Rate hike unlikely to curb inflation – report
Economics have cautioned that an inflation surge caused by the Middle East conflict will not likely be curbed by a widely expected interest-rate hike this week. This follows Statistics SA’s release of the latest inflation figures, showing a hike from 3.1% in March to 4% in April, the high point of the Reserve Bank’s tolerance band of one percentage point above its 3% target.
Trump willing to break with diplomatic tradition and talk to Taiwan
US and Taiwanese leaders have not spoken directly since 1979, when Washington severed formal ties with Taiwan to recognise the Beijing government, but President Donald Trump says he is willing to talk to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about a possible arms sale. When asked about arms sale issue, Trump said: “I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody… we’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.” The US has long supported Taiwan and is bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has had to balance this with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.
SA contributes to fight against Ebola
South Africa has pledged $2.5 million to supporting the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in combating the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The AU-backed public health agency welcomed the pledge as a “strong and reassuring message that Africa stands united in protecting the lives and well-being of its people”. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it could take up to nine months before a vaccine against this particular strain of Ebola is ready. Two possible “candidate vaccines” against the Bundibugyo species were being developed, but neither had gone through clinical trials yet, it said. So far, 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths have been reported.
Mertz proposes associate EU membership for Ukraine as step to ending war
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed giving Ukraine a direct role in European Union structures as an interim step to EU membership, which he believes could help facilitate a deal to end the war triggered by Russia’s invasion. Analysts have suggested that a clear route into the EU could be vital for President Volodymyr Zelensky in convincing Ukrainians to back a peace settlement. Merz suggested Ukraine could be granted a new status of “associate member” that would allow Ukrainian officials to take part in EU summits and ministerial meetings – but not vote in them.
Standard Bank confirms glitch during online banking migration
For the second time in weeks, Standard Bank has been hit by a glitch in its electronic banking system, this time leading to what it called “limited instances [of] an authorised card user who was not an authorised signatory [possibly being] incorrectly linked at profile level”. The issue arose during the migration of business banking clients to a new online platform. A system error reportedly granted one client full access to the bank account of a trust of which she was a trustee. Standard Bank said it had “proactively engaged with impacted clients to address their concerns, verify access rights and ensure appropriate controls are in place”.
Sources: BBC, News24, Reuters, Business Day