INEC may destroy over six million uncollected PVCs
Nigeria’s election authority, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is considering destroying voter ID cards that haven’t been collected for 10 years.
This idea came from a review of the 2023 elections, where officials made 208 suggestions for improvement. One big problem they found was that more than six million voter cards (called Permanent Voter Cards or PVCs) were never picked up by voters, with some cards sitting unclaimed since 2015.
Stakeholders reviewing the election suggested that INEC should start clearing out these old cards, beginning with those issued in 2015. They believe that if someone hasn’t collected their voter card in eight years, they probably won’t come for it now. Having all these unused cards also makes it harder for INEC to manage their voter system efficiently.
‘Squid Game’ stocks plummeted in Korea after a disappointing new season
Netflix’s hugely popular show Squid Game had a disappointing start to its new season, causing sharp drops in the share prices of several South Korean companies on Friday.
One company hit particularly hard was Artist United Inc., which markets and distributes films. Its shares fell by 30%, the maximum amount allowed in one day. This was especially significant because Lee Jung-jae, the main star of Squid Game, owns the largest portion of the company’s shares.
Two other companies also saw their shares drop dramatically: Wysiwyg Studios Co., which has invested in Artist United, saw its shares fall by up to 25%, while Dexter Studios Co., which works with Netflix in Korea, saw a 24% drop.
This is a big change from 2021 when the first season of Squid Game was released. Back then, the Korean survival drama was so successful worldwide that it caused shares in Korean entertainment companies to rise, as investors hoped Netflix would find more Korean hits. The show was so popular that it became Netflix’s most-watched programme across every continent and made history as the first non-English show to be nominated for best drama at the Emmy Awards.
South Korea’s government is facing more turmoil as parliament prepares to vote on Friday about removing Acting President Han Duck-soo from power. This situation has already caused problems in financial markets and with South Korea’s international relations.
The vote will happen on Friday afternoon in South Korea’s National Assembly. The opposition party (the Democratic Party) started this process on Thursday because Han wouldn’t immediately appoint three new judges to South Korea’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.
If parliament votes to remove Han, it would be a historic first in South Korea – no acting president has ever been removed from power this way. And the Finance Minister, Choi Sang-mok, would become the temporary leader of South Korea.
China’s industrial firms are set for their biggest annual drop in profit in 24 years
Chinese industrial companies’ profits fell again in November, marking the fourth month in a row of decline. This puts them on course for their worst yearly performance since records began in 2000.
The Chinese government’s statistics office reported on Friday that large industrial companies’ profits dropped by 7.3% compared to November last year.
Looking at the whole year up to November, profits were down 4.7% compared to the same time last year.
These poor results come despite China’s government taking its biggest steps to boost the economy since COVID-19. They’ve tried to help by lowering interest rates and making it easier for banks to lend money. These industrial profit figures are important because they show how well factories, mines and utilities are doing financially, which affects whether they’ll invest in new projects.
Companies are struggling because China is facing two big problems: people aren’t spending much money at home, and the country is experiencing its longest deflation since 1999. Manufacturing prices remain low, and people bought less in shops in November.
CBN blamed old pipelines for falling oil revenues
Nigeria’s central bank has explained why the country’s oil money dropped sharply between July and September 2024. They say it’s because the oil pipelines are old and not working properly.
In their latest report about the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that money from oil dropped by 24.72 per cent to 1.30 trillion naira (Nigeria’s currency), compared to April-June 2024.
This big drop happened mainly because the government collected less money from oil company taxes and fees. The amount they collected was also far below their target – it was 75.39 per cent less than what they hoped to get.
The main reason for missing these targets was that they had to keep shutting down operations because the pipelines and equipment are in poor condition.
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