Hey, this is Sham Jaff, your very own news curator. Each week, I highlight some of the biggest stories from regions and countries that are historically underreported in "Western media". My goal is to burst our Western-centric bubbles, and expand the view we hold of the world. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime by replying to this mail. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up at whathappenedlastweek.com.
Issue #408 is not about Syria (I mean, that news is all over the media right now) but about Namibia's first female president (who is she and what's her politics like?) and tech stories from Bangladesh (how poor air quality affects gig workers), Kenya (how gig workers find rest) or Bhutan (seven college kids built the country's very first AI startup). For VIP readers, the email is considerably longer and contains: Who's Argentina's richest 50 people?, what are India's and Iran's space agencies up to these days, a classic Japanese romcom for some wintery winter days, the #1 Netflix movie in Bangladesh right now, and so much more.
If you want to become a VIP reader, I've got a special offer: If you want to become a paying subscriber–or a Very Important Potato (VIP), as I call them– sign up here. (€1.25 per issue if you're going for the monthly plan, or €0.95 per issue if you're going for the yearly plan).
That's it for now. See you next week?
Sham
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🔍 Estimated reading time: 10 min 🔍
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
Big shout-out to Wikimedia Commons for the helpful maps.
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Namibia just got its first female president. What's her politics like?
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What happened
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah just made history as Namibia’s first female president. She clinched the top job with 57% of the vote in a tightly contested election.
Why this matters: This was Namibia’s "Kamala Harris moment"—you know, the VP-to-president glow-up. Namibia’s still carrying the baggage of white-minority rule, and while the World Bank calls it "upper-middle-income," that label doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s one of the most unequal countries out there, with a major gap between Black and white communities in wealth and opportunity.
Tell me more
"The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability," Nandi-Ndaitwah said after being declared president-elect. The Electoral Commission of Namibia confirmed the results despite delays caused by technical hiccups and ballot shortages. NNN’s main challenger, Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change party (IPC), pulled in 26% of the vote but isn’t happy with the process, calling it "deeply flawed" and heading to court. The IPC is a relatively new political party in Namibia and positions itself as a reformist alternative to SWAPO. It was founded in 2020 by Itula, who himself is a former member of SWAPO. Itula ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 presidential elections.
Namibians also voted for the National Assembly. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s party, SWAPO, won 51 of the 96 National Assembly seats. That’s a majority, but far from the dominance they’ve enjoyed for decades. For context: SWAPO used to hold 87% of seats not long ago. IPC grabbed 20 seats, making them the official opposition.
Who is she?
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah—NNN if you’re cool—has a political resume that feels straight out of a Netflix biopic. Born in 1952 (she’s 72 and a Taurus), she started fighting for Namibia’s independence as a teen. At just 14, she joined SWAPO, then a liberation movement going up against apartheid South Africa. Arrested for her activism, she fled the country, eventually earning a degree in international relations in the UK.
When independence came in 1990, NNN returned home and got straight to work. She climbed the ranks in government, taking on roles in foreign affairs, tourism, and child welfare. She also pushed through the Combating of Domestic Violence Act in 2002, shutting down sexism in parliament along the way. Her leadership style? No fluff. “I am an implementer, not a storyteller,” she once said.
In her personal life, she’s married to Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah, a former defence forces chief, and they have three sons.
What's up with SWAPO?
SWAPO’s 30+ years of power is looking shaky. Corruption scandals like the Fishrot case (think bribery in the fishing industry) have rocked the party. But NNN’s clean image helped her rally a fractured party and win over voters frustrated by poverty, unemployment, and inequality tied to Namibia’s colonial past.
What's next?
