Transcript

Hello, everyone! This is Erika from ‘Just a Moment News,’ bringing you the latest headlines this Sunday, August 19, 2024. Let’s dive into today’s stories.

First up, we have MTN Group sharing their interim results for the half-year ended June 30, 2024. The telecom giant reported a notable financial downturn with a twenty point eight percent decline in service revenue and a forty-one point two percent drop in EBITDA. This resulted in a loss of seven billion three hundred and ninety million Rand, marking their first loss since 2016. The significant drops were primarily due to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira. However, it wasn’t all gloomy for MTN, as their South African operations saw a three point three percent increase in service revenue and a three point eight percent rise in EBITDA, with their fintech operations growing by fifty-nine point one percent.

Moving on, Absa Group has announced that their CEO, Arrie Rautenbach, will be taking early retirement effective April 15, 2025. Stepping in as interim CEO for both Absa Group and Absa Bank will be Charles Russon, starting October 15, 2024, pending regulatory approval. This transition comes after discussions between the board and Rautenbach, who has been with Absa since 1997 and took over as CEO in 2022.

In other news, New Zealand’s population growth has further decelerated in the second quarter of 2024, with an increase of only 7,000 people. This is the slowest growth since mid-2022, driven by net immigration of 2,000 and a natural increase of 5,100. The slowdown is linked to a weakening economy and rising unemployment, prompting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to begin easing monetary policy.

Next, researchers from Iraq and Australia have developed an AI model that can diagnose diseases with up to 98% accuracy by analyzing images of the tongue. This system, which merges traditional Chinese medicine with modern machine learning techniques, has been trained on over 5,260 images and could potentially be integrated into smartphone apps for instant health assessments.

In entertainment, Fede Álvarez’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ has made a strong debut with a $45.1 million opening in its domestic box office, marking the second-best opening in the ‘Alien’ franchise. The film’s global opening added up to $108.2 million, contributing to a successful summer for Disney.

From the world of archaeology, a 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet has been uncovered in Turkey at the ancient city site of Alalakh. This tablet, dating back to the 15th century BC, appears to be an itemized receipt for a large furniture purchase, offering insights into the economic structure of the Late Bronze Age.

Lastly, UFC 306 is gearing up to be a historic event, as promised by UFC CEO Dana White. Set for September 14 in Las Vegas at the Sphere, the event is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, with a women’s flyweight championship trilogy also on the card. The new trailer has dubbed this event as the “greatest live sporting event of all-time.”

That wraps up today’s news. This is Erika signing off from ‘Just a Moment News.’ Have a wonderful day ahead!

Keywords - moment, daily, news