Hand holding bitcoin

More Than Half Of All Bitcoin Trades Are Fake

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



Non-communicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer are responsible for nearly three-quarters of deaths worldwide but are often “overlooked and underfunded” because few understand their true impact, according to a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/invisible-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>&nbsp;from the World Health Organization published Wednesday, which urges countries to tackle the issue with proven and cost-effective interventions that are readily available.



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



Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are one of the most significant public health and development challenges of the century and kill more than infectious diseases due to inaction, the WHO said in the report, which was released at the UN general assembly in New York.&nbsp;



NCDs are responsible for the premature death of some 17 million people each year and kill someone under the age of 70 every two seconds, the report said.



The vast majority of these premature deaths, 86%, are in low and middle income countries, the report found, and many could have been “prevented with investment in proven, cost-effective interventions,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/21-09-2022-heads-of-state-commit-to-noncommunicable-disease-global-compact-to-save-50-million-lives-by-2030" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>U.S. billionaire Michael&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?sh=34cef3721417">Bloomberg</a>, who is the WHO’s ambassador for NCDs.



While all UN member states have committed to slashing premature deaths from NCDs by a third by 2030—it is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals—few nations are on track to achieve this, the report said.



While the risk factors of many NCDs are well-understood—tobacco use and unhealthy diets each kill more than 8 million each year, alcohol consumption another 1.7 million and physical inactivity 830,000, the WHO estimates—the report said little is being done because many simply do not understand the scale of the problem.&nbsp;



The organization estimates at least 39 million NCD deaths could be prevented by 2030 if “every country were to adopt the interventions that are known to work.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



41 million people. That’s how many people NCDs kill worldwide each year, the WHO estimates. Cardiovascular diseases—a collection of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels—are the world’s biggest killer and are responsible for 17.9 million deaths a year, the report found. The other leading NCDs, some of the world’s top killers, are cancer (9.3 million deaths each year), chronic respiratory diseases (4.1 million) and diabetes (2 million). Beyond deaths, each NCD can have a huge impact on the quality of life for those affected and also make them more vulnerable to other ailments. This was illustrated during the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO said, where people living with NCDs faced worse outcomes than those without. Covid has been the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/05/18/here-is-what-one-million-covid-deaths-in-the-us-looks-like/?sh=516565ac7b16">third-leading cause</a>&nbsp;of death for the past two years, behind heart disease and cancer.&nbsp;



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



Public health advances in recent decades mean infectious, or communicable, diseases no longer dominate the leading causes of premature death around the world. The issue, which has been well known in many affluent nations for decades, is now reaching worrying levels in fast-developing countries like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/21/chinas-hidden-epidemics-the-preventable-diseases-that-could-reshape-a-nation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China</a>, though these health emergencies are often more hidden than outbreaks of infectious disease. The invisible nature of NCDs is illustrated by the fact that they generally do not receive funding and public health effort in line with their impact, despite much more being known about what causes them. This holds true across all countries, not just less affluent ones, and the report says all countries could improve. It stresses that big gains can be made with relatively little investment in NCD prevention and treatment. “The data paint a clear picture,” the WHO report said. “The problem is that the world isn’t looking at it.”



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



WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization had renewed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?sh=34cef3721417">Bloomberg’s</a>&nbsp;appointment as its global ambassador for NCDs and injuries for another two years. Bloomberg, a billionaire who co-founded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981 and served 12 years as the mayor of New York City, was first appointed to the role in 2016. “As we continue to respond to this pandemic and prepare for the next, we have seen the critical importance of addressing a major risk factor in Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths – noncommunicable diseases,” Bloomberg said. NCDs “are the world’s biggest silent killers – but they can often be prevented with investment in proven, cost-effective interventions,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FORBES VALUATION&nbsp;</h2>



$76.8 billion. That’s Bloomberg’s estimated net worth, according to&nbsp;Forbes’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?sh=34cef3721417">real-time tracker</a>. That makes him the 13th richest person in the world at the time of writing. Bloomberg has donated billions to charity, a great deal of which has gone towards initiatives designed to address risk factors driving NCDs, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/public-health/reducing-tobacco-use/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reducing</a>&nbsp;tobacco use.&nbsp;



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



<a href="https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/invisible-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Invisible Numbers: The true scale of noncommunicable diseases</a>&nbsp;(WHO)



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/21/chinas-hidden-epidemics-the-preventable-diseases-that-could-reshape-a-nation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China’s ‘hidden epidemics’: the preventable diseases that could reshape a nation</a>&nbsp;(Guardian)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Son holding father’s hand at the hospital

These Diseases Cause 74% Of All Deaths But Lack Necessary Funding, WHO Says

PHOTO-2022-07-06-17-02-30

THE GREAT AFRICAN WEDDING FACTORY: ‘I Do’ Versus ‘Do I’ in The Time Of Covid

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



The global outbreak of monkeypox and linked vaccination campaign could lead to a spate of neurological issues like nerve pain, seizures, brain inflammation and mood disorders like anxiety and depression, a group of scientists warned in a&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3491?guestAccessKey=c6ffb068-45c9-4d53-b8b5-9c8874feff29&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=092022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a>&nbsp;of research published Tuesday in&nbsp;JAMA Neurology, urging further research into the poorly understood disease as the number of new cases in the U.S. falls.



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



Issues like nerve pain, seizures, encephalitis—brain inflammation—and mood disturbances, including anxiety and depression, are well-documented complications of infections with viruses like smallpox that are closely related to monkeypox, researchers said in the peer reviewed paper.



While few major neurological issues have been reported during the global monkeypox outbreak, the researchers warned that similar “complications are to be expected” in monkeypox patients and urged clinicians to be vigilant.



Those with compromised immune systems, such as some people living with HIV or AIDS, are particularly at risk as the monkeypox virus may be able to persist in the body for longer or more able to invade the nervous system, the researchers said.



Given the large number of people now receiving monkeypox vaccines to curb the outbreak, clinicians should also be on the lookout for neurological complications from the shots, the researchers added.



Older vaccines used against smallpox, which could also be used against monkeypox, utilize another related virus,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/08/mystery-inside-monkeypox-vaccines/671256/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vaccinia</a>, to provoke immunity and are associated with a suite of well-documented, potentially serious side effects.



Though newer and safer than previous vaccines—as well as using an inactivated, rather than live, virus—the researchers said clinicians should remain vigilant of any adverse reactions to the Jynneos vaccine being used in monkeypox campaigns.



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



Though scientists have known about monkeypox for decades, the disease has largely been ignored by the world and caused limited, sporadic outbreaks in parts of Africa. Past outbreaks suggested the virus&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/monkeypox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">does not transmit easily</a>&nbsp;between people but experts have long&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/22/british-scientists-warned-monkeypox-would-fill-void-left-smallpox/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">feared</a>&nbsp;it had the potential to one day&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2022/05/26/warning-signs-ahead-of-monkeypox-outbreak-went-unheeded-experts-say/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread</a>&nbsp;and fill the void left behind after smallpox was eradicated. It appeared nearly simultaneously in several countries where it does not normally spread earlier this year and cases were not linked to travel in affected regions. The discovery suggested monkeypox had been spreading&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/02/health/monkeypox-endemic-silent-spread/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">undetected</a>&nbsp;for some time, probably years, and the scope, scale, geographic range, speed and demography of the outbreak set it apart from previous flare ups, which have usually been relatively confined and burned themselves out. Growing data from the outbreak, which has predominantly affected men who have sex with men, indicates the virus is<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/sex-men-not-skin-contact-fueling-monkeypox-new-research-suggests-rcna43484" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;almost exclusively spreading</a>&nbsp;through sex between men and has a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/07/29/monkeypox-symptoms-are-different-from-previous-outbreaks-doctors-warn/?sh=7b657c48617c">different</a>&nbsp;set of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/07/01/monkeypox-symptoms-look-different-in-recent-cases-than-previous-outbreaks-doctors-warn/?sh=13f577117585">symptoms</a>&nbsp;than in previous outbreaks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



