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☆ South Africa to host BRICS summit despite Putin arrest warrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa has a duty as a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin if he attends the talks between the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, due to an arrest warrant over the deportation of children from Ukraine. "South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, from 22 to 24 August 2023," the Department of International Relations said in a statement. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed to Reuters in a text message that this meant the whole summit, including the main part involving the BRICS heads of state, would take place in South Africa. He and a spokesperson for the international relations department declined to comment on whether or not Putin will attend. On Tuesday, South Africa's Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor said Putin had not yet replied to an invitation, sent before the ICC charged him on March 18.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Cyril Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya, International Relations Naledi Pandor, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Pandor, Sergey Lavrov, Tim Cocks, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: International Criminal Court, ICC, African National Congress, ANC, Department of International Relations, Reuters, South Africa's, International Relations, India's, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, China, Brazil, Russia, India, Ukraine, Africa, Sandton, Johannesburg

☆ The Africans fighting on Russia’s front line in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

In journeying to Russia, Tarimo was following the route of many young Africans, including future heads of state, since the 1960s. Tarimo also ended up treading the path of a handful of other Africans who took up arms for Wagner in Ukraine. The presidents of South Africa and Zambia are now among a group of African leaders seeking to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. In November last year, his family learned he too had died in Ukraine fighting for Wagner. He said that, like Tarimo, Nyirenda cast his desire to join Wagner as repayment for Soviet and Russian support of African anti-colonial movements.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Nemes, Wagner, ”, Tarimo, “ Nemes, Rehema Kigobe, – Tarimo, Aboya, Claire Amuhaya, Nemes Tarimo, Rehema, “, Vladimir Putin, Chadema, Alexander Shilkin, ” Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kristian Malundama, Malundama, Tarimo’s, Prigozhin, Lemekani, Christian, didn’t, Will, Nyirenda, Ronald Kalifungwa, Zikonde, –, …, “ I’m, Christopher Kangwa, Tionge, ” Nyirenda, ” Kangwa, Fabrice Organizations: Moscow’s Pushkin Institute, Russian Technological University, Reuters, Friendship University, Soviet Union, National Congress, European Union, United Nations General Assembly, Wagner Group, Central African Republic, Officials, Dar es Salaam, Democratic, Tanzanian, Zambian, Instagram, Research Nuclear University, Baptist, YouTube, ” Reuters, Ivorian Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Dar es, Tanzania’s, Odradivka, Moscow, IT, Russia, Ukraine, Zambian, Ivory Coast, Soviet, Kenyan, Africa, United States, South Africa, Zambia, Mali, Libya, Central, Tanzania, kwa, Sochi, Tanzanian, Tarimo’s, Yaroslavl region’s, Rybinsk, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yaroslavl, Ukraine’s, Lusaka’s Northmead, China, Lemekani, Tver region’s, Tver’s, Russia’s, Mordovia, Yopougon, Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s, Cocody

☆ South Africa mulls options on ICC arrest warrant for potential visitor Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

However, South Africa had on Jan. 25 already invited Putin to the Aug. 22-24 meeting in Johannesburg of BRICS leaders of emerging economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "Because of our legal obligations, we have to arrest President Putin, but we can't do that," Mbeki said. South Africa on Monday issued diplomatic immunity to all leaders attending the meeting and a gathering of BRICS foreign ministers in Cape Town this week. The international relations department said this was standard procedure, however, for all international conferences in South Africa. The governing African National Congress decided in December that South Africa should abandon the process and try to effect changes to the ICC from within.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Zane Dangor, Thabo Mbeki, Mbeki, Obed Bapela, Britain's, Bapela, Clayson Monyela, Omar al, Bashir, Carien du Plessis, Olivia Kumwenda, Alexandra Zavis, Grant McCool Organizations: Criminal Court, ICC, South, Kremlin, Britain's BBC, African National Congress, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Ukraine, Moscow, Johannesburg, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Africa, Pretoria, Cape Town, African

☆ Johannesburg, Where Mayors Last Just Months, or Even Only Weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( John Eligon | Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Johannesburg over the past two years, parties in ruling coalitions have on multiple occasions fallen out with each other, leading to the creation of new alliances that install a new mayor. Mr. Manyama, 31, was furious that his party, with 91 seats on the council, agreed to a power-sharing arrangement that allowed someone from a party that holds just three seats to lead South Africa’s largest city. “We can’t trust these people anymore,” he said, referring to political leaders. For about two decades after the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africans did not have to worry about these on-again, off-again political romances because the A.N.C. But the party has recently lost hold of many major municipalities.

