the spike protein.” The spike protein is an important part of the coronavirus that allows the virus to enter cells and cause infection.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/09/06/modernas-updated-covid-vaccine-is-effective-against-pirola-variant-as-concern-over-new-strain-grows/?sh=6dd42d971a06">Moderna’s Updated Covid Vaccine Is Effective Against Pirola Variant—As Concern Over New Strain Grows</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Netherlands Reimposes Partial Lockdown Amid Latest Covid-19 Wave

JN.1 Covid ‘Variant Of Interest’ Spreading Fast In U.S. — Here’s What To Know


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee’s weekslong battle at the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 took a turn Monday as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” notched its record-breaking 13th total week atop the chart, dethroning Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” after it led the chart for the first time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Carey and Lee swapped places atop the Hot 100 this week, with “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reaching the summit for the fifth holiday season in a row—making the 1994 holiday anthem the first song to ever reach No. 1 in five consecutive calendar years, Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</p>



<p>“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1736820015448408131" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dipped</a>&nbsp;to No. 2 on the Hot 100, two weeks after Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/04/mariah-carey-dethroned-brenda-lees-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-from-1958-tops-hot-100-for-first-time-breaking-records/?sh=1d1afa7e202f">became</a>&nbsp;the oldest person to lead the chart at 78 years old—a record she extended the following week, when she turned 79 and topped the chart for a second straight week.</p>



<p>This week, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">became</a>&nbsp;the first song with six distinct runs atop the Hot 100—it rose to the top each holiday season since 2019, including two nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2020—breaking a tie Carey held with Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” and Harry Styles’ “As It Was.”</p>



<p>Carey has now spent a total of 92&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weeks</a>&nbsp;atop the Hot 100, the most of any artist by a significant margin: Rihanna ranks second with 60 weeks on top of the chart.</p>



<p>Carey <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">joins</a> Boyz II Men as the second artist to have three separate songs spend at least 13 weeks on top of the Hot 100, one of which is their collaboration “One Sweet Day,” which led for 16 weeks between 1995 and 1996.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/brenda-lee-rockin-around-christmas-mariah-no-1-1235515850/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;in November that Carey and Lee would likely be locked in a tight chart battle the entire holiday season, marking the first time a holiday song has challenged “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 since it began its annual trip to the top in 2019. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/04/mariah-carey-dethroned-brenda-lees-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-from-1958-tops-hot-100-for-first-time-breaking-records/?sh=1d1afa7e202f">reached</a>&nbsp;No. 1 on the Hot 100 on Dec. 4 and spent two weeks at the top, making it just the third holiday song to lead the chart and making the song, released in 1958, the oldest to ever rank No. 1. Amid the tight chart battle, both Carey and Lee have stepped up promotional efforts. Lee released the song’s first-ever music&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/TFsZy9t-qDc?si=br_zihXwOltqRaX7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;in November to celebrate its 65th anniversary, featuring cameo appearances from country stars Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker. She also joined&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@brendaleeofficial" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok</a>, posting videos promoting the song and reflecting on its long history. Carey released a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/mariah-carey-festive-lambs-edition-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-video-1235546135/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;for her hit on Dec. 8, leading to a 10% rise in streaming for the song this week, Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>. Carey is also promoting her holiday music on a Christmas tour, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mariah-carey-oh-santa-ariana-grande-jennifer-hudson-live-nyc-1235549232/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">show</a>&nbsp;at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9 where she was joined by Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>Holiday music monopolized the entire Hot 100&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1736820015448408131" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">top five</a>&nbsp;this week. Behind Carey and Lee, Bobby Helms ranks No. 3 with “Jingle Bell Rock,” Wham! took the No. 4 spot with “Last Christmas,” and Burl Ives hit No. 5 with “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Lee leads Carey on this week’s Streaming Songs chart, Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>, though the battle was close: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” had 42.4 million streams, above “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which had 42.2 million. Carey made a big jump from No. 7 to No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart, with sales up 68% from last week thanks to her song’s discounted 69-cent price on iTunes, Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>The rise of music streaming has made holiday songs highly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/12/heres-how-much-mariah-carey-and-brenda-lee-earn-per-year-from-their-holiday-classics/?sh=3b2fb21073ad">profitable</a>&nbsp;because each play is monetized. Billboard previously estimated that “All I Want for Christmas Is You”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/how-much-mariah-carey-make-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">generated</a>&nbsp;$6.16 million in revenue for Carey and her label in 2021, based on 94,000 downloads and 823 million streams. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/how-much-brenda-lee-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-make/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">generated</a>&nbsp;about $4 million in revenue in 2022, and Billboard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/how-much-brenda-lee-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-make/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;it is on track to earn more this year thanks to its rising popularity. The increasing popularity of streaming, plus the removal of Billboard chart&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/05/holiday-songs-rarely-hit-the-hot-100-before-2012-heres-what-changed/?sh=1e764ab82f7f">rules</a>&nbsp;that previously forbade songs that had fallen off the Hot 100 to return, have paved the way for holiday songs to dominate the Hot 100 every December.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-number-one-hot-100-13th-week-1235560875/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Jingles Back to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100</a>&nbsp;(Billboard)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/04/mariah-carey-dethroned-brenda-lees-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-from-1958-tops-hot-100-for-first-time-breaking-records/?sh=1d1afa7e202f">Mariah Carey Dethroned: Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ From 1958 Tops Hot 100 For First Time, Breaking Records</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/12/12/heres-how-much-mariah-carey-and-brenda-lee-earn-per-year-from-their-holiday-classics/?sh=3b2fb21073ad">Here&#8217;s How Much Mariah Carey And Brenda Lee Earn Per Year From Their Holiday Classics</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


