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NEW YORK TIMES: Secret briefings on election meddling are not acceptable

The logic offered by the US director of national intelligence for restricting in-person briefings for Congress on foreign meddling in the election campaign doesn’t pass the smell test. John Ratcliffe indicated in so many words that he was worried there would be leaks of classified information, so Congress will receive…

8 Sep 2020 9AM 2 min

Capitalism 2.0 requires more social capital and trust in government

London — If you think long and hard about the climate crisis, you may (a) get depressed and (b) agree with many activists who say the only solution to the problem is overthrowing capitalism. Or you may conclude, as Andrew McAfee does, that we don’t have the right kind of…

8 Sep 2020 8AM 4 min

Calls to boycott or ban Disney’s Mulan escalate in Hong Kong

Shanghai — Walt Disney’s release of Mulan, which is set in China and meant to appeal to audiences there, has provoked a backlash on social media over its star’s support of Hong Kong police and for being partly filmed in the Xinjiang region. Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong and…

8 Sep 2020 7AM 3 min

SA is flush with barley and needs to find new export markets for it

The SA barley industry is set to face a demand slump emanating from the coronavirus-induced alcohol ban, when there is a predicted record 2020/2021 farm production harvest. SA could produce about 505,215 tonnes of barley in 2020/2021, up 46% from the previous season. This is a result of increased area…

8 Sep 2020 7AM 5 min

Let UK pay levels and working hours adjust to the market, says top BoE economist

London — The Bank of England’s (BOE’) chief economist has thrown his weight behind the government’s controversial plan to let its wage-support programme end, saying that prolonging it could delay the economy’s much-needed restructuring. Calls have been mounting for the subsidies to be extended beyond September, but Andy Haldane said…

8 Sep 2020 7AM 4 min

China’s ‘self-sufficient’ city is built on lessons learnt during the pandemic

Bangkok — A new city near Beijing featuring wooden apartment blocks, rooftop farms and renewable energy is being designed with drone-friendly terraces and ample space from which to work at home in case of future pandemics, its chief architect has said. Barcelona-based Guallart Architects won a contest in August to…

8 Sep 2020 6AM 3 min

Last two Australian journalists in China flee

Canberra/Beijing — Two Australian journalists based in China have fled the country as diplomatic relations between the trading partners worsen. Bill Birtles, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Beijing correspondent, and Mike Smith, the Australian Financial Review’s Shanghai correspondent, left the country after Chinese police demanded interviews with them, according to Smith…

8 Sep 2020 6AM 3 min

Somali architect wants healing public spaces amid the rubble

Mogadishu — Mogadishu is a city of ruined glory: crenellated towers crumble by the sea and sand whirls against the pockmarked archways of the roofless old cathedral. But one young man, returning to his family’s homeland, walks through the streets and dreams of their future. Omar Degan was born in…

8 Sep 2020 6AM 2 min

World shares slightly down as tech recovery in doubt

Milan/Tokyo — World shares struggled to stabilise on Tuesday as doubts about a recovery in tech stocks lingered after last week’s rout, while the dollar steadied as investors pondered whether policy signals from the European Central Bank (ECB) this week could weaken the euro. Fresh tensions between Washington and Beijing…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 3 min

Belarus border patrol detains activist Maria Kolesnikova after attempt to leave

Moscow/Kiev — Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova was detained while trying to enter Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Belarusian border official told Reuters, a day after her allies said she had been grabbed off the street by masked men. The circumstances of her attempted journey to…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 2 min

How 2020 has even more ways to cripple global trade

Geneva — 2020 could end today and it would still rival the most challenging periods for the international trading system. But the next three-and-a-half months may bring even more potential disruptions that could secure 2020’s spot as the most turbulent in modern history. Several key events will occur that have…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 5 min

Shots fired into the air at tense India and China border

New Delhi/Beijing — India and China have accused each other of firing into the air during a new confrontation on their border in the western Himalayas, in a further escalation of military tension between the nuclear-armed nations. Hundreds of troops are in eyeball-to-eyeball proximity along the remote border, which erupted…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 2 min

Oil prices still falling on poor demand and virus flare-ups

London — Oil fell below $42 a barrel on Tuesday, its fifth session of decline, pressured by concerns that a recovery in demand could weaken as coronavirus infections flare up around the world. Coronavirus cases rose in 22 of the 50 US states, a Reuters analysis showed on the Labour…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 2 min

Boris Johnson’s Brexit rollercoaster raises few shrieks for now

London — Boris Johnson’s threat to walk away from the EU without a trade deal is leaving most economists and traders unruffled for now. After years of negotiations punctuated by ultimatums and standoffs before the UK finally left the bloc in January, many analysts are yet to be convinced by…

8 Sep 2020 5AM 3 min

Oil slips amid worry about demand

Melbourne/Singapore — Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid the concern that a possible rise in Covid-19 cases following the US Labor Day long weekend, which also marks the end of the peak US driving season, could squeeze demand for fuel. Coronavirus cases rose in 22 of the 50 US states,…

8 Sep 2020 2AM 2 min

Gold dips on stronger dollar

Bengaluru — Gold prices slipped on Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger dollar, but the safe-haven metal’s decline was limited by the growing fear over the global economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,925.09/oz by 3.20am GMT. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,931.20…

8 Sep 2020 2AM 2 min

BRUCE WHITFIELD: The EFF’s misplaced Clicks rage

The irony of the Economic Freedom Fighter’s (EFF) blockade and arson attacks on Clicks stores over racism allegations is that the group is the only major JSE-listed retailer to have not divested from SA in recent years. Instead of packing for Perth, Pennsylvania or Plymouth like most of its peer…

8 Sep 2020 1AM 3 min

RAZINA MUNSHI: SA’s Covid-19 exit strategy won’t be easy

The parks are full, the coronavirus is on the retreat, and the optimism hanging over SA’s cities is palpable for the first time in months. Its spring! But is this joy inappropriate? Are our hopes for a vaccine, for a return to the social lives that we knew, for a…

8 Sep 2020 1AM 4 min

Asian shares recover after small bounce in European markets

Tokyo/Hong Kong — Asian shares and US stock futures regained some footing on Tuesday following a small bounce in European markets as investors looked to whether high-flying US tech shares could recover from their recent rout. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.4% as revised data confirmed the nation had slumped into its…

8 Sep 2020 1AM 3 min

Gambia says US sanctions are weakening International Criminal Court

Banjul — US sanctions against top officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are hindering its ability to seek justice for victims of some of the world’s most serious crimes, the home of the court’s chief prosecutor said in a statement. Fatou Bensouda’s native Gambia urged the US to reverse…

7 Sep 2020 5PM 2 min