December, 2020 - The African Mirror

Dec

04

2020

Toxic waste dumping in the Gulf of Guinea amounts to environmental racism

TOXIC waste and electronic waste (e-waste) is generated from a wide range of industries – such as health, hydrocarbon or manufacturing – and can come in many forms, such as sludges or gas. E-waste is used electronic items that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded or given to be recycled. If these types of waste aren’t properly discarded they can cause serious harm to human health and the environment. IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD, Lecturer, University of St Andrews This makes the proper disposal of toxic and e-waste expensive. Because of this a market has been created and…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

‘I know your favourite drink’: Chinese smart city to put AI in charge

AFRICITIES

UMBERTO BACCHI FROM robots delivering coffee to office chairs rearranging themselves after a meeting, a smart city project in China aims to put artificial intelligence in charge, its creators told a conference this week - raising some eyebrows. Danish architecture firm BIG and Chinese tech company Terminus discussed plans to build an AI-run campus-style development in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing during an online panel at Web Summit, a global tech conference. The project named Cloud Valley, plans to use sensors and wifi-connected devices to gather data on everything from weather and pollution to people's eating habits to automatically…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Trailblazing success in the brutally competitive African hair and beauty industry

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO IF there is a competitive industry that thrives, it is the hair and beauty industry, and in South Africa that competition can be brutal. The journey of growing, styling and maintaining one’s natural hair is one of trial-and-error, pain, understanding and love, especially for black women. Their hair varies in textures that rely on vitamins, natural oils and hair routines that aim to retain moisture, grow hair and keep it healthy. Despite being a country with a majority black population, South Africa’s list of high-end hair salons owned by black people are less than five percent, as black…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

S.Africa gives national airline $98 mln, but administrators can’t use it

BUSINESS

THE South African government has transferred 1.5 billion rands ($98 million) to administrators for national airline South African Airways (SAA) but the funds cannot be used yet, the administrators said. The administrators said the conditions the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) attached to how the money should be spent were in contravention of labour and companies laws. “We are unable to utilise the funds until the conditions have been amended by the DPE,” they added in a statement. A DPE spokesman said the department would comment later. SAA entered a local form of bankruptcy protection in December last year after…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Managing your investments during a period of turmoil

BUSINESS

VIMAL KUMAR The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of society across the globe, with everyone impacted from an economic, health and social perspective. While the majority of people have focused on stability and job security during this period, affluent and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) saw an erosion to their personal net worth as economic activity and investments deteriorated during the pandemic. As individuals tried to remain as liquid as possible during this period, some of the key trends reflected were the shifting of deposits to secure banks, while automation and digitalisation were further embraced to offer customers the convenience and…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Ensuring global COVID-19 vaccine access seen worth billions to rich nations

WORLD

SONIA ELKS RICH nations stand to lose hundreds of billions of dollars in economic output over the next five years if poorer countries do not get equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, a report said on Thursday as concerns grow about "vaccine nationalism". As the World Health Organisation (WHO) seeks to plug funding gaps in its ACT Accelerator programme for global COVID-19 treatments, researchers said their findings showed there was a financial - as well as a moral - case for ensuring equal access. "Governments are increasingly focusing on investments that can help their own economies to rebound," said Hassan Damluji,…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: Children in Brazil found working for food delivery apps

WORLD

FABIO TEIXEIRA CASES of children working for food delivery apps in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic have been uncovered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, with prosecutors vowing to investigate amid growing scrutiny of employment practices in the gig economy. Videos and posts on YouTube and Facebook and interviews with underage workers and researchers showed how Rappi, iFood, 99Food and Uber Eats had failed to stop child labor, with under-18s using older relatives' accounts or signing up under their names. School closures and job losses caused by the pandemic have driven more children to work in the informal economy, according to…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Biden promises help to U.S. workers hit by pandemic, Trump hints at 2024 run

WORLD

JARRETT RENSHAW and STEVE HOLLAND PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden has promised a group of workers hit by the raging COVID-19 pandemic that more aid would be on the way, while President Donald Trump hinted he may be ready to begin planning another run for the White House in 2024. Biden, who has pledged to act quickly to provide more resources to fight the health crisis after he is inaugurated on January 20, told a group of workers and business owners that any emergency aid approved by Congress before he takes office would be only a "down payment." Republicans and Democrats are…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

How COVID upended life as we knew it in a matter of weeks

COVID-19

ALEXANDRA HUDSON ON January 1, 2020, as the world welcomed a new decade, Chinese authorities in Wuhan shut down a seafood market in the central city of 11 million, suspecting that an outbreak of a new "viral pneumonia" affecting 27 people might be linked to the site. Early lab tests in China pointed to a new coronavirus. By January 20 it had spread to three countries. For most people, it was a minor health scare unfolding half a world away. Nearly a year later it has changed lives fundamentally. Almost everyone has been affected, be it through illness, losing loved…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Promise of COVID vaccines is ‘phenomenal’, WHO says

COVID-19

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE promise of COVID-19 vaccines is "phenomenal" and "potentially game-changing", Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization's regional director for Europe, told a briefing. Speaking from Copenhagen, he said supplies were expected to be very limited in the early stages and countries must decide who gets priority, though the WHO said there is "growing consensus" that first recipients should be older people, medical workers and people with co-morbidities. Britain approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history. Prime Minister…