The Round-Up 012: Unholy Wars In Holy Cities

The internet has been raging non-stop over the latest round of violence between Palestine and Isreal. For those who don't know, this fight is dated and goes all the way back to 1946, following the end of the second world war. After the Holocaust, surviving Jews reportedly felt unsafe in Europe, and in response, world leaders from America and Britain decided to create ‘Isreal’ as a country where Jewish people can be free.

The establishment of Isreal as a Jewish-Arab state happened on parts of lands that used to be a Muslim majority Palestine. Preternaturally, religious differences became a major roadblock to harmony in the region, leading to recurring wars and ethnic tensions over the last 75 years or so. According to the Economist, the current ethnic conflict in the region started over a small piece of land. Particularly, “the sunken plaza and wide steps around Damascus Gate, one of the ancient entrances to the old walled city at the heart of Jerusalem”. Nearly 30 people have died as a result of the ongoing clash between Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, Palestine and a far-right zionist group, allied with Isreal's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. Western media's position has skewered towards Palestinians who appear to be the lower end of the scale for this conflict. And as the casualties continue to count up, it still too early to say what happens from here.

Ethnic conflicts over land and value systems have been directly intertwined with the history and emergence of the three most popular religious beliefs (Islam, Christianity and Judaism). From Nigeria's Boko Haram to South Sudan's Lord Resistance Army, Libya's second civil war, and across the world and time, the ultimate cost of faith seems to be the loss of life. As our hearts go to those who are currently under persecution by religious, ethnic or racist forces, anywhere in the world, we implore you to help in any way you can; lend a voice, donate to charities, spread the warmth of love and unity. It may be idealistic (and corny) to hope for world peace, but we can always start with ourselves, by being the change we want to see in the world.

Breeze through The Round-Up 012 below:

Clubhouse launched nearly a year ago to iOS users only, now the audio-only platform has launched its Android iteration. The Android Clubhouse is still only available in the US but will roll out to other regions in the coming weeks. While access to Clubhouse still remains invite-only, the company admitted the launch of an Android app put more pressure on their systems than initially anticipated. In a blog post announcing the Android app, the company said, “This had its downsides, as the load stressed our systems—causing widespread server outages and notification failures, and surpassing the limits of our early discovery algorithms,” the post stated. “It made us shift our focus to hiring, fixing, and company building, rather than the community meetups and product feature that we normally like to focus on.” Clubhouse plans to gather user feedback, over the next few weeks to fix some of these issues. With Twitter, Facebook and Reddit also joining the social-audio race, Clubhouse is gearing up for scramble for users with new monetisation options and club creation, which will be added to the final app before it is more broadly available.

According to American analytics company, Gallup, global herd immunity from COVD-19 may still be out of reach. When the virus first broke out last year, herd immunity was one of the eventual projections of how the pandemic might end. In a recent poll conducted across 116 countries, results show that nearly a whopping 1.3billion people may refuse to get vaccinated. Data points to distrust in vaccines, especially in eastern Europe and former Soviet states as the main reason coronavirus may stick around. Unsurprisingly, in 15 countries including India, Germany and Britain where the virus has seen a recent resurgence, the inclination towards vaccination is higher. Go figure right? Click here to read the full report.

Spaceman, Elon Musk’s Space X has an ISP arm called Starlink. Earlier this month, Starlink pitched the leaders of Nigeria’s Communication Commission (NCC) some fancy new products. It was the climax of a conversation that had been ongoing for a couple of months between both sides. Led by Starlink Market Access Director for Africa, Ryan Goodnight, who was flanked by consultant, Levin Born, an overview, of Starlink's plans, licensing requirements and deployment phases, was shared during the presentation. Now a process that’s supposed to help Starlink's satellite-based broadband service hit the ground running in Nigeria, is underway.

Starlink works via low-orbit satellites communicating with on-ground transceivers, which basically implies the data transfer happens within a shorter time period. Ideally, this will be most efficient in rural areas where internet penetration is low and traditional fibre-optic infrastructure has not been able to reach. Nigeria’s internet penetration currently stands at 46% because of such limitations and Starlink is in a unique position to provide both access and improved experience for users. There may be a need to juxtapose need vs cost though. On Starlink’s website, monthly pre-orders start at $99. While the Starlink kit with the Wifi router, cables and mounting tripod costs $499, plus an additional $50 for shipping. Given the state of Nigeria’s economy, it is likely price-point will be a huge decider in Starlink’s trajectory when the company opens for business.