Our strength as a nation has always been tested at the worst of times, and time and time again we stood up triumphant. Today, even though we’ve been hammered by deadly waves of violence, looting and the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africans are – in the words of Daily Maverick’s Marianne Thamm – “pushing back, cleaning up, confiscating looted goods and offering help and resources to those who had been affected”.
Alongside the police and the army, now being strengthened with 25,000 more soldiers, taxi drivers and community members vowed to defend their people and property with their lives.
And while South Africa’s been burning, Google has developed a riot function with a live tracker on Google Maps to help residents travelling in and around Gauteng to avoid the ‘Red’ no-go areas.
There is no doubt that the road to recovery is going to be hard, but there is hope, and where there’s hope, there’s life.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Counting the ever-increasing cost: Impact of the ongoing attacks and looting in KZN and Gauteng – Biznews
Food and fuel shortages loom in South Africa after logistics networks wrecked by riots – Daily Maverick
South Africa’s best and worst digital banks according to customers – Business Tech
Markets
South African rand becomes currency to short amid turmoil – Bloomberg
US close: Stocks mixed after slew of bank earnings – ShareCast
Asian markets mixed on China data, dovish Fed comments – AFP
Global Business
More than £2.3bn lost in a year as scams surge during pandemic – The Guardian
Facebook will pay $1 billion to creators to get them to use its platforms. Will it work? – Mashable
The Simpsons predicted Richard Branson’s space trip – Entrepreneur
In-depth
Under investigation: Twelve masterminds planned and executed insurrection on social media, then lost control after looting spree – Daily Maverick
‘Unapologetic civil society power will grow from riots’ – GG Alcock – Biznews
South Africa is in a state and there is an emergency, but declaring a state of emergency is not the magic bullet – Daily Maverick
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