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\Okonjo-Iweala Reacts After Emerging Africa Person Of 202Okonjo-Iweala Reacts After Emerging Africa Person Of 2020

Majority Women Among Candidates Still In Running To Head WTO

September 20, 2020 6:10 am

Three women — two Africans and a South Korean — have been selected among the five candidates still in the running to take the helm of the World Trade Organisation, diplomatic sources told AFP Saturday.

No woman, and no African, has ever headed the global trade body.

The initial pool of eight candidates to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as WTO chief last month a year ahead of schedule, was whittled down to five Friday.

Women candidates Amina Mohamed of Kenya, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea remain, alongside two men: Liam Fox of …

Millions Of US Users To Be Hit By Wechat Block

Millions Of US Users To Be Hit By Wechat Block

September 19, 2020 1:53 pm

Washington’s crackdown on WeChat will disrupt communications between millions of people in the United States and their friends, families and business partners in China.

But the app had not managed to reproduce in the US its success in China as the dominant smartphone-based payments platform.

The US Commerce Department announced partial bans on Friday on WeChat as well as video app TikTok.

The order will slow down WeChat to make it unuseable in the United States for videochats with family and friends.

“They are slowing the speed to technically make it virtually impossible to use audio, video, or send images,” …

US Bans TikTok, WeChat

US Bans TikTok, WeChat

September 18, 2020 5:42 pm

The United States on Friday ordered a ban on downloads of popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok and use of the messaging and payment platform WeChat, saying they threaten national security.

The move, to be implemented Sunday night, comes amid rising US-China tensions and efforts by the Trump administration to engineer a sale of TikTok to American investors.

“The Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

The initiative would ban WeChat, an app with …

New Zealand Economy Slumps By 12.2 %

New Zealand Economy Slumps By 12.2 %

September 17, 2020 10:34 am
New Zealand fell into its deepest economic slump on record in the second quarter as its battle against the coronavirus pandemic paralysed business activity, official data showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product contracted a seasonally adjusted 12.2% quarter-on-quarter, its sharpest quarterly contraction on record and largely in line with forecasts of a 12.8% decline from economists polled by Reuters. GDP fell 12.4% year-on-year.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand had forecast a quarterly and annual GDP decline of 14% in its August statement.

Read Also: Virus Free New Zealand World’s Safest Place

Growth has been hit by a standstill in …

UK Inflation Sinks To 0.2 Percent On Virus Stimulus

UK Inflation Sinks To 0.2 Percent On Virus Stimulus

September 16, 2020 5:35 pm

British inflation hit a near five-year low in August on state coronavirus stimulus measures for the troubled hospitality sector, including a restaurant discount scheme and tax cuts, data showed Wednesday.

The annual inflation rate, as measured by the UK’s Consumer Prices Index, dived to just 0.2 percent in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

That was the lowest level since December 2015 and compared with 1.0 percent in July 2020.

“The cost of dining out fell significantly in August thanks to the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme …

WTO angers Trump administration with ruling on China tariffs

WTO Angers Trump Administration With Ruling On China Tariffs

September 16, 2020 8:15 am
The World Trade Organisation has left the Trump administration fuming after it ruled that the United States breached global trading rules by imposing multibillion-dollar tariffs in trade war with China.

The Trump administration argued its tariffs imposed two years ago on more than $200 billion in Chinese goods were justified because China was stealing intellectual property and forcing U.S. companies to transfer technology for access to China’s markets.

But the WTO’s three-member panel said the U.S. duties broke trading rules because they applied only to China and were above maximum rates agreed to by the United States.

Washington had not …

Starting A Cocoa Business In Nigeria And Profiting From It

Starting A Cocoa Business In Nigeria And Profiting From It

September 15, 2020 12:32 pm

People born between the ’60s and ’80s would definitely know the value of cocoa production in Nigeria. Cocoa is a crop Nigeria once banked on as its major exported cash crops before the oil boom. Nigeria was the biggest exporter of cocoa in Africa and one of the biggest in the world. Then Crude Oil came and poor agricultural management set in, costing the Nigerian economy badly and allowing Nigerian to lose the prestigious spot to a fellow African country, Cote d’Ivoire, who is now the largest cocoa producer in the world, followed by Indonesia.

When cocoa production and export …

Oil Prices Fall Amid Bleak Outlook Warnings

Oil Prices Fall Amid Bleak Outlook Warnings

September 15, 2020 7:47 am

Amid bleak outlook warnings by major oil producers and the COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices again went southwards on Tuesday, with experts forecasting prices may crash to $35.

Brent crude was down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $39.57 a barrel by 0642 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 2 cents, or 0.1%, at $37.24 a barrel.

Both contracts ended slightly lower the previous day.

Still, losses were limited by short-covering ahead of a key meeting later this week of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, to discuss compliance …

UAE, Israel Seal First Banking Deal

UAE, Israel Seal First Banking Deal

September 14, 2020 5:29 pm

The National Bank of Dubai, the largest banking group in the emirate, signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, on the eve of the UAE-Israel normalisation accord signing.

“It is a great honour to be the first bank to sign such an agreement that will contribute to the establishment of the relationship between the two countries,” Bank Hapoalim’s CEO, Dov Kotler, said in a statement issued by NBD.

It said the MoU was “part of a broader engagement between the UAE and Israel to further peace, dialogue and stability and establish cooperation to promote sustainable development”.

An …

Unregulated Social Media Is Killing African Values – NOA

How To Maximise Profits From Your Business Using Social Media

September 14, 2020 9:18 am

Since the coming of the jet age, social media have had a huge impact on how businesses find and communicate with their audiences. Before the advent of social media, small scale businesses and startups had to rely on other means to boost and maximise their business networks.

These means include spreading local awareness campaigns, holding seminars and outreaches for a target audience, which are usually very expensive compared to the flexibility and influence of social media platforms. But with the coming of social media, there have been lots of transformations such as allowing startups to get in front of a …

Arik Air Announces Plans To Resume Operations

Salary Arrears: Aviation Workers Ground Arik Air

September 14, 2020 8:07 am

Arik Air has been grounded by aviation unions over alleged failure to pay salaries since April.

The unions are also protesting the placement of 90 per cent of the workforce on compulsory leave and other anti-labour practices.

The protesting unions were the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).

All Arik Air operations were shut down as a result of the protest. And this left booked passengers fuming.

Mr Innocent Atasie, Chairman, ATSSSAN, Arik Air Branch told NAN that the workers resolved to shut down Arik operations nationwide when all …

No Deal: TikTok USA Rejects Microsoft Offer

No Deal: TikTok USA Rejects Microsoft Offer

September 14, 2020 4:08 am
Microsoft said on Sunday it was informed by Bytedance that it would not be selling U.S. operations of TikTok to it.

‘We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests,’ Microsoft said in a statement.

Trump Microsoft said on Sunday it was informed by Bytedance that it would not be selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft.

‘We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests,’ Microsoft said in a statement.

Read Also: TikTok CEO, Mayer Resigns Amid US Pressure

ByteDance has up till 20 …

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