2023 Billboard Music Awards – Show

Mariah Carey Leads Billboard Chart Again With ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’—Breaking Even More Records


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The International Olympic Committee on Friday confirmed that Russian and Belarusian citizens will be able to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris as individual neutral athletes, prohibited from sporting the flag or colors of their countries or backing the war in Ukraine—after some IOC officials suggested the Ukraine invasion could lead to an all-out ban.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The Russian and Belarusian teams remain prohibited, and state officials will not be invited to the Games,&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/strict-eligibility-conditions-in-place-as-ioc-eb-approves-individual-neutral-athletes-ains-for-the-olympic-games-paris-2024" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the IOC confirmed on Friday</a>.</p>



<p>In addition to a ban on Russian and Belarusian flags, anthems and colors, the IOC also said that athletes or support personnel who actively support the war in Ukraine will be prohibited.</p>



<p>In its press release, the committee says it took into account “the view of the overwhelming majority of athletes not to punish fellow athletes for the actions of their government.”</p>



<p>Like all Olympic athletes, the “Individual Neutral Athletes” will have to sign the “Conditions of Participation” ahead of the 2024 games in Paris, which commits them to respect “the peace mission of the Olympic Movement.”</p>



<p>“Only a very limited number of athletes” will ultimately be eligible to participate under the “strict eligibility” conditions the IOC has laid out, the international organization claims.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Olympics officials hinted at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/russia-belarus-athletes-may-face-paris-2024-ban-iocs-reedie-2022-07-12/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an all-out ban</a>&nbsp;from the 2024 Olympics for both Russia and its ally Belarus. In March, however, the IOC first laid the groundwork for Friday’s decision, recommending that international sports federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition and announcing its intention to explore a pathway for them to compete in the 2024 games. At the time, the organization&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-issues-recommendations-for-international-federations-and-international-sports-event-organisers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;that it “feels deeply for the Ukrainian people” but it “cannot prevent wars and conflicts” nor “address all the political and social challenges in our world.” Despite Friday’s announcement, Russian and Belarusian athletes will still likely be barred from competing in the 2024 Games’ biggest sport area, track and field. World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, has maintained an all-out ban on Russia and Belarus since the war began, and has previously signaled its<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/russia-track-and-field-ban-suspension-olympics-2024-paris" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;“unlikely”</a>&nbsp;to reverse that ban.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent debate over its future in the Olympics, came just months before the country’s two-year ban from international sports due to its state-sponsored doping ring at the Sochi Olympics was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2022/11/29/russia-doping-ban-wada/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">set to expire.</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>How Ukraine responds. After the board’s March announcement that it was working on a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, Ukrainian officials threatened to&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-issues-recommendations-for-international-federations-and-international-sports-event-organisers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">boycott the Games.</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critics">CHIEF CRITICS</h2>



<p>On X, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1733165492762804381" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">condemned the IOC’s decision</a>, claiming that the organization “essentially gave Russia the green light to weaponize the Olympics.” He argued that Russia “will use every Russian and Belarusian athlete as a weapon in its propaganda warfare.” Meanwhile, Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin called the Olympics’ continued restrictive policies on Russian athletes “discriminatory.” “They are damaging the Olympic Games themselves, and not Russian sport,” he said in comments reported by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-says-ioc-rules-for-russian-athletes-discriminatory-c4c65786" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agence France Presse</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>11. That’s how many Individual Neutral Athletes have qualified for the games so far. That includes eight Russians and three Belarusians, the IOC said. So far, more than 60 Ukrainians have qualified.</p>


Landscape Projects For Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Upgraded

Russians Can Compete In 2024 Olympics Despite Ukraine War—But Only As Neutral Athletes


<p>As business leaders, climate scientists and global leaders gathered at Expo City Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 28th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP) from November 30, the dialogues reflected the dire and drastic changes needed to combat the excesses of climate change – and Africa was at the forefront.</p>



<p>With out-of-control climate conditions, the global community – public and private sector alike – promised to strive together for a more sustainable future. COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber made it clear at the event’s opening plenary speech that “a key success factor across the climate agenda is finance”.</p>



<p>“For too long, finance has not been available, accessible, or affordable. This Presidency is committed to unlocking finance to ensure that the Global South does not have to choose between development and climate actions. Let this be the year that climate finance meets the magnitude of the moment,” he said.</p>



<p>COP28 mobilized over $83 billion in the first five days of the summit, setting the pace for a new era in climate action. On day one of COP28, the Presidency facilitated a historic agreement to operationalize and capitalize funding for Loss and Damage, supporting those on the front lines of the climate crisis with $726 million already pledged to date. The World Bank announced an increase of $9 billion annually for 2024 and 2025 to finance climate-related projects. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) announced a cumulative increase of over $22.6 billion toward climate action.</p>



