Global Covid Infections Drop To Slowest Pace Since October – Almost a year after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, there are some encouraging signs as new global infections fall sharply. [bloom]

AstraZeneca Vaccine ‘Highly Effective’, German Regulator Says – Germany’s vaccine regulator said on Thursday AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is “highly effective” and reactions to it are short-lived, issuing a message of reassurance after some essential workers refused the shot. [mav]

Facebook Under Fire Over Move To ‘Bully Democracy’ In Australia – Politicians and news providers in UK and US condemn site after blocking access to media content. [guardian]

Hawks Arrest Jerome ‘Donkie’ Booysen And Others In Major Cape Town Drug Trafficking Operation – On Thursday morning, the Hawks arrested Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, 57, as well as Kenneth Jerome Hansen, 55; Herbert Zoutman, 54; Jenen Jesmene Jansen, 41; Clinton Langeveldt, 35; and Kristo Carl Mariens, 28. [n24]

French Bakers Want UNESCO Designation For Baguettes – The baguette – a mix of wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and a pinch of savoir-faire and as much a symbol of France as the Eiffel Tower – may soon join UNESCO’s listing of cultural treasures. [cnn]

How Long It Takes For Amazon To Deliver To SA – Many of the products you will find on Amazon don’t ship to South Africa, and there’s often a wait for those that do. [here]

First Tesla Model X Will Arrive In South Africa Next Week – Sustainable technology group Rubicon is bringing a Tesla Model X Performance Edition all-electric SUV into South Africa next week. [btech]

IEB Records 98.07% Matric Pass Rate For Class Of 2020 – The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) has recorded a 98.07% matric pass rate for 2020, a slight drop compared to the previous year’s 98.82%. [tlive]

Naspers, A Fish Still Too Big For Its JSE Pond But There Isn’t Much Management Can Do About It – Whenever Naspers and Prosus management address any of their stakeholders – this time a quick update on the group’s operations – somebody will quickly pose the question of what management is doing to address the discount of the Naspers share price to its underlying net asset value (NAV). [mweb]

WhatsApp Is Having Another Go At Explaining Its Privacy Policy To Users – The company is trying to set the record straight on private messages and what’s changing. [verge]

Italian Mafia Boss Wins Legal Right To Play Music In His Solitary Prison Cell – Domenico Strisciuglio turned to the courts to expand his entertainment options beyond watching TV. [guardian]

Naomi Osaka Sent A Message To Her Sister While Signing The Aus Open Camera After Beating Serena Williams – Naomi Osaka was unrelenting as she dismantled Serena Williams during their Australian Open semifinal bout on Thursday. [busins]

Saffron ‘Could Be Pure Gold’ For New Era Farmers – Plans are in place that could see South Africa becoming a significant player in the farming and export of saffron – by far the world’s most expensive spice. [ffm]

Cape Town Moves Ahead With New Alcohol Laws – Western Cape premier Alan Winde says that the province plans to introduce further regulations around the sale of alcohol in an effort to curb abuse. [btech]

Box Wines Outsell Bottles In A First For SA – I was astonished when I saw the stats released by the SA Wine Industry earlier this week, which showed that box wines had outsold bottled wines in 2020 for the first time. [tlive]

Three Skin Pampering Treatments You Can Fit Into A Lunch Break – Wearing a mask when out in public, stress, and other factors can do a real number on your skin, so it’s important to get pampered every now and then. [here]

Tim Burton Is Making A Live-Action Addams Family Spinoff About Wednesday For Netflix – Director Tim Burton is making a new live-action Addams Family spinoff series for Netflix: a coming of age series focused on Wednesday Addams that will fittingly be called Wednesday. [verge]

Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Stars In New Marc Jacobs Campaign – The 24-year-old model and daughter of the Queen of Pop just landed a major modeling gig. [today]

Kylie Jenner Scores $76K Birkenstocks Made From Hermès Birkin Bags – The makeup mogul, 23, got her hands on a pair of “Birkinstocks,” highly exclusive Birkenstock-style sandals made from destroyed Hermès Birkin bags. [p6]

Ella Emhoff Makes Surprise Runway Debut At New York Fashion Week – The stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris first caught the public’s attention at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, when her embellished Miu Miu coat went viral and made her the event’s sartorial breakout star. [cnn]

Billie Eilish Has ‘Filed Restraining Order Against Man Who Has Been Threatening Her From Outside Her House With Notes And Gestures’ – The 19-year-old alleges she has been bombarded with threatening and disturbing letters sent from Hearle, and claims he has even made a ‘throat-slitting’ move upon seeing her. [dm]

Dolly Parton Rejects Plan To Erect Statue Of Her At Tennessee Capitol – Singer says she doesn’t feel it’s appropriate to put her on a pedestal ‘given all that is going on in the world’ [guardian]

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DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T TELL YOU…

There are a number of ongoing deals set up at our various exclusive partners. Here they are – just for you;-)

Buy Any Product From Websites That ‘Don’t Ship To SA’ – One of our most exciting partners offers you a PO Box in US, UK or Hong Kong, for you to deliver overseas online purchases to. Postbox Courier handles it from there – getting the package to you in under a week. [more]

There Is Only One Company When It Comes To Import Export Logistics – Your freight forwarding / shipping partner is probably more important than the actual products you want to move from country to country. Choose the wrong guys and you can get stung in so many ways. Be smart, use 2ov’s partners, Berry & Donaldson. [here]

Affordable Cane Furniture – If you’re buying cane or wicker furniture anywhere else, you’re wasting a lot of time and money. These guys import directly from Malawi. Hand-Made cane furniture – buy online and have it delivered! [check it out]