Zimbabwe Arrests Chinese National Over Alleged 720-Tonne Lithium Smuggling Scheme
The Anti-Corruption Commission says the suspect ran an illicit processing site outside Harare that stockpiled and exported unbeneficiated lithium ore using fraudulent documents.
South Africa's Transnet Posts First Annual Profit in Four Years
A R12.5bn gain from selling a stake in its container terminal business to a Philippine port operator helped turn a R1.9bn loss into a R4.6bn profit.
UK Insurers Brace for Subsidence Surge as Record Heat Cracks Home Foundations
Two consecutive record-hot summers are drying out clay soils and damaging millions of British homes, with the British Geological Survey warning 4.2 million properties could be at risk by 2070.
UK Spending Watchdog Warns Grid Upgrade Delays Could Add £7.8bn to Bills by 2030
Only 16 of 80 needed projects in the £70bn network overhaul are finished, and the National Audit Office says slower progress means higher costs get passed straight to consumers.
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July, With AI Spending Doing the Heavy Lifting
GDP growth beat forecasts of zero as computer programming, consulting and admin services outperformed, even as the Iran war pushed up energy costs and interest rates.
MTN Becomes Nigeria's First Telecom to Hit 100 Million Subscribers
MTN Nigeria added 6.6 million lines this year alone, now controlling more than half the country's mobile market, backed by $450m in first-half network investment.
Primark Ditches Its No-Delivery Stance as Sales Slip
The fast-fashion chain will start offering home delivery in Great Britain for the first time, after years of arguing its low prices couldn't absorb shipping costs.
John Lewis Partnership Losses Widen 40% as Shoppers Pull Back
The John Lewis and Waitrose owner blamed cautious spending, higher costs, and a summer of heatwaves for a pre-tax loss of £124m in the first half of the year.
US Logistics Firm Pigee Buys 55% of Nigerian Startup ShipAfrica
The staged acquisition pairs Pigee's shipping software with ShipAfrica's local carrier relationships and physical hubs, aiming at Africa's costly, fragmented trade logistics.
Oil Tops $100 a Barrel for First Time Since July as Iran Conflict Escalates
Brent crude jumped more than 3% after the US said it destroyed Iranian tankers and Houthi forces struck Saudi cities, pushing UK petrol and gas prices to multi-year highs.
Automattic's Board Forces Founder Matt Mullenweg Onto Leave
The WordPress.com parent's CFO becomes interim CEO after directors voted Mullenweg out of day-to-day control, a move he says he only learned about 50 minutes before the vote.
Portugal's BPI Exits Angola After 30 Years in $451M Bank Stake Sale
Angolan food magnate Nelson Carrinho's Congolian Financial is buying BPI's remaining 33.35% stake in Banco de Fomento Angola, pending regulatory approval.
UK Borrowing Costs Hit Highest Level Since 1998 on 30-Year Debt
The Treasury paid 5.82% to borrow £4bn as a global bond sell-off and Middle East-driven oil price spikes squeeze the chancellor's fiscal headroom.
UK Air Traffic Control Failure Strands Hundreds of Thousands of Passengers
A technical fault at Nats triggered Britain's third major air traffic stoppage in three years, grounding flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and beyond.
South Africa's Internet Prices Are Rising Faster Than Inflation, Regulator Finds
The Competition Commission flagged wireless and wired internet cost increases outpacing headline inflation in early 2026, even as other bills rose faster still.
Spire Healthcare Agrees £1bn Takeover by Hedge Fund Manager Known as the Rottweiler
Toscafund's Martin Hughes will take Britain's largest private hospital operator private, ending a strategic review that began last year.
Jaguar Land Rover to Cut 4,000 Jobs as Tariffs and Cyber-Attack Bite
Britain's largest carmaker confirmed a two-year plan to shrink its global workforce and save £1.7bn, mostly hitting salaried management roles.
No Government Bailout for Jaguar Land Rover, Minister Says, as Job Cut Talks Begin
The business secretary ruled out state support as JLR faces union negotiations over thousands of expected redundancies tied to tariffs and Chinese competition.
Europe's Manufacturers Warn of 300,000 Factory Job Losses as China 'Colonises' Supply Chains
Industry groups are staging a coffin protest in Brussels as EU manufacturers say Chinese dominance of key supply chains is accelerating job losses across the bloc.
Food Delivery Riders Are Teaming Up With Academics to Reverse-Engineer the Algorithm Cutting Their Pay
Workers who blame opaque AI pay-setting systems for shrinking earnings are getting outside research help to figure out how the black box actually works.
