Timeframe: October 22nd – October 28th, 2021
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Contributors:
Mansib Khan, Musarrat Sarwar Chowdhury, and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
1. Economics & Business
Tesla surpasses $1 trillion valuation after Hertz order
Tesla surpassed the $1 trillion valuation milestone for the first time on Monday, fueled by record profits and a 100,000-vehicle order from Hertz. The rise on Monday comes just one trading day after the electric vehicle manufacturer surpassed a valuation of $900 billion on Friday. Tesla’s stock rose about 30% in October due to a streak of strong earnings, with the company posting record profits and revenues in its third-quarter earnings report last week.
Source: Business Insider
Fake News: Facebook struggles with a hostile press, in spite of a great quarter, as the Big Tech anti-trust case against it goes forward
Facebook scored a great third quarter with a $9B profit, yet it continues to be dogged by the publication of the Facebook Papers at the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, its whistleblower leaked information suggests that it consistently puts profit over the safety of its users, particularly teenagers in Instagram and election-specific fake news in developing states like India. India, in particular, represents the kind of market where Facebook/WhatsApp represents the totality of the internet, which means co-opting government propaganda represents a serious threat to democracies worldwide.
Source: BBC
2. Politics
Sudan coup: Protests continue after military takeover
Defiant protesters remain on the streets of Sudan after the country’s armed forces launched a military coup.
Chanting and waving flags, they have blocked roads in the capital Khartoum and around the country following the takeover.
On Monday coup leader Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and called a state of emergency.
According to Reuters, Gen Burhan has said Monday’s coup was justified to avoid “civil war” and that the detained prime minister will be returned to his home on Tuesday. Earlier, he sought to justify the takeover by blaming political infighting.
Source: BBC
Brazil senators recommend Bolsonaro face charges over COVID
A Brazilian Senate committee recommended on Tuesday that President Jair Bolsonaro face a series of criminal indictments for actions and omissions related to the world’s second-highest COVID-19 death toll.
The 7-to-4 vote was the culmination of a six-month committee investigation of the government’s handling of the pandemic. It formally approved a report calling for prosecutors to try Bolsonaro on charges ranging from charlatanism and inciting crime to misuse of public funds and crimes against humanity, and in doing so hold him responsible for many of Brazil’s more than 600,000 COVID-19 deaths.
The president has denied wrongdoing, and the decision on whether to file most of the charges will be up to Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras, a Bolsonaro appointee who is widely viewed as protecting him. The allegation of crimes against humanity would need to be pursued by the International Criminal Court.
Regardless of whether charges are filed, the report is expected to fuel criticism of the divisive president, whose approval ratings have slumped ahead of his 2022 reelection campaign — in large part because of Brazil’s outsize COVID-19 death toll. The investigation itself has for months provided a drumbeat of damaging allegations.
Source: AP News
3. Science & Technology
Facebook Announces New Name: Meta
Facebook has changed its name to Meta, the social media giant announced at its annual conference on augmented reality and virtual reality technology Thursday.
Facebook’s new name Meta is Greek for “beyond,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the event. He said the decision to rename Facebook was made to “reflect who we are and what we hope to build,” referring to the company’s plans to focus on the “metaverse.”
Source: Forbes
4. Miscellaneous
Biden’s Build-Back-Better stumbles amidst moderate pushback, sparks debate
In the precariously balanced US Senate, two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinema have shrunk the $6B bill down to $1.5B. This represents a debate about the government’s role in the modern US federal state – between those who expect the government to do more and those who think the welfare state has gone too far.
Source: New York Times
Disclaimer: The information provided here is obtained solely from the third parties mentioned above. Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is not responsible for any misinformation or misrepresentation.