🎬Not a good idea

February 17, 2025

Good morning. Did you type 1234, 1111, 0000, or 1342 to unlock your phone and read this email? If so, you might want to X out of here real quick and change that. Those are the most common four-digit PINs found in data breaches, per the Australian Broadcasting Corp.’s analysis of HaveIBeenPwned.com’s database, which contains 320m+ passwords and PINs from past leaks. Maybe peek at the list before you make a change?

And to answer the question on your mind, No. Using your birth year is not a good idea either.

— Chu Chu Sulley, Benyin Ogar, Geraldine Ndzomo.

CURRENCIES

Currency exchange rates against the US Dollar as of market close. Here’s what these numbers mean

POLITICS
Raila Odinga upset again in African Union chairmanship race defeat

AU/AFP by Joseph Sitta

There are three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and Raila Odinga losing an election. This past Saturday, the former Kenyan Prime Minister dropped out of the African Union Chairmanship race in the fifth round, losing to the eventual winner, Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mahmoud Youssouf.

Youssouf, 59, who has been Djibouti’s Foreign Minister since 2005, garnered a total of 33 votes from leaders of African countries, against Odinga’s 21, securing the two-thirds majority required to win the seat.

Familiar sights

If you’re wondering, this won’t be Odinga’s first tour of the losing locker room. Since his tenure as Kenya’s Prime Minister, which ended in 2013, he has contested for the Presidential seat five times and lost all five, with the latest defeat coming against current Kenyan President, William Ruto. He challenged Ruto’s victory calling it “marred by electoral fraud” but lost his petition to the electoral tribunal only weeks later.

The reason many were surprised by Ruto’s backing of his former political opponent in February 2024, when Odinga first announced his candidacy, calling on African leaders to “rally behind Odinga as a towering statesman and veteran mobilized for change.”

Charity did not begin at home. Despite Ruto’s support, many Kenyans did not approve of Odinga’s candidacy. According to Jeremy Oronjo, a journalist from Africa’s Institute for Strategic Studies, “Kenya has a history of relying on politically motivated appointments rather than seasoned diplomats.” Ruto’s failed attempt to rally support from the East African bloc of countries, which preferred another candidate from Madagascar, also contributed to the loss, per the BBC.

Looking ahead: Many believe Ruto’s support for Odinga was a bid to prevent him from recontesting in Kenya’s 2027 elections. He (Ruto) isn’t the people’s favorite either. His approval rating currently sits at a dismal 12% per a poll on X. -GN.

TRENDING
Expect something big this week

Apple

Not from us, from Apple. The California-based phone maker is teasing a big product announcement. In a cryptic post on X, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company will launch the “newest member of the family” on Feb. 19. Observers widely expect the mystery product to be a new version of its lower-end iPhone SE, with updates like a bigger screen and Face ID. It’s also likely to be the first Apple device with an in-house cellular modem chip, which replaced parts the company used to get from Qualcomm. Apple has made several other announcements this week, including the new Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds and the launch of Apple TV+ on Android.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

“Eggs are a chicken's period.”

NEWS
Round the continent

Daily Trust

  • Mauritius’ former Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth has been arrested and is facing money laundering charges. Jugnauth stepped down from power only in November.

  • Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo broke the world half marathon record with a time of 56 minutes and 41 seconds in Barcelona on Sunday, 49 seconds faster than the previous record.

  • Sudan has reached a “complete agreement” with Russia for Moscow to set up its first naval base in Africa on its Red Sea coast.

  • M23 rebels advanced on Sunday into the center of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, amidst calls for a ceasefire from Kinshasa.*

*This is a developing story.

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