The challenges are massive. Namibia is the second-most unequal country in the world, and many Black Namibians still live in poverty. Two-thirds of urban residents live in informal settlements, and farmworkers earn a minimum wage of about 55 cents a day. NNN’s to-do list is long. One of her boldest promises: tackling the "red line," a colonial-era border that restricts the movement of agricultural goods, like beef, between Namibia’s north and south. With beef exports making up a big chunk of the economy (beef is one of the country's main exports; 42% of it went to the EU in January 2024), this is a high-stakes move. Meanwhile, Namibia is sitting on a green energy goldmine, with plans for wind, solar, and green hydrogen. Oil reserves being tapped by TotalEnergies and Shell could start flowing by 2030. But for now, most Namibians are still waiting to see tangible benefits.
- Zoom out: 2024 has been rough on ruling parties across Africa. From Botswana to South Africa, voters are done with corruption and politics-as-usual. While SWAPO held on this time, Namibia’s younger, more critical electorate is paying close attention. Don’t be surprised if this trend rolls into 2025, writes BBC.
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All the tech stories from the "Global South" you may have missed in 2024
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What happened
It’s December, which means it’s roundup season. Rest of World did one for its best tech stories, and I’m here to share some of my faves with you.
Why this matters: When "the West" talks about tech, it often skips over how it’s shaping lives in the rest of the world. Spoiler: they’re using the same tech we are, but in ways we might not even (need to) think about.
Tell me more
In Indonesia, influencers are the MVPs of politics right now. Former President Joko Widodo hired them to promote the new capital, Nusantara, that is still under construction. That capital has been the talk of the town, with concerns around its connectivity, deforestation, and the displacement it causes/caused. Also, the country is going all in on electric vehicles.
In Bangladesh, during the student-led uprising this year (that actually toppled the government), internet access became a fundamental right. The country's tech industry lost about US$300 million because of the blackout. Reporter Faisal Mahmud also did a story on how poor air quality affects gig workers in Dhaka, one of the most polluted cities in the world.
In Argentina, Worldcoin, Sam Altman’s blockchain company, was scanning eyeballs in Buenos Aires, handing out $50 to participants. Reporter Lucía Cholakian and photographer Anita Pouchard Serra tried to cover it and got told to back off—rudely. “Reporting on tech in Latin America feels more like reporting on politics,” Lucía writes. Oh, and courts in Buenos Aires are already drafting rulings with ChatGPT.
In Kenya, reporter Stephanie Wangari – a heavy Bolt and Uber user herself – wrote about the very basic fact that essential amenities like restrooms are for both drivers and riders. She interviewed dozens of riders and drivers, and found out "How gig workers find rest". Meanwhile, the country’s "Gen Z protests" against a tax hike had more than 40,000 Kenyans downloading Zello, a walkie-talkie app, to organize anonymously.
In China, people are using one of the hottest Chinese social media apps right now–Xiaohongshu–to travel to new places. Tour guides love it, too. Duh. Reporter Zhaoyin Feng writes, "Even in Laos, one of the least visited countries in the region, I met local entrepreneurs who said Xiaohongshu has been a game changer for their businesses."
In Uruguay, Teslas are really, really, really in. Although: Tesla’s only official dealership in South America is in Chile.
In Brazil, when X was shut down, there were about 50,000 total Bluesky users in Brazil in July. By August 30, around 3.4 million people joined the new microblogging platform. Are you on there, too? Same.
In Bhutan, seven college kids built the country's first AI startup. NoMindBhutan is already running chatbots for big names like Bhutan National Bank and Royal Bhutan Airlines.
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Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and the Americas. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
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This week's issue was supported by this newsletter's very first intern: Lucia Baumann.
"Having lived in both Brazil and Japan, I often find myself missing the news from those parts of the world. That’s how I fell in love with this newsletter. I’ve worked at local magazines and radio broadcast in Leipzig, as well as ZEIT ONLINE and dpa (German Press Agency). My academic background is in cultural studies and history, where I researched how societies commemorate their past, using literature, film and audio material. Currently rehabilitating my Portuguese and studying colonial history in Lisbon." (Photo credits: Elias Schulz)
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