<p>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also in attendance, echoed the sentiments but with the caution that “Africa is most vulnerable to the effects of a rapidly changing climate and have to adapt to build resilience within the context of historically low levels of development and severely limited capacity”. He applauded ‘the loss and damage fund’ meant to support and assist developing countries vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. A commitment of $100 million was made by the UAE towards the fund, paving the way for other nations to also pledge to the critically important initiative.</p>



<p>Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, encouraged by the announcement of this commitment, said to CNBC Africa at the forum: “We are seeing a lot more action than we thought. But we need more. We are far away from where we need to be and developing countries need all the support to make the transition.”</p>



<p>Samaila Zubairu, CEO of Africa Finance Corporation, said in an interview with CNBC Africa that African countries should take ownership of their own carbon market value chains, adding that focusing on communities and preserving the forests is the right way as this will help the continent with its carbon credit.</p>



<p>Climate finance does not necessarily mean funding to transition from fossil fuel to clean energy. For some, it means more. For Kenya, it means housing. Home to 1.2 billion people, in Africa, as urbanization gathers momentum, so does the need to build houses in a more sustainable manner.</p>



<p>Nasra Nanda, CEO of the Kenya Green Building Society, made it clear in an interview with CNBC Africa that they are pushing to unlock financing. She said getting governments involved in green infrastructure will lead to creating more jobs especially for the youth. Statistics currently show that nearly 72 million youth in Africa are not in education, employment or training.</p>



<p>“Young people do not even possess the basic technical skills and unless we fix that, we will not be able to upskill them…or give them [what is] needed to participate in the green economy,” said Abigail</p>



<p>Khuluse, Programme Manager for Economic Inclusion at the National Business Initiative in South Africa. “It’s imperative to give focus to the right skills that enable the youth to pivot or upskill to get opportunities within the green economy.” This requires both political and business will to work together to address the skills gap.</p>



<p>Apart from what Africa needs to do to be an active participant in the fight towards carbon neutrality, there is overwhelming pressure that developed countries place on developing nations. Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels are expected to hit a record high in 2023 – as reported by the Global Carbon Budget report, published during the COP28 climate summit. Countries are expected to emit a total of 36.8 billion metric tons of CO2, a 1.1% increase from last year.</p>



<p>South Africa’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, Barbara Creecy did not mince words when she spoke to the press at the summit. “While all countries have the responsibility to transition, responsibility that relates to national circumstances and national capabilities, South Africa fully supports the fact that the European Union (EU) wants to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 – and so they should – because it’s their use of fossil fuels over the last two-hundred years that has created the climate crisis.”</p>



<p>Whichever way one looks at Africa’s approach to climate change, the challenging global environment means fighting for the future of the world’s youngest population will require the continent to take control of its narrative in the climate dialogue. </p>


COP28 In Dubai – UN Climate Conference – Day 7

‘A Lot More Action But We Need More’: Africa Takes Charge Of Its Narrative At COP28 Climate Summit In Dubai


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline"><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Global carbon emissions reached another record high in 2023—even after both the U.S. and E.U. cut fossil fuel emissions, according to a recently published study.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>This year’s global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to total 36.8 billion tonnes—a 1.1% rise from 2022, according to a study published by&nbsp;<a href="https://globalcarbonbudget.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Carbon Budget</a>.</p>



<p>The report, compiled by an international team of climate researchers from more than 90 universities, determined that time is “running out fast” to avoid the worst impacts from climate change.</p>



<p>The global rise comes even after a sizable reduction in emissions from the European Union and the United States, decreasing by 7.4% and 3% respectively.</p>



<p>However, emissions from India are projected to increase by 8.2%, and emissions from China are expected to rise by 4%.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>According to the Global Carbon Budget, emissions have largely plateaued in the last 10 years. The world did not see a significant increase compared to 2022, which also saw emissions increase by 1%. However, experts say this stabilization will not be enough to ensure emissions breach the 1.5ºC threshold—after which the earth will experience irreversible damage from climate change. The Global Carbon Budget now estimates that there is a 50% chance the world will exceed the 1.5C threshold in just seven years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>Professor Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences said the annual changes are “not profound or widespread enough” to deter climate change. “All countries need to decarbonise their economies faster than they are at present to avoid the worse impacts of climate change,” Le Quéré said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>The study was released as the UN’s annual climate conference, COP28, takes place in the United Arab Emirates. COP28 president-delegate Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the UAE’s state-run oil and alternative energy companies, has faced steep criticism since the conference began. Last week, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2023/12/01/cop28-advisory-board-member-resigns-over-reports-uae-used-climate-talks-to-push-fossil-fuels/?sh=480addf4a37e">leaked memos</a> appeared to show Al Jaber was using the conference to pursue more oil and natural gas deals. On Sunday, comments Al Jaber made at a SHE Changes Climate summit on November 21 attracted further criticism. “There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C,” Al Jaber said, in remarks first reported on by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guardian</a>. The COP28 president’s beliefs seem to directly conflict with the UN’s stated position on meeting the threshold. “The science is clear: the 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in an address at COP28. “Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out.”</p>