62,406. That’s how many confirmed cases of monkeypox there have been around the world this year as of September 14,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the CDC. More than a third of these, nearly 24,000, have been recorded in the U.S., which has the most confirmed cases by far. Monkeypox cases in the U.S. and Europe have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/08/monkeypox-may-cause-neurological-issues-study-suggests-though-new-us-cases-declining/?sh=27fc561d7d55">trending</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/08/30/monkeypox-cases-in-europe-may-have-peaked-world-health-organization-says/?sh=22ab23e43bae">down</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks, though it is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/monkeypox-cases-falling-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unclear</a>&nbsp;whether the drop is due to vaccination or changing behaviors in response to the outbreak.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/08/monkeypox-may-cause-neurological-issues-study-suggests-though-new-us-cases-declining/?sh=27fc561d7d55">Monkeypox May Cause Neurological Issues, Study Suggests—Though New U.S. Cases Declining</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02931-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How deadly is monkeypox? What scientists know</a>&nbsp;(Nature)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/us/politics/covid-data-outbreaks.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Very Harmful’ Lack of Data Blunts U.S. Response to Outbreaks</a>&nbsp;(NYT)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/08/25/monkeypox-misinformation-is-spreading-experts-warn-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-disease/?sh=7daad70b196e">Monkeypox Misinformation Is Spreading, Experts Warn—Here’s What You Need To Know About The Disease</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

London Ramps Up Monkeypox Vaccine Rollout As Cases Continue To Rise

Monkeypox Could Cause Neurological Issues Like Nerve Pain And Brain Inflammation, Researchers Warn

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



Presidents, kings, princes and prime ministers traveled to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the streets of London to mourn the monarch and billions were expected to tune into the events from around the world.



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



The elaborate ceremony marked the United Kingdom’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-state-funeral" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first</a>&nbsp;state funeral in over 50 years since Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965.



About 2,000 people&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-leaders-are-attending-queen-elizabeth-iis-funeral-rcna48028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attended</a>&nbsp;the funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey, of which an estimated 100 were presidents and heads of government, including President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.



Her funeral could become one of the most watched television events in history, with as many as&nbsp;<a href="https://deadline.com/2022/09/queen-elizabeth-funeral-livestream-tv-schedule-united-states-uk-how-to-watch-1235120389/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four billion peopl</a>e expected to tune in from afar.



Thousands of military personnel were involved in the day, including 4,000 taking part in the funeral procession, 3,000 stationed in London and 1,000 in Windsor, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62941422" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC</a>.



The Queen was significantly involved in planning Monday’s events and wanted to ensure the services weren’t boring or too long, experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-funeral-order-of-service/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;Washington Post.



The longest-reigning British monarch’s gravestone will bear only a simple inscription: “ELIZABETH II 1926-2022,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60617519" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the BBC.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="699" data-id="56291" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243370571.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56291" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243370571.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243370571-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243370571-768x524.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso signs a book of condolence at Church House following the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by David Parry &#8211; WPA Pool / Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" data-id="56296" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56296" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377461.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377461-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377461-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>he coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is seen leaving Westminster Abbey on the day of her funeral. (Photo by James Forde for The Washington Post via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" data-id="56298" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243371106.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56298" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243371106.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243371106-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243371106-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>: Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest at in Windsor Castle after a historic state funeral service in Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom on September 19, 2022. The queenâs coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault at St. Georgeâs Chapel following a committal service which ended with a piperâs lament and the national anthem. (Photo by Zuhal Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



One million. That’s how many people were expected to travel to central London for the Queen’s funeral, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/18/tfl-expects-up-to-1m-mourners-in-palace-area-of-london-for-queens-funeral#:~:text=About%201%20million%20people%20are,for%20the%20capital's%20transport%20network." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guardian</a>.



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



While the funeral was attended by an estimated 500 foreign dignitaries, the service also included people who were previously honored for their public service this year at the queen’s birthday celebration, including Natalie Queiroz, an activist who survived a stabbing by her partner when she was pregnant as well as Pranav Bhanot, a lawyer who offered free aid to those struggling during the pandemic and delivered free meals, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/world/europe/queen-funeral-public-service-guests.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Post</a>.



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



Members of the royal family and foreign dignitaries&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-iis-state-funeral-biden-royals-and-world-leaders-arrive-at-westminster-abbey/?sh=5c6328b85766">came</a>&nbsp;to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service Monday morning while thousands gathered in the streets along the 25-mile procession route from central London to Windsor to see the Queen’s coffin carried by hearse to her final resting spot in St. George’s Chapel. The service came after mourners waited hours in a miles-long queue to see the Queen’s coffin and pay their finial respects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



The funeral marked the biggest security event for Britain since World War II as millions of people were expected to flock to the streets for the event, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/16/funeral-security-queen-elizabeth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Post</a>. Snipers were positioned on roofs, surveillance drones flew in the sky and thousands of police officers and private security guards were on duty, the&nbsp;Post&nbsp;reported.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" data-id="56297" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377620.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56297" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377620.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377620-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377620-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Horses and military get in formation for the funeral procession on Horse Guard Road. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was held in London on Monday, September 19, 2022. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="714" data-id="56293" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1425347450.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56293" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1425347450.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1425347450-300x209.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1425347450-768x536.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Camilla, Queen Consort during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="756" data-id="56290" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243327609.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56290" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243327609.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243327609-300x221.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243327609-768x567.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House. England. Foreign dignitaries, heads of state and other VIPs have visited Westminster Hall to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state prior to her funeral on Monday. They have also been invited to sign the book of condolence opened at Lancaster House. The 96-year-old monarch died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jonathan Hordle &#8211; WPA Pool/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="732" data-id="56289" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243340151.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56289" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243340151.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243340151-300x214.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243340151-768x549.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> King of Lesotho, Letsie III pays his respects to Britain&#8217;s Queen Elizabeth, following her death, during her lying-in-state at Westminster Hall on September 18, 2022 in London, England. Members of the public are able to pay respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for 23 hours a day from 17:00 on September 18, 2022 until 06:30 on September 19, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier-WPA Pool/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" data-id="56295" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377598.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56295" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377598.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377598-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1243377598-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>King Charles III can be seen leaving Westminster Abbey on the day of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (Photo by James Forde for The Washington Post via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-iis-state-funeral-biden-royals-and-world-leaders-arrive-at-westminster-abbey/?sh=5c6328b85766">Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral: Biden, Royals And World Leaders Attend Historic Service At Westminster Abbey</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://bbc.com/news/uk-60617519" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Your complete guide to the Queen&#8217;s funeral</a>&nbsp;(BBC)



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/16/funeral-security-queen-elizabeth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral: U.K.’s biggest security detail post-WWII</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)



By Madeline Halpert, Forbes Staff

The Committal Service For Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II’s Funeral In Pictures—And Some Facts That Might Surprise You About The Momentous Day

Kobina Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya, is Ghana’s first YouTuber to hit over a million subscribers. His channel creating positive African content has won him followers and a fortune.



AT JUST 23 YEARS OLD, AMERICAN YOUTUBE megastar Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has reportedly amassed over 10 billion views on his YouTube channel, and taken home a staggering $54 million in 2021 by posting hilarious and philanthropic content.



In 2019, CNBC reported that a survey done by Danish toy-maker Lego found that about a third of children aged between eight and 12 dream of becoming vloggers or YouTubers; the survey polled kids in the United States, China and the United Kingdom.



But that trend has now slowly also made its way into Africa. And young content creators on the continent are glued to their monitors and screens to catch up on all the social media action and monetize it, just like their global counterparts.



KobinaAckon, popularly known by the moniker Wode Maya,is one such African sensation – he is Ghana’s first YouTuber to hit over a million subscribers.



