Africa Daily Why are so many countries saying yes to Starlink?
The number of African countries now allowing Elon Musk's company Starlink to provide internet services has been growing rapidly - six have granted permission in 2025 alone. And there are reports that Uganda might be next.
Starlink can be cheaper than some traditional internet providers and has been seen as a way to provide internet access to communities that are hard to reach.
But does it come at a cost to governments who might have less control over internet access? And what does it mean for local economies if a big, international company has access to the market?
Alan Kasujja speaks to Temidayo Onionsun; a Nigerian space scientist, and Juliet Nanfuka, a digital rights activist and member of the African Digital Rights Network.
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump and Musk: The 10 days that unravelled their relationship
The pairing of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the leader of the richest country in the world with the richest person in the world, seemed a perfect the last 10 days have seen the pair move from gentle disagreement to bitter acrimony. These are the public moments which brought their relationship crashing down. Wednesday 28 May Speaking to CBS News, Musk criticises Trump's plans for a new bill on tax and spending - saying the planned legislation left him "disappointed".Trump later admits to reporters that he is "not happy about certain aspects" of the bill while at the same time being "thrilled" about some aspects, such as tax doesn't comment directly on Musk's remarks, however. Thursday 29 May Musk announces he will be leaving the Trump administration after his scheduled time as a special government employee reaches its end. He had led a cost-cutting mission known as the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). Friday 30 May Trump praises Musk as the latter appears with a black eye in a press conference on his last day at the White is "not really leaving", the president says, and will continue to be "back and forth" to the White House. Monday 2 June Trump defends his "big, beautiful bill" in a post on Truth Social, claiming "many false statements" are being made about his landmark economic policy. Tuesday 3 June Musk again attacks Trump's planned bill, calling it "massive, outrageous, pork-filled" and "a disgusting abomination" in a post on US politics, "pork" refers to spending on projects in lawmakers' marks the start of an escalation in comments from Musk on social media. Wednesday 4 June, 13:57 local time (18:57 BST) Musk calls for a new spending bill "that doesn't massively grow the [US government budget] deficit and increase the debt ceiling". Wednesday 4 June, 14:50 Musk urges his followers to call their representatives to oppose Trump's bill. Thursday 5 June, 11:20 Musk quotes a series of old post on X by Trump, from 2012 and 2013, in which Trump criticises government spending. Thursday 5 June, 12:00 Speaking in the Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump says he and Musk "had" a great relationship but "I don't know if we will anymore".He also says Musk is "upset" that subsidies for electric vehicles would be cut in his planned bill, affecting the billionaire's Tesla and SpaceX businesses. Thursday 5 June, 12:19 Musk responds in real-time to the broadcast from the Oval Office, dismissing Trump's assertions. Thursday 5 June 12:24 Back at the White House, Trump tells reporters Musk knew "every aspect of the bill" and says he is "very disappointed in Elon". Thursday 5 June, 12:25 "False," replies Musk on X. "This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no-one in Congress would even read it!" Thursday 5 June, 12:44 Musk resurfaces old Trump posts on X, highlighting moments when the president criticised America's budget deficits. "Where is this guy today??" he asks. Thursday 5 June, 12:46 Replying to another user on X, Musk says: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election." He goes on to say: "Such ingratitude". Thursday 5 June, 13:44 Still going, Musk claims on X that "the Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion". Thursday 5 June, 13:49 Musk continues to quote old Trump posts on X about government spending. He asks: "Where is the man who wrote these words? Was he replaced by a body double!?" Thursday 5 June, 13:57 "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" Musk asks in a poll on X. Thursday 5 June, 14:37 Trump starts posting on his Truth Social platform, saying Musk had been "wearing thin" so he asked him to leave the White House, and alleging that Musk "went CRAZY".Musk calls this "an obvious lie"."The easiest way to save money in our Budget," Trump continues in another post, "is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts". Thursday 5 June, 15:10 Musk alleges, without providing evidence, that Trump appears in the "Epstein files", referring to court documents and evidence collected by investigators