Reports Indicate 2016 Was Hottest Year On Record

Global Carbon Emissions Reached Another Record High In 2023, Study Suggests


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Hours after Elon Musk told companies to &#8220;go f***&#8221; themselves for pulling their advertisements from X over concerns about antisemitism—and called out Disney CEO Bob Iger by name—a group of right-wing users on the social media platform have called for Disney+ subscribers to cancel their accounts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1730227884957040938" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Multiple</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/realmichaelseif/status/1730275154805068020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">right-wing</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ChayaRaichik10/status/1730296643872792752" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accounts</a>&nbsp;on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, called on subscribers to Disney’s streaming service Disney+ to cancel their subscriptions, with the X account End Wokeness&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1730218208324395011" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posting</a>&nbsp;instructions for cancellation with the caption: “Stop giving money to people that hate you.”</p>



<p>Those calls follow Disney’s decision earlier this month to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/apple-and-disney-pull-x-ads-after-musks-promotion-of-antisemitic-post-joining-these-other-companies/?sh=3f0da76a34fb">suspend its advertising</a>&nbsp;on the social media platform, joining a growing list of companies including Apple, IBM, Lionsgate and Xfinity, following the release of a scathing report that found advertisements on X alongside pro-Nazi posts, and after Musk endorsed a post&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/16/elon-musk-condemned-after-calling-antisemitic-post-actual-truth/?sh=7e010cc14020">widely condemned</a>&nbsp;as antisemitic.</p>



<p>Disney’s decision to stop running ads on X could cost the social media platform millions of dollars, while X users’ calls for a boycott of Disney+ would have to reach many of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2023/08/09/new-record-for-disney-sheds-117-million-subscribers-password-crackdown-coming/?sh=5fe4d2b51d7b">146 million</a>&nbsp;subscribers (as of August) to have an equivalent effect.</p>



<p>Speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-advertisers-that-have-left-x-shouldnt-come-back/?sh=1f7dc21b10c0">accused advertisers</a>&nbsp;that left the platform of “blackmailing” him with money and crudely told them to “go f**k themselves,” while addressing Iger in the crowd, saying, “hi Bob.”</p>



<p>Iger, also speaking at the summit,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pSxx1e5n34" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;he has “a lot of respect for Elon and what he’s accomplished,” but took exception with Musk’s endorsement of the post on X, saying: “By him taking the position that he took in quite a public manner, we just felt that the association with that position and Elon Musk and X was not necessarily a positive one for us.”</p>



<p>Forbes Daily: Get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.Sign Up</p>



<p>By signing up, you accept and agree to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/terms-and-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terms of Service</a>&nbsp;(including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and you acknowledge our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Privacy Statement</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



<p>X could lose as much as $75 million in lost advertising revenue due to more than a dozen companies including Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Disney, IBM, Microsoft and Xfinity pulling out, the New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/business/x-elon-musk-advertisers.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>IBM became one of the first in a string of high-profile advertisers to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/11/16/ibm-suspends-advertising-on-x-after-ads-appear-near-pro-nazi-posts/?sh=17f133ce6a4d">suspend its ads</a>&nbsp;on the platform this month, after a report from left-wing watchdog Media Matters for America found advertisements for the company—as well as Apple, Oracle and Xfinity—appeared near neo-Nazi posts and posts praising Adolf Hitler. Musk suggested the watchdog went out of its way to achieve the result, claiming the finding represented a wildly different experience from that of a typical user. X Corp. later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/18/elon-musk-threatens-thermonuclear-lawsuit-against-group-reporting-antisemitic-x-posts-appearing-near-ads/?sh=27c854462b13">filed a defamation lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against Media Matters. Musk also came under fire after he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/16/elon-musk-condemned-after-calling-antisemitic-post-actual-truth/?sh=648123644020">shared</a>&nbsp;a post on X in which a user claimed “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” an argument Musk called “the actual truth.” The White House also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/white-house-condemns-musk-over-abhorrent-promotion-of-antisemitic-and-racist-hate/?sh=4990834c1ea5">condemned</a>&nbsp;that post, issuing a statement calling the claim an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” Musk on Wednesday apologized for the post and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/29/23981771/musk-says-the-antisemitic-post-was-a-mistake" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">admitted</a>&nbsp;it was “one of the most foolish, if not the most foolish, thing I’ve done” on the platform.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>$7.2 billion. That’s how much Disney spent on advertisements in fiscal year 2022, surpassing its advertising budget in 2021 ($5.5 billion) and 2020 ($4.7 billion).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Disney became the latest in a wave of major companies to draw the ire of right-wing critics largely online. Earlier this year, Bud Light drew&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/05/20/far-right-pundits-are-slamming-companies-including-nike-adidas-and-ford-for-lgbtq-outreach-as-pride-month-nears/?sh=64d1685f76d0">massive pushback</a>&nbsp;among right-wingers, including pundits Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro, after the beer brand launched a partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Fast food chain Chick-fil-A also came under fire after right-wing online circles expressed outrage over its hiring of a director of diversity, equity and inclusion in 2021, while Adidas faced right-wing pushback for a marketing campaign that included trans-inclusive swimwear. Target additionally faced right-wing blowback online for an LGBTQ Pride product line. In response to the criticism, Target&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/05/24/target-removes-pride-items-after-conservative-firestorm-sparking-criticism-from-lgbtq-groups/?sh=18e16e20e512">pulled</a>&nbsp;items from that line in late May, just a week before the start of Pride month, claiming in a statement that threats and criticism it received over the products were “impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being,” though the move also sparked pushback in LGBTQ circles over claims the company caved to right-wing blowback.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-advertisers-that-have-left-x-shouldnt-come-back/?sh=1f7dc21b10c0">Elon Musk Says Advertisers That Have Left X Shouldn’t Come Back</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/apple-and-disney-pull-x-ads-after-musks-promotion-of-antisemitic-post-joining-these-other-companies/?sh=3f0da76a34fb">Apple And Disney Pull X Ads After Musk’s Promotion Of Antisemitic Post—Joining These Other Companies</a> (Forbes)</p>