But Ackon never aspired to be a digital star. He had wanted to become an aeronautical engineer. He and his family had humble beginnings in the Western Region of Ghana, where they lived five siblings to one room and used rice bags as school bags. Ackon was taught from an early age the value of humility. After completing his secondary school education in Ghana, Ackon relocated to China to further his studies as an aeronautical engineer.



But contrary to what most people believe, success on YouTube did not come overnight for him. In fact, it was a slow and steady rise filled with trial and error tracking analytics that would guide him to the right blend of content to identify a niche that would give him six-figure success.



That said, the genesis of his YouTube channel was quite an by accident.



“I never wanted to be a YouTuber. During vacation, I couldn’t travel because I didn’t have money to go back to Ghana and so we spent our time in our dorms. So, a friend came to me and said ‘let’s go out and shoot a video’. I was the main character in that video.



“Afterwards, they gave me the video and I realized I didn’t have a pen drive or anywhere to save this video so I decided to save it on the internet and that is when I saved it on YouTube,” recalls Ackon. That video became a sensation amongst his friends and based on the positive feedback, Ackon decided to do another video detailing how he met his Chinese girlfriend. He got a 1,000 followers but unfortunately his subsequent efforts didn’t fare too well.



“I did more comedic videos and people said you are not funny and they stopped watching them. But I had a passion for it so I kept doing it and started doing more research on the platform. That is when I started consuming a lot of content on YouTube and realized I can actually be a millionaire on YouTube.”



But his Eureka moment would come after convincing his father to let him try content creation rather than engineering.



“So, I kept on pushing for two years and trying to make it work until my dad found one of my videos and got extremely mad at me and that is when my mum came in and said I can do whatever I want and she will take care of my dad. Two weeks later, my dad gave me his blessing and told me one thing that changed the game for me. He said you speak Chinese, so why don’t you use the Chinese language to bridge the gap between Africans and Chinese people and that was my breakthrough,” avers Ackon. He took his father’s advice and his channel grew to 8,000 subscribers. Ackon had found his niche and things began to slowly take off. He began making videos to help the Chinese better understand Africa and Africans and before long, he had peaked at about 100,000 subscribers.



But even then, something wasn’t adding up for Ackon.



“I felt like the videos I was doing was attracting Africans to China but China was not my country and I am trying to change the narrative of Africans living in China but it was still not working. So, I said to myself ‘let me come to Africa and preach about Africa to Chinese people’.”



That’s when he discovered that even Africansdidn’t know much about other countries on the continent. In 2018, he made the decision to start profiling the continent of Africa to not only the Chinese but to Africans both at home and in the diaspora. He received a loan from a Chinese friend who booked him on a pan-African tour of five countries.



“When I did that, within a month, I had 50,000 people following my channel. And it had taken me four years to get to 100,000 people. It showed me that a lot of people were yearning for African content,” says Ackon.



Today, with over 1.1 million subscribers, Ackonsays he is raking in anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 a month from his YouTube channel. Most of his revenue comes from YouTube advertisements as well as from charging up to $10,000 a pop to profile Africa’s brightest entrepreneurs.Along the way, he has also picked up some invaluable pearls of wisdom from them.



“The youth of Africa don’t really have mentors and during Covid is when I had the chance to spend time with African entrepreneurs and they changed my life in the way of investment and I actually started investing in 2021. I had money but it was sitting in a bank and I didn’t know what to do with it because our parents taught us that if you have money, keep it in the bank, get married buy a house and buy a car and that is what I was doing. Until I met entrepreneurs and that is when I decided to invest in land, buy real estate and hired a team of about 10 people who work for me to expand the brand,” says Ackon.



His next milestone is to interview Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, on how he built his wealth. He also wants his channel to only push out positive African narratives to the world.For now, he certainly has the world’s attention.

Untitled

CHANNELING FAME: Meet Ghana’s first YouTuber to hit over a million subscribers

As the new head of The Firm, Charles now oversees some $42 billion in assets and inherited $500 million from Queen Elizabeth, including her castles, jewels, art collection and a horse farm—all of it tax-free.



When you’re a member of the House of Windsor, going into the family business may come with a lifetime of prestige and privilege, but it doesn’t always bring great wealth. Even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2021/03/10/inside-the-firm-how-the-royal-familys-28-billion-money-machine-really-works/?sh=69a224792bcc">members of The Firm</a>—as high-ranking royals have been known since the days of King George VI—are often dependent on their elders for allowances, gifts and other blue-blooded handouts.



But it’s still good to be the king.



After training for the position for more than 70 years, King Charles III inherited large swaths of land, regal estates, rare jewels, paintings and other personal property—some going back centuries—from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. He also now oversees the late monarch’s $42 billion portfolio of assets held in trust for the kingdom, including billions in investments—and other opulent palaces, glittering jewels and priceless art that he will never actually own.



Her Majesty’s will is expected to be sealed for at least 90 years so the exact distribution of her assets will not be known for several generations. But as her eldest son, Charles inherited the Queen’s private estates—her much-loved castle in Balmoral, Scotland, where she died, as well as Sandringham in eastern England, home to the thoroughbred horse farm known as the Royal Studs. King Charles is also expected to inherit her enormous private collection of jewelry, art, rare stamps and any personal investments. Altogether, Forbes values these personal assets at $500 million. And Charles won’t have to pay a shilling of inheritance tax, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208633/mou_royal_taxation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thanks to a 1993 agreement with the British government</a> that exempts transfers of property from one sovereign to another.



The 73-year-old monarch also accedes the throne with a king’s ransom of his own, largely through the lucrative annual income he received from the Duchy of Cornwall, which earned him some $27 million this year and which his eldest son, Prince William, will now inherit. As Prince of Wales, Charles launched several ventures to protect the environment and foster organic farming. Through his Charitable Foundation (which William also inherits now), Charles owned <a href="https://www.waitrose.ae/en/inspiration/facts-about-waitrose-duchy-organic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the largest organic food brand in the U.K.</a>, as well as <a href="https://zalan.transylvaniancastle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a nature retreat and crafts center in Transylvania</a> that each operate as bed and breakfasts.



Prince William will now take possession of the Duchy of Cornwall, a conglomerate with $1.2 billion in net assets including the Oval cricket ground in London, Charles’ former residence at Highgrove House (<a href="https://duchyofcornwall.org/home-farm.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">where he first began farming organically in 1985</a>) and the Isles of Scilly, but the new King will not exactly be left wanting for prime real estate.



As the new monarch, Charles assumes ownership of institutions that manage an estimated $42 billion in assets, including some of the world’s most famous royal palaces and the Crown Jewels. These assets—which include Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London—aren’t held directly by the King, but are instead owned by the reigning monarch&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rct.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Financial%20Statements%202021-22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“in right of the Crown”</a>&nbsp;for the duration of their reign. They are also held “in trust” for his successors and the nation—meaning they can’t actually be sold.



In contrast to the various estates, which file annual reports, the palaces and jewels are often thought of as priceless. So what’s it all worth? Forbes gave it a royal effort.



The single most valuable asset held by King Charles is the Crown Estate, a sprawling real estate portfolio with $17.5 billion in net assets. Those properties include Regent Street, London’s prime shopping destination, as well as Ascot Racecourse (a favorite of the Queen) and virtually the entire seabed of the U.K. All of the Crown Estate’s net profit—$361 million in fiscal year 2022—goes to the British Treasury. But the royal family also gets a cut: They receive an allowance from the Treasury known as the “Sovereign Grant,” equal to 25% of the net profit for the financial year two years earlier. In 2022, the Sovereign Grant amounted to $99.6 million, based on the Crown Estate’s net profit in the 2019-20 financial year.



That enormous windfall doesn’t go directly to Charles, however. A 10% cut of that net profit—$39.8 million for 2022—is set aside for maintaining Buckingham Palace, and an additional 15% is used to finance the royal family’s annual travel, formal events, housekeeping and payroll. And those bills add up fast.



