Business & Tech News
Diamond Delight for Botswana: An enormous 2,492-carat diamond, now the second largest to ever be unearthed, was recovered from a mine in Botswana. The stone, found at Botswana’s Karowe mine, run by Canada’s Lucara Diamond Corporation, is slightly smaller than the 3,106-carat, record holding stone the Cullinan Diamond, that was mined in South Africa in 1905. This discovery underscores Karowe’s reputation as a world-class asset and reaffirms Lucara’s position as a leading producer of large, exceptional diamonds. This latest recovery joins an impressive list of other significant finds from the mine, including the 1,758 carat Sewelô and the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona.
Somalia Suspends Ethiopian Airline Flights: Somalia has issued a warning, suspending all Ethiopian Airlines flights to its territory as of 23 August, due to an ongoing territorial dispute.The Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) announced on August 21, 2024, that the airline has failed to respond to concerns related to Somali sovereignty. The dispute escalated after Ethiopia signed an agreement in January 2024 with the separatist region of Somaliland, securing access to 20 kilometres of Somaliland’s coastline for 50 years in exchange for recognizing the territory. Somalia views this deal as a direct violation of its sovereignty, heightening tensions between the two countries. Ethiopian Airlines has been given a deadline of August 23, 2024, to address these issues, or all flights to Somalia will be suspended.
Nigerian Bank Fined: Nigeria’s data privacy agency, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), has fined Fidelity Bank, a Nigerian mid-tier bank, 0.1% of its 2023 revenue, or $358,580, for violating data laws in opening a customer account, the NDPC said on Thursday. This will be the largest sanction ever imposed by the NDPC for data breaches. Fidelity bank stated that it will be appealing the decision. The NDPC instructed Fidelity Bank, to pay the $358,580.65 fine within fourteen days for illegally collecting personal data to open an account for a customer, following an investigation which started in April 2023.
Air Senegal Planes Grounded in Miami: In a legal proceeding filed by Carlyle Aviation in the USA, the American leasing company, which is claiming nearly $10m owed to them by the national airline. The US court has reportedly issued an order yesterday granting permission to ground four aircraft in Miami that are leased to the Senegalese airline company. The ruling coincides with a discreet flight mission that Air Senegal is currently conducting out of Miami.
Market News
Markets: US dollar has failed to break below 1.1100 against the Euro and is currently trading at $1.1123 to the Euro, at $1.3116 to the pound, and at 145.628 to the Yen. This can be attributed to the jittery nature of the market ahead of the FED’s Jerome Powell’s speech later today. There was some momentum from the US jobless claims number indicating some resilience in the labour market. the Rand briefly broke above R18.00 but has since dropped just below R18.00 and is currently trading at R17.99. The Nikkei is up almost 0,5% this morning with the Hang Seng up 1.44%
Commodities: Gold is currently trading below the 2500 mark at $2493 with Platinum at $957.22 and Paladium at $937.21, both trading downwards at this stage. Brent crude is at $76.60 and WTI is trading at $73.10 with both heading in a downward pattern with demand concerns still dominating prices.
Other News Today
Nigerian Attack Leaves 10 dead: Gunmen in Nigeria are reported to have killed at least 13 farmers on Wednesday in an attack on a village in the in the Allawa community of Shiroro in northern Nigeria. Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, have frequently raided communities in northwest Nigeria, kidnapping residents, farmers, students and motorists for ransom. Akilu Isyaku, a local government official, told the local radio station Crystal FM, that He suspected the farmers were killed for providing information to intelligence agencies about the movements of the gunmen.
Sports Highlights:
Kenyan Champion Wins Gold Again: The Kenyan 800m Olympic champion, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, almost hit the men’s 800 metres world record on Thursday, missing the world record by a mere two tenths of a second. Wanoni took first place in the Lausanne Diamond League Athletics competition, posting the second fastest time in history. The Olympic hero clocked one minute 41.11 seconds, just missing the world record of 1:40.91 that was set by fellow Kenyan, David Rudisha at the 2012 London Olympics.
Cameroon’s Ngannou – Honouring His Son: Francis Ngannou, speaking at a news conference to promote his PFL heavyweight bought debut against Renan Ferreira on 19 October, said that he wanted to honour his son that passed away recently. He had posted on X this April, that his 15-month-old son Kobe, had passed away. The 37-year-old’s planned bout with Brazil’s Ferreira in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia marks his return to MMA and first fight since his defeat by British boxer Anthony Joshua in March. “Fighting for me is a lifestyle. I questioned myself if I should continue or retire, but I didn’t want my son to be the reason for me to do that,” said Ngannou. “It’s become a new purpose for me. I decided to make a positive out of his 15 months of living. To find the strength out of him, as a motivation, to keep going instead of to quit. “I think this is the best way of honouring him.”
