Category: INTERNATIONAL
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South Africa’s sugar tax could include pure fruit juices
South Africa could add pure fruit juices to the list of drinks expected to face a levy under a proposed tax on sugary drinks, the Treasury has said, in a country where more than half of adults are overweight. In his budget speech in February, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan proposed the tax on sugary drinks…
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S.A:MTN Zakhele Futhi offer extended by a week
Black investors and groups hoping to get a slice of mobile operator MTN, through MTN Zakhele Futhi, at a discount rate now have an additional week to do so. The offer has been extended to Friday, 28 October 2016 at 4pm CAT. MTN Zakhele Futhi, an empowerment scheme, affords historically disempowered black South African individuals…
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Ethiopian protesters attack factories in Africa’s rising economic star
Protesters in Ethiopia damaged almost a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories and flower farms and destroyed scores of vehicles this week, adding economic casualties to a rising death toll in a wave of unrest over land grabs and rights. The violence has cast a shadow over a nation where a state-led industrial drive has created one…
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Kenya:Ombudsman censures the Treasury on Budget cuts
The Treasury’s decision to cut funding to various government departments in the current fiscal year is illegal, the Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman) has said, insisting that such moves are in breach of the Constitution and must be reversed. The advisory came in the wake of the Treasury’s July 12, 2016 circular that outlined…
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Kenya:Minister now declares KQ pilots’ strike plan illegal
Transport secretary James Macharia has declared the planned strike by Kenya Airways’ pilots illegal, warning that participating in the industrial action at a time the airline is trying to recover amounts to economic sabotage. Mr Macharia’s response came five days before the strike commencement date and on the day the national carrier announced that its…
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Egypt: Sugar Shortages Hit Egyptian Markets
After a three-hour hunt for sugar in a number of shops in Giza, one consumer was able to find one bag at a supermarket, but at the price of EGP 10. The same 1 kg bag was sold at EGP 5 about two months ago. “We hear daily that the government has supplied sugar, but…
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Mali mine workers to go on five-day strike
Mali mine workers will go on strike on Oct. 24 for five days, a union official said on Tuesday, to protest what he described as unfair treatment of union workers. Mali is the third biggest gold producer in Africa behind South Africa and Ghana, and gold overwhelmingly dominates its mining sector, itself about a quarter…
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South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping to sell major businesses
South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd (117930.KS) is selling major businesses, including its Asia-U.S. route network, and will receive letters of intent by October 28, the company said on Thursday. In a regulatory filing the company said a Seoul court overseeing its receivership process approved a public auction of the major businesses, and it is…
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Gloomy China September trade data raises fears recovery may be faltering
China’s September exports fell 10 percent from a year earlier, far worse than expected, while imports unexpectedly shrank after picking up in August, suggesting signs of steadying in the world’s second-largest economy may be short-lived. The disappointing trade figures pointed to weaker demand both at home and aboard, and deepened concerns over the latest depreciation…
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KQ announces improved financials, says strike threat unjustified
National carrier Kenya Airways has announced that its net loss for the six months to September stands at Sh5 billion, a 58.3 per cent improvement from the Sh12 billion that the airline reported in a similar period last year. KQ, as the airline is known by its international code, says its operating profit during the…