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Here’s what you need to know
Nissan will spend $250 million on a US EV plant. The Japanese carmaker is expanding production capacity at a Tennessee factory as it eyes Inflation Reduction Act tax breaks.
The UK and EU struck a Northern Ireland deal. The so-called Windsor Framework, hailed as a post-Brexit breakthrough, aims to resolve outstanding trade issues in the region.
Canada banned TikTok from government phones. It joins the US and EU in nixing the social media app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, for security reasons.
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi won the key state of Lagos. Election results continue to trickle in, though the country’s electoral body has faced technical difficulties.
Switzerland started legal proceedings against two Lebanese banks. The institutions have been linked to Riad Salameh, Lebanon’s central bank governor, who’s been accused of embezzlement.
An Apple supplier in India stopped production due to a fire. A reported 50% of machinery was damaged at Foxlink, a site that assembles iPhone charger cables, coming at a time when Apple is looking to expand its production in India.
What to watch for
Today (Feb. 28), the US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in two cases related to president Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. Those who oppose it aren’t arguing purely against debt relief, but are seeking to make a larger point about the president’s powers and their relation to the other branches of government.
The question is to what extent a president can make sweeping decisions by means of executive order. The Supreme Court has indicated in some recent cases that it favors the so-called major questions doctrine, a belief that decisions of “vast economic and political significance” should be based on clear support from Congress.
This principle could be applied to the student loan forgiveness case, and have broader ramifications for not just executive, but also federal agency powers. Limiting what a president or agencies can do without support from Congress is a tough prospect for Biden, whose party only commands one of the two legislative branches.
The price tag of South Africa’s power crisis
Power shortages are nothing new for South Africa, but the level of current blackouts—which have been lasting six to 12 hours a day—is plunging the country into an economic crisis.
There could be as many as 250 powerless days in South Africa in 2023, according to the country’s central bank, translating into a historic economic loss of $1.3 billion. Millions of dollars in business revenue have already been lost across all sectors, resulting in a 45% chance that the country will slip into a recession this year.
State-owned power monopoly Eskom, which has recently faced a poisoning scandal involving its CEO, has been blamed for the energy mess, especially for failing to upgrade its coal-based plants to protect the national grid from collapse. These non-renewable energy systems have always struggled to meet power supply demand for the country’s 61 million citizens, and now they need a bailout.
Unraveling Adani’s web of connections
Within the vast corporate network of India’s Adani Group, the names of some people pop up again and again, linked to multiple offshore entities that are both unclear of purpose and labyrinthine in structure.
In the wake of Hindenburg Research’s fraud accusations leveled at the Adani Group, these people and entities invite many questions. Quartz’s Samanth Subramanian delves into the murky connections of one Emirati businessman who keeps showing up in the paper trail.
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Surprising discoveries
Donkey-hide gelatin is kicking up a debate. A lawsuit claims Amazon products containing “ejiao” are illegal in California.
Carthusian monks are driving a chartreuse shortage. The religious order has agreed: less liqueur, more solitude and prayer.
Seeing through objects is now a cinch. Just grab yourself a pair of augmented reality X-ray goggles.
A sixth sense could actually be pretty common. All living cells may have the mechanics required to detect magnetic fields.
The smashed Koons balloon dog still has an interested buyer. So says artist and collector Stephen Gamson: “I find value in it even when it’s broken.”
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