into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thursday 5 June, 16:06 Posting on Truth Social, Trump says he doesn't mind "Elon turning against me" and continues to defend his bill. Thursday 5 June, 16:09 Responding to Trump's suggestion that he could terminate government contracts with Musk's companies, Musk says he will "immediately" decommission the Dragon spacecraft - a craft that is capable of travelling to the International Space Station. Thursday 5 June, 16:11 Musk appears to endorse impeaching Trump while quoting a conspiracy theorist who shared his Epstein files claim about the president. Thursday 5 June, 16:26 Musk attacks another of Trump's signature policies - his trade tariffs - by posting on X to say these "will cause a recession in the second half of this year". Thursday 5 June, 21:27 Musk appears to soften, replying on X "you're not wrong" to another billionaire Trump backer, Bill Ackman, who had called for the pair to "make peace for the benefit of our great country". Friday 6 June, 08:05 Trump describes Musk as "the man who has lost his mind" in an interview with ABC News and says he is "not particularly" interested in speaking to White House tells the BBC Trump does not intend to talk to the tech billionaire today, after reports they would speak on the phone is also reported by CBS, the BBC's US partner, that Trump is considering selling his Tesla car - which he had purchased when he was trying to help Musk promote his company.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
A psychologist's take on why the Musk-Trump relationship is breaking down
It is not a good break-up. These were always two big beasts used to getting their own way. Two alpha males, if you like the evolutionary metaphor, trying to get along. And now the Donald Trump and Elon Musk relationship is in meltdown. Who could forget that iconic image from just a few short weeks back? Elon Musk standing behind the seated US president, Donald Trump, in the Oval Office, towering over him. Trump, his hands clasped, having to turn awkwardly to look up at him. That silent language of the body. Musk accompanied by his four-year old, a charming and informal image, or that great evolutionary signal of mating potential and dominance, depending on your point of view. These were also clearly two massive narcissistic egos out in their gleaming open-top speedster. Musk was appointed special advisor to Trump, heading the Department of Government Efficiency, cutting excess and waste. The backseat driver for a while. There were a lot of bureaucratic casualties already, road kill at the side of the highway as the sports car roared on with frightening speed. But things were always going to be difficult if they hit a bump in the road. And they did. Perhaps, more quickly than many had imagined. There were differing views on what caused the crash. Many pointed to the dramatic fall in the sales of Tesla, a 71 per cent fall in profits in one quarter, and the inevitable impact on Musk's reputation. And yesterday Tesla shares were falling even faster, as investors panicked. The attacks on Tesla showrooms couldn't have helped either. Others pointed to Trump's proposed removal of the tax credit for owners of electric vehicles, or the political backlash in Washington over SpaceX's potential involvement in Trump's proposed 'golden dome' anti-missile defense system. However, according to former White House strategist Steve Bannon, what really caused the crash was when the president refused to show Musk the Pentagon's attack plans for any possible war with China. There's only so far being the president's best buddy can get you. Bannon is reported as saying: 'You could feel it. Everything changed.' That, according to Bannon, was the beginning of the end. So now we watch Trump and Musk stumbling away from the crash scene. One minute Trump is putting on a show for the cameras. He's beaming away and introducing the 'big, beautiful bill,' a budget reconciliation bill that rolls together hundreds of controversial proposals. Next, he is accusing Musk of 'going crazy' and talking about withdrawing government contracts from the Musk empire. Musk is unhappy too. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' he wrote on X. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.' Rejection and repositioning He says he's disgusted by the bill. Disgust is one of the most primitive of all the emotions. A survival mechanism – you must avoid what disgusts you. He's social signalling here, alerting others, warning them that there's something disgusting in the camp. Musk is highly attuned to public perception, perhaps even more so than Trump (which is saying something). With his acquisition of X (formerly Twitter), Musk was able to direct (and add to) online discourse, shaping public conversations. Psychologically, Musk's rejection of Trump is an attempt to simultaneously elevate himself and diminish the man behind the bill. He can call out the president's action like nobody