SOUTH AFRICA MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY SAYS 10,000 TROOOPS ON THE GROUND BY TODAY TO HELP QUELL VIOLENCE
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SOUTH AFRICA MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY SAYS 10,000 TROOOPS ON THE GROUND BY TODAY TO HELP QUELL VIOLENCE

South Africa&#8217;s Louis Oosthuizen posted a bogey-free, 6-under-par 64 to grab the early lead during the first round of the Open Championship at Royal St. George&#8217;s in Sandwich, Kent, England.
Oosthuizen held a one-stroke lead over Brian Harman and Jordan Spieth.
The trio of Harman, Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and South African Dylan Frittelli, grouped together for the first two rounds, all went low. Harman birdied No. 18 to tie Spieth at 5-under 65 and Hughes and Frittelli each shot 4-under 66. Stewart Cink, 48, was also 4-under with one hole to play.
Oosthuizen landed his tee shot on the par-3 16th inside eight feet of the pin to set up his sixth birdie of the day. After warming up with seven pars to start his round, he had a three-birdie run on Nos. 8-10 and later tied Spieth at 5 under with birdies on Nos. 13 and 14.
Following an early bogey, Spieth&#8217;s long putt from the fringe on No. 5 kicked off a string of four straight birdies as he staked out his spot near the top of the leaderboard. He added two more birdies on the back nine as he jockeyed for position with Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen&#8217;s only major victory came at the 2010 Open, but he has six runner-up finishes in majors &#8212; including this year&#8217;s PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
The 2017 Open champion, Spieth entered the week leading all players in Open Championship scoring average since 2015 (69.6), according to the PGA Tour. His 65 marked his 13th Open round in the 60s in that span, which leads the pack as well.
Harman was the first player to touch 5-under, compiling five birdies in his first eight holes before dropping a shot on the ninth. There was a two-shot swing when Hughes sank his fifth birdie on the par-4 12th while Harman bogeyed the hole, suddenly delivering the Canadian a brief two-shot lead.
That was until Spieth and Oosthuizen surged ahead.
Englishmen Andy Sullivan, Jack Senior and Danny Willett as well as South African Justin Harding shot 3-under 67. Norway&#8217;s Viktor Hovland and England&#8217;s Paul Casey each shot 68 to join a group at 2 under. Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka opened with a 1-under 69.
Bryson DeChambeau only hit one fairway in regulation over his first 12 holes, but his scrambling kept him afloat. No. 12 was the start of a stretch of three birdies for him; he hit iron off the tee at the par-5 14th to ensure he found the fairway, still managed to reach the green in two and two-putted. He finished with a 1-over 71.
Defending champion Shane Lowry and world No. 2 Jon Rahm, Oosthuizen&#8217;s playing partners, shot 1-over 71.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson stood at 2-under with a few holes to go. Northern Ireland&#8217;s Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler were among the stars scheduled to tee off late in the day.
&#8211;Field Level Media
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Louis Oosthuizen takes early lead at Open Championship

ATHENS, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Greece has offered to share its experiences on migrant issues with Lithuania as it handles a sharp rise in the number of people crossing its border, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday, after what he called an &#8220;orchestrated effort&#8221; by Belarus to pressure its neighbour.
The comments, following a meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte in Athens, come as Lithuanian and EU officials have accused Minsk of using illegal migrants to pressure the European Union because of the bloc&#8217;s sanctions.
&#8220;What Belarus is doing is simply unacceptable,&#8221; Mitsotakis said, adding that the leaders had discussed how to ensure proper reception facilities, speed up asylum procedures, and also how to &#8220;effectively and quickly return those not entitled to international protection&#8221;.
Amid rising tensions between the European Union and Belarus this year, more than 1,700 people have crossed the border into Lithuania, including 1,100 in July alone.
&#8220;The total number might not seem very frightening but what is frightening is the trend,&#8221; Simonyte said, adding that more than 20 times more people had entered than in previous years.
Greece, which has long accused its neighbour Turkey of exploiting the migrant issue, bore the brunt of the crisis in 2015 when more than 1 million people entered the European Union from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.
At the same time, Athens has also faced criticism for its handling of the migrant issue and accusations, which it strongly denies, of illegal &#8220;pushbacks&#8221; of migrant boats entering its waters from Turkey.
Mitsotakis repeated that while migration was a problem for the EU as a whole, it particularly weighed on states with external borders. He said he had agreed with Simonyte to coordinate common positions regarding the new EU migration and asylum pact.
They agreed that the new policy should not overburden member states that saw more migratory pressures because of their geography, he said.
&#8220;Lithuania will also seek a more effective migration policy&#8221;, Lithuanian PM spokeswoman told Reuters.
The European Union&#8217;s executive launched a plan in September to overhaul migration rules to resolve years of bitterness over refugees fleeing the Middle East and Africa.
The most sensitive element would de facto oblige each state to host some refugees &#8211; something firmly opposed by eastern nations Poland and Hungary. (Reporting by James Mackenzie in Athens and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius Editing by Frances Kerry)
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Greece offers Lithuania support over sharp rise in migrant numbers

