BusinessLIVE - For Your Ear

Zimbabwean reporter critical of government, Hopewell Chin’ono, denied bail again

A Zimbabwean court on Monday denied bail for the third time to a journalist who has been detained for more than a month on charges of inciting public violence over antigovernment protests in July. Hopewell Chin’ono, a freelance journalist openly critical of president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, used social media to…

24 Aug 2020 12PM 1 min

LETTER: Pan-Africanism struggled in Africa

Adekeye Adebajo cites OAU secretary-general Diallo Telli as saying Pan-Africanism was born amid “complete alienation, physical exploitation and spiritual torment” (“Pan-Africanism born in an atmosphere of alienation, exploitation and torment (”, August 23). Yet, as Adebajo points out, all the early pan-African conferences unrolled peacefully enough in London, Paris, Brussels,…

24 Aug 2020 11AM 1 min

Beirut at tipping point in mental health crisis

Beirut — More than two weeks after a huge explosion tore through Beirut killing 181 people and leaving entire neighbourhoods in ruins, Sandra Abinader still jumps at the slightest sound. “The other day, I was trying to open a jar and the popping sound made me jump back and scream…

24 Aug 2020 11AM 3 min

Evidence that plasma therapy works is still still ‘low quality’, WHO says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is cautious about endorsing the use of recovered Covid-19 patients’ plasma to treat those who are ill, saying evidence it works remains “low quality” even as the US issued emergency authorisation for such therapies. So-called convalescent plasma, which has long been used to treat diseases,…

24 Aug 2020 11AM 2 min

LETTER: Mixed ownership for SOEs would solve many problems

SA’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) face big challenges that demand urgent solutions. We have seen SAA go into business rescue, and now Denel is struggling to meet its financial obligations, not forgetting that it recently posted huge losses. Another worrying factor is that some of the main SOEs under the department…

24 Aug 2020 10AM 1 min

LETTER: No need for SAA

One point John Fairwell (“Kgathatso Tlhakudi will not ask about SAA as answers are too dire to accept”, August 20) did not mention is important: the loud call for our own national flag-carrier claims that the state must own the flag carrier, and that’s not true. Many airlines bear the…

24 Aug 2020 10AM 1 min

Ramaphosa assures Zambia that Mboweni’s tweets are not view of SA’s government

Outspoken finance minister Tito Mboweni was reprimanded by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday after he waded into the shock firing of the central bank governor in Zambia, which led to a sharp sell-off in that country’s assets. In one of his tweets, Mboweni, who is a former governor of the…

24 Aug 2020 9AM 4 min

WHO urges countries to commit money to vaccine pool

Geneva/London — About 172 countries are engaging with the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) facility designed to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, but more funding is needed and countries now need to make binding commitments. Countries wishing to be part of…

24 Aug 2020 9AM 1 min

Germany guards Alexei Navalny in Berlin hospital

Berlin — Germany has placed Alexei Navalny under guard in hospital after determining that the long-time critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was most likely poisoned while campaigning in Siberia. Navalny collapsed on a plane on Thursday last week after drinking tea that his allies said they believe was laced…

24 Aug 2020 9AM 2 min

LETTER: Business needs to speak up

My thanks to Ann Bernstein for her excellent oped (“Only business can lead SA out of the abyss”, August 19). It is now more important than ever to hear what business leaders are saying. No more talking behind closed doors, but use every media outlet possible to get their message…

24 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

LETTER: President and ANC pull opposite ways

There is serious dissonance between the way the president is running the country and the ANC is running its affairs as regards the application of the principal of precautionary suspensions. This dissonance is best illustrated by the precautionary suspension of Public Investment Corporation (PIC) staff by the president on the…

24 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

Malaysia’s Najib back on campaign trail despite graft conviction

Slim, Malaysia — Convicted of corruption less than a month ago and sentenced to 12 years in jail, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is back campaigning for a party candidate in a by-election for a state assembly seat. Najib, who is on bail, is waiting for his appeal date…

24 Aug 2020 8AM 3 min

This is what Donald Trump has done in nearly four years, and what he has not

Washington — President Donald Trump made some of his flashiest 2016 campaign pledges in foreign policy areas, such as vowing to re-evaluate the US relationship with Nato, abandon a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and bring US troops back from “forever wars.” The Republican president, a former businessperson from New…

24 Aug 2020 7AM 5 min

QAnon’s conspiracy theories are music to Russia’s ears

San Francisco — Russian government-supported organisations are playing a small but increasing role amplifying conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon, raising concerns of interference in the November US election. Academics who study QAnon said there were no signs that Russia had had a hand in the early days of the movement,…

24 Aug 2020 7AM 3 min

Lockdown day 151: Pictures of the day

A round-up of the best pictures from day 151 of the national lockdown

24 Aug 2020 7AM 1 min

Back to school for UK’s children but parents are not convinced

September is being cast as a fresh start for the Covid-19-battered UK. Children will return to school, their parents can resume disrupted work lives and Britain’s economy can begin to right itself. Is there anything a shiny new pencil case can’t fix? “Even as adults, that feeling of going back…

24 Aug 2020 6AM 5 min

Insurers must offer digital solutions that lift accessibility and educate clients

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, SA’s traditional insurers had been contending for relevance and market share in an increasingly competitive and digitally transforming consumer landscape. What we saw happening from about 2016 is verified by various pieces of research by the big consulting firms and local universities, highlighting the…

24 Aug 2020 5AM 4 min

Ailing fund manager AMP can learn lesson from rockers Van Halen

Rockers Van Halen had an infamous way of spotting problems when they were setting up for live gigs. Tour riders at concerts would request bowls of M&M’s backstage with all the brown candies removed. Rather than a symptom of rock-’n-roll excess, the demand was a test for venue managers setting…

24 Aug 2020 5AM 4 min

Global equity markets up for second session in a row

London — Equity markets gained for a second straight session on Monday as hopes for a coronavirus treatment boosted risk assets and markets geared up for the US. Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole meeting later in the week. Europe's pan-regional Stoxx 600 rose 1.3% and the global benchmark added 0.4%…

24 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Plastic pandemic in Covid era

Long before the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 first jumped to humans the world was dealing with another plague threatening human health and wellbeing: plastic trash. Plastic from single-use products has been filling up landfills over the last seven decades, ever since it became widely used in commercial products. In…

24 Aug 2020 5AM 2 min