TikTok in Russia has become a major platform for pro-war content: TikTok’s attempt to restrict Russian propaganda in response to Moscow’s war on Ukraine appears to have backfired somewhat. The platform’s ban on Russian users from seeing posts from outside the country — meant to protect its users and employees from Russia’s draconian “fake news” law — ended up “effectively creating a second, censored version of its platform,” writes the Washington Post, citing research from nonprofit Tracking Exposed. Pro-war and pro-Putin hashtags and contents became prevalent on the application while anti-war content all but vanished, creating an uncontested message being sent to Russian users of the platform.

Can crypto be Sharia compliant? That’s what digital payment gateway Fasset is trying to push in Islamic countries with suspicions towards the unconventional digital currency. The global startup closed a USD 22 mn series A funding round led by Liberty City Ventures and Fatima Gobi Ventures, with plans to use the funding for expansions in Muslim countries like Indonesia and Pakistan. “We have been working with some of the most prolific and well known Islamic finance jurists and thought-leaders to educate the masses on how Muslims can interact with this emerging asset class in a Sharia compliant manner,” Mohammad Raafi Hossain, the company’s co-founder and CEO, told Bloomberg. Cryptocurrencies can be used for zakat, and are already being championed by Islamic charities in Europe, the startup argues.

The world’s largest chip manufacturer warns of a prolonged semiconductor shortage: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) signaled that the global chip shortage is likely to continue as production capacity remains tight, CEO C.C. Wei said on a quarterly earnings call, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company expects manufacturers to stock up on chips while TSMC’s suppliers are grappling with labor, component and chip constraints due to the pandemic, the war in Russia, and supply chain disruptions. This will lead to production not being enough to meet customer demand for the coming period, Wei explained.

The tight chip market has significantly impacted several Egyptian industries, as we noted in Inside Industry, our manufacturing-focused weekly vertical.

But the shortage has definitely been a boon for TSMC’s balance sheet: TSMC expects its revenue to rise around 30% y-oy in 2022 following record quarterly revenue and bottomline performance in the first quarter.