else. He is positioning himself anew as that free thinker, that risk taker, innovative, courageous, unfettered by any ties. That is his personality, his brand – and he's reasserting it. But it's also a vengeful act. And it's perhaps reminiscent of another political insider (and geek), former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings, who was sacked by the then UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, in 2020. Cummings was accused of masterminding leaks about the social gatherings in Downing Street. He went on to criticize Johnson as lacking the necessary discipline and focus for a prime minister as well as questioning his competence and decision-making abilities. The revenge of a self-proclaimed genius. And revenge is sweet. In a 2004 study, researchers scanned participants' brains using positron emission tomography (PET) – a medical imaging technique that is used to study brain function (among other things) – while the participants played an economic game based on trust. When trust was violated, participants wanted revenge, and this was reflected in increased activity in the reward-related regions of the brain, the dorsal striatum. Revenge, in other words, is primarily about making yourself feel better rather than righting any wrongs. Your act may make you appear moral but it may be more selfish. But revenge for what here? That's where these big narcissistic egos come into play. Psychologically, narcissists are highly sensitive to perceived slights – real or imagined. Musk may have felt Trump was attempting to diminish his achievements for political gain, violating this pact of mutual respect. This kind of sensitivity can quickly transmogrify admiration into contempt. Contempt, coincidentally, is the single best predictor of a breakdown in very close relationships. Disgust and contempt are powerful emotions, evolving to protect us – disgust from physical contamination (spoiled food, disease), and contempt from social or moral contamination (betrayal, incompetence). Both involve rejection – disgust rejects something physically; contempt rejects something socially or morally. Musk may be giving it to Trump with both barrels here. Break-ups are always hard, they get much harder when emotions like these get intertwined with the process. But how will the most powerful man in the world respond to this sort of rejection from the richest man in the world? And where will it end?
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Navarro responds to Musk-Trump feud
By Published: | Updated: Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro brushed off the exploding feud between President Trump and Elon Musk by comparing the world's richest man to something a consumer might forget about in the back of the fridge. Navarro, a Trump loyalist who served four months in prison for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena, was among the first Trump Administration officials on camera after the Trump-Musk clash went into meltdown mode. The two men were completely at odds over Trump's tariffs, which prompted a reporter to ask Navarro at the White House whether he was glad to see Musk out of the fray. 'No, I'm not glad. Whatever,' Navarro replied. 'It's – people come and go from the White House. He was a Special Government Employee with an expiration date,' Navarro said. Musk served in government as a 'Special Government Employee,' and the administration cited the 130-day limit when explaining his departure, although Trump had the power to renew it. Trump himself used language Thursday that gave the impression he fired Musk. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave,' Trump wrote in just one of his slams on his former first buddy. Later, Navarro, 75, had something nice to say about Musk's team of programmers and aides who got access to agency computer systems and searched for contracts. 'I work with the DOGE folks a lot here, and I've got a very special project, which at some point I'll come out here and talk about with them,' Navarro said. He claimed to have identified a government computer program that 'is run like a 1950s IBM punch card operation at great expense.' 'We're going to turn that from a Model T into a Ferrari,' he said. But he refused to divulge specifics on an extraordinary intervention. 'Stay tuned,' he said. Navarro has been a key proponent of Trump's tariffs, during both the first and second term, helping promote Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs that the administration calls 'reciprocal' to hit back at countries running a trade surplus with the U.S. In his stunning clash with Trump Thursday, Musk wrote that 'The Trump Tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.' That put him at odds with Trump's cherished policy – and Trump's 'favorite word' in the dictionary – even while taking on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which is Trump's top legislative priority. Navarro tried to smooth over the policy differences.
