T
yla drops her self-titled debut album, the first Neuralink patient uses a brain implant to play chess, Germany’s national soccer team leaves Adidas for Nike. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest, which summarizes five of the hottest global news stories you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.
1. Tyla drops self-titled debut album
Tyla's self-titled debut album is here. https://t.co/vYFbhtWE0y
— billboard (@billboard) March 22, 2024
After much anticipation, Tyla finally released her self-titled debut studio album on Friday, March 22, via FAX and Epic Records. The 14-track album includes Tyla’s breakout hit “Water,” its Travis Scott remix that just got a music video, and more collaborations, including with South African DJ/producer Kelvin Momo, Tems, and Gunna. Tyla’s album also contains previously released tracks “Truth or Dare,” “On and On,” and “Butterflies,” which had been bundled as a Tyla EP at the end of 2023.
Tyla’s lead single “Water” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance this year. The singer was also featured on Billboard‘s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists to Watch list.
2. The First Neuralink patient uses a brain implant to play chess
Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink has showed its first patient appearing to play online chess using his mind 👇 pic.twitter.com/XQt5Z8y3uF
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 21, 2024
Elon Musk’s brain-chip company, Neuralink, has shown its first patient moving a cursor on a computer using an implanted device. In a nine-minute live stream on X, formerly Twitter, Noland Arbaugh can be seen using the cursor to play chess online. Mr. Arbaugh was paralyzed below the shoulders after a diving accident and received the chip implant in January.
The company’s goal is to connect human brains to computers to help tackle complex neurological conditions. “The surgery was super easy,” Mr. Arbaugh said during the presentation. The patient also said that he had used the brain implant to play the video game Civilization VI. Neuralink gave him “the ability to do that again and play for eight hours straight,” he added. However, Mr. Arbaugh said the new technology was not perfect and they “have run into some issues”.
The Neuralink’s device, which is about the size of a one-pound coin, is inserted into the skull, with microscopic wires that can read neuron activity and beam back a wireless signal to a receiving unit. Neuralink was permitted to test the chip on humans by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2023.
3. Gucci’s first quarter sales to drop 20 percent, Kering says
Kering warned that sales at its Gucci brand will plunge about 20% in the first quarter due to a steeper than expected decline in the Asia-Pacific region https://t.co/0or9noJ1ey
— Bloomberg Africa (@BloombergAfrica) March 20, 2024
Luxury goods group Kering warned on Tuesday that its first-quarter sales are likely to drop by around 10%, weighed down by star label Gucci, knocking back hopes that it had stemmed sales declines. Citing a “steeper sales drop” at Gucci in the Asia-Pacific region, the group said the fashion brand’s comparable quarterly revenue is projected to slide by nearly 20% year-on-year. Kering in February announced plans to invest in Gucci this year, with margins likely to be dented as a result.
Early products from Gucci’s Ancora collection, the first designs from new creative director Sabato de Sarno and which have been in some stores since mid-February, have been well received, the company said on Tuesday. Gucci, which accounts for half of the French group’s sales and over two-thirds of operating profit, fell behind rivals over the past two years, prompting a broad management reshuffle in the group and the recruitment of de Sarno.
4. Kenyan bank sells subsidiary to Nigeria’s Access Bank Group
We are excited to announce our acquisition of National Bank of Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of KCB group, marking a significant milestone in our journey.
— Access Bank Plc (@myaccessbank) March 21, 2024
Our strengthened presence in Kenya provides more opportunities for trans-African trade and financial inclusion, fostering… pic.twitter.com/LkqlqhvRCO
Kenya’s second-largest bank, KCB Group, has sold its subsidiary National Bank of Kenya (NBK) to Nigeria’s Access Bank Group. KCB confirmed the purchase in a statement on Wednesday, March 20.
KCB chief executive Paul Russo said the deal was struck at 1.25 times book value, according to Reuters news agency. “The right thing to do is to accept a binding offer from Access Group,” he said. KCB acquired then-state-owned NBK in a rescue deal in October 2019, after the bank posted recurrent losses. But KCB has struggled to fix the issues it inherited.
5. Germany’s national soccer team leaves Adidas for Nike deal
Nike deal ends German soccer's long-standing relationship with Adidas https://t.co/Y1tznhs8qz
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 22, 2024
Germany’s national soccer team will start having its kits made by US sportswear giant Nike, dropping its historic partnership with German company Adidas, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Thursday. The deal with Nike will start in 2027 and run until at least 2034, the DFB said in a statement.
“We look forward to working with Nike and thank them for the trust they have placed in us. The future partnership will enable the DFB to continue to fulfill key tasks in the coming decade with a view to the comprehensive development of football in Germany,” DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said.
The German team’s 70-year partnership with Adidas has brought success for both the men’s and the women’s teams having won six World Cups between them while bearing Adidas’ three-stripe brand. However, it was money that pushed DFB to make the switch to Nike, according to Treasurer Stephan Grunwald. “We are grateful to be able to look forward to an economically stable future again as an association thanks to the commitment promised by Nike,” he said.
Featured image: @tyla/Instagram
Our Weekday News Digest summarizes five of the hottest news topics worldwide–including celebrity news from Hollywood to Nollywood, the latest trending global headlines from American reports to top African news today, and the best sports stories in 2024.
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