Jaguar Land Rover Could Cut 4,000 Jobs After Cyberattack and US Tariffs Hammer Profits
The redundancies, spread over two years, follow a damaging cyberattack and the added cost pressure of US tariffs on top of an already difficult year for the automaker.
Volkswagen and Its Unions Just Struck a Deal — 50,000 More Job Cuts, but No Forced Plant Closures
The board's unanimous approval averts a threatened showdown with unions and majority owner Porsche SE, with plans to split VW's car and components businesses now off the table.
Oura, the Smart Ring Loved by Prince Harry and Kim Kardashian, Is Going Public
The health-tracking device maker is expected to list at a valuation above $11bn, capitalizing on celebrity-driven demand for its wearable.
The US Added 162,000 Jobs in August — More Than Expected, But the Details Are Messier
Unemployment held steady, but private companies added only 38,000 jobs, meaning government hiring did a lot of the heavy lifting in the headline number.
Kenya Just Kicked Out a Company That's Mined There for 115 Years
President Ruto ordered Tata Chemicals to leave its century-old soda-ash operation at Lake Magadi, accusing it of exporting raw material instead of processing it locally.
Volkswagen Will Cut 100,000 Jobs and Halve Its Product Lineup by 2030
The 15% workforce reduction is the auto industry's biggest-ever restructuring, as the under-pressure carmaker tries to simplify a sprawling lineup and cut costs.
Kenya's High Court Just Struck Down the Rule Capping What Uber and Bolt Can Charge Drivers
The 2022 regulation limiting platform commissions to 18% was ruled unconstitutional, along with mandatory data collection requirements — the government now has 12 months to redo it properly.
Uber Just Left Nigeria and Uganda — Its Fourth African Exit in a Year
The pullout came the same day Uber announced 3,300 global job cuts, following driver protests, rising costs and tightening regulation in both markets.
Google Dodges a Forced Ad Tech Breakup — But the Judge Isn't Done With It Yet
A federal judge rejected the DOJ's push to force Google to sell off ad tech assets, ordering business-practice changes instead, with the specific remedies still sealed for two weeks.
Shein's Hong Kong Debut Opened With a Slide, Not a Pop
Shares fell on the fast-fashion giant's $26bn listing, a steep comedown from the $100bn valuation it once commanded before failed US and UK listing attempts.
Anthropic Just Signed a Sixth Multi-Billion-Dollar Compute Deal — This One's $35 Billion
The six-year agreement with Nvidia-backed Lambda brings Anthropic's total compute contracts this year past $135 billion, as it races to keep up with demand for Claude.
The Bank of England's Top Regulator Just Warned AI Could Trigger a Global Downturn
Andrew Bailey, speaking in his role as the world's financial stability watchdog chief, told G20 finance leaders advanced AI models risk destabilising the financial system.
The FTC Says Amazon Secretly Overcharged Advertisers $20 Billion
The trade regulator and 22 states allege Amazon systematically added hidden surcharges to advertising costs for years, in a lawsuit that goes well beyond its earlier Prime subscription case.
Terra Industries Hires a Palantir Veteran to Sell Its Security Systems Beyond Africa
Todd Stiefler joins as Director of Commercial as Terra, whose systems already protect $11 billion in critical infrastructure across Africa, pushes into the wider Global South.
Labat Africa Promised Its First Dividend Since 1999 — Then Just Didn't Pay It
The JSE suspended trading in the company after it missed its own August 3 deadline to pay a declared 1-cent-per-share dividend worth about R22.7 million.
The Iran War Is Set to Cost the Average UK Household £2,400
New analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research traces the hit through inflation and wage stagnation running to the end of 2027.
China's Biggest Memory Chipmaker Is Suing the Pentagon Over Its 'Military Company' Label
CXMT says the designation was arbitrary and violated due process, pointing to a February notice removing it from the list that the Pentagon withdrew the same day and reversed months later.
New Fed Chair Warsh's Jackson Hole Debut: Stable Prices Are the Job, No Promises on Rates
Kevin Warsh warned there's still 'work to do' on inflation but declined to signal whether rates will move in the coming months, as price pressures remain stubborn.
Europe's Gas Stores Are at Their Lowest Level in 13 Years — Right Before Winter
The UK, as one of Europe's biggest gas consumers, faces heightened price volatility risk as storage levels drop to a 13-year low ahead of the heating season.
A Major SPAR Shareholder Just Sold Down Its Stake — But Isn't Heading for the Exit
Coronation Asset Management cut its SPAR holding from 10.89% to 9.53%, offloading over R100 million in shares while remaining one of the retailer's largest institutional investors.
