State of disaster now 'new normal'
MTHATHA - A catastrophe that will forever be etched into the history of the Eastern Cape.
Nearly 100 people are confirmed dead, and it's unclear how many more are unaccounted for.
Mother Nature has shown no mercy, with the majority of deaths in the recent floods being among the most vulnerable, women and children.
The harsh impact of climate change is a phenomenon that is becoming more apparent to many of the poor.
Port St John's, Coffee Bay, Nelson Mandela Bay, the OR Tambo District and other parts of the province have all been hit, with the extent of the damage amounting to billions of Rand.
This massive devastation has brought fundamental change to the province and the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
My Favorite Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy With $100 Right Now
Ares Capital offers an exceptionally high dividend yield. Enbridge is a low-risk stock with solid growth prospects and a sterling track record of dividend increases. Enterprise Products Partners is highly resilient and pays a juicy distribution. 10 stocks we like better than Ares Capital › I have a confession to make. I'm much more interested in dividend stocks than I've ever been before. Part of it is that I'm inching closer to retirement. While I don't rely on income from dividend stocks yet, it's appealing to me to have money returned to me regularly to reinvest. Dividend yield isn't my only consideration in selecting dividend stocks, but it's certainly a key consideration. I've found quite a few top-tier stocks with exceptionally high dividend yields, at least 4 times greater than the yield offered by the S&P 500. Many of them don't require a large upfront investment. Here are my favorite ultra-high-yield dividend stocks to buy with $100 right now. Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) is the largest publicly traded business development company (BDC). It's managed by a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative investment manager. Ares Capital provides direct loans to and invests in private middle-market companies in the U.S. This stock is cheap in two ways. First, its share price of under $22 is easily affordable. Second, Ares Capital's forward price-to-earnings ratio is only 10.7. While I like Ares Capital's valuation, I like its dividend even more. As a BDC, the company must return at least 90% of its income to shareholders as dividends. Ares Capital generates plenty of income to return, as evidenced by its lofty forward dividend yield of 8.95%. The company has paid stable to growing dividends for 63 consecutive quarters and counting. The total addressable market for Ares Capital is estimated to be around $5.4 trillion. The BDC market continues to expand as middle-market companies turn to direct lending. As one of the largest and most respected players in the industry, Ares Capital is well positioned to benefit from this market growth. When I first heard of Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) years ago, the company primarily focused on midstream energy operations. It's still a top player in the midstream energy industry, with 18,085 miles of crude pipeline and 18,952 miles of natural gas pipeline. However, Enbridge is also now the largest natural gas utility in North America and a significant producer of renewable power. I think this diversification makes Enbridge even more attractive. Its business is resilient throughout all economic and commodity cycles. Less than 1% of the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is linked to commodity prices. And roughly 80% of Enbridge's EBITDA is protected from inflation. Enbridge has increased its dividend for an impressive 30 consecutive years. That streak seems highly likely to continue, considering the company's distributable cash-flow payout ratio is between 60% and 70%. This energy leader is no slouch with the amount of its dividend, either, with a forward dividend yield of 6.07%. You can scoop up one share of Enbridge for less than $45. That investment will buy you partial ownership in a relatively low-risk company that should provide reliable income plus respectable long-term growth prospects thanks to the increasing demand for natural gas. Another of my favorite ultra-high-yield dividend stocks is also a midstream energy leader. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) operates more than 50,000 miles of pipeline and owns assets that include natural gas processing trains and liquids storage facilities. Like Enbridge, Enterprise Products Partners is highly resilient. Around 90% of its long-term contracts are protected from inflation. The master limited partnership (MLP) has consistently generated strong distributable cash flow per unit during good times and bad times, the latter including the financial crisis of 2007 through 2009, the oil price collapse of 2015 through 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distribution for 26 consecutive years. Its forward distribution yield is a juicy 6.93%. The MLP has also rewarded unitholders with unit buybacks. One unit of Enterprise Products Partners will cost you around $31. If you also bought a share each of Ares Capital and Enbridge, you'd still have a few dollars remaining from an initial $100. I don't think you'll find three better ultra-high-yield dividend stocks for this low price. Before you buy stock in Ares Capital, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ares Capital wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Keith Speights has positions in Ares Capital, Enbridge, and Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. My Favorite Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy With $100 Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs to step down after 18-year tenure
Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs will step down in August, concluding an 18-year tenure with the Netherlands-based drinks manufacturer. In a statement issued yesterday (26 June), Refresco, majority-owned by private-equity firm KKR, said it had started a search for a new chief executive. Refresco supervisory board chairman and KKR partner James Cunningham thanked Roelofs for "positioning Refresco for continued success in the years to come as we continue to expand the company's footprint'. Roelofs joined Refresco in 2007 after spells at meat group Dumeco and agri-food business Nutreco. Through M&A and organic growth, Refresco is now a company with operations in 13 countries. The business has 75 manufacturing sites and employs more than 14,000 staff. KKR invested in the group in 2022. Reflecting on his decision to retire, Roelofs said: 'This is the right time for me to step back, confident that the company will continue to grow and thrive on its unique entrepreneurial spirit and the agility of its people.' In 2024, Refresco generated revenue of €5.99bn ($x), up 1% on a year earlier. The volume of drinks sold stood at 13.83bn litres, down from 14.25bn litres in 2023. Some 26% of the company's volumes were carbonated soft drinks, with another 26% generated through water products. Sport and energy drinks accounted for 15%. Earlier this month, Refresco agreed to acquire Norway-based soft-drinks manufacturer Telemark Kildevann (TKV). TKV operates two production facilities in the Norwegian towns of Fyresdal and Aurskog and supplies products to retailers and branded customers in Norway and Sweden. Last year, Refresco snapped up Spanish plant-based beverage maker Frías Nutrición, purchased a production site from German beverage group Berentzen-Gruppe and bought US-based VBC Bottling Company, a fellow contract manufacturer. In May last year, Rotterdam-based Refresco opened its first European plant-based production line in Germany, marking an entry into the oat drinks' market. As part of the deal for the Berentzen-Gruppe facility, Refresco also bought the mineral-water brands Märkisch Kristall and Grüneberg Quelle. Commending Roelofs' leadership, Refresco supervisory board member and PAI managing partner Frédéric Stévenin said: 'Refresco went through a period of unprecedented growth and transformation." "Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs to step down after 18-year tenure" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Henry Golding: Portraying James Bond would be a nightmare
Henry Golding thinks playing James Bond would be a "nightmare". The 38-year-old actor has been widely tipped as one of the candidates to replace Daniel Craig as 007, but Henry acknowledges that the role carries a lot pressure and expectation. He told People: "I think that's every actor's kind of nightmare. But at the same time, [you're] also wanting to kind of add something new to a franchise." Henry thinks the role of Bond would be more attractive if it didn't carry so much "cultural pressure". The actor - who starred in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians - reflected: "Maybe I'm just a p****. I don't know. But I think I would love it so much more if there wasn't that overhanging cultural pressure." Henry believes the Bond franchise should actually broaden its horizons by adding "more agents" and adopting a more open-minded approach. He said: "Why can't they bring out more agents or more OO's? I think that would be so much more fun, because there just isn't the restraints and the expectation." Henry previously described being linked to the role of Bond as an "honour". However, the actor argued that the world is not yet ready for a non-white Bond. Henry - who was born in Malaysia, but raised in the UK - told Attitude magazine: "It does seem to be a question that always comes up. It was definitely from Crazy Rich Asians, maybe [the scene with] the white suit coming out the park. "I'm Asian and everybody's fighting for a diverse Bond - sorry, white guys." Henry thinks it's "great" that non-white actors are being linked to the role of Bond. And the actor admitted to being flattered to even have been spoken about as a possible candidate for the coveted part. He said: "Isn't it great that we're having that conversation? Isn't it great that people are like, 'Ok, now it's time, why the hell can't we have a black Bond, an Asian Bond, a mixed-race Bond, a non-distinct Bond?' "I don't know ... It's an honour to even be in the conversation."
