China’s richest man is publicly feuding with tech giants
China’s wealthiest person recently spoke out against two major tech companies. He blamed them for stirring up online hate against him and starting a price war that severely hurt his water company’s value.
Zhong Shanshan, who founded Nongfu Spring (a bottled water company), voiced his concerns at a meeting in Jiangxi province. He specifically called out PDD Holdings, which runs a discount shopping website. “The price system like Pinduoduo’s does great harm to Chinese brands and industries,” Zhong said, according to local media reports.
The following day, Zhong turned his attention to ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok. He demanded that its founder, Zhang Yiming, apologize for allowing internet trolls to spread false stories comparing him to a deceased business rival from the Hangzhou Wahaha Group. He was also upset that ByteDance’s technology helped spread negative stories about him.
“I hope Mr Zhang Yiming, Douyin, Toutiao and and all the media that have hurt me personally with rumors will apologize,” he said. “I am waiting for your sincere apology! I’m waiting.”
For context, ByteDance owns both Douyin and Toutiao, which are popular social media platforms in China. This unusual public criticism from Zhong follows several months of image problems for the businessman.
Elon Musk is unhappy with Australia’s planned ban on social media for children
Elon Musk, the American billionaire who owns X (formerly Twitter), has spoken out against Australia’s new proposed social media law. The law would stop children under 16 from using social media and could fine companies up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for serious violations.
The Australian government introduced this bill to parliament on Thursday. They want to test a system that would verify users’ ages to enforce the age limit, making it one of the strictest social media laws in the world.
When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted about the bill on X, Musk responded with criticism: “Seems like a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians.” Musk often presents himself as someone who fights for free speech.
While other countries have also tried to limit children’s social media use through laws, Australia’s approach could be the most strict. It won’t make exceptions even if parents give permission, and it will apply to existing accounts too.
This isn’t the first time Musk has disagreed with Australia’s current government. He previously called them “fascists” when they introduced laws about misinformation on social media.
Trump has replaced Gaetz with Pam Bondi for US Attorney General
Donald Trump has chosen a new person to be his Attorney General – Pam Bondi, who used to be Florida’s Attorney General. This quick decision comes after Matt Gaetz, his previous choice, dropped out of consideration.
Gaetz stepped aside while facing serious accusations. The House Ethics Committee was looking into claims that he had relations with an underage girl and used illegal drugs, though Gaetz says these claims aren’t true.
Bondi brings significant experience to the role. She led Florida’s legal system from 2011 to 2019, making her the top law enforcement official in America’s third-largest state. During Trump’s first term as president, she also helped with his commission on fighting drug abuse.
She has worked closely with Trump before, helping defend him during his first impeachment trial. That trial focused on whether Trump had wrongly pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden by holding back military support. The Senate eventually decided not to remove Trump from office.
Unlike Gaetz, who didn’t have much traditional legal experience and faced likely opposition from both Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate, Bondi has extensive experience that’s typically expected for this important job.
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Lagos state presented a N3trn budget for 2025
Lagos State’s leader, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has presented his spending plan for 2025 to the state’s lawmakers. He shared this plan during a meeting led by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The governor’s proposed budget totals N3,005,935,198,401 and he’s calling it the “Budget of Sustainability.” His plan focuses on improving the state’s infrastructure and expanding its economy in different ways.
Breaking down the numbers, the state expects to receive N2,597,034,000,000 in total revenue. To cover all planned expenses, they’ll need to borrow an additional N408,902,000,000.
Of the expected revenue, N1,970,897,000,000 will come from money generated within Lagos State itself, while N626,137,000,000 will come from the federal government.
The governor plans to spend this money in two main ways: N1.24tn will go toward regular operating costs (like salaries and maintenance), while N1.76tn will be invested in new projects and developments.
Nearly half of Nigeria’s population don’t have access to electricity
A new study shows that just over half of Nigerian families can get electricity in their homes – specifically, 53.6 percent. This information comes from a nationwide survey called the General Household Survey Panel, which was done by Nigeria’s statistics office (NBS) working with the World Bank.
According to the study, the gap between city and countryside areas is especially large. The numbers tell a clear story about this city-countryside divide.
In cities, most families (82.2 percent) have electricity. But in rural areas, less than half (40.4 percent) of homes have power.
Looking at different regions of Nigeria, the South East has the best situation, with 74.6 percent of homes having electricity. The North East region faces the biggest challenges, with only 29.5 percent of homes having power.
As the official report states: “Approximately one in two Nigerian households reports having access to electricity. The national average is 53.6 per cent, with a remarkable contrast between urban (82.2 per cent) and rural households (40.4 per cent). At the zonal level, the South East zone has the highest electrification rate at 74.6 per cent, while the North East lags behind at 29.5 per cent.”
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