Twenty years, four US presidents and trillions of dollars later, the US war in Afghanistan is exactly where it started, with the Taliban in control of the country. As the Afghan president fled and the blame game started, President Joe Biden has rushed 5,000 troops to Kabul to secure the airport and help evacuate American diplomats.
With Biden and his administration grappling to come to terms with the sheer speed of the Taliban takeover, the potential impact of a threat to stability in the Middle East on US, and by implication global, markets is unclear at this stage. What is clear is that the failure of the West in that country will have profound implications for Africa too.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
State expedites land claims resolution – Sowetan Live [For subscribers]
Amazon looking for tech-savvy South Africans who can work from home – MyBroadband
High-risk land investment leaves angry SA investors out of pocket – City Press
Global Business
Global supply chains are being battered by fresh Covid surges – Bloomberg
Modi says India will soon unveil $1.35 trillion infrastructure plan – Reuters
T-Mobile investigating claims of data breach on online forum – Bloomberg
Markets
Oil down, surge in Covid-19 cases globally continues to threaten fuel demand – Investing.com
Expiring lockups will put $6 billion of Hong Kong shares at risk – Bloomberg
50 years after Nixon ended the gold standard, dollar’s dominance faces threat – Barron’s
Opinion
Berkshire’s battery bet wasn’t flashy, but it’s working – Bloomberg
Nixon’s decision to delink the dollar from gold still hounds the IMF, South Africa and Africa – The Conversation
VBS scandal: SARS demands R28.2m from Brian Shivambu, displays clear connection to Floyd – Daily Maverick
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