JOHANNESBURG, May 15 (Reuters) - South Africa's climate policy body on Monday suggested the government could delay retiring its ageing coal-fired power plants to address electricity shortages and said a power crisis had put the country on track to meet its climate goals anyway. The ruling African National Congress has recommended that state power utility Eskom delay the decommissioning of its ageing coal-fired power stations to help minimise rolling electricity outages. "The least-cost approach is to pull the coal plants off when they reach the end of their economic life," said Crispian Olver, executive director of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC). South Africa relies on coal for electricity. South Africa's national target for emissions reductions is 398-510 MtCO2e by 2025, and 350-420 MtCO2e by 2030.

☆ South Africa’s Shifting Stance on a Sensitive Question: Quit the I.C.C.?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said on Tuesday that his party, the African National Congress, had decided “it is prudent” to withdraw from the International Criminal Court — only for representatives for him and the party to later clarify that neither was actually advocating quitting the court, at least for now. The shifting statements underscore the complexities and sensitivity of the matter at a fraught geopolitical moment, when South Africa and other countries are pushing back against a world order dominated by the United States and the West. has issued an arrest warrant on war crimes charges for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has been invited to a summit in South Africa in August. South African officials have not said whether they would honor their commitment to the I.C.C. and arrest Mr. Putin, and Mr. Ramaphosa said his government was still considering what to do.

☆ South Africa, due to host Putin, rows back from pledge to quit war crimes court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ramaphosa had said on Tuesday that the ruling African National Congress would aim to repeal South Africa's membership of the Hague-based court, which hears cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Moscow denies committing war crimes including forced deportations of children, and says the ICC has no authority as Russia is not a member. Putin is due to visit South Africa in August for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. As an ICC member, South Africa would be required to detain him. The presidency said on Wednesday that South Africa would work towards establishing an African continental criminal court that would complement the ICC as a court of last resort.

☆ South Africa to try to withdraw from ICC again - Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 16, 2023. Only two days earlier, South Africa's parliament announced that it would abandon a seven-year-long legislative process to pull South Africa out of the ICC's Rome Statute. The process was abandoned because the governing party in December decided that South Africa should rather remain in the ICC and try to effect changes from within, a decision that has now been reversed. The international arrest warrant against Putin was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he set foot in the country. "He has been invited by President Ramaphosa and Russia has indicated attendance," South Africa's official in charge of the relationship with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries, Anil Sooklal, told Reuters.

☆ How Much Power Should the Courts Have?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Many of the new constitutions gave the high courts clear authority to safeguard the rights of minorities and the democratic system. Some of the courts vigorously wielded this power to set aside majoritarian decisions that appeared to undermine democracy over the longer run. “If courts abdicate their responsibility to protect democracy, they’re not doing their job,” says Dixon, a law professor at the University of South Wales in Australia. In the 1980s, as Israel’s Jewish population became more religious and traditional, secular Israeli law professors drafted provisions for a constitution, consulting with their American peers and Aharon Barak, an Israeli Supreme Court justice. “Over the last 20 years, the Israeli Supreme Court, while issuing valuable rulings on the rights of women, L.G.B.T.Q.

