Royal vs. Royal Unsettles Middle East

Jordan has accused former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein of planning a coup against his half-brother, King Abdullah II. Prince Hamzah is under house arrest, his key aides have been taken into custody and a stunned Middle East is grappling with rare uncertainty in a country known for its stability. (Sources: BBC, Guardian)

2. DMX on Life Support

The iconic rapper is in a “vegetative state,” according to a former manager, after he was hospitalized on Saturday following a heart attack believed to have been triggered by a drug overdose. Fans are planning a vigil today outside the New York hospital where the 50-year-old is receiving treatment. (Sources: BuzzFeed, CBS)

3. Vaccines vs. Variants

India registered more than 100,000 fresh cases on Sunday, its highest since the start of the pandemic, and infections are mounting in the U.S. despite aggressive vaccine rollouts in both nations. Meanwhile, Peru registered its highest single-day deaths from the virus. Will vaccines stop a fourth wave in the U.S.? Vote on Twitter or here. (Sources: Indian Express, NYT, Al Jazeera)

4. America’s Back

The U.S. could replace China as the leading contributor to global economic growth for the first time since 2005. Driven by President Joe Biden’s expansive spending plans, America’s GDP could grow by more than 7 percent this year. (Sources: WaPo, WSJ)

5. Stanford Stands First

Stanford won a tight NCAA women’s finals matchup against Arizona to secure its first national title since 1992. And a Jalen Suggs shot at the buzzer helped Gonzaga beat UCLA and set up a men’s title clash against Baylor. (Sources: NPR, CNN)

Egypt on Saturday moved the mummies and sarcophagi of 39 pharaohs, queens and other ancient royals in a majestic cavalcade from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum — their old home and one of my favorite museums — to the newly built National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. 

Hecalls himself “the cat” after surviving a 2015 poisoning attempt. And there’s no doubting the South African deputy president’s feline flexibility in steering clear of the African National Congress’ power tussle between President Cyril Ramaphosa and former President Jacob Zuma. That has earned him distrust from both camps. But Mabuza knows how to maneuver the ruling ANC. In 2017, he got his supporters to swing the party leadership in favor of Ramaphosa, after winning support from Zuma's side by convincing them he was tilting in their direction. Now, as he plots his rise to the top, he’ll need that dexterity once again. Does the cat have any lives left?

2. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo

She was part of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants is Mexico’s most influential female politician as the mayor of capital Mexico City. An ally of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the scientist-turned-politician has drawn criticism amid the pandemic for her reluctance to enforce lockdowns. But with a popular Obrador set to step aside in 2024 (Mexico allows only a single term), she's emerging as a favorite to succeed him as the country’s first female president.

3. Amit Shah

India's home minister ran a PVC pipes business before earning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trust as a confidant in the state of Gujarat, where Modi used to be a chief minister. Shah was jailed on charges of masterminding illegal police killings that were promptly dropped once Modi became prime minister. Now, he’s Modi’s enforcer nationally and behind everything from the Kashmir crackdown to a controversial citizenship law. He's also Modi’s pick to take the top job after him if their party stays in power.Read more on OZY. 

The West has in recent years turned Togo into a dump for its electronic waste. Now, a generation of young inventors is taking broken computers, metal frames and dumped refrigerators and turning them into 3D printers, robot teachers and more. They're not just clearing up trash — they're building cheap but effective computers and robots for Togolese who can’t afford many of these devices. Read more on OZY.

2. Flying on Garbage

No sh*t. Japan Airlines plans to use fuel made from household waste on its flights between Japan and the U.S. from 2022. It has invested $8.6 million in a startup that's developing recycled aviation fuel. In effect, the airline hopes to use filth to clean up its act.

3. Green Guac

Your guacamole is green — in color. Mexican chemical engineer Scott Munguia is making it green — in spirit. Biofase, his firm, takes avocado stones and uses the polymer they contain to make biodegradable cutlery that’s gaining popularity across 19 nations as the global demand for avocados surges. The cutlery disintegrates in 240 days. 

Chinese influence across the world is growing, raising serious questions for the new Biden administration. Today, Carlos Watson and BBC’s Katty Kay discuss this issue with expert China analysts Kaiser Kuo and Robert Daly. Listen now onApple Podcasts,Stitcher, theiHeart Radio app orwherever else you get your podcasts.

1. Going Global

Historically, SPACs have largely been restricted to the United States. Now, the 2020 boom hassparked interest among investors across the world. From Brazil toSouth Africa to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, SPACs are no longer just a speck on the radar of investors.

2. It’s Time for China

But the real future of SPACs lies not in America, not in Africa or Latin America ... but in China. The country is home to more than half of the world’s unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion or more). So as SPACs look to put smart investor money on startups that could explode, there’s no better market for them to target than China.

3. Game On

If 2020’s SPAC boom was about tech and finance, 2021 is poised to be about sports. Through 2020, a total of 53 sports-related SPACs took off. Just the first two months of 2021saw the birth of 35 sports-focused SPACs.

The word loosely means “the future” in Yoruba — appropriate, given the rising stature of Africa’s animation studios. Being developed by a team from Uganda and Nigeria, this Lagos-based sci-fi film (its script remains under wraps) will mark Disney's foray into the continent. It will broadcast on Disney+ in 2022.

2. ‘Super Sema’

A 10-year-old Kenyan girl uses STEM superpowers to save her village from a robot villain in this Afro-futurist YouTube series that has rapidly sparked a buzz since its launch in March. It's produced by Nairobi-based studio Kukua and Lupita Nyong'O is its executive producer.

3. ‘Mama K's Team 4’

Netflix’s first African animation acquisition, this 2019 film with a hip-hop vibe is about four teenage Zambian girls who moonlight as spies with a retired secret service agent in a futuristic Lusaka.

Identifying talent before others is in OZY’s DNA. Before you witnessed Amanda Gorman's genius onstage at the 2021 presidential inauguration, she was an OZY Genius Award winner. Now it's your turn!Apply today for your chance to win a grant of up to $10,000 — ortune into our free webinar today for tips about how to perfect your application.