The most expensive trip taken by the royals in the past year, for instance, was Prince William and Kate’s nine-day visit to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March, which cost roughly $260,000, including planning prior to the visit.



The Sovereign Grant isn’t Charles’ only source of income. For one, it doesn’t cover physical security. As King, he also gains control of the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate with $753 million in net assets that is owned in trust by the monarch. The Duchy’s net revenues go directly to the King as an allowance called the Privy Purse, which covers any other official expenditures. (In 2022, that amounted to $24 million, pre-tax.) Unlike the Sovereign Grant, which is tax-free, the Queen agreed in 1993 to voluntarily pay income tax on the portion of the Privy Purse not used for official purposes—and Charles agreed to maintain the same policy upon his accession.



In addition to the Crown Estate and the Duchy of Lancaster, Charles also holds the Crown Estate Scotland, a portfolio with some $570 million in net assets, including the Scottish seabed, rural estates and the rights to fish wild salmon and extract naturally occurring gold and silver in Scotland.



The rest of the Crown’s holdings—at least nine former and current royal residences and the Royal Collection, which includes the Crown Jewels—are the most difficult to value because they would never reach the open market and they don’t file annual reports.



The Crown Jewels are perhaps the most identifiable asset associated with the British royal family. As part of the Royal Collection, they are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-crown-jewels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“held in trust by the monarch for the nation.”</a>&nbsp;The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=424129088352731" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimated their value at $4 billion in 2019</a>, using the sale of the French Crown Jewels in 1887 and the sale of the late Princess Margaret’s jewelry in 2006 as a comparison.



The overall value of the Royal Collection, which includes works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio and Leonardo Da Vinci, is unquestionably much higher. <a href="https://brandirectory.com/download-report/bf_monarchy_report_2017.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to a 2017 report by Brand Finance</a>, a U.K.-based brand valuation firm, the Royal Collection—including the Crown Jewels—is estimated to be worth $12.7 billion.



There are also at least nine palaces, castles and residences owned by the King in trust as sovereign or “in right of the Crown.” According to estimates provided by Lenka Dušková Munter, a sales specialist for historical properties at Czech real estate agency Luxent, and Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of estate agent website GetAgent.co.uk,&nbsp;Forbesestimates the combined value of these properties at $9.5 billion.



The most valuable property in the collection is, of course, the King’s official London residence, Buckingham Palace, estimated at $4.9 billion. On the lower end, there’s Clarence House, Charles’ formal residence in London when he was Prince of Wales, valued at $72 million. Balmoral and Sandringham, which are now personally owned by the King after he inherited them from Queen Elizabeth, are worth $118 million and $73 million, respectively.https://embedly.forbes.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fe.infogram.com%2F175bfdcf-5cb6-459e-abe7-e249671ebeae%3Fsrc%3Dembed&amp;display_name=Infogram&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Finfogram.com%2Fcrown-estate-1hdw2jpqvwgzp2l&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Finfogram-thumbs-1024.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2F8a98e4e4-a70a-4ed7-b3df-efd2ab8724ae.jpg&amp;key=cfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=infogram



Most of these assets cannot be sold. But in choosing Charles as his regnal name, the new King would be wise to remember what happened to King Charles I’s worldly possessions—after he was beheaded by his people in 1649.



Following Charles I’s death during the English Civil War, his assets were promptly auctioned off—&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crouchrarebooks.com/prints/richmond-palace" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Richmond Palace in London reportedly sold for £13,000</a>&nbsp;(or about $1.8 million today) before ultimately being demolished. Parliament also sold Charles I’s art collection, considered at the time to be one of the greatest in the world.&nbsp;<a href="https://lostcollection.rct.uk/charles-i/inventories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The appraised value of £35,000 for the paintings alone</a>—some $5 million adjusted for inflation—is a fraction of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.christies.com/features/Salvator-Mundi-timeline-8644-3.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the $450 million paid at auction for just one of those works,</a>Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, when it became the most expensive painting ever sold in 2017.



Presumably Charles III’s reign will go a little more smoothly than his regal namesake. The new King has seen a surge in support since his mother’s death.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charles-benefits-from-a-wave-of-public-goodwill-wtwvgvbtg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A YouGov survey for the&nbsp;Times of London&nbsp;published Tuesday</a>&nbsp;found that his approval rating has jumped to 63% since May, when only 32% of respondents believed he would do a good job as the monarch.



“The queen was obviously very well regarded globally and inside the U.K.,” says David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance. “She did an extremely good job. And the jury’s out as to whether or not Prince Charles will live up to her example.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-king-s-personal-assets">THE KING’S PERSONAL ASSETS</h2>



As the new King, Charles inherits the Queen’s personal assets, which&nbsp;Forbesestimates at $500 million. That includes Balmoral and Sandringham, the Royal Philatelic Collection—which includes&nbsp;<a href="https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/the-queen%E2%80%99s-own" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“the world&#8217;s finest and most comprehensive collection of British and Commonwealth stamps”</a>—personal investments, horses, jewelry and artworks Her Majesty inherited from her mother in 2002. The prize painting in that collection is said to be Claude Monet’s&nbsp;Study of rocks, Creuse,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/03/queenmother.monarchy2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly worth as much as $17.3 million.</a>&nbsp;And assuming Charles’ late father, Prince Philip, had a smart estate tax attorney, the Duke of Edinburgh would have bequeathed his own art collection—<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55355783-the-queen-s-true-worth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimated at $2.3 million by the late royal commentator and journalist David McClure</a>—to the Queen upon his death in April 2021 to avoid paying inheritance tax. If he did, those assets also likely passed on tax-free to Charles.



There is also a vast collection of cars, watches and other extravagant toys held by the King and the royal family. On Sunday, on the first full day of his reign, King Charles turned up to greet crowds at Buckingham Palace wearing an 18-carat gold Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph watch that he’s owned since the mid-2000s, the Swiss watchmaker told Forbes. Parmigiani Fleurier no longer produces the Toric Chronograph, but <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online/parmigiani-fleurier-18k-toric-chronograph-date-ref-c00940-260/67585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a similar model sold at Christie’s for $8,125 in 2019.</a>



The King’s vehicle of choice for his London debut was his mother’s Rolls Royce Phantom VI, which was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.royal.uk/wedding-princess-eugenie-and-jack-brooksbank-bridal-car" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">presented to her for her Silver Jubilee in 1977</a>. While the car is not for sale, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/rolls-royce/phantom-vi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">similar model from 1976 can be purchased for $225,000.</a>&nbsp;Charles also inherits the Bentley State Limousine,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bentleymotors.com/en/models/mulliner/coachbuilt/queens-limousine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">originally designed for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002</a>&nbsp;to commemorate her half-century on the throne.



In his 64 years as Prince of Wales, Charles also learned how to build his own outrageous fortune. He largely depended on income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which expanded under his tenure to $1.2 billion in net assets, including nearly $400 million in commercial properties and more than 52,000 hectares of land, or about a third the size of Greater London. Between 2011 and 2022, the Duchy’s net assets grew by 51%.



The profits from those assets provided Charles with enough income to be independent of the Sovereign Grant: In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the then-Prince of Wales earned some $26.6 million (pre-tax) from the Duchy of Cornwall, compared to $1.2 million from the Sovereign Grant.



That valuable asset is now in the hands of Prince William, who succeeded his father as the Prince of Wales. With Cornwall, William will no longer have to ask his father for a cut of his income anymore. Prince Harry, on the other hand, is forging ahead with his own business ventures along with his wife, Meghan Markle. In December 2020, the couple signed a three-year <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/02/26/how-much-are-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-worth-surprisingly-not-that-much/">podcasting deal with Spotify that could be worth between $15 million and $18 million</a>. The couple also has an Apple TV+ series on mental health that Harry executive produces with Oprah Winfrey for an undisclosed sum and a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2021/03/10/inside-the-firm-how-the-royal-familys-28-billion-money-machine-really-works/?sh=7e7ff0042bcc">$100 million, five-year Netflix deal, which was signed in September 2020</a>.



