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☆ An au pair for wealthy families shares the highs and lows of the unpredictable job
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She told Business Insider that the difference between an au pair and a nanny is in the scope of the role. "Au pairs are allowed to negotiate for more; however, most families pay this because au pairs are afraid to speak up." Related storiesHutchinson's interest in becoming an au pair was sparked by her college dean, who talked fondly of her experiences as an au pair in America two decades earlier. Typically, they would video chat with a potential au pair from afar before hiring one for a 12-month position. She's still waiting on paperwork, but once her au pair time concludes, she plans to pursue a different path.

Persons: —, Angel Hutchinson, she's, She's, Hutchinson, ZAR, we've, Hutchinson's, she'd, it's, I've, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, Business, State Department, Rockies, VW Jetta, lhaas Locations: Durban, South Africa, Maryland, Puerto Rico, America, Indian, New Jersey, Colorado

☆ Bombs Rain Down in Myanmar as Junta Evades Sanctions to Buy Jet Fuel
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Richard C. Paddock | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

U Har San and his wife crawled under a table, and their daughter, eight months pregnant, hid under a bed. Bombs rained down, he said, even though no rebel fighters were in their village. One bomb killed the mother-to-be, Ma Zar Zar Win. “She was our only daughter, and now our family line has been cut off,” Mr. Har San said. The airstrikes have also taken a heavy toll on resistance fighters.

Persons: Zar Zar, ” Mr, Har Locations: Myanmar, Har San, Lat Pan, Shan State, Rakhine State

☆ I spent $317 a night to stay at the Taj Cape Town. The mountain views weren't even the best part of the 5-star hotel.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Aida M. Toro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

My friend and I paid $1,900 to stay in a mountain-view room at the Taj Cape Town in South Africa. That's why I was ecstatic when my best friend asked me to be her plus-one to a ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the top unique wedding destinations for 2024 and 2025. When we were choosing a place to stay, I decided to go with a chain I was already familiar with and booked a room for two at the Taj Cape Town. I spent 35,500 ZAR, or about $1,900 USD, on a six-night stay at the hotel. Here's what our experience at Taj Cape Town was like.

Persons: —, Pierre Organizations: Taj, Service, Taj Cape Locations: Town, South Africa, Cape Town , South Africa, New York City

☆ A longtime banker gives a rare inside look at how he is thinking about his next career move and weighing factors like work-from-home policies and family as well as compensation.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Within hedge funds in particular, there has been a war for talent — or a talent bubble, depending on who you talk to — as the biggest funds grow ever larger. Banks, hedge funds, consulting — it's all on the table for Monnier in a chaotic recruiting environment that is unlike the ones he has experienced before. Pros and cons of the buy-sideThe best job market Monnier has experienced was, naturally, before the global financial crisis. Now, the job market isn't as hot, but the number of players interested in his skillset has grown. Average pay at hedge funds was nearly $500,000.

Persons: —, Jeremy Monnier doesn't, Goldman Sachs, Joe Leung, Leung, Monnier, Banks, Goldman, Zar Amrolia, Amrolia, he's, eFinancialCareers, they'd, doesn't Organizations: Service, Michelin, Business, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Monnier, Deutsche, XTX, Barclays — Locations: London, German, Normandy, France, Paris, United Kingdom

☆ Lebanon's Hezbollah says it is stronger than before as border clashes rage
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Smoke rises from Dhayra village after Israeli shelling as pictured from the Lebanese town of Marwahin, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, October 11, 2023. Hezbollah said two of its fighters were killed in south Lebanon on Wednesday and a third was in a serious condition. The fighting has been the deadliest at the border since Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006. Hezbollah announced on Wednesday a fighter had died of wounds sustained on Tuesday, increasing to six the number of its fighters killed in Tuesday's violence. Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said on Oct. 13 the group would act when the time comes.

Persons: Mohamed Azakir, Hashem Safieddine, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Kibbutz Manara, Naim Qassem, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam, Henriette Chacar, Edmund Blair, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United, Palestinian, Hamas, Israeli, Kibbutz, Thomson Locations: Dhayra, Marwahin, Israel, Lebanon, Rights BEIRUT, United States, Iran, Gaza, Zar'it, Lebanon's Ras Naqoura, Rosh HaNikra, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ Israeli-Iranian movie filmed undercover to avoid suspicion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] The 80th Venice Film Festival - Premiere for the film "Maestro" in competition - Red Carpet - Venice, Italy, September 2, 2023. "Tatami", a tense thriller centred on a world judo championship, got its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival at the weekend, receiving a standing ovation. Amir Ebrahimi and Nattiv shot the movie in Georgia, a country Iranians can easily visit. Nattiv revealed he had helped Amir Ebrahimi pay a clandestine visit to Israel, something that Tehran absolutely forbids for its citizens. We could be from the same nation, the same family, we are the same," said Amir Ebrahimi.