Popular Streaming Services Photo Illustrations

Disney Vs. Musk: Right-Wing X Users Push For Disney+ Cancellations As Disney Pulls Ads


<p><strong>The strain is concerning for entrepreneurs who highlight the challenges posed by exchange rate volatility and call for sustainable solutions amid fluctuating policies and economic dynamics.</strong></p>



<p>The Nigerian naira is facing continuous strain on the foreign exchange (FX) market, reaching ₦1,145 per dollar on the parallel market, a slight dip from ₦1,140 on Monday.</p>



<p>Two pivotal policies, implemented since President Bola Tinubu&#8217;s inauguration on May 29, have significantly influenced Nigeria&#8217;s economic landscape. The immediate cessation of the fuel subsidy on the inauguration day and the naira unification on June 14 marked a departure toward a free-floating system by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).</p>



<p>Under this system, deposit money banks (DMBs) and forex market dealers are allowed to engage in unrestricted buying and selling of currency at market-determined rates. This shift signifies a move away from the previous multiple forex regime to a more flexible approach.</p>



<p>The naira experienced a period of depreciation, plummeting to ₦1,310 in October on the parallel market. However, it briefly rebounded to ₦960 in early November. While the naira is demonstrating signs of appreciation at the investors and exporters (I&amp;E) window, the parallel market remains a preferred choice for urgent business transactions due to its ease of accessibility. This preference intensifies the pressure on the naira.</p>



<p>When requesting foreign currency in Nigerian banks, certain regulatory documents are necessary for Form A, including Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Business Travel Allowance (BTA), school fees, and medical fees. Additionally, Form Q applications for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may entail a rigorous and time-consuming process which takes days.</p>



<p>At the Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira was quoted at ₦830.97 on Tuesday, an appreciation from ₦847.55 quoted on Monday, as reported by data from the Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ).</p>



<p>The official market witnessed a peak spot rate of ₦1,120 per dollar and a lower rate of ₦701 on Friday. The daily FX market turnover surged by 23.60 percent to $157.78 million on Friday from the $127.65 million recorded on Thursday, reflecting the dynamic nature of the foreign exchange landscape in Nigeria.</p>



<p>Exporters like Oluwaseun Obilana are expressing deep concern over the implications for their businesses.</p>



<p>Obilana, a player in Nigeria&#8217;s export industry, voices his apprehension about the continuous strain on the national currency as exporters rely on stable exchange rates for international trade.</p>



<p>Emphasizing the challenges this poses for exporters, Obilana states to FORBES AFRICA, &#8220;The volatility in the exchange rate is affecting our ability to plan and price our products competitively in the global market. It adds uncertainty to our operations and erodes the profitability of our businesses.&#8221;</p>



<p>He adds: &#8220;A weaker naira not only impacts pricing but also raises the cost of importing raw materials and machinery crucial for manufacturing and production. This, in turn, could have cascading effects on the overall economy.&#8221;</p>



<p>The CBN has been grappling with measures to stabilize the exchange rate, implementing various policies to address the challenges faced in the FX market. However, the recent fluctuations indicate the persistence of underlying issues that continue to pose a threat to the stability of the national currency.</p>



<p>Obilana calls for more sustainable solutions to ensure the stability of the naira.</p>



<p>Nigerian investor Moses Adeolubodun highlights the need for a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges facing the naira.</p>



<p>&#8220;The consistent depreciation of the naira is a cause for concern and demands urgent attention from relevant authorities. A resilient and stable currency is crucial for investor confidence and economic growth,&#8221; Adeolubodun tells FORBES AFRICA.</p>



<p>He also attributes the recent fluctuations to a variety of factors, including global economic uncertainties, fluctuating oil prices, and domestic challenges. Nigeria, being an oil-dependent economy, is particularly susceptible to the volatility of oil markets. &#8220;The recent trend has put additional pressure on policymakers to explore more effective solutions.&#8221;</p>



<p>Adeolubodun emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector to devise sustainable strategies. &#8220;We need a holistic approach that addresses both short-term challenges and establishes a foundation for long-term stability,&#8221; he states.</p>