After all, leaving the royal family isn’t usually a smart financial move: When Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, King Edward VIII,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.royal.uk/edward-viii" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abdicated in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson</a>, he was cut off from the Civil List, the royal funding stream now known as the Sovereign Grant. Instead, he negotiated a&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-IhnAAAAMAAJ&amp;focus=searchwithinvolume&amp;q=25%2C000" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deal with his brother, King George VI, to receive £25,000 a year ($1.4 million adjusted for inflation.</a>)&nbsp;Still, at the time of his death in 1972, the Duke of Windsor (as he became known) left behind&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/05/archives/duke-of-windsor-leaves-18800-estate-in-england.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a fortune worth nearly $2.5 million</a>—$17.7 million today—including a villa in Paris.



Charles’ personal assets before he became king are far murkier. He’s also received scrutiny for investments made through the Duchy of Cornwall. In 2017, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/07/prince-charles-profit-best-friend-hugh-van-cutsem-offshore-firm-paradise-papers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paradise Papers investigation revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall had invested millions of pounds</a>&nbsp;in offshore funds and companies, including a business registered in Bermuda run by Hugh van Cutsem, an old friend from the University of Cambridge in the 1960s. At the time, the Duchy said Charles didn&#8217;t have any &#8220;direct involvement in investment decisions.”



As King, Charles now holds $500 million in personal assets with another $42 billion held in trust as the sovereign. Despite an obviously luxurious lifestyle with access to multiple castles, fleets of cars, private planes and a pretty great collection of tiaras and other jewelry, there is one thing that King Charles III shares with every commoner—death and (some) taxes.



By Giacomo Tognini &amp; Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff

State Opening Of Parliament

How Rich Is King Charles III? Inside The New Monarch’s Outrageous Fortune

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



Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times he’s worried the vaccine skepticism that surged during the Covid-19 pandemic could affect childhood immunization rates for other viruses and result in the resurgence of “avoidable and unnecessary outbreaks” of childhood diseases as cases of polio and measles make comebacks across the country.



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



Fauci—who in December will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/08/22/fauci-stepping-down-in-december/?sh=4ff928c773f2">retire</a>&nbsp;as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a position he has held for more than 35 years–is concerned the acceleration of an “an anti-vaxxer attitude” could extend to childhood vaccinations with “tragic” results, he told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59be3908-56eb-4ffc-b612-eda330850b9f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Financial Times</a>&nbsp;in an interview published Sunday morning.



Fauci told the British newspaper officials should escalate efforts to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59be3908-56eb-4ffc-b612-eda330850b9f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">correct vaccine misinformation</a> disseminated on social media, and build trust between public health organizations and Americans.



About 68% of Americans have received <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-additional-dose-totalpop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">both Covid-19 vaccine doses</a>, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while only 49% have had a booster shot, which is lower than in <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most other wealthy countries</a>.



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



Fauci’s warning comes less than two weeks after the virus that causes polio was detected in wastewater from several New York counties, leading the state to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/09/polio-new-york-declares-emergency-after-virus-found-in-fourth-countys-sewage/?sh=49c512c6579f">declare a health emergency</a>. The <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/07/21/first-us-polio-case-in-nearly-a-decade-reported-in-new-york/?sh=7e370ac489c9">first case of polio</a> in the U.S. in nearly a decade was reported in Rockland County, New York, in July. Rockland Country has some of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/09/polio-new-york-declares-emergency-after-virus-found-in-fourth-countys-sewage/?sh=49c512c6579f">lowest vaccination rates</a> in the state, with a polio vaccination rate of 60.34% as of August 1. Polio was declared <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/07/21/first-us-polio-case-in-nearly-a-decade-reported-in-new-york/?sh=7e370ac489c9">eradicated</a> from the U.S. in 1979, the last time a case of polio was known to have originated domestically and not from international travelers. In 2018, Rockland County also experienced <a href="http://rocklandgov.com/departments/county-executive/press-releases/2019-press-releases/measles-outbreak-declared-over-in-rockland/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an outbreak of measles</a>, another highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that has <a href="https://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/2019-us-measles-outbreaks-public-health-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resurged</a> in parts of the U.S. with low vaccination rates. Last year, <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/covid-19-pandemic-leads-major-backsliding-childhood-vaccinations-new-who-unicef-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23 million children</a> worldwide missed out on basic vaccines from disruptions in routine immunization services caused by the pandemic, according to the United Nations and the World Health Organization, marking the “largest sustained <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/covid-19-pandemic-leads-major-backsliding-childhood-vaccinations-new-who-unicef-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decline in childhood vaccinations</a> in approximately 30 years.”



By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff

A healthcare worker administers the Pfizer-BioNTech (

Fauci Warns Pandemic-Era ‘Anti-Vaxxer Attitude’ Could Hurt Child Vaccination Rates

The word ‘multi’ comes up many times in a conversation with 28-year-old Dubai-based Nigerian businesswoman Gbemi Giwa.



“I am a multi-passionate entrepreneur with a knack for turning ideas into creative impactful brands…. I am a multi-hyphenated person…” she says in a Zoom interview on a hot summer day in August from her abode in the sunny city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.



Although Giwa started out as an influencer and launched several businesses in the glistening Middle Eastern emirate by the time she turned 26, she is wary of calling herself ‘a serial entrepreneur’.



Now making a conscious effort to focus solely on her core competence – the food business – she says her passion project remains Catfish, an online restaurant serving “a healthy twist on African dishes” that she launched in Dubai in 2018.



The realization to hone in on one serious endeavor came after a few “bold moves” and the twists and turns that the Covid-19 pandemic brought when Giwa was forced to close down Gbemi’s Kitchen, the physical restaurant she started in 2019 at the Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai serving authentic Nigerian food.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-56262" width="639" height="426" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA66F4B-1D7E-484C-AFBB-0594059E27E2-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px" /></figure></div>



“In 2020, Covid hit and for the first time, I navigated a big loss with the shutting of my restaurant concepts, forcing me to start afresh with a larger focus on building a Covid-proof business with a deeper focus on digital,” she says of those tough months.



She started by launching a consulting company called Digiboss to help women in business build their online profiles to establish themselves as thought leaders, whilst consistently attracting profitable partnership opportunities.



“I help millennial women build an impactful personal brand and commit to taking action by teaching them profitable action steps to validate their creative ideas, craft them into polished concepts and launch them into the real world,” says Giwa.



“Using the same method I teach my clients, I was able to secure funding to relaunch my restaurant Catfish just at the end of the pandemic. I’m currently navigating our redirection into the e-commerce space and retail by taking a piece of the growing ready-to-eat industry.”



The food business is not new for her. It was while at design school in 2014 that she launched Dubai Fit Foodie, a wellness blog she calls her “longest-paying side hustle”. Her growing years shaped her early love for African food and she wanted to give it the respect it deserved.



A year later, she turned her love for dancing by launching dance classes in Dubai, teaching Afrofit, which she calls her “second longest-paying side hustle”.



In 2016, she specialized in creating impactful digital campaigns for local and international brands in the Middle East. A year later, yet again foraying into the business world, she launched a boutique agency specializing in branding and content creation for F&amp;B concepts.



‘A good idea is nothing without action’. 



Even when she was 16, on a plane to Dubai from Lagos to enrol at the American University of Sharjah, she was already harboring ideas of creating content and an impactful career. Even if at times, this meant going against the norm and using the word ‘no’ multiple times to her now-late father, also a businessman, who took a keen interest in her professional journey.



“I am from a classic African family that says ‘either you become a doctor or a lawyer, or you are nobody’.



“But ever since I went to design school, I’ve been obsessed with ideas. I believe good ideas come when you explore and exhaust several bad ideas, but a good idea is nothing without action.”



Luckily, she was glad to find herself in Dubai.



“It’s one of the easiest places to do business in, especially if you know the right people and have the money… I always tell youngsters it’s better to partner with the right mentor, as they have the experience and you can keep learning from them.”



