HAVANA – Plunged into darkness on Friday due to a collapsed power grid, Cuba was already grappling with several interrelated crises connected to its chronically-neglected infrastructure and economic stagnation. The blackout followed weeks of outages, which had lasted up to 20 hours a day in some provinces. The island’s economy – already in dire straits...
LONDON – Major stock markets dropped yesterday and oil prices jumped as traders weighed fresh interest-rate cuts from China’s central bank, aimed at reigniting the world’s second-biggest economy. Another record session on Friday on Wall Street failed to inspire a similar rally elsewhere, as main equity indices in Europe and Asia began the week lower....
A professional examination report of the massive 391-carat diamond recovered by Meya Mining in Sierra Leone suggests the diamond contains metallic inclusions, mainly iron-rich metals. This means it formed deep in the Earth between 360 and 750 kilometres below the surface. Trustco Group Holdings holds a 19.5% interest in Meya Mining, which operates under a...
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) is representing Namibia at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA-24). The event started on 14 October, and is scheduled to conclude on 24 October 2024 in New Delhi, India. This global event brings together policymakers, industry leaders and information and communication technology (ICT) experts...
The Capricorn Group, through joint donations from the Capricorn Foundation and Bank Windhoek, last week donated a total of N$500 000 to the environment, forestry and tourism ministry towards Namibia’s participation and pavilion at the COP29. The conference will be held from 11-22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, to build on previous successes and pave...
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) held a one-day workshop on 15 October 2024 to validate the results of a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and market assessment for Namibia’s small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector. The workshop brought together key stakeholders, including...
Rudolf Gaiseb The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) has recovered N$104.6 million from fraudulent tax refunds. “In March 2022, NamRA announced an investigation into fraudulent tax refunds that had been paid to certain taxpayers. To date, 1 496 individual provisional taxpayers and 18 companies, as well as close corporations, have been identified as recipients of these...
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is observing the facilitation and transportation of a 50-metre oxygen plant container, currently being moved by a 63-metre-long truck enroute to Solwezi, the provincial capital of the mineral-rich north-western province of Zambia. This giant abnormal special project cargo, which originated from Malaysia via the Port of Walvis Bay, is...
The Electricity Control Board (ECB) has announced the 9th edition of the Namibia Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) Forum, set for 24 October 2024 at Otjiwarongo in the Otjozondjupa region. This year’s forum, which follows a successful event held in Oshakati in 2022, is poised to gather key stakeholders from across the electricity sector. The event...
On 1 January 2025 the national minimum wage (NMW) for all Namibians, except domestic and agricultural workers, will be N$18 per hour, meaning wages of workers currently earning less than N$18 must be adjusted to at least that amount. Meanwhile, the minimum wages for domestic and agriculture workers will be increased gradually over a three-year...