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World

North Korea quietly hikes phone prices at the border

North Korea has quietly raised the prices of two mobile phone models sold in four border provinces, adding 500 Chinese yuan (about $74) to each. The change only recently came to light, even though people in the region have been grappling with the higher prices for weeks. Phone prices were already out of reach for […]

World

Unfunded municipal budgets: Councils promise, residents pay dearly

An unfunded budget is not a misfortune that befell a municipality. It is a council voting to spend money it knows will not arrive. Last year, 116 councils did it.

  • 116 South African municipalities adopted unfunded budgets last year.
  • Municipalities committed R288.17 billion they knew would not arrive.
  • Unfunded budgets cause dire consequences for residents and infrastructure.
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