Where there’s hustle, there’s also heart.



“My passion will always be around creating content, product, and brands that reflect my African roots and help people embrace wellness in order to feel like their happier healthiest selves,” says Giwa.



Currently catering for events and working towards moving Catfish into the e-commerce space, she will also be seen at The Ripe Market, a farmers’ market in Dubai, from October.

IMG_0057

Hustle And Heart: The Nigerian Entrepreneur Promoting African Food In Dubai

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



The Crown, the Emmy-winning fictionalized drama chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, has returned to Netflix’s Top 10 this week after the monarch died on September 8, as overall interest in media showcasing the royals has increased.



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



In the week ending September 11, Season 1 of&nbsp;The Crown&nbsp;was the No. 7 most-watched English series on Netflix, with 17.5 million hours of the show viewed.&nbsp;



Clips of HBO Max’s The Prince, an animated satirical comedy about Prince George, Prince Harry’s episode of Oprah Winfrey’s AppleTV+ series The Me You Can’t See, and The Crown have been trending on TikTok this week, as interest in the royal family surges.



Meghan Markle’s podcast&nbsp;Archetypes&nbsp;<a href="https://podcastcharts.byspotify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remains</a>&nbsp;the No. 2 show on Spotify in the U.S., despite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/meghan-markles-podcast-paused-mourning-queen" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not releasing</a>&nbsp;new episodes during the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II.&nbsp;



Forbes has reached out to AppleTV+ and HBO Max for comment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR&nbsp;</h2>



Season 5 of&nbsp;The Crown&nbsp;is set to debut in November. Imelda Staunton has taken over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Olivia Coleman. Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip, Dominic West is Prince (now King) Charles, Elizabeth Debicki is Princess Diana and Olivia Williams is Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Consort). Come Season 6, newcomers Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/the-crown-casting-prince-william-kate-middleton-1235358208/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">will take on&nbsp;</a>Prince William and Kate Middleton. Season 5 will focus on the 1990s.&nbsp;



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



Queen Elizabeth II died at age 96 last week at her home in Scotland. Her funeral is scheduled for Monday. She is currently lying in state at Westminster Hall.&nbsp;The Crown&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/the-crown-season-6-paused-queen-elizabeth-ii-death-1235364831/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paused production</a>&nbsp;of Season 6 the day after Queen Elizabeth II passed, and a spokesperson for the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2022-09-14/the-crown-back-in-netflixs-global-top-10-after-queens-death" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>production will also stop on Monday, during her funeral. Season 6 will be the show’s final season, though it’s not clear whether it will take on the queen’s death, or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s rift with the family.&nbsp;



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/15/new-details-released-on-queens-funeralheres-what-to-know/?sh=40a2c3ed2ae0">New Details Released On Queen’s Funeral–Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/09/14/meghan-markles-new-round-of-mistreatment-snubs-and-conspiracy-theories-during-return-following-queen-elizabeths-death/?sh=12fdf2b333ce">Meghan Markle’s New Round Of Mistreatment: Snubs And Conspiracy Theories During Return Following Queen Elizabeth’s Death</a> (Forbes)



By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff

“The Crown” Filming

Interest In ‘The Crown’ And Other Royal Media Surges After Queen Elizabeth’s Death

Is it time to see the world of architecture, construction and design digitally?



By Tiana Cline 



HOW MUCH OF YOUR TIME IS spent inside? This may be the digital age where everything and everyone is connected but where we are now is also known as the ‘indoor generation’. Our living and workspaces are continually intertwining with technology shifting how we look at construction. It’s not only about the metaverse, but how we design and develop the built spaces around us.



Steven Pinto is someone who is heavily invested in virtual reality (VR). He’s the CEO of two South African technology companies – New Reality and CTRL Robotics – that have managed to attract a global client base.



“There is a commercial aspect of digital twins that is finding its way into mainstream. I think companies are going to start to realize the use of VR in their everyday lives so that they can become more productive and efficient,” he says.



For Pinto, digital twins – creating digital representations of physical entities – and VR are the starting point of a new wave of architecture that isn’t limited by the constraints and costs associated with physically visualizing an end product.



“We’re going to see a lot more adoption of VR tech. There are currently architects in Cape Town doing international work that include VR walkthroughs – these are technically digital twins,” he explains. “Architects aren’t game developers so you need to be able to bridge that gap so that they can use digital tools more effectively.”



Gregory Katz, the principal architect at Gregory Katz Architecture, is someone who has seen first- hand how computers have changed the industry. “And for the better,” he says. “I remember sitting and doing hand drawings in an office in Cape Town and we used to work on tracing paper. If any changes were made to the design you had to try and modify the drawings and sometimes, you couldn’t scratch out what you had drawn. The paper quality was so damaged that you had to redraw the whole building&#8230; In that sense, technology has lightened the burden on the profession.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fit-for-purpose">FIT FOR PURPOSE</h2>



Digital twins present many opportunities for designers that don’t necessarily live in the architectural world. Industrial designers in the manufacturing sector that need to work with mechanical engineers can use a tool like The Wild, an immersive VR collaboration platform for the building industry.



“VR can be commercialized in a completely different way. Think about working from home – it’s becoming more accessible and companies are seeing the benefits of using virtual spaces to collaborate and design,” says Pinto. “It’s inherently a massive cost-saving and logistics is minimal. There are now companies investing in divisions of their business that have people who specialize in building digital twins.”



Using digital twins, the fundamentals of architecture don’t necessarily have to change – technology has the ability to mitigate challenges in the iterative process and ultimately improve profitability. An added benefit is that clients can become more adventurous.



“They trust the process because they can see what they’re going to buy and can be involved in major decisions before irreparable changes occur.



All the theory behind architecture is the same, it is the execution that’s a little different,” says Pinto. “Traditionally, visualizing for a customer called for a model of representation of some sort. Models can be wildly inaccurate but they were the only tool available at the time. Today, architects don’t have to be model builders. They’re 3D artists with all the understandings of light, shape and dimension.”



Pinto says that what he is starting to find is that the line of digital twins is becoming blurred between what is happening in reality and what people are building in digital worlds. “While there are magical, fantastical worlds that don’t apply to the world of physics, there is an interesting part of the market where people are looking into these ideas to try and minimize wastage when looking at the cost of development projects,” he explains. Looking at the commercial potential for VR, Pinto’s team created a simple tool that could place furniture in rooms to allow, for example, an office to work out how many desks would work well in a space.



“Here, you don’t call an architect but rather an interior designer and you only do that after you sign the lease. The customer cannot conceptualize, first and foremost, what space they actually require – and this is where costs end up being exorbitant,” says Pinto. “VR can go beyond simple walkthroughs.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME</h2>



Katz teaches at the Graduate School of Architecture (GSA) located at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He still encourages students – which at the GSA, are all at a postgraduate level – to draw manually because “the thinking that happens between the hand and the eye cannot be replaced by a computer. The quick sketch, the intuitive understanding of potentials&#8230; it’s different on a computer,” he explains. “On a computer, scale is limited to the size of your screen. You can zoom in and out infinitely but sketch is a natural, scale-less interaction and things emerge in a hand sketch that you could never replicate on a screen.”



While drafting with a computer is more efficient and physical models are not as prevalent as they once were, Katz believes they’re a valuable tool for developing and design: “If something stands in a model, it obeys the same laws of physics it would in reality. That’s a very useful constraint to have at play when you’re designing,” he says. “When designing a digital version of an analogue construction, you’re not thinking through the actual construction.”



Another benefit Katz brings up is measuring the quality of light. While artificially replicating light conditions around a model can done with a computer, Katz says there is slippage between what you get in reality and the computer render.



“They’re seeing a perfect condition of your vision. There’s an ambiguity around those presentations which can be onerous.” The GSA students have Oculus goggles and are using them to explore the interface between VR and key dimension construction and augmented reality.