Atul Gupta and his brother Rajesh allegedly leveraged their close ties to South Africa’s government to build a business empire. South Africa’s justice minister said that the United Arab Emirates had refused the extradition of two India-born brothers who were allegedly at the center of a large government corruption scandal in Africa’s most developed economy. South African authorities say that Atul and Rajesh Gupta for years leveraged their close ties to former President Jacob Zuma and other senior officials in the ruling African National Congress to build a business empire that once stretched from media to mining. Failure to try them in South Africa would be a big blow for President Cyril Ramaphosa , who took over in 2018 after the ANC ousted Mr. Zuma largely because of his alleged ties to the Gupta brothers.

☆ South Africa's EFF marches to demand president's resignation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Members of the political party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), gather at Church Square after calling for a "National Shutdown" and demanding resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Alet PretoriusJOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands marched through the streets of South Africa's cities on Monday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, as security forces guarded malls and roads to prevent violence and looting. The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, whose supporters are mainly poor and working class Black South Africans who feel marginalised since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994, had called for a national shutdown. South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours over public violence ahead of planned protests. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police.

☆ South African authorities arrest 87 ahead of anti-government protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence ahead of planned protests by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The EFF has called for a national shutdown to protest crippling power cuts and demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The party's main constituency are the poor and working class Black South Africans who feel left out of the country's prosperity since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police. "Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality," NatJOINTS said.

☆ The energy CEO poisoned with cyanide-laced coffee plans to 'lay low' and 'watch out for who invites me to coffee' after losing access to his bodyguard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Eskom's former CEO plans to "lay low" and go abroad for a while after cyanide poisoning. De Ruyter alleged corruption in South Africa's government in an explosive interview last week. He described the incident in greater detail in his TV interview, saying his personal assistant had served him instant coffee because the coffee machine at Eskom's headquarter was being repaired. Since De Ruyter was appointed as CEO in 2019, he has tried to clamp down on corruption in the energy sector. He also pointed to South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, for the power shortages saying "it's a little bit like a Venn Diagram."

"There are countries that have long-standing, decades-long relationships with Russia, with the Soviet Union before, that are challenging to break off in one fell swoop. New Delhi has thus far resisted that pressure, citing its longstanding ties with Russia and its economic and oil needs. Russia has been India's largest weapons supplier since the Soviet Union days. "India for decades had Russia at the core of providing military equipment to it and its defenses, but what we’ve seen over the last few years is a trajectory away from relying on Russia and moving into partnership with us and other countries," Blinken said. Blinken also added that he understood the reasons for South Africa's ties with Russia while acknowledging regret for Washington's "sympathetic" approach to the apartheid-era regime in South Africa.

☆ Russia will not fire Zircon missile at South Africa naval exercise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Siyabonga Sishi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov and Chinese frigate Rizhao (598) are seen ahead of scheduled naval exercises with Russian, Chinese and South African navies, in Richards Bay, South Africa, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Rogan WardSummary Russian media reported planned test launch of hypersonic weaponSouth Africa hosting drills with Russia, ChinaWestern diplomats have voiced alarm over drillsRICHARDS BAY, South Africa, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia's navy will not fire its new generation "Zircon" hypersonic missile during a joint exercise with South Africa and China, a senior Russian naval officer said on Wednesday, contradicting an earlier Russian media report. A Russian frigate armed with the Zircon weapon system has been deployed to the joint exercise. Along with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle which entered combat duty in 2019, the Zircon forms the centrepiece of Russia's hypersonic arsenal. South Africa has defended its decision to host the Mosi II naval exercise despite the concerns of diplomats from European Union and NATO countries.

☆ South Africa's naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"These exercises are going to be a lightning rod," said Steven Gruzd, of the South African Institute of International Affairs. "South Africa, like any independent and sovereign state, has a right to conduct its foreign relations in line with its ... national interests," South Africa's defence ministry said last month. Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment, and South Africa's National Defence Force has denied the TASS report. China is now Africa's top bilateral trading partner, but the EU is by far the largest market for South African exports. Domestic critics of South Africa's push to deepen ties with Russia and China say that economic reality alone should be enough to give the government serious pause.

☆ Yellen to meet with donors, private sector on South Africa's energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends media briefing ahead of bilateral talks with