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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): The world’s biggest number of HIV cases is complicating South Africa’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, raising the risk of more mutated versions emerging and spreading across the globe.Many of the country’s 8.2 million HIV-infected people are immuno-compromised and scientists say they can harbor the coronavirus for longer, allowing it to mutate as it reproduces. A study of an HIV positive 36-year-old woman showed that Covid-19 stayed in her…

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Among President Biden’s favorite terms, “rules-based order” is near the top of the list. Used by his administration as a foreign policy mantra, it means supporting the international laws and institutions that have kept the world relatively peaceful since World War II. Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine has been cited as a violation of the rules, as has Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemicals…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Bitcoin headed for its worst week in almost two months as a proposed capital-gains tax increase for wealthy Americans intensified the volatility whiplashing the world’s largest cryptocurrency. A fresh bout of selling on Friday drove Bitcoin down as much as 7.9% to $47,525 — below its 100-day moving average — as it continued to take out key technical levels. Wall Street analysts warn of further losses for the notoriously…

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) — A year after Angolan authorities cracked down on her multibillion-dollar business empire, Africa’s once-richest woman is watching it crumble. From self-imposed exile in Dubai, Isabel dos Santos has been fighting a legal battle against Angola’s government as court orders roil her companies. In Luanda, shelves at the Candando supermarket stores are more than half-empty. A beer factory south of the capital is running at 30% of its production capacity. Operations at…

DAR ES SALAM (Capital Markets in Africa) — Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as Tanzania’s president two days after the death of incumbent John Magufuli, and now faces the arduous task of securing political control of the East African nation. Hassan, 61, took the oath of office at a ceremony in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam on Friday. She succeeded Magufuli under a constitutional provision that the president’s deputy will serve out…