Naira Value Plunges on Street Amid ‘Stampede’ for Dollars

FX Pressure Persists As Nigerian Naira Hits ₦1,145 Per Dollar On Parallel Market


<p><strong>Exploring the rich history of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia and the role of chieftaincy in the political and social fabric of the country.</strong></p>



<p>Driving past a sign that said ‘Chief Kakumbi’s Own Palace’ every day for over a week, in April 2023, inside the game management area of one of the premier wildlife conservation areas in Zambia, the South Luangwa National Park, made me curious about its presence.</p>



<p>A bit of investigation opened me up to a deeper understanding of Zambian chieftaincy and its role in the political and social fabric of the country. At the lodge where I was staying, everyone hailed from the Kunda tribe with Senior Chief Mambwee Che Nsefu Tenth (Smart Sonkhani Phiri) and Chief Kakumbi, &nbsp;one of the five Kunda chiefs in the south Luangwa, Mambwe District. Yet the locals spoke a dialect of Bantu found among the Bisa Ethnic Group of the Congo.</p>



<p>I immediately set about questioning senior members of the local Mfuwe village about their migration from the Congo into the Luangwa Valley (part of Northern Rhodesia prior to the 1960s) only to receive anecdotal stories of a migration in the 18th century. The Kunda were a large majority of the people living in the districts surrounding the park. When they spoke, I could hear a significant difference in their dialects.</p>



<p>“The indigenous people of South Luangwa National Park have three dialects, which are Chiŵetwe language from our original name Ŵetwe people before the change to&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;people; Chikunda language from our current name – Kunda&nbsp;people and&nbsp;Kunda; Nsenga language which came about when we stayed with the Nsenga people during the Chikunda – Nsenga and the Ngoni – Kunda&nbsp;tribal wars respectively. The language of the&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;people has undergone a serious metamorphosis,” Zulu Daniel, head of media at The&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;Royal Establishment, elaborates to FORBES AFRICA.</p>



<p>During my trip, I soon determined that it was enslavement and internecine warfare that caused large migrations into the Luangwa Valley. The valley had been unpopulated due to its inability to support livestock with a high density of carnivores and because of the sleeping sickness disease. The Luangwa River flows into the Zambezi River where a plethora of land, gold, ivory, and enslaved people, among other things, incentivized the Portuguese crown to colonize the surrounding areas at that time, including what is now Mozambique and parts of Malawi. In the absence of a colonial army, Portuguese landlords hired individuals who voluntary sold themselves for economic survival and collectively they became the Chikunda.</p>



<p>These armies could be over 20,000-strong which helped the Portuguese subjugate local villages.</p>



<p>Utilizing the Chikunda warriors, the Portuguese raided nearby villages for the enslaved individuals and ivory to sell to Swahili and Arab traders from Zanzibar.</p>



<p>The Kunda moved to the Luangwa Valley in the 18th century after local tribal warfare among the Bisa people of the Luba Kingdom of the Congo.</p>



<p>“The&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;split from the Bisa in around 1840s. The leader of the&nbsp;Kunda, who chose to secede from his father was known as Mambwee. The royal clans are Chulu for the Senior Chief Mambwee Che Nsefu, Chief Mambwee Malama, Chief Mambwee Mnkhanya and Chief Mambwee Che Jumbe, Mbawo Clan for Chief Mambwee Kakumbi Chief Sandwe of Lusangazi District and Sakala clan for Chieftainess Mambwee Msoro. Kakumbi and Msoro are in-laws who became&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;Chiefs by marrying the royal women from the Chulu clan in the late 1800s,” says Daniel, throwing more light on the history and legend of the region.</p>



<p>“The migration from Bisaland concerns Bisa Chief Chaŵala Makumba. Chief Makumba had ordered that all male children be put to death at birth so that there was no threat to his authority as chief. One woman, Kaŵa Ciloŵa, had given birth to three daughters and then produced a son. This son was killed. Again, she became pregnant, producing another son who was also killed. Towards the end of her next pregnancy, she went into hiding in the forest and, after producing a son, took him to a neighboring village where Chief Mwane, a relative of her husband lived. There, the son was named Mambwee and there he grew to become a man. After hearing his life story, Mambwee decided to leave the realm of Chaŵala Makumba, gathered his people and moved east.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>The Kunda settled in a harsh area without the ability to raise livestock in the Luangwa Valley. Their peace was short-lived as they too were enslaved. This led the Kunda to disperse all over the Luangwa Valley for safety. As the Portuguese colonies crumbled in the 20th century, the Chikunda formed alliances with the Kunda and settled in the valley.</p>



<p>The militarization of the region of today’s KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa by Shaka Zulu, whose quest to consolidate his empire in the late 19th century, forced Ngoni residents of Swaziland to flee north into the Luangwa Valley, thereby putting pressure on the already-settled Kunda and Chikunda. The Ngoni were fierce warriors and soon started raiding both Chikunda and Kunda villages for enslaved people, which was the main economic driver at the time. The Kunda started off as pastoralists but were primarily hunters.</p>



<p>“The&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;people fought their own wars and defended themselves,” adds Daniel.</p>



