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Two South African engineers working in Equatorial Guinea’s offshore oil fields were preparing to return home in February 2023 when they were arrested for cocaine trafficking and thrown in jail, where they remain. Both men, their families and their employer have declared their innocence. They were detained days after a South African court ordered the seizure of one of Equatorial Guinean vice-president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue’s yachts. The two incidents are linked, said people familiar with the... Читать дальше...

South Africa’s high interest rates continue to pressurise the finances of households amid the ongoing restrictive monetary policy stance by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The latest Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index (AFHRI) shows that, over the past two years, the country’s benchmark prime lending rate has been raised consistently to almost 12% – the highest level in 14 years.

The Professional Provident Society (PPS), the financial services group focused solely on providing customised financial services solutions for graduate professionals in South Africa and Namibia, says in a statement that it returned “exceptional value” to its members last year, as operating performance improved. The group announced total profits that were added to its members’ notional PPS Profit-Share Accounts in South Africa and Namibia of R4.54-billion.

A new report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has shown that carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) is unlikely to play a major role in steel decarbonisation despite support for the technology at the 2023 COP28 climate conference. Direct reduced iron- (DRI-) based steelmaking, which can run on green hydrogen, is gaining momentum in the steel sector, the institute points out.

Standard Bank head of Southern Africa’s oil and gas coverage Paul Eardley-Taylor has suggested that South Africa needs 13 GW of gas-to-power (GtP) capacity, rather than the 7.2 GW to 8.6 GW outlined in the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023. Speaking at mine ventilation solutions developer Howden’s Technology Day, hosted at Mintek, in Johannesburg, on April 17, he explained that this calculation was made by considering the need to overcome Stage 6 or even Stage 7 loadshedding, when Stage 6 was being regularly achieved... Читать дальше...

A report published by global consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds that, with thoughtful and gradual changes to how wheat is grown, processed and consumed, the food system can be transformed to be more nutritional. With grains, in particular, including wheat, corn and rice, most nutrients are stripped during refining and contributes to various diet-related diseases. The way grains are currently produced also have a negative impact on the environment, the consultancy states.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has recently joined a new global research programme focused on improving understanding of the future state of the oceans under various climate change scenarios. Led by CSIR principal researcher Dr Tommy Ryan-Keogh, the programme, titled BioGeoSCAPES, includes participation by over 30 countries.

Amid an increasing need to combat plastic pollution, the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) highlights the need for concerted efforts to combat plastic pollution in South Africa. IWMSA president Mpendulo Ginindza notes that the plastic economy in South Africa is based on a linear model of “take-make-waste”, leading to significant environmental consequences.

Johannesburg Water has showcased some of the various reservoirs and systems that supply the City of Johannesburg with water. The water utility also outlined the challenges in operating the systems that feed the economic hub with the critical resource. Natasha Odendaal has the story.

The National Research Foundation (NRF) will participate in the fourth AERAP Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Forum, which will be hosted by the South African Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, next week. AERAP is an acronym for Africa-Europe Science Collaboration and Innovation Platform and the NRF is South Africa’s agency for the support and promotion of research, by means of funding, the provision of research facilities and human resource development. “As South Africa’s premier science council, ...