Aurelia Butler

The southern African country reintroduced a local currency in 2019 after abandoning it in 2009 when it was hit by hyperinflation. However, the Zimbabwean dollar, which is officially quoted at 165.94 against the U.S. dollar, has continued to slide on the black market, where it is trading between 330 and 400 to the greenback. The black market exchange rate has moved from about 200 Zimbabwe dollars at the beginning of the year.President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday announced measures he said were meant to arrest the currency’s depreciation, which he said threatened Zimbabwe’s economic stability.”Lending by banks to both the government and the private sector is hereby suspended with immediate effect, until further notice,” Mnangagwa said in a statement.He accused unnamed speculators of borrowing Zimbabwe dollars at below-inflation interest rates and using the money to trade in forex.Other measures include an increased tax on forex bank transfers, higher levies on forex cash withdrawals above $1,000, and the payment of taxes which used to be charged in forex in local currency.The devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar’s black market exchange rate, which is used in most financial transactions in the economy, has been driving up inflation.Year-on-year inflation quickened to 96.4% in April, from 60.6% in January. More

LONDON (Reuters) – Chelsea fans arriving at Stamford Bridge a few hours after a private equity-backed deal to buy the club was announced welcomed the prospect of a return to stability but expressed concern about the motivations of the new owners.Chelsea said in the early hours of Saturday that terms had been agreed with a group led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital over a 4.25 billion pound ($5.2 billion) deal for the reigning European champions.Chelsea’s current owner Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale in early March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to the British government sanctioning the Russian billionaire.Jeff Oakley, a Chelsea fan since 1969, said he hoped the new owners would continue to plough money into the club, but he wanted more clarity about their plans.”At the end of the day they’re not in here because they love the club, they’re in here because they love the money,” Oakley said as he approached the stadium ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League match at Wolverhampton Wanderers.The BBC reported that the new owners have agreed not to sell a majority stake in Chelsea until 2032 and had given assurances over dividends and debt.Martin Farrier, a long-standing Chelsea season ticket-holder, said he would have preferred a British owner.”But that’s because of the way the Americans appear to have run Manchester United into the ground, and I would hate that to happen here,” he said.The Florida-based Glazer family have owned United since 2005 and have faced fan opposition from the moment they completed their takeover as the club failed to match its previous glittering form.By contrast, Chelsea have been England’s most successful club since Abramovich bought the Londoners in 2003. But the turmoil over its ownership has coincided with a drop in form in recent weeks.Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League in April and are well adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City. Next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Liverpool offers them one last chance of silverware this season.Ferdinand Weiss, a 22 year-old student from Austria who came to London to see the team he has supported since he was a boy, said players who have decided to leave Chelsea, such as defender Toni Rudiger, might have stayed without the confusion.”It’s good to bring some still water into the situation,” Weiss said. As for the change in ownership, he said there was no perfect solution for a club as big as Chelsea in the increasingly lucrative world of sports business.”You have to pick oil money, or you have to pick some billionaire from the U.S. There is no saviour out there.” More

Thai law prescribes punishments of up to 15 years in jail for each offence if found guilty of defaming, insulting or threatening King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his closest family.The video, which has since been taken down, was promoting Lazada’s May 5 sale and featured a woman dressed in a traditional Thai costume sitting in a wheelchair and playing the role of an influencer’s mother. Royalists complained the woman in the wheelchair was a veiled reference to a royal family member. The video did not use the language used by the royal family, nor mention any of its members. In videos posted on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), the influencer, Aniwat “Nara” Prathumthin, said the clip was a parody of a famous Thai soap opera and told critics the perceived royal insult was “all in your imagination”.Lazada, the Southeast Asian arm of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding, in a statement apologised for the “emotional damage” the video had caused and said it should have been more careful. Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said such content risked damaging the reputation of brands.”Let us warn marketers, influencers and content creators to be careful about presenting content or promotions that reference appearances or individuals of the institution that all Thais worship and love,” Thanakorn said in a statement.”This is inappropriate, and will not only upset every Thai in the country, but also destroy the image and reputation of the brand. It could also be against the law.” The incident follows an April Fool’s prank tweeted by a staff member at budget airline Thai Vietjet Air, an offshoot of Vietnam’s Vietjet Aviation JSC, about a new route to Munich that stirred anger among royalists, who said it was a hidden joke about the Thai king spending time in Germany. The airline apologised. More