<p>“It&#8217;s important to make mention though that the Kakumbi Chieftaincy shared great history with the Chikunda people as they did a lot of hunting together [with] the first Chief Mambwee Kakumbi Loŵe Mungu up until the Chikunda people were chased away from South Luangwa Valley by&nbsp;Kunda&nbsp;warriors from Msoro Chiefdom, under the leadership of Makoleka and Mphandika who were the sons of Chief Mambwee Msoro then.”</p>



<p>With the arrival of the British and the formation of Northern Rhodesia and the Nyasaland colony, the war with Ngoni people was won by the British, and tribal peace declared in Northern Rhodesia.</p>



<p>With independence obtained from the British in 1964, the new country of Zambia was born, made from parcels of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the former name for colonial Malawi.</p>



<p>Today, the Government of Zambia, according to Daniel, recognizes four Paramount Chiefs, 43 Senior Chiefs and 241 Chiefs, summing up to 287 traditional leaders from 72 ethnic groups, 10 provinces and 72 districts.</p>



<p>Thus, Chief Kakumbi and Chief Jumbe of the Kunda people, in particular, own vast tracts of land along the South Luangwa National Park these days assist in game management, sustainable development and in the mediation of disputes and conflicts among the residents.</p>



<p>My attempt to meet Chief Kakumbi one Saturday – the day he meets with his people in the palace – narrowly failed since he had to attend a parliamentary meeting in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. My homage – a chicken (given as a gift or sign of respect) – did not make it to his kitchen. A casual sign by the roadside revealed so much of the rich history of the Zambezi valley, where the great explorer David Livingstone began missions and later exposed and campaigned against enslavement, and the darkest chapter of humanity.</p>



<p><strong><em>Note: </em></strong><em>This article was updated on March 20, 2024 to include additional facts and information about the Kunda tribe and the history of Zambia, and commentary from The Kunda Royal Establishment</em>.</p>


1-RAM_1742

Chief Specialties: The Rich History Of Zambia’s Luangwa Valley


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>X Corporation will file a “thermonuclear” lawsuit against a media watchdog that claimed advertisements for several companies—including Apple and Disney, among others—appeared by antisemitic posts on X, Elon Musk said Saturday, following decisions from several major companies to pause ads on Musk’s social media platform.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1725771191644758037?s=46&amp;t=vx29-32gzBE_H5suNoiKjQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;a lawsuit will be filed Monday the “split second court opens” against Media Matters for America, a left-wing watchdog, after Musk suggested Media Matters “posted a story that completely misrepresented the real experience on X.”</p>



<p>Media Matters used an alternate account to curate posts and advertising that appeared on the account’s timeline, Musk claims, in an effort to “manipulate the public and advertisers.”</p>



<p>Once the account’s feed was “curated,” Media Matters “repeatedly refreshed” the account’s timeline to find “a rare instance of ads serving next to the content they chose to follow,” Musk alleges.</p>



<p>Media Matters&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;earlier this week that ads for major firms—including Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle and Xfinity—were appearing next to content that supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.</p>



<p>IBM said Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/11/16/ibm-suspends-advertising-on-x-after-ads-appear-near-pro-nazi-posts/?sh=5a48a3a66a4d">it was pulling ads</a>, while companies like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/apple-and-disney-pull-x-ads-after-musks-promotion-of-antisemitic-post-joining-these-other-companies/?sh=418431934fb3">Apple, Disney and Lionsgate</a>&nbsp;followed suit Friday.</p>



<p>Media Matters did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>X, formerly known as Twitter, has also reinstated several accounts for far-right extremists “as part of its creator ad revenue sharing program,” the watchdog claims. The report followed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/16/elon-musk-condemned-after-calling-antisemitic-post-actual-truth/?sh=52519b9f4020">comments</a>&nbsp;from Musk, who endorsed another user’s claims that Jewish communities objecting to antisemitism show “hatred against whites,” which Musk said was the “actual truth.” The user also appeared to endorse a conspiracy theory that was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/elon-musks-disturbing-truth/676019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shared</a>&nbsp;by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/13/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-jury-finds-gunman-eligible-for-death-penalty/?sh=766a0c161afe">deadliest</a>&nbsp;attack on Jewish people in U.S. history. Musk was widely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/16/elon-musk-condemned-after-calling-antisemitic-post-actual-truth/?sh=52519b9f4020">condemned</a>&nbsp;for his comments,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/white-house-condemns-musk-over-abhorrent-promotion-of-antisemitic-and-racist-hate/?sh=2e363a011ea5">including</a>&nbsp;in a statement from the White House that said Musk’s post was an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Musk earlier this week also&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1724934935943979269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1724934935943979269%7Ctwgr%5E9f715cc15d83469cd22b35d1b6fda5bdde5015a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2023-11-16%2Felon-musk-calls-anti-semitic-post-on-x-the-actual-truth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticized</a>&nbsp;the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights group that Musk claims “unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel.” Musk accused the group of pushing “de facto anti-white racism.” Musk previously blamed the ADL for X’s 60% decline in ad revenue, claiming the organization had been urging advertisers to pull out of the platform.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/11/16/elon-musk-condemned-after-calling-antisemitic-post-actual-truth/?sh=52519b9f4020">Elon Musk Condemned After Calling Antisemitic Post ‘Actual Truth’</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/apple-and-disney-pull-x-ads-after-musks-promotion-of-antisemitic-post-joining-these-other-companies/?sh=1c723e1a34fb">Apple And Disney Pull X Ads After Musk’s Promotion Of Antisemitic Post — Joining These Other Companies</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/17/white-house-condemns-musk-over-abhorrent-promotion-of-antisemitic-and-racist-hate/?sh=2e363a011ea5">White House Condemns Musk Over ‘Abhorrent Promotion Of Antisemitic And Racist Hate’</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>