“It’s exciting technology but I don’t think we can throw out the baby with the bathwater yet,” warns Katz. “There’s still tremendous value in the handmade, in the physical world. The technology is there but we need both.”

Augmented Reality

Designing The Future: Digital Twins Changing The Fundamentals Of Architecture

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



Google may have to pay a record €4.125 billion ($4.12 billion) fine to the European Union in an antitrust case linked to its Android operating system for smartphones after losing a court appeal on Wednesday, a ruling that is likely to bolster the bloc’s ability to crackdown on big tech companies.



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



The European Court of Justice’s General Court&nbsp;<a href="https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/p1_3862705/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruled</a>&nbsp;to uphold the EU executive commission’s 2018 decision to penalize Google, only slightly reducing the fine from €4.34 billion to €4.125 billion as its reasoning differed “in certain respects” to the commission’s.



The court’s ruling states Google “imposed unlawful restrictions” on makers of Android smartphones “in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.”



The court’s ruling largely aligns with the European Commission’s 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_4581" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruling</a>&nbsp;that tech giant forced Android device manufacturers to agree to preinstall Google Search, Google Play Store and not use unlicensed versions of the operating system developed by third parties.



The €4.125 billion fine is part of a wider set of antitrust penalties—adding up to more than €8 billion—that Google faces in Europe, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/MEMO_17_1785" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">€2.42 billion fine</a>&nbsp;for favoring its own shopping services on its search engine and a&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_1770" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">€1.49 billion fine</a>&nbsp;for abusing its dominance in online advertising.



Google can still move this appeal to the EU’s Court of Justice, the bloc’s top court, but it’s unclear if that will happen.



Forbes&nbsp;has reached out to Google for a comment on the court’s ruling.



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



Wednesday&#8217;s ruling is likely to embolden the European Commission to expand its crackdown on the dominance of U.S. tech giants including Amazon, Apple and Meta. The commission is currently&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_2061" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investigating</a>Apple’s 30% App Store commission and its alleged abuse of its dominance in the music streaming space. The commission is also investigating&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1703" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential antitrust abuse</a>&nbsp;by Google and Meta in the online advertising business and Amazon’s&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2077" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">e-commerce business practices</a>. Earlier this year, the European Parliament voted in favor of&nbsp;<a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two sets of sweeping rules</a>designed to target the dominance of big tech companies—the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.&nbsp;



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



<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ff540ebb-7dc6-487f-af4a-a6bb502e4ae0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google loses appeal against record EU antitrust fine</a>&nbsp;(Financial Times)



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-courts-wed-ruling-record-44-bln-google-fine-may-set-precedent-2022-09-14/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google loses challenge against EU antitrust decision, other probes loom</a>(Reuters)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

gettyimages-1173599543-594×594

Google Faces Record $4 Billion Fine In Europe After Losing Android Antitrust Appeal

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



Pfizer&nbsp;<a href="https://investors.pfizer.com/Investors/News/news-details/2022/Pfizer-Initiates-Phase-3-Study-of-mRNA-Based-Influenza-Vaccine/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday it has launched a late-stage clinical trial to test a flu vaccine built using the same mRNA technology behind its Covid-19 shot, one of the most advanced studies for this kind of vaccine as firms push to expand beyond Covid and build upon the successes of the pandemic.



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



Pfizer said it had dosed the first participants in the Phase 3 clinical trial designed to test an mRNA-based influenza vaccine designed using the same technology used in its widely-used Covid-19 vaccine, which it developed with German firm BioNTech.



The trial, which is based in the U.S., will assess the safety and effectiveness of the shot and will recruit around 25,000 healthy adults.&nbsp;



The shot—known as a quadrivalent vaccine—is designed to protect against four different flu viruses and covers the strains the World Health Organization recommends vaccine makers target for the 2022-2023 flu season.



Annaliesa Anderson, senior vice president and chief scientific officer of Pfizer’s vaccine research and development, said the firm’s experience with mRNA vaccines give it an edge in the quest to develop more effective flu vaccines.&nbsp;



Pfizer added that the nature of the mRNA technology in the vaccine could enable more flexible and responsive vaccine production for seasonal influenza in the future or against pandemic flu.



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



The flu is a major killer and a significant driver of ill health. Every year in the U.S., seasonal flu sickens an estimated 9 million to 41 million people, hospitalizes 140,000 to 710,000 and kills 12,000 to 52,000,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the CDC. Influenza is also a pathogen of known and demonstrated pandemic potential—there were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/influenza/pandemic-influenza/past-pandemics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three</a>&nbsp;influenza pandemics in the 20th century, one of which killed an estimated 50 million people—and experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emro.who.int/pandemic-epidemic-diseases/news/the-next-flu-pandemic-a-matter-of-when-not-if.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">caution</a>&nbsp;the next flu pandemic is a matter of “when,” not “if.” Numerous influenza viruses can cause the disease and these mutate rapidly, meaning that pharma firms and public health officials must try to predict what strains will circulate that season and match vaccines accordingly. The guessing game varies and shots typically offer between 40% to 60% protection, according to the CDC,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">less</a>&nbsp;if the vaccines are not well-matched to circulating strains. The need to constantly update flu vaccines on an annual basis and the long lead times to produce shots (the virus is usually grown in chicken eggs or mammalian cells) make the shots good candidates for a shot using mRNA technology, which introduce genetic material that prompts the body to make a safe part of the virus that it is then trained to respond to in the future. As only the genetic sequence is needed, the process is more flexible and can be easily edited.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



290,000 to 650,000. That’s about how many people worldwide are killed by the seasonal flu every year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-%28seasonal%29" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the World Health Organization. It causes between 3 million and 5 million cases of severe illness.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



Moderna, Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine rival, is also trailing its own mRNA-based flu vaccine. It&nbsp;<a href="https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2022/06/07/moderna-takes-mrna-influenza-candidate-into-phase-3-trial" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a>&nbsp;Phase 3 trials in June and is one of the company’s most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.modernatx.com/research/product-pipeline?" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advanced</a>&nbsp;vaccine&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/14/moderna-starts-human-trials-of-mrna-vaccine-for-virus-that-likely-causes-multiple-sclerosis/?sh=1aca56f01a04">candidates</a>&nbsp;beyond its Covid-19 shots. It is one of a number of flu shots the Massachusetts-based firm is developing, including shots that combine vaccines for flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a respiratory illness that can cause serious illness in infants and older adults.



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



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/24/endless-hunt-for-the-perfect-influenza-vaccine-flu-jab" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The endless hunt for the perfect flu vaccine</a>&nbsp;(Guardian)



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02776-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Billion-dollar project aims to prep drugs before the next pandemic</a>(Nature)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/05/pfizer-biontech-will-develop-mrna-shingles-vaccine-after-covid-19-shot-success/?sh=183a091e1d7b">Pfizer, BioNTech Will Develop mRNA Shingles Vaccine After Covid-19 Shot Success</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/14/moderna-starts-human-trials-of-mrna-vaccine-for-virus-that-likely-causes-multiple-sclerosis/?sh=1aca56f01a04">Moderna Starts Human Trials Of mRNA Vaccine For Virus That Likely Causes Multiple Sclerosis</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Injection of the third dose of the covid 19 vaccine at a Covid-19 vaccination center in Dinan, Brittany

mRNA Flu Shot Moves Forward As Pfizer Launches Late-Stage Trial, Builds On Covid Vaccine Success

BY TIANA CLINE



Current processes that track commodities such as palm oil through the supply chain require a lot of time and effort to perform, and often leave out valuable information around sustainability claims. Can blockchain solve the problem?