Persons: Damien Chazelle, Gabriele Mainetti, Jane Campion, Laura Poitras, Saleh Bakri, Martin McDonagh, Mia Hansen, Santiago Mitre, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Guy Nattiv, Arienne Mandi, Amir Ebrahimi, Nattiv, Golda, Israel, Crispian Balmer, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, International Judo Federation, Cannes, Thomson Locations: Venice, Italy, VENICE, Tehran, Iranian, Georgia, Iran, Israel

☆ Mushrooms Have Taken Over Fashion and Wellness. Up Next: Chocolate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Megan Bradley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And their strength isn’t limited to the psychedelic: Functional mushrooms — species that have been shown to have cognitive, immune system and longevity benefits — have been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to treat a variety of ailments. The pairing of cacao and mushrooms can be traced back thousands of years: Ceremonies in which fungi were mixed with cacao in an attempt to commune with the divine were an integral part of many Mesoamerican cultures. “The relationship between cacao and mushrooms is symbiotic,” says Zar. “The cacao is a vasodilator,” an agent that widens blood vessels, she continues, “and acts as a carrier for the mushrooms” across the blood-brain barrier, allowing the fungi to take effect. “As an interconnected, living network,” he says, “fungi are poster organisms for ecological and circular thinking.”

Persons: Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, ”, Shen Nong, Isabella Zar, Merlin Sheldrake Locations: California

☆ Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa's $86 billion banking system
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Then there's mobile money, which has been around since the early 2000s. Africa's mobile money transactions rose 39% to more than $700 billion in 2021, according to data from the GSM Association, a non-profit representing mobile network operators worldwide. That cash network was extraordinarily difficult and expensive to build, which is why there aren't a lot of direct competitors. Bitnob is SMS-based and piggybacks on the mobile money system, making it easier for people to send money directly into bank accounts and mobile money wallets in African countries. "We're able to settle into bank accounts or mobile money accounts, without the recipients having to interact with bitcoin themselves," Parah tells CNBC.

☆ South African rand weakens to multi-year low after Powell testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 8 (Reuters) - The South African rand dropped sharply overnight and hit its lowest level in almost three years early on Wednesday, after hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and South African data showed a sharp economic contraction. The rand's slide was compounded by gross domestic product (GDP) figures released on Tuesday that showed South Africa's economy contracted more than expected in the fourth quarter of last year. If it contracts again in the current quarter, South Africa will be in a recession. The government's benchmark 2030 bond was slightly weaker in early deals, with the yield up 2 basis points to 10.190%. Reporting by Nellie Peyton Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi channelled own experience of Iran in thriller 'Holy Spider'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] The 75th Cannes Film Festival - News conference for the film "Holy Spider" in competition - Cannes, France, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who fled her home country in 2008 in fear after a private video was leaked, says she channelled her own experience in the thriller "Holy Spider", a dark tale of a serial killer in the holy city Mashhad. Amir Ebrahimi plays journalist Rahimi, who is trying to find him and suspects corruption is preventing his arrest. I'm maybe not that victim but I've been in the centre of a society judged by many people," Amir Ebrahimi said. "Holy Spider", selected as Denmark's submission for best international feature for the Oscars, won Amir Ebrahimi the best actress award at Cannes.

☆ South African rand slumps as power crisis takes centre stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The South African rand slumped on Monday as investor concerns mounted over a power crisis that prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to cancel a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos. The South African rand traded at 17.0775 against the dollar at 1230 GMT, about 1.4% weaker than its previous close. Shaun Murison, senior market analyst at IG, said softer prices for South African exports were also weighing on the rand. Later this week South African mining output (ZAMNG=ECI) and retail sales (ZARET=ECI) for November are due, as well as December consumer inflation (ZACPIY=ECI). The South African government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 13 basis points to 9.895%.

☆ South African rand weakens as ruling ANC picks new leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 19 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened early on Monday as investors awaited the outcome of voting for the new leader of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC). At 0707 GMT the rand traded at 17.6875 against the dollar, 0.43% weaker than its previous close. Voting for the ANC's new leader was almost complete on Monday as the race pitting President Cyril Ramaphosa against former health minister Zweli Mkhize entered the final stretch. "Anything short of that will likely see the USD-ZAR spike, with thin liquidity conditions amplifying the move," ETM said. The government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 11.5 basis points at 10.330%.

☆ Reaction to expert panel report on South Africa's Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former minister and chairwoman of the African Union Commission, attends the 54th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa December 17, 2017. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Cyril Ramaphosa's future as South African president was in question on Thursday, a day after a panel report found preliminary evidence he may have committed serious misconduct. "We need to look at the report, study its implications very carefully, follow the parliamentary processes and allow matters to take their course." NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA, EX-WIFE OF FORMER PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA"I think the president has to step aside now and answer to the case." JOHN STEENHUISEN, LEADER OF MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY, THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (DA)"The report is clear and unambiguous.

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