Nigeria's Competition Watchdog Clears MTN's $2.2B IHS Towers Deal — With Strings Attached
The FCCPC granted conditional approval, tied to local investor participation requirements, for MTN's bid to buy out the roughly 75% of IHS it doesn't already own.
Cameroon Is About to Cut Off 700,000 Phones That Skipped Customs
Starting September 1, MTN, Orange and Camtel will disconnect any device the government can't confirm cleared customs — about 2.4% of the country's mobile connections.
Qantas' Profits Just Hit a Four-Year Low — the Same Iran-War Fuel Story Hitting Airlines Everywhere
The airline is weighing fare hikes and expanded Jetstar add-on fees, and won't say what a new carry-on luggage charge will do to ticket sales.
Meta Just Agreed to Pay Up to $18bn and Rewire How Teens Use Facebook and Instagram
The settlement with 29 US states ends the $200bn trial with mandatory night-mode blocking, two-hour daily default limits, and bans on cosmetic filters and like-counts for teen accounts.
Kenya Now Requires Uber, Bolt and Glovo to Log What's Inside Every Package They Deliver
New rules effective September 20 create a formal courier-licensing category, with parcel contents and sender/recipient details available to police and tax authorities on request.
Bessent Is Fighting the Bond Market. His Old Mentor Says He's Going to Lose.
Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller says Treasury's bond-buying push to suppress yields is the wrong fix — the real problem is the budget deficit, and markets know it.
Kenya Airways' Loss Just Widened to $123 Million — Fuel Costs Are the Main Culprit
Half-year results confirm what the airline warned about weeks ago: fuel costs jumped 32% on Iran-war-driven oil prices, now eating 52% of direct operating costs.
Shein Just Cut Its Own IPO Valuation Nearly in Half
The fast-fashion giant is targeting a $27bn Hong Kong listing after swinging to a $99m quarterly loss, well below the roughly $50bn it once hoped for in a US IPO attempt.
Gauteng Now Wants Every Uber and Bolt Driver on a Government Database
South Africa's wealthiest province is rolling out mandatory registration for e-hailing drivers on a state transport system, with no compliance deadline set yet but the direction of travel clear.
The New Fed Chair's First Big Test Is This Week, and Bond Markets Are Already Nervous
Kevin Warsh faces his first Jackson Hole symposium as Fed chair with inflation fears mounting and bond markets on edge after the Treasury's buyback expansion.
US-Canada Trade Talks Just Collapsed, and Carney Says He'll Match Tariffs 'Dollar for Dollar'
Negotiations fell apart Friday night with both sides blaming last-minute demands, and Canada plans retaliatory tariffs on steel, dairy and electronics starting September 8.
Trump's 90-Day Beef Tariff Window Just Opened a Door for Namibia and Botswana
A temporary US move to ease ground beef prices lets African exporters ship up to 300,000 metric tons tariff-free, and Namibia is one of the only countries positioned to take advantage.
Airbus Wanted Staff Back Four Days a Week. Strikes in Spain Got That Down to Three.
Airbus has shelved a push to limit remote work to one day a week after roughly 40% of its 14,000 Spanish employees walked out at some point during a wave of strikes.
Tyson Is Closing Beef Plants Because There Aren't Enough Cattle Left to Run Them
The US cattle herd has hit its smallest size since 1951, forcing Tyson to shutter facilities in Illinois and Utah and pursue a sale in Washington — with grocery prices climbing as a result.
Uber and Bolt Were Never Banned From Nigerian Airports — But They Do Need a Licence Now
FAAN says a July memo suspending ride-hailing pickups was about licensing, not a ban, and it's now working with Uber and Bolt on a formal framework to let them resume.
The Man Behind China's Biggest Corporate Collapse Gets Life in Prison
Evergrande founder Hui Ka-yan was sentenced to life imprisonment for large-scale financial fraud, closing the book on a $300bn-plus corporate collapse that shook China's property sector.
A Failed Fuel Test in Namibia Is Rerouting Lufthansa Flights Through Angola
A jet fuel shipment that failed quality testing at Windhoek's airport has forced Discover Airlines to reroute its Frankfurt and Munich flights, disrupting both passengers and cargo.
The US Treasury Just Doubled Down on Its Bond Market Rescue
Scott Bessent is doubling the size of Treasury's long-bond buyback operations after yields hit multi-year highs — a move critics say could make the Fed's inflation fight harder.
Zimbabwe Starts Actually Enforcing Its Data Protection Law Next Month
From 1 September, POTRAZ begins mandatory inspections of banks, hospitals, schools and other organisations holding personal data — with prison time on the table for non-compliance.