By Ed Osmond
SANDWICH, England, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; England&#8217;s Danny Willett and Andy Sullivan along with South African Justin Harding set the early clubhouse target with rounds of 67 as the 149th British Open started in sunny conditions at Royal St George&#8217;s on Thursday.
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes moved to five under par after 13 holes and American Jordan Spieth, the 2017 Open champion, made four consecutive birdies on the front nine to join Willett, Sullivan and Harding on three under.
The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic but up to 32,000 fans are allowed in each day this year as part of a government test event and warm applause rippled around the links course under clear skies.
Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, mixed two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine before picking up three shots over the closing holes.
&#8220;The Open is a very special venue, a very special tournament for everyone,&#8221; Willett told reporters.
&#8220;To be able to be clapped onto every tee, every green makes a big difference in this game and it&#8217;s been fantastic to have them back.&#8221;
American Brooks Koepka, a four-times major champion, started with a solid 69, but it was a tough morning for 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
The long-hitting American visited the treacherous rough on several occasions and made three bogeys on the front nine to drop back to one over.
World number one Dustin Johnson was level par through 10 holes and Norwegian Viktor Hovland started with a 68 to finish two under.
Defending champion Shane Lowry of Ireland struggled to two over playing with former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Spanish U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, whose solid start was spoiled by a double bogey at the ninth.
Four-times major champion Rory McIlroy, winner of the British Open in 2014, was among the late starters playing alongside American Ryder Cup rival Patrick Reed.
Richard Bland was given the honour of hitting the opening shot of the tournament and the Englishman, who won his first European PGA Tour title this season at the 478th attempt, struck his drive straight down the fairway.
&#8220;It was very special, very nerve-racking,&#8221; Bland told reporters. &#8220;This is what it&#8217;s all about. The nerves definitely sort of cranked up a little bit and I was glad to hit one in the fairway.&#8221; (Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by Ken Ferris )
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Golf-Willett, Sullivan, Harding set pace at British Open

NAIROBI, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s currency is likely to come under pressure against the U.S. dollar next week while Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia&#8217;s units hold steady.

KENYA
The Kenyan shilling is expected to come under pressure in the coming week as demand for dollars increases in the market.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 108.05/108.25, compared with last Thursday&#8217;s close 107.85/108.05.
&#8220;I expect the demand (for dollars) to go up in the next week,&#8221; said a trader at one of the commercial banks.

NIGERIA
Nigeria&#8217;s naira is seen unchanged on the official and parallel markets next week due to a forthcoming bank holiday and thin liquidity, traders said.
The currency was quoted at 411 naira on the spot market on Thursday, to stay within a range of between 407 naira and 412 naira it has traded at since last month.
It remained unchanged on the black market at the more than 3-1/2-year low of 505 naira hit last week on the informal market.

TANZANIA
Tanzania&#8217;s shilling is expected to hold steady as dollar inflows from daily corporate operations and retail companies match demand.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,314/2,324 against the dollar, unchanged from last Thursday&#8217;s close.
&#8220;We expect the demand and inflows to come from the daily operations of corporates and retail businesses,&#8221; a trader at one commercial bank in Dar es Salaam said.

UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling is expected to be stable, with inflows from exporters of commodities like coffee helping absorb appetite from merchandise importers.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,545/3,555, compared with last Thursday&#8217;s close of 3,550/3,560.
&#8220;We have healthy inflows from commodities like coffee, they will mop up any importer demand coming through,&#8221; said a trader at one commercial bank, who expected it to trade in the 3,540-3,560 range in the next week.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha is likely to hold steady against the dollar next week as the market continues to see some moderate hard currency supply and matching demand.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa&#8217;s second largest copper producer at 22.6350 per dollar from 22.6200 at the close of business a week ago.
&#8220;Interim trends suggest that the rate is likely to trade between 22.650 to 22.850 in the short to medium term,&#8221; pan-African commercial bank Access Bank said in a note. (Reporting by Omar Mohammed, Chijioke Ohuocha, Nuzulack Dausen, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula; Compiled by Chris Mfula; Editing by XXX XXX)
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WEEKAHEAD-AFRICA-FX-Kenyan shilling seen softening, other African currencies stable

* Asyad may divest from Sohar port operating firm
* Firm seeks to expand in freight forwarding, courier
* Post-pandemic recovery eyed in East Africa, India
By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Davide Barbuscia
DUBAI, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Oman&#8217;s state-owned Asyad is considering buying ports and terminals abroad and could divest assets outside its core logistics business, such as a college and project management operation, its chief executive said on Thursday.
The plans by the company, which is owned by the Oman Investment Authority, align with the small oil producing Gulf state&#8217;s broader strategy to reduce reliance on crude revenues and expand its non-oil industries.
Chief Executive Abdulrahman Salim Al Hatmi told Reuters the company&#8217;s mandate included engaging with the private sector in Oman and attracting foreign investment.
&#8220;International growth has been part of our strategy, whether it&#8217;s ports or freight forwarding,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Our objective is to look at all the assets that the government has invested in &#8211; in Oman &#8211; put them together and integrate them.&#8221;
Asyad, with $5 billion of assets, focuses on logistics, transportation, port services, shipping and free zones.
Hatmi said there were still some missing elements in the company&#8217;s portfolio, such as freight forwarding, courier and parcel services and a temperature-controlled supply chain.
&#8220;We have a fantastic wealth of fishery in Oman, we want to support the food market in Oman, so we are looking at expanding some activities in that area that can help us fill the gap,&#8221; he said.
He said the company wanted to expand in areas such as shipping, land transport, and air transport ahead of an expected post-pandemic economic jump in East Africa and India.
To support its expansion plans and organic growth, Asyad would decide by the end of the year whether to raise debt via bonds or loans, Hatmi said, adding that bonds were &#8220;one of the instruments we are looking at&#8221;.
Hatmi said the company was considering divesting non-core assets, which included a college, as well as project management and public transport activities, such as buses and ferries.
He also said Asyad was considering divesting from Hutchison Ports Sohar, a joint venture operator owned by Asyad, Hutchison Ports and other shareholders. It runs a container facility at Sohar Port which lies in the Gulf of Oman, near the busy Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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Oman logistics group Asyad looks abroad for possible expansion

DAKAR, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Africa recorded a 43% rise in COVID-19 deaths week-on-week, as cases rise, hospital admissions increase rapidly and countries face shortages of oxygen and intensive care beds, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Bate Felix; editing by John Stonestreet)
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WHO says Covid-19 deaths surged 43% week-on-week in Africa

By Libby George and Estelle Shirbon
LAGOS/LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Shehu Ismaila Gbadebo has worked as a barber for two decades. The money he made at his rented stall in a bustling suburb of Nigeria&#8217;s megacity, Lagos, used to be plenty for him to pay bills and set aside some savings. Now, he relies on donated food and sometimes skips meals to feed his family.
Since COVID-19 hit Africa&#8217;s most populous nation and biggest economy, prices for some staples such as eggs, onions and palm oil, have risen by 30% or more. Fewer people can afford a haircut, and those who can are demanding discounts off Gbadebo&#8217;s 500 naira ($1.22) rate.
&#8220;The money I have is not enough for what we need,&#8221; Gbadebo, 38, told Reuters after tending a customer.
Millions of Nigerians like Gbadebo, who were once on solid financial footing, can no longer reliably feed themselves or their families. Roughly 18% of households in Nigeria have at least one adult who does not eat for an entire day at a time, compared with 6% before the pandemic, according to the World Bank. Inflation is near an all-time high, and food prices account for almost 70% of the rise.

