Author: Charlotte

Firefighters work to put out a fire at a garbage dumping site in Havana, during a power outage on March 16, 2026. YAMIL LAGE AFP via Getty Images Five prominent Cuban economists, including one still residing on the island, who gathered recently in Miami have put together a reform plan that lays out the severity of Cuba’s current crisis and prescribes what to do next to transform the country into a “social market economy” under a democratic government.The proposal, titled “Cuba Transformación” and published this week, begins with a sober assessment of Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis, which they say is…

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Japan’s largest convenience store operator has issued a warning to its 7-Eleven franchisees nationwide that unauthorised resale of merchandise featuring popular anime and game characters may be rampant, multiple sources close to the matter said on Thursday.Some owners and employees have been caught setting aside merchandise before its release or buying up large quantities to sell on resale sites. Such activity is seen as a betrayal of consumer trust and likely to call into question the governance structure of store operations.The company, Seven-Eleven, sells items such as Pokemon cards at the discretion of its franchisees and offers paid lotteries where…

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Launching a crypto token in 2026 is not about hype cycles, influencer threads, or overnight pumps. It is about building a structured business operation. If you are planning to launch a token, you are not just deploying smart contracts. You are designing an economic system, setting up legal frameworks, preparing investor funnels, and creating long term value. The market has matured. The rules have changed. Investors are no longer impressed by fancy websites or bold promises. They look for product validation, token utility, vesting logic, liquidity planning, and regulatory clarity. Capital is still flowing into Web3, but it moves toward…

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  …Says New Enugu Smart City, Coal City Eastern Alliance are SPVs   The Enugu State Government has strongly condemned and rebutted a malicious allegation of land grabbing against its officials by an online platform. The July 14, 2026, report relates to the New Enugu Smart City and Coal City Eastern Alliance Estate and the government maintained that a diligent inquiry could have laid the facts of the matter bare. It is recalled that the contentious report had named the current Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia; former Commissioner for Housing, Martins Chukwunweike; former General Manager of Enugu…

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External validity is a recurring concern in impact evaluation: How applicable is what I learn in Benin or in Pakistan to some other country? There are a host of important technical issues around external validity, but at some level, policy makers and technocrats in Country A examine the evidence from Country B and think about how likely it is to apply in Country A. But how likely are they to consider the evidence from Country B in the first place? Development economists sometimes try to signal the external validity of their work by how they frame the evidence they present.…

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** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Proparco, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Société d’Exploitation du Transgabonais (SETRAG) have signed a €312 million financing agreement for the next phase of the Gabon Railway Modernisation and Safety Programme.Supported by SETRAG’s shareholders – Eramet Comilog (51%), Meridiam (40%), and the Gabonese State (9%) – the agreement marks a key milestone in the continued modernisation of the Trans-Gabon Railway.The programme will continue the renewal of the 648-km railway line linking Owendo, on the Atlantic coast, to Franceville in eastern Gabon. It also includes…

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Agent payments on the $XRP Ledger now support Mastercard’s Verifiable Intent standard, according to a recent X post by t54.ai, an AI infrastructure company building an agentic economy on the XRPL. The x402 facilitator went live on the $XRP Ledger in February 2026, allowing AI agents to pay for services using $XRP and RLUSD with no need for an API key or accounts. According to t54.ai, developers can prove through the x402 Facilitator who authorized a payment, under what limits, and for which purchase, and Trustline screens it before settlement. They can also attach a Mastercard-aligned Verifiable Intent (VI) to…

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This article by Óscar David Rojas Silva originally appeared in the July 23, 2026 edition of Contralínea, an independent Mexican investigative journalism magazine. Starting in the 1980s, neoliberalism took hold in universities, according to the work of Sarah Babb [1]. The measurement method used was to analyze the main theorist cited in the theses produced by the Faculty of Economics at UNAM. What this author found was an undeniable break. Whereas from the 1940s to the 1970s the dominant authors were Marx and Keynes, by the lost decade the visions coming from the Austrian School or the University of Chicago…

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Solana’s fastest-growing new cryptocurrencies are rapidly evolving, influenced by onchain activity, developer innovation, and community enthusiasm. Identifying these emerging Solana tokens requires a strategic approach that leverages real-time blockchain data, social engagement metrics, and solid project fundamentals. This guide helps investors and traders discover promising new Solana coins using proven methods and reliable analytics tools like Nansen.How to Identify Emerging Solana Tokens with High Growth PotentialPinpointing fast-growing new cryptocurrencies on Solana depends on combining onchain data analysis with market understanding to catch trends early. Since token popularity fluctuates swiftly, focusing on the identification process is more effective than relying on…

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