IN ITS PUREST FORM, PALM oil has a deep red color and a rich fragrance. When it was first discovered by Ca’da Mosto, a 15th-century explorer, he documented that it has “the scent of violets, the taste of olive oil and a color which tinges food like saffron”. Palm oil has been consumed as both food and medicine for thousands of years in West and Central Africa. While it remains a beloved, traditional part of African cuisine, it is a product that has become industrialized globally – bleached, refined, deodorized and relabeled to the point that it is now a hidden, food-like substance. Today, palm oil can be found in everything from ultra-processed foods to cosmetics and household cleaning products. It’s an indispensable ingredient, one linked to controversy ranging from slave labor to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Can the blockchain help?



“Technology is a significant enabler of traceability and transparency, especially when it comes to knowing exactly where our raw material is coming from, even when it passes through many different hands on its way to us,” says Andrew Wilcox, the senior manager for sustainable sourcing and digital programmes at Unilever. “Getting full traceability and transparency in our supply chain is a crucial part of this journey.”



According to Wilcox, current processes that track commodities – such as palm oil – through the supply chain require a lot of time and effort to perform, and often leave out valuable information around sustainability claims. “There are currently no viable methods for preserving origin data at the scale of the commodity supply chain. This means that by the time the commodities are manufactured into products for consumers, products are simply marked as being sustainable or non-sustainable. This results in consumers rightfully questioning some of these claims.”



And that is where GreenToken comes in, a ‘chain-of- custody’ blockchain developed by SAP to help companies keep track of their bulk commodity supply chain sourcing, especially for raw materials like palm oil which is known for being especially difficult to trace.



“The supply chain is long and complex and until recently, has not had the benefit of a joined up digital transformation in recording palm [oil] movements from end-to-end,” says James Veale, GreenToken’s co-founder. GreenToken is one of the first initiatives to address that and make it into a repeatable standard.



“Ninety percent of the world’s raw materials are traded on a bulk basis. This means they are mixed with other identical raw materials at some point in the supply chain, causing most of the information to get hidden or lost,” adds Wilcox. “With GreenToken, tokens are created by commodity buyers (mills in the case of palm oil) and a range of information related to the crop (origins or sustainability credentials) are captured within the token. As the crop moves to each stage of the supply chain (e.g., a refinery), a request is made 



o transfer the digital tokens.” The blockchain tokens are therefore a digital twin for the crops, enabling a ‘virtual segregation’ even if the materials have been mixed with materials from a different source.



“The GreenToken blockchain has the ability to record RSPO certified palm at the grower delivery to the mill level and track that palm throughout the extended supply chain,” explains Veale. “In this way, the sustainable volume is made transparent on the blockchain wherever it may be in the supply chain, giving the end buyer a lot of confidence in their purchase.”



Certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) can take many years to achieve and the proven certified sustainable percentage is relatively small.



“End users can only claim that their palm oil is certified sustainable if they can trace it back to grower deliveries to an originating crush mill. As the supply chain is long and complex with much commingling and processing, and as off takers do not want to make unsubstantiated claims,” says



Veale. “Digital systems like blockchain can help carry this proven sustainable certification along the value chain to the off-taker, quicker, cheaper and with full auditability and so accelerate the evidence down the supply chain to the end consumer.”



Palm oil is the most land-efficient vegetable oil and the main source of livelihoods for millions of farmers and communities from Cameroon to Sierra Leone. There are 10 countries that make up the Africa Palm Oil Initiative with the biggest plantation (to date) sitting in Liberia.



As Russia’s War on Ukraine rages on and sunflower oil exports drop significantly, food producers are struggling to seek replacements and palm oil is making an unforeseen comeback that could potentially derail sustainability efforts if technology like the GreenToken blockchain doesn’t step in.



According to one plant-based company in South Africa that originally abstained from using palm oil, the sunflower oil shortage has made them seriously



Ultimately, the GreenToken blockchain will not only give consumers much-needed assurance that the palm oil they’re using is ethically-grown, it will help recognize the sustainability efforts of growers and smallholder farmers. “When we have a system that is potentially able to maintain and verify a tamper-proof record of commodities and their credentials, it gives more confidence that the premiums we pay for sustainable raw materials are impactful and can incentivise the production and purchase of sustainable commoditiesthroughoutthesupplychain,”saysWilcox.“We want our consumers to have the confidence when picking up a Unilever product that the product has been made with sustainable palm oil.”

Screenshot 2022-09-14 at 10.22.33

Connecting Palms In Africa: Blockchain For The Supply Chain

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



Bitcoin suffered its biggest drop in three months on Tuesday, falling nearly 10% in the wake of a worse-than-expected August inflation report, as investors fear the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for a third time this year, potentially sparking a so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/what-is-crypto-winter/">crypto winter</a>.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/bitcoin-btc/?sh=4bd808ef4357">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;continued a months-long fall Tuesday afternoon, dropping 9.35% to $20,304.73, following new Labor Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/09/13/inflation-climbed-83-in-august-slowing-for-second-month-straight-as-gas-prices-plunged/?sh=440a3b3266c5">data</a>&nbsp;that showed an 8.3% rise in consumer prices over the past 12 months ending in August, slowing for the second straight month, but still higher than economists had expected.



Bitcoin had been steadily climbing after briefly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/08/27/bitcoin-drops-below-20000-amid-recession-fears/?sh=11693c4f77f4">dropping</a>&nbsp;below $20,000 on August 27, but is less than a third of what it was at its peak of $67,037 last November.



It’s the largest drop since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/08/18/crypto-winter-watch-all-the-big-layoffs-record-withdrawals-and-bankruptcies-sparked-by-the-2-trillion-crash/?sh=6ec3191f3309">June</a>, when bitcoin fell from $28,636 on June 11 to $20.556 on June 16—it continued its downward trend to a low of $19,327 on July 1, and economists warned that a looming recession could erase the progress cryptocurrencies had made during the Covid-19 pandemic, when shares skyrocketed.



Elon Musk-backed cryptocurrency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/dogecoin-doge/?sh=2c9bed213ab3">Dogecoin</a>&nbsp;also fell 5.85% Tuesday, trading at 6 cents, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/ether-eth/?sh=20ebec4a7b0e">Ether</a>&nbsp;dropped $7.96% to $1,586.92, and crypto broker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/coinbase/?sh=d9d9449699f6">Coinbase</a>&nbsp;dropped 8.61%, to $75.44.



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



Although low interest rates and Covid-19-related government stimulus checks fueled bitcoin’s rise in 2020, two rounds of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this summer made investing riskier. Last month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/08/26/down-plunges-1000-points-after-fed-chair-powell-warns-inflation-requires-restrictive-policy-for-some-time/?sh=3d6e98691dd2">warned</a>&nbsp;soaring inflation might “take some time” to ease and require the Fed to act “forcefully.” In the week ending June 17,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/08/18/crypto-winter-watch-all-the-big-layoffs-record-withdrawals-and-bankruptcies-sparked-by-the-2-trillion-crash/?sh=6ec3191f3309">outflows</a>&nbsp;from bitcoin totaled roughly $423 million, after falling to an 18-month low, according to crypto firm CoinShares.



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



Stocks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/13/dow-plunges-900-points-after-hotter-than-expected-inflation-report/?sh=4932c9342a63">tumbled</a>&nbsp;throughout the day Tuesday in the wake of the Labor Department’s consumer price index report, with the Dow Jones dropping 3.87% to $31,163.99 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling 3.76% to $61.70 as of Tuesday afternoon, erasing recent stock gains as the price of food, medical care and shelter increased, despite falling gas prices.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/09/13/dow-plunges-900-points-after-hotter-than-expected-inflation-report/?sh=65ab9c5f2a63">Dow Sinks 900 Points After Inflation Report Shows Stubbornly High Prices</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/08/27/bitcoin-drops-below-20000-amid-recession-fears/?sh=11693c4f77f4">Bitcoin Drops Below $20,000 Amid Recession Fears</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/13/bitcoin-slumps-7percent-reversing-gains-after-inflation-report-disappoints.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin slumps 7% after inflation report causes investors to flee risky assets</a>&nbsp;(CNBC)



By Brian Bushard, Forbes Staff

Tag: Featured

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