The U.N. food agency has warned that food import costs worldwide are expected to surge to records this year, as price increases for nearly all agricultural commodities and a rally in energy prices boost production and shipping costs.
But in Nigeria, galloping inflation is combining with the impact of a teetering economy, rising unemployment and insecurity in farming regions to pull even the formerly middle class into dire straits.
Some experts warn of worsening malnutrition and the potential for unrest.
&#8220;What we are experiencing in Nigeria is different from what is being experienced all over the world,&#8221; said Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based think-tank Centre for Democracy and Development, adding that the nation&#8217;s limited social safety net left millions with little help.
&#8220;Crime is actually skyrocketing on daily basis, because people are trying to make ends meet.&#8221;

DOUBLE THE COST
On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, dozens of women lined up in the Oworonshoki neighbourhood on the edge of the Lagos lagoon as the Lagos Food Bank Initiative distributed packs of rice, oil and other essentials.
Food bank president Michael Sunbola said demand was 40% higher than before the pandemic. The distribution in mixed-income Oworonshoki, where brick apartment blocks buttress ramshackle shanties, was new.
&#8220;Middle class families, people who would ordinarily not imagine queuing up for food, are now in that category of people that we serve,&#8221; Sunbola said.
The World Bank estimates that price shocks in 2020 pushed 7 million additional Nigerians into poverty, an increase of nearly 10%. Marco Hernandez, the World Bank&#8217;s lead economist for Nigeria, said the weakening naira, trade restrictions and land border closures targeting smuggling also boosted prices.
Cost increases hit the food bank too; a 100-kg (220-lb) bag of beans that cost it 30,000 naira before COVID-19 hit now takes 65,000 naira, forcing it to cut the amount of food in each pack.

PRECIPITATING A CRISIS
Beans and other staples are grown mainly in Nigeria&#8217;s increasingly unstable north. Legislators warned in April the nation was &#8220;on fire&#8221; due a wave of violence and lawlessness.
In November, Islamist militants beheaded dozens of farmers in northeastern Borno state, and in the northwest, armed gangs kidnapping for ransom are driving farmers to abandon their fields.
An official in northwestern Kaduna state warned insecurity had already hit crop yields and was &#8220;precipitating a food crisis&#8221;.
Back in Lagos, Gbadebo the barber said his wife, currently at home with their three children, including a one-month-old baby, would soon start working to help support the family.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not easy,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Before COVID everything was a bit better.&#8221;
(Reporting by Libby George in Lagos and Estelle Shirbon in London; Additional reporting by Nneka Chile and Seun Sanni in Lagos; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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Pandemic disruptions push millions of Nigerians into hunger

DURBAN, South Africa, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; A week of violence, arson and looting that has engulfed South Africa slowly began to ebb on Thursday as several districts rocked by the mayhem were quiet ahead of an expected surge in soldiers on the streets.
Pockets of looting contiued in the eastern port city of Durban.
A Reuters reporter saw crowds in Durban&#8217;s Mobeni neighbourhood rollling away trolleys loaded with maize meal and other looted staples. Some loaded pick-up trucks &#8211; one such truck had to be abandoned as it had run out of fuel. Petrol stations have shut across the city because of the unrest.
Taxi drivers blockaded some roads to try to prevent further pillaging.
The riots initially started with the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week after he failed to appear at a corruption inquiry. But they swiftly degenerated into looting and destruction, driven by widespread anger over the hardship and inequality that nearly three decades of democracy since the end of apartheid have failed to address.
South Africa&#8217;s defence minister said on Wednesday he planned to deploy up to 25,000 soldiers in the two provinces where security forces are struggling to quell days of looting, arson and violence.
The soldiers were expected in the hot spots of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, where the police and army have been battling the disorder for days. Authorities say 5,000 troops are already on the streets since Wednesday, double the number originally planned. It was unclear when the rest would arrive.
More than 70 people have been killed in the unrest, the worst in South Africa for years, and hundreds of businesses wrecked. Security forces have arrested at least 1,350 people.
Shopping malls and warehouses have been ransacked or set ablaze in several cities, mostly in Zuma&#8217;s home in the KwaZulu-Natal province, especially Durban, and the financial and economic centre Johannesburg and surrounding Gauteng province.
In South Africa&#8217;s largest township Soweto, outside Johannesburg, streets were quiet on Thursday and shopkeepers were going through the wreckage left of their stores, a Reuters reporter said.
In Johannesburg&#8217;s central business district, and the township of Alexandra, both also hit hard by violence, the streets were calm.

