Staff Reporter
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/ 29 October 2007

Last BA flight from a grounded economy

The last flight out taxied from the sparkling new Harare airport, lifted over the city and dipped its wings in farewell. With that, at 9am on Sunday, British Airways (BA) said goodbye to Zimbabwe. Though symbolic, it’s not the first time BA has been forced out of Zimbabwe in the 75 years since the first flying boats opened up the aerial link with Southern Africa.

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/ 29 October 2007

Why Holcim really left

Multinational Holcim, based in Switzerland, brought about one of the bigger black economic empowerment (BEE) deals last year by selling its stake in Holcim South Africa down to 8% from 54% for about R7,4-billion. Somehow the factual question of whether BEE had spurred the disinvestment became a political issue.

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/ 29 October 2007

Black share of income now highest

South Africans are earning more. Much more. Total income has more than doubled in the past seven years. This phenomenal growth is eclipsed only by the growth of the black middle class, which has grown at an even faster rate. The latest Amps figures reflect rocketing growth in spending power, writes Jocelyn Newmarch.

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/ 29 October 2007

DRC: Diplomacy vs militarism

Last week, another armed group in the increasingly volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ignored a government deadline to disarm, increasing to three the number of illegal groups the Congolese army is chasing in that region.
At the same time, a Human Rights Watch report detailed the atrocities that threaten civilians living in this region.

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/ 29 October 2007

A fight on many fronts

Turkey’s move towards a full-scale invasion of northern Iraq looks more like a crab’s walk than a charging bull. The ruling party of moderate Islamists has many foes to target, and not just the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the ostensible enemy, argues Jonathan Steele.

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/ 29 October 2007

The big blue goes red

The world’s largest bank last week announced it would take a 20% stake in Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank, in the biggest foreign direct investment by a Chinese company anywhere in the world. This means South Africa is now the top destination for Chinese foreign investment, ahead of Zambia and the Sudan.

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/ 29 October 2007

Government devours government

While the government continues to point fingers at the telecoms sector crying foul about excessive pricing, perhaps it needs to hold up the mirror to itself as the single biggest shareholder in the sector. With a 37% shareholding in Telkom, the government is by far the biggest investor in South Africa’s ICT sector.