Новости за 25.01.2021

Melting on the ice sheets has accelerated so much over the past three decades that it’s now in line with the worst-case climate warming scenarios outlined by scientists. A total of 28 trillion metric tons of ice was lost between 1994 and 2017, according to a research paper published in The Cryosphere on Monday. The research team led by the University of Leeds in the UK was the first to carry out a global survey of global ice loss using satellite data.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has announced plan to consolidate its various corporate offices into one at the eMendi administration building, Port of Ngqura, in Port Elizabeth, by the end of March. The State-owned entity currently has corporate offices split between Johannesburg and Durban.

A model to predict gamma ray burst (GRB) behaviour, developed by a team headed by University of Johannesburg Centre for Astro-Particle Physics director Prof. Soebur Razzaque, has been strongly supported by observational data. The data came from observations of a GRB detected on April 15 last year and the results of the analysis of this data were released in this month’s edition of Nature Astronomy. The burst was detected by five gamma ray detectors. Three of these were in Earth orbit, one was at... Читать дальше...

In this opinion article, Bongani Mankewu explores the factors that could improve District Development Model outcomes. Policy is a product of science and politics. This structural definition borrows from the fundamental work of Francis Bacon (1974) and appreciates that while the utilization of science will be undermined by politics, a policy ought to regardless be driven mainly by science. Consequently, for the District Development Model (DDM) to be significant, it should fundamentally be driven by science.

JSE-listed Huge Group is planning a secondary listing on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) of the London Stock Exchange. In an update to shareholders on January 25, the group said that the board of directors have resolved to make application for admission as a secondary listing.

Credit rating company Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the long-term rating of energy company Enel to Baa1, from the previous level of Baa2, with a stable outlook. The ratings agency has also affirmed the Prime-2 short-term ratings of the subsidiaries Enel Finance International and Enel Finance America.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) reports that global foreign direct investment (FDI) collapsed in 2020, decreasing by 42% to an estimated $859-billion, compared with about $1.5-trillion in 2019. FDI finished the year more than 30% below the trough after the global financial crisis in 2009 and was back at a level last seen in the 1990s.

Kia has revealed a strategy it says will see the Korean car maker reach beyond vehicle manufacturing to “sustainable mobility solutions”. Signalling this break-away from its traditional manufacturing-driven business model, Kia has also announced a new corporate name and slogan.

State-owned power utility Eskom has confirmed that tropical storm Eloise has, at this stage, not had any major negative impact on its operations. The utility, however, says power lines in some parts of the Mpumalanga, Limpopo and northern KwaZulu-Natal provinces did experience localised outages as a result of trees and poles falling on power lines districts.

The 59-year-old rower Zirk Botha on January 22 reached the halfway mark in his transatlantic ocean journey from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. The transatlantic crossing requires him to row completely unassisted for about 90 to 100 days, over about 7 000 km, or 3 800 nautical miles, in often difficult weather and sea conditions.

JSE-listed pharmaceuticals company Ascendis Health has advised of Blantyre Capital and L1 Health's interest to have the company be recapitalised, instead of it continuing to pursue a divestment strategy. The divestment strategy was effected to reduce the highly-leveraged position of Ascendis and, in particular, loans outstanding to a consortium of third-party financiers or consortium lenders.

City of Johannesburg Environment and Infrastructure Services MMC Councillor Mpho Moerane has expressed concern about the increase in electricity cable theft incidents across the city.  Since the start of the current financial year, cables worth over R14-million have been stolen.

The South African alcohol industry has once again voiced opposition to the continued ban on alcohol sales. Trade association the South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) says the unintended consequences, such as illicit liquor production and distribution outweigh the pros.

US aerospace and defence giant Boeing has committed itself to ensuring that its commercial aeroplanes will be certified and able to fly using 100% sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) by 2030. The group has already successfully carried out test flights powered entirely by SAF. This is to meet the challenge posed by climate change. “Our industry and customers are committed to addressing climate change, and sustainable aviation fuels are the safest and most measurable solution to reduce aviation carbon... Читать дальше...

German car maker BMW says it will continue with the development and popularisation of its digital key feature. In line with this goal, the group says it will introduce the Digital Key Plus, which allows BMW drivers to unlock and start their vehicles without taking their iPhones out of their bags or pockets. (Drivers previously had to hold the phone to the door handle to unlock the vehicle).

South Africa’s Maxwell and Spark is ready to go global, says CEO Dr Clinton Bemont. Maxwell and Spark is a Durban-based lithium-ion (li-ion) battery and systems manufacturer, responsible for producing the world’s first li-ion  truck refrigeration unit ­– called the Fridge.Li.

President Cyril Ramaphosa reinforced, on Monday, the importance of keeping South Africans informed of vaccine acquisition developments, adding that government must be held to account for all decisions made around the vaccine. Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly column to the nation that South Africa will soon be receiving its first consignment of Covid-19 vaccines from the world’s largest vaccine producer, the Serum Institute of India. He noted concerns with government’s transparency on multilateral initiatives... Читать дальше...

Everyone, from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to organised labour can see what must be done to get the country back on a growth trajectory, but little seems to change, CEO Busi Mavuso says in the latest newsletter from Business Leadership South Africa. She welcomes SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago’s comment in a Monetary Policy Committee statement last week that a faster growth rate depends on implementing prudent macroeconomic policies and substructural reforms.

Renewable energy company Kipeto Energy (KEP) has connected the Kipeto wind farm to the national grid and will start generating power in the next week. KEP has connected a 17-km-long 220 KV high-voltage transmission line, linking the facility to the national grid at the Isinya substation, and signalling the start of the go-live process.

University of the Free State (UFS) clinical research company FARMOVS, together with several medical and scientific experts at the university, is in the process of preparing a clinical trial protocol to determine the efficacy of Ivermectin for treating Covid-19 in a randomised, controlled study according to the requirements of the legal professions, to submit it for approval to the relevant national regulatory authority. FARMOVS is a South African specialty full-service clinical research organisation... Читать дальше...

The evaluation of the 28 bids received under South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) is anticipated to be concluded by February 2021, the IPP Office has confirmed with Engineering News. The preferred bidders, it adds, will be announced as soon as the recommendations from the evaluation team have been approved by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).