(Reporting by Siyabong Sishi, Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Shafiek Tassiem, Writing by Tim Cocks, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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S.Africa looting dies down in places as more troops expected

* Chinese stocks surge over 1%, Q2 GDP misses expectations
* South African rand extends recovery into second day
* Russian rouble pressured by oil weakness
By Ambar Warrick
July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Emerging market stocks jumped on Thursday as mixed Chinese growth data raised expectations of more liquidity measures in the country, while currencies edged up on dovish cues from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
MSCI&#8217;s index of emerging market stocks rose 0.9% to 1,350.73 points- its highest level in nine days.
Chinese stocks, which make up a bulk of the emerging market index, surged more than 1% as investors anticipated further liquidity measures from the People&#8217;s Bank of China (PBOC), after second-quarter economic growth rose slower than expected.
Alibaba and Tencent, the largest Chinese technology companies, rose about 2.8% and 1.7%, respectively.
The PBOC had last week cut reserve requirements for banks to release about 1 trillion yuan ($154.64 billion) in liquidity. But the move was interpreted as dovish by some, on the grounds that it indicated some slowing in a post-pandemic economic bounce.
Mitul Kotecha, chief EM Asia and Europe strategist at TD securities, said the reserve rate cut was a &#8220;targeted attempt to keep liquidity stable rather than a step towards policy easing.&#8221;
&#8220;We expect manufacturing activity to moderate further in the months ahead as trade slows, but services are likely to play catch up, especially retail spending, helping to mitigate the likely downturn in activity.&#8221;
The Chinese yuan rose 0.1%.
Russia&#8217;s rouble fell 0.3%, and was among the worst performers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region as oil prices slid on reports that top OPEC producers had agreed to increase supply.
MSCI&#8217;s index of emerging market currencies edged 0.2% higher, as comments from Powell on Wednesday reassured investors that the Fed would keep policy loose for now, to shore up economic growth.
The prospect of low U.S. interest rates benefits high-yielding emerging market assets.
But gains were checked by increasing virus cases in Asia.
South Africa&#8217;s rand rose 0.4%, outpacing its peers in EMEA as it extended a recovery into a second straight session. Fears of escalating violence in the country had bought the rand to a three-month low.

In central Europe, Poland&#8217;s zloty sank 0.4% to the euro, as a dispute between the country and the European Union over local judicial reforms deepened.
The zloty has also lagged its peers, the Hungarian forint and the Czech crown, in recent sessions, as the central banks of the other two currencies began tightening policy.
For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets
For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see
For TURKISH market report, see
For RUSSIAN market report, see
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks rise on Chinese liquidity hopes, FX inches up

SOUTH AFRICA&#8217;S MINES AND ENERGY MINISTRY SAYS PEOPLE SHOULD NOT PANIC-BUY AND HOARD FUEL, IT WILL EXACERBATE SUPPLY SITUATION
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SOUTH AFRICA’S MINES AND ENERGY MINISTRY SAYS PEOPLE SHOULD NOT PANIC-BUY AND HOARD FUEL, IT WILL EXACERBATE SUPPLY SITUATION

* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/cb-polls?RIC=ZAREPO%3DECI Repo predictions
* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=ZAGDPQP GDP forecasts
* C.bank to hold rates on July 22, hike in Q1&#8217;22
* Current inflation pressures transitory
* Economic impact of more disruptions too early to tell
* Reuters poll graphic on emerging market currencies outlook: https://tmsnrt.rs/3khN4q0
By Vuyani Ndaba
JOHANNESBURG, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s central bank will keep its repo rate on hold next week as it looks through temporary high inflation and to support the economy, a Reuters poll found, but will kick-start its hiking cycle early next year to catch up with peers.
Adding to the economic devastation already wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, riots and looting in recent days have left more than 70 people dead, hurt thousands of businesses and damaged major infrastructure in some of the worst civil unrest since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
Meanwhile, the unleashing of pent-up demand sent inflation to a 30-month high of 5.2% in May from 4.4%. However, this is considered transitory and core inflation &#8211; indicative of long-term trends &#8211; was still well within the Reserve Bank&#8217;s comfort level of 3-6 percent at 3.1% year-on-year.
All 30 economists in the July 9-14 Reuters poll were unanimous in saying the central bank would keep rates unchanged on July 22 at 3.50%, but as consumer inflation was expected to average around 4.3% this year and 4.4% next year, future rises were predicted.
Medians in the poll suggested rates would be hiked 25 basis points to 3.75% in either January or March as real rates are already in negative territory. The repo rate was expected at 4.00% by the end of next year and 4.50% by end-2023.
Generally, South Africa&#8217;s current uptrend in inflation, similar to the global backdrop, is transitory rather than a more lasting trend, according to a majority of economists polled.
Indeed, economists across the world agree the recent upward trend is primarily driven by the pandemic-induced low base of last year due to the shock from countries across the world shuttering vast swathes of their economies to try and contain the coronavirus.
&#8220;Consumer services inflation remain contained, and consumer goods inflation likely peaked in May and will shortly steadily moderate over the remaining months of 2021,&#8221; said Thanda Sithole, economist at First National Bank.
Economists have been concerned about imported inflation due to higher oil prices, albeit cushioned by a stronger rand in past months, although a compromise by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over OPEC+ policy should unlock a deal to supply more crude to a tight oil market and cool soaring prices.

