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Opinion: The Big Tech takeover of agriculture is dangerous
On January 15, Liu Jin, a 45-year-old driver for Alibaba’s food delivery platform in the Chinese city of Taizhou, set himself on fire in protest over unpaid wages. “I want my blood and sweat money back,” Mr Liu said in a video shared widely over social media. Meanwhile, across the border in India, millions of
The United States economy added 49,000 jobs in January
After a brutal close to 2020, the United States labour market took a turn in the right direction in January, but there is still a long, long way to go before it recaptures its pre-pandemic strength. The US economy added 49,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate edged down to 6.3 percent, the US
Eskom power cuts to resume until the end of August!
More dark days are coming for South Africans as Eskom continues to battle ageing infrastructure, and allegations of corruption. The power utility is expected to implement load shedding until end of August at least. This is according to the chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Enterprises, Khaya Magaxa, who was speaking on Power Week on Sunday.
South Africa changes Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine roll-out plans
The South African government has decided to suspend the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in its immunization programme until a committee of scientists advises on the best way to proceed. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s announcement on Sunday came after trial data showed the vaccine developed by drugmaker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford offered
Renesas Electronics Corp takes up offer to buy Dialog Semi for $5.9 billion in cash
Renesas Electronics Corp and Dialog Semiconductor said on Monday they had agreed for the Japanese chipmaker to buy the Frankfurt-listed design bureau for 4.9 billion euros ($5.9 billion) in cash. Renesas, one of the world’s biggest auto chip makers, has offered 67.50 euros a share for the Apple Inc supplier, representing a 20% premium to
Coca-Cola SA to give 10% of shares to employees
Coca-Cola SA employees are up for an early bonus as the company hs announced that it will transfer an additional 10% of shares to its employees in a move to enhance its black economic empowerment status and meet its revised merger conditions. Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel, together with the managing director of Coca-Cola,
A new dawn for SA farmers as crop-spraying drones expand throughout in the country
The use of drones – as cost-effective crop dusters is expanding throughout South Africa, after a slow initial start. Fitted with GPS navigation systems and hovering around two metres above the ground, these specially equipped drones are now offering small-scale farmers a cheaper alternative to plane-based insecticide and fungicide applications. Using drones to spray crops
Gautrain cancels new trains and expansion plans
The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) has placed on hold until further notice the planned investment of R2 billion in procuring additional rolling stock and a depot enhancement project. This decision was taken because of the massive slump in passenger demand on the high-speed train caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. The GMA now says
MTN’s ISP, Supersonic, launches "AirFibre" as a rival to cabled network operators in South Africa
Mobile telecommunications giant MTN has just raised the bar high for competitors by launching Supersonic "AirFibre" in South Africa as an alternative to cabled fibre. The wireless internet service will use MTN’s existing reception network and will not require trenching for the laying of underground fibre optic cables, but will still compete on quality, the
Xiaomi's latest phone concept: The first quad-curved waterfall display concept smartphone
Xiaomi has announced its latest phone concept: a “quad-curved waterfall display.” This means that the unnamed phone’s screen not only has deep 88-degree “waterfall” curves on the left and right sides, but on the top and bottom as well, leaving no room for ports or buttons. Xiaomi says this is intended to “extend the limits of the
Apple’s new betas let you try its Watch-based solution for masked iPhone unlocks
With the upcoming release of iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4, Apple will let you use your Apple Watch to authenticate and unlock your iPhone while you’re wearing a mask. But if you want to try the feature now, you can, as Apple has released public betas for both iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4. Before these
Who's doing what in the African M&A space?
Amethis, an investment fund manager dedicated to the African continent, has acquired a minority stake in Nouvelle Minoterie Africaine (NMA), a fast moving consumer goods company in Senegal. NMA produces and distributes poultry and livestock feed, pasta and wheat flour and is a key player in the Senegalese landscape both in terms of size and
Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit goes virtual for the first time in 5 years
6th FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit to explore the power of the collective in resetting Africa Since its inception in 2016, hosted as a prestigious gala event, the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit has been a platform bringing together a unique collection of female leaders and trail-blazers from across Africa and the world. Held a
SOEs struggling to stay afloat as Covid-19 adds to their woes
The department of public enterprises briefed parliament on Wednesday about the effects Covid-19 had on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) during 2020. Acting public enterprises director general Kgathatso Tlhakudi briefly touched on issues related to the pandemic, as he briefed MPs on SOEs’ performance. The department has set aside a budget of R1-million to implement Covid-19 protocols,
The agricultural industry finds alternative forms of financing after Land Bank collapse
The agricultural industry says an alternative agricultural financing institution to the Land Bank could be established within a year. According to the president of the World Farmers’ Organisation and chairperson of the Southern African Agri Initiative, Theo de Jager: “An independently owned and financed bank could be up and running in around a year from
Samsung Galaxy A51 starts receiving Android 11-based one UI 3.0 update: Report
Samsung Galaxy A51 has started receiving the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update in Russia, as per a report. The update also brings along the February 2021 Android security patch. The phone will now have Android 11 features like one-time permissions, chat bubbles, as well as One UI 3.0 features such as an improved UI
Julius Malema seeks alliance against Zondo inquiry from Jacob Zuma
South Africans were left shocked when EFF's CIC Julius Malema requested to meet Jacob Zuma for tea on Twitter. The Zondo Commission of inquiry has announced that it will be laying a criminal complaint against Zuma for refusing to appear before Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo last month as per his summons. However, Zuma insists
693 jobs on the line as Greyhound and other bus close business
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) says that it has received a section 189 (retrenchment) notice from Greyhound operator, Unitrans Passenger, stating the company plans to close its business. In its notice, Unitrans said that its business was negatively affected by South Africa’s Covid-19 travel restrictions, and that the company dealt with
Parler’s CEO has been fired
After his social media platform was largely wiped off the web, Parler CEO and co-founder John Matze says he has been fired by his company’s own board of directors, according to a memo obtained by Fox News and The Wall Street Journal and a text message confirmation he sent to Reuters. His LinkedIn page shows
Google’s cloud business lost more than $5.5 billion last year, but it’s growing fast
Google parent company Alphabet weathered the tail end of 2020 to post better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of the year. But the bigger story is that Alphabet broke out Google Cloud’s sales for the first time ever, revealing an eye-popping $5.6 billion annual loss last year, but a nearly 50 percent jump in revenue