| Africa
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's state-owned lithium mining company, Kuvimba Mining House, signed a $310 million deal with Chinese and British investors. The agreement enables the construction of a processing plant that will handle 3 million tonnes of ore annually. Zimbabwe is Africa's biggest producer of lithium, a mineral vital for creating EV batteries. This deal is also consistent with the Zimbabwean government's plan to restrict the export of lithium in its raw form and boost local production as much as possible. — David Adeleke from Abuja China
It will take weeks for many organizations to recover from the global CrowdStrike IT outage. Microsoft estimates that 8.5 million Windows devices were affected, which may make it the worst "blue screen of death" event in history. But China is largely unscathed. Some international hotels and foreign companies in the country reported issues, but the Chinese government and large enterprises tend to use domestic cybersecurity products. The fiasco has given Chinese state media and lawmakers a reason to brag about "China's strength in the cybersecurity industry." However, despite China's quest to support domestic competitors, the country still runs on Windows. There would be a long way to go before China can claim full technological self-reliance. — Joanna Chiu from Vancouver Latin America
On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose party has been in power for 25 years, claimed victory in the midst of widespread reports of irregularities. The opposition coalition reported high voter turnout, with people lining up outside polling stations the night before ballots opened. AI played a key role in the lead-up to the elections, both as a way to spread disinformation and to ensure people were able to vote. One AI-powered chatbot helped users find their polling location and formulate a plan to get to it. Several polling firms had predicted a win for the opposition candidate. — Karla Zabludovsky from Mexico City South Asia
It has been a great week for tech startups in India. On July 23, India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, abolished the "Angel Tax," which was introduced in 2012 to prevent money laundering. The Angel Tax mandated all unlisted companies to pay a 30% tax when they raised funds from angel investors by issuing shares at a price higher than their fair market value. Entrepreneurs, investors, and tech industry bodies have been lobbying the government to remove the Angel Tax for nearly a decade. They believe the government's recent decision will provide a significant boost to startups. — Itika Sharma Punit from Warsaw Southeast Asia
Robinhood, a commission-free food delivery app that was launched in Thailand during the pandemic, is shutting down tomorrow. The app's mission of "alleviating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on society" had been accomplished, said Siam Commercial Bank, which ran Robinhood. The app, which was downloaded by millions of users mainly in Bangkok, had lower transaction and platform fees than those charged by regional heavyweights Foodpanda and Grab.— Rina Chandran from Bangkok | 
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