However, Sithole said the output gap remains wide, indicative of a lack of demand-pull inflationary pressures.
South Africa&#8217;s gross domestic product was expected to rebound and grow 4.3% this year, a 0.2 percentage points increase from last month&#8217;s median. But that comes after a 7.0% slump last year and not enough to address the record high 32.6% unemployment rate.
Growth was expected to slow to 2.2% next year and to 1.9% in 2023.
The full impact of the recent civil unrest is still unclear as Durban&#8217;s port has suffered major disruption, operations have been badly affected at the Richards Bay Port as has a national freight rail line, companies said on Wednesday.
&#8220;If it comes to an end in the next day or so then the impact will be more muted compared with a scenario where it spreads to more areas of the country and last for weeks,&#8221; said Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
&#8220;In Brazil, for example, strikes by truck drivers in May 2018 brought the country to a stand-still and resulted in a sharp (albeit temporary) drop in activity and a rise in inflation, even if supply disruptions did push up inflation, we suspect that the SARB would look through this.&#8221;

(For other stories from the Reuters global long-term economic outlook polls package)

(Reporting and polling by Vuyani Ndaba)
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POLL-S.Africa central bank to keep rates unchanged on July 22, hike in early 2022

SEOUL, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; SoftBank&#8217;s Vision Fund has invested $1.7 billion in Yanolja, the South Korean travel firm said on Thursday.
Yanolja, a provider of cloud-based booking and other systems for hotels and travel companies, said this week it aims to expand its client base 16 times by 2025, building on rapid pandemic-induced growth in southeast Asia, India and Africa. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $1.7 bln in S.Korea travel firm Yanolja

By Andrea Shalal and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; The clock is ticking as President Joe Biden welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Thursday with both hoping to rebuild ties badly frayed under former President Donald Trump.
The United States and Germany are key NATO allies but are at odds over a host of tough issues, including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, which Washington fears will increase European reliance on Russian gas.
They also disagree over the wisdom of partnering with China on business deals, continuing restrictions on travel to the United States from Europe, and Germany&#8217;s opposition to temporary patent waivers aimed at speeding COVID-19 vaccine production.
Biden, 78, and Merkel, 66, see eye to eye on a string of broader issues. They will likely discuss joining forces to fight threats to democracy around the world, counter Russian cyberattacks and territorial aggression in Eastern Europe, and China&#8217;s push to dominate advanced technologies, officials in both governments said.
Ending the pandemic and halting climate change will also come up, they said.
But the two leaders do not have much time to work together on strengthening ties between the world&#8217;s largest and fourth-largest economies.
Merkel, chancellor since 2005, plans to exit Germany&#8217;s government after national elections in September, meaning she is likely to be seen as a &#8220;lame duck&#8221; in her final months in power.
Polling shows her Christian Democrats are poised to take the lead in forming a government after the election, but it remains unclear which parties would be included in a coalition.
Biden&#8217;s Democratic Party has tenuous majorities in the U.S. Congress that could evaporate in the 2022 congressional elections.
John Emerson, who served as ambassador to Germany under former President Barack Obama, said the relationship remains &#8220;indispensable&#8221; for Washington given Germany&#8217;s role as the largest economy in Europe and a NATO ally, as well as its importance as a bridge builder in dealing with Russia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Germany hosts some 36,000 U.S. troops on its soil.