Kenya Airways Says Fuel Costs Are Up 72% Because of a War It Has Nothing to Do With
The Middle East conflict has pushed Kenya Airways' fuel bill up 72% in the first half of the year, even as the airline is picking up extra transit traffic diverted from Gulf hubs.
African Founders Can Apply for a Fully-Funded Commonwealth Startup Fellowship
The six-month programme pairs a bootcamp in Accra with a capstone week in London, offering 20 selected founders travel, accommodation and an equity-free £2,000 grant — applications close September 1.
Nigeria's Terra Industries Closes Africa's Largest-Ever Seed Round at $52M
The Abuja-based defense-tech company builds drones and surveillance systems for the Global South, and will use the fresh $18M to open a second factory in Ghana and its first international office in London.
UK Pay Growth Slows as Job Vacancies Hit a Five-Year Low
The cooling labour market complicates the Bank of England's rate decision, arriving the same day grocery inflation eased to a two-year low but government borrowing costs kept climbing to multi-decade highs.
Ikea to Take On eBay and Vinted With a UK Secondhand Marketplace
The platform will let Ikea Family members buy and sell pre-owned furniture directly with each other, following pilots in Spain and Norway, as preloved goods push toward 10% of global fashion sales.
Kenya's JentaHub Launches a Verified Talent Marketplace for African Freelancers
The platform aims to solve the trust and verification gap that keeps qualified African professionals locked out of global freelance work despite established players like Upwork and Fiverr already existing.
Government Borrowing Costs Hit Their Highest Level Since the 2008 Crisis
30-year US Treasury yields climbed to 5.29% and French 30-year bonds to their highest since September 2008, as markets price in persistent inflation and tighter-for-longer monetary policy across major economies.
Central Banks Face a Stagflation-Style Dilemma as Inflation Climbs and Growth Slows
Rising energy costs from the Iran war are pushing UK inflation back toward 3% just as growth cools — leaving the Bank of England and its peers with no clean policy option.
Florida Nuclear Reactor Manually Shut Down After Control Rods Unexpectedly Drop
Three control element assemblies fell into the core at St. Lucie Unit 1 while it was running at full power, prompting operators to trip the reactor; the NRC classified it as a non-emergency.
UK Water Companies Could Charge More During Droughts Under "Surge Pricing" Plans
Ofwat's proposal, likened to taxi-style demand pricing, lands days after PM Andy Burnham accused water firms of treating customers like a "blank cheque" over separate bill increases.
African Tech Funding Hit $224M in July as EV and Debt Deals Took Over
Two deals — a Moroccan battery gigafactory and an M-Kopa debt facility — captured the bulk of the month's capital, part of a broader shift from equity toward asset-backed lending.
UK Braces for Fresh Cost-of-Living Squeeze as Energy Bills Drive Inflation Toward 3%
A 13% jump in Ofgem's price cap is expected to push July inflation to 2.9%, complicating the Bank of England's plans just as it weighs raising rates in September.
UK's Biggest Battery Gigafactory Shelves Expansion as Jaguar Land Rover Talks Stall
AESC's Sunderland plant has held off installing a third production line after failing to secure a supply deal with JLR, the latest sign of Britain's slowing EV transition.
Nigeria's Anti-Corruption Agency Finds an Official Who Put 14 Relatives on the Payroll
The ICPC says it has identified roughly 900 suspected ghost workers on federal payrolls, part of a fraud pattern that cost the government over ₦24 billion in pension funds alone in 2024.
Tesla Paid Elon Musk 2.5 Million Times More Than Its Median Worker in 2025
Most of the $158 billion figure reflects the accounting value of a stock package Musk hasn't fully received, but it still dwarfs the S&P 500's average CEO-to-worker ratio of 312 to 1.
BP to Develop Venezuelan Gasfield Alongside Firms Tied to the Trump Family
The deal partners BP with a Qatari firm working with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Abu Dhabi's state oil investment arm, in one of the first major foreign investments since Maduro's ouster.
Jumia Raises $50M From IFC and Axian as It Nears Its First-Ever Profit
The African e-commerce company will pour the funds into logistics, warehouses and JumiaPay, targeting break-even by Q4 2026 after years of losses.
BAE Systems to Pay $36m After 104 US Arms Export Violations
The breaches included sending GPS-related technical data to a Chinese manufacturer and letting an export license lapse before shipping military components to Canada.
Mike Ashley Buys Harvey Nichols Out of Administration for About £40m
Frasers Group is keeping the Knightsbridge and Edinburgh flagships while folding four other UK stores into House of Fraser or Flannels, preserving around 100 jobs from a workforce of 1,200.