Tesla Officially Opens Gruenheide Gigafactory

Elon Musk Threatens ‘Thermonuclear’ Lawsuit Against Group Reporting Antisemitic X Posts Appearing Near Ads


<p><strong>Founder and creative director, Daniel Diyepriye has a goal in mind – to build a brand that will stand out amongst the rest. And while his start in the designer clothing business wasn’t conventional, he knows exactly where his journey is going to take him next.</strong></p>



<p>The African luxury fashion segment is expected to reach $1 billion in 2023, according to market research company Statista. Jeremy Nel, Managing Director of South African-based luxury marketing firm, Luxury Brands, reportedly estimates that there are over 160,000 millionaires in Africa with a combined spending power of about $700 billion. These millionaires want the very best and are willing to spend top dollar when it comes to fashion.</p>



<p>“Louis Vuitton just got a market cap of $500 billion and Shell’s market cap is nowhere near that. Imagine a world where African luxury becomes a lot more lucrative than oil? That would completely transform the African continent and that is why I want to be a big player in this space,” says Daniel Diyepriye, founder and creative director of what he hopes to be Africa’s first luxury fashion house, Daniel Diyepriye.</p>



<p>Diyepriye is not wrong. With the over-reliance on oil and gas by most African countries, especially Nigeria, its largest economy, he may actually be on to something.</p>



<p>The eponymous brand, which launched just before Covid-19 wreaked havoc all over the world, pays homage to the legacy of his late father who epitomized elegance and class. He passed away during the pandemic following complications from a stroke he suffered when Diyepriye was just 14 years old.</p>



<p>Back then, the dream was not fashion but simply, finding a way to support his mother, who was now the primary caretaker of her paralyzed husband and their three children.</p>



<p>“I dropped out of university in my first year. I had to make money for the family and I felt that I had to take the responsibility to provide. I thought it was going to be five or six years before I made money from what they were teaching me in university and I could not wait that long,” recalls Diyepriye.</p>



<p>That is when he became a serial entrepreneur. At first, he took over a modelling agency called Lethal Model Management when he was 21 years old. He then moved on to buying and selling sneakers before transitioning into a car rental business, which he still manages today. The business focuses on renting smart cars for under a pound an hour.</p>



<p>“The name of the company is called SmartMove Car [Hire]. We took some investment, and we run a membership model. Sainsbury’s backed us and allowed us to put our cars in their parking lots so customers can take the car from one Sainsbury’s [store] to the other. But I needed to make a business that could scale because the problem with car rental companies is that when all your cars are rented out, you stop making money,” says Diyepriye.</p>



<p>After the death of his father in 2019, Diyepriye and his brother – who, sadly, also passed away last year due to a heart condition – decided that a luxury fashion business would be the best way to honor him.</p>



<p>“I got my flair from my dad. He used to always wear nice suits. The heritage is to honor my father and it means everything we do has to honor who he was, from the quality of our products and everything we say as a brand,” says Diyepriye.</p>



<p>His eureka moment for his signature brand, coincidentally, also came from his father.</p>



<p>“Me and my dad used to play with jigsaw [puzzles] and he always used to tell me that the jigsaw relates to patience, attention to detail and trying to see the bigger picture. I had an epiphany one day that it would be really cool to put a jigsaw on a bag. And that is what has become our signature look.”</p>



<p>Diyepriye taught himself design and learned how to use all the software applications he needed to make his creations come to life, in order to bootstrap the company and grow it organically.</p>



<p>With the help of influencers to get the word out, the brand was launched with £10,000 ($12,000) he made from his car rental business. Soon after launching, Diyepriye made the decision to focus on the United States (US) market due to the volume of orders they received from there.</p>



<p>“Till date, we have done about $500,000 in revenue and a lot of that money has gone back into the brand. The first tackle for us was validating luxury to say that this bag is luxury regardless of who it is made by. We use materials that fast fashion brands won’t and can’t use,” he says.</p>



<p>As far as Diyepriye is concerned, most of the founders spearheading European luxury fashion houses are men but when it comes to Africa, there is no one male fashion mogul dominating the luxury fashion scene. His goal is to take advantage of this first-mover position and evolve his brand into the Daniel Diyepriye Group, where similar to the LVMH family, he will also be able to launch and acquire other ancillary brands to become a billion-dollar fashion house.</p>



<p>Like many sectors in Africa, technology is providing a platform for the luxury fashion industry to leapfrog archaic infrastructure and scale rapidly. As a result, online stores and social media have provided a platform for the Diyepriye brand to carve out its presence in the industry in the space of only three years. With that in mind, who knows what the future might hold?</p>


Tag: COVID-19

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