MAKING AMENDS
Merkel&#8217;s White House visit &#8211; the first by a European leader since Biden took office in January &#8211; shows the United States is trying to make amends with an ally that was often attacked during the Trump years.
&#8220;Inviting her to come is important symbolically, but it&#8217;s also an opportunity to get the relationship back on the right track, and that is clearly happening,” Emerson said.
Merkel&#8217;s agenda on Thursday includes breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris, a one-on-one meeting with Biden and a dinner hosted by the Bidens at the White House. Merkel also will make remarks after receiving an honorary degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Germany&#8217;s transatlantic coordinator, Peter Beyer, said Germans were aware that there was only a limited time available to move forward, given the risk that Biden could be weakened after the 2022 elections.
Merkel may advise Biden on what to expect in the next German government, said Jackson Janes, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
&#8220;I think it will be a sense of saying: &#8216;Thanks for the memories,&#8217; and maybe a little bit more about what (Biden) should be thinking about as he deals with the next administration in Berlin,&#8221; he said of Merkel&#8217;s likely message on her trip. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Andreas Rinke and Joseph Nasr in Berlin; Editing by Kieran Murray and Peter Cooney)
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Biden, Merkel may have little time to rebuild ‘indispensable’ relationship

By Joyce Lee
SEOUL, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Yanolja, a South Korean firm that provides cloud-based booking and other systems for hotels and travel companies, said it is aiming to expand its client base 16 times by 2025, building on rapid pandemic-induced growth in Southeast Asia, India and Africa.
Demand for its systems has jumped as the spread of COVID-19 put companies under intense pressure to introduce contactless services and cut costs. That in turn has made Yanolja a rare beast in the travel industry over the past year &#8211; a company which has seen earnings spike.
Founded as an online booking agency in 2005, Yanolja only launched its cloud business in 2019. The business, which competes with Oracle Corp in a highly fragmented sector, now has some 30,000 licensees and that client base should reach 500,000 by 2025, Chief Executive Kim Jong-yoon told Reuters in an interview.
&#8220;Our sales and profits are bound to improve when COVID-19 travel constraints end,&#8221; he said.
Last year Yanolja swung to a 16.1 billion won ($14 million) operating profit from a loss of 6.2 billion won, while revenue soared 44% to 192 billion won.
Its performance has stoked investor interest and in the over-the-counter market where a limited number of its shares are traded, Yanolja was valued at 8.7 trillion won ($7.6 billion) on Wednesday. That represents a massive increase over its valuation of more than $1 billion in 2019 when Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and U.S. firm Booking Holdings invested $180 million.
SoftBank&#8217;s Vision Fund is in talks to invest in Yanolja, the Financial Times reported last week. Kim declined to comment as did a SoftBank representative.
Yanolja has previously said it was pursuing an IPO but Kim also declined to comment on those plans.
The company&#8217;s systems allow hotels to manage bookings, accept contactless check-ins, and track when guests are not in their rooms so that electricity is not wasted and rooms can be cleaned more efficiently. It also offers systems that allow hotels and travel agencies to connect their data more easily.
In addition to some 9,000 hotels as clients in South Korea, Yanolja has signed up some 6,000 hotels in Southeast Asia where it has a presence in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. It also plans to enter Vietnam shortly having partnered with VNTravel, the online travel unit of VNLIFE.
In India, Yanolja has some 6,000 hotels as customers, while in Africa at least 3,000 hotels are using its services after it entered the market in September last year.
($1 = 1,149.2000 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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Flush with pandemic profit success, S.Korean travel firm Yanolja eyes rapid expansion

