Sunday World News Updates

Nedbank Group has completed its landmark acquisition of approximately 66% of NCBA Group PLC, securing a major strategic foothold in East Africa and marking one of the most significant cross-border banking transactions on the continent in recent years. The deal, valued at about R13.9-billion when first announced, sees NCBA formally… Read more »

Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars is expanding its partnership with American technology giant NVIDIA to develop advanced automated driving systems that could eventually allow motorists to take their eyes and attention off the road. The announcement marks another step in Volvo’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its next generation… Read more »

Sierra Leone has strengthened Ebola surveillance and preparedness measures after Kenya recorded eight confirmed cases, the National Public Health Agency (NPHA) has announced. In a notice released on Sunday, the NPHA, working with the Ministry of Health, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority and other institutions, strengthened screening and surveillance… Read more »

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said expanding access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) is critical to giving South African children an equal start, as government targets universal access gap by 2030. According to Gwarube, about one million South African children aged three to five are not enrolled in ECD programmes,… Read more »

Former president Thabo Mbeki has denied that his handling of apartheid-era crimes was designed to derail prosecutions, insisting that decisions on criminal cases rested with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), while the executive dealt with presidential pardons and reconciliation. Testifying before the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry on Monday, Mbeki rejected… Read more »

President Cyril Ramaphosa plans to lead a delegation of government representatives, academics, young people and business leaders to Silicon Valley in the United States after the elections, to explore how South Africa can harness artificial intelligence (AI) while guarding against its dangers. Speaking at the Black Wednesday commemoration lunch, Ramaphosa… Read more »

South African business confidence eased slightly in September on renewed uncertainty over global energy prices, a survey showed on Monday. • The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Confidence Index fell to 134.3 in September from 135.1 in August • The chamber, which releases the index every two… Read more »

Trade union federation Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has rejected growing anti-undocumented migrant narratives in South Africa, arguing that migration is a symptom of deeper economic failures across the continent and that migrant workers are being wrongly blamed for unemployment, poverty and inequality. In its latest political report,… Read more »

Mozambique’s state-owned oil company ENH is in talks with potential investors, including South Africa’s Sasol and pipeline company ROMPCO, for a new natural gas project, as the country aims to become a regional “power hub”, the chief executive of ENH said. Mozambique, the primary supplier of gas to South Africa… Read more »

South Africa has been under a democratic dispensation for the past 30 years. A quick countdown of what this has brought us would make even the non-believers sit up and reflect on our achievements. For example, we now have basic human rights that we have begun to take for granted.… Read more »