* 22.7 mln children missed routine vaccines in 2020 -U.N.
* Measles can be a killer disease of unvaccinated children
* &#8216;Large, disruptive&#8217; measles outbreaks in Afghanistan, Africa
* WHO fears &#8216;perfect storm&#8217; as nations lift pandemic curbs
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, July 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Nearly 23 million children missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest number in more than a decade, fuelling outbreaks of measles, polio and other preventable diseases, U.N. agencies said on Thursday.
Measles, one of the world&#8217;s most contagious diseases, can be fatal to children under the age of five, especially in African and Asian countries with weak health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Polio can cripple a child for life.
The gap in global vaccination coverage has set up a &#8220;perfect storm&#8221;, leaving more children vulnerable to infectious pathogens just as many countries ease COVID-19 restrictions, the WHO and U.N. Children&#8217;s Fund said in an annual report.
Ten countries, led by India and Nigeria, account for the bulk of the 22.7 million children left unvaccinated or under-vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) in 2020 &#8211; 3.7 million more than in 2019 and the most since 2009, it said regarding a key indicator of childhood vaccination rates.
&#8220;Large and disruptive&#8221; outbreaks of measles have been recorded in hotspots including Afghanistan, Mali, Somalia and Yemen, the report added.
Some 22.3 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year &#8211; although there was probably substantial overlap with those lacking DTP coverage &#8211; for the lowest coverage against the killer disease since 2010, it said.
&#8220;The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major backsliding on childhood vaccination, taking us back more than a decade,&#8221; Kate O&#8217;Brien, WHO director of immunisation, told a news briefing.
There has been an &#8220;alarming increase&#8221; in &#8220;zero dose&#8221; children &#8211; those missing out on any vaccination &#8211; which rose to 17.1 million last year from 13.6 million, said Ephrem Lemango, UNICEF chief of immunisation. Many live in war-torn countries or slums, he said.
Sixty-six countries postponed at least one immunisation campaign against preventable diseases, although some including Mexico have begun catch-up programmes, the report said.
&#8220;In 2021 we have potentially a perfect storm about to happen and we don&#8217;t want to get to that perfect storm to be ringing the alarm bell. We are ringing it now,&#8221; O&#8217;Brien said.
The WHO has urged countries not to lift public health and social distancing measures prematurely as they begin to emerge from the pandemic, she said.
&#8220;But if that is happening &#8211; and as it is happening &#8211; we are going to see more and more transmission of the pathogens that are otherwise vaccine preventable pathogens.&#8221; (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Mark Heinrich)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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Child diseases on rise as COVID-19 slows routine vaccinations -U.N.

JOHANNESBURG, July 14 (Reuters) &#8211; A 2-year-old girl survived unharmed after her mother threw her to safety as they escaped a burning high-rise building in the South African city of Durban during protests.
The mother, 26-year-old Naledi Manyoni, told Reuters on Wednesday that she had been on the 16th floor when the fire started on Tuesday. She ran down the stairs with her daughter.
Manyoni made her way to a ledge above the street and tossed the toddler to a group of people below as bystanders cried out in consternation.
&#8220;After throwing her, I held my head in shock, but they caught her,&#8221; Manyoni recalled outside the building as her daughter sat on her shoulders. &#8220;She kept saying, &#8216;Mama you threw me down there.&#8217; She was scared.&#8221;
&#8220;What was important was for my daughter to be out of that situation&#8230; I couldn&#8217;t escape alone and leave her behind,&#8221; she said as the girl, dressed in a red coat and hood, babbled and clapped her hands.
They stood on the street before burned and ransacked shops. South Africa is in the throes of one of the worst upheavals in the post-apartheid era, which began when former President Jacob Zuma was jailed last week for failing to appear for a corruption enquiry.
The protests, which started in Zuma&#8217;s home province KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, soon turned into mass looting, arson and riots in provincial Durban and Johannesburg, the commercial hub of South Africa. (Reporting by Siyabonga Sishi Writing by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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SOUTH AFRICA MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY SAYS 10,000 TROOOPS ON THE GROUND BY TODAY TO HELP QUELL VIOLENCE

Louis Oosthuizen takes early lead at Open Championship

Greece offers Lithuania support over sharp rise in migrant numbers

Golf-Willett, Sullivan, Harding set pace at British Open

WEEKAHEAD-AFRICA-FX-Kenyan shilling seen softening, other African currencies stable

Oman logistics group Asyad looks abroad for possible expansion

WHO says Covid-19 deaths surged 43% week-on-week in Africa

Pandemic disruptions push millions of Nigerians into hunger

S.Africa looting dies down in places as more troops expected

EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks rise on Chinese liquidity hopes, FX inches up

SOUTH AFRICA’S MINES AND ENERGY MINISTRY SAYS PEOPLE SHOULD NOT PANIC-BUY AND HOARD FUEL, IT WILL EXACERBATE SUPPLY SITUATION

POLL-S.Africa central bank to keep rates unchanged on July 22, hike in early 2022

SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $1.7 bln in S.Korea travel firm Yanolja

Biden, Merkel may have little time to rebuild ‘indispensable’ relationship

Flush with pandemic profit success, S.Korean travel firm Yanolja eyes rapid expansion

Child diseases on rise as COVID-19 slows routine vaccinations -U.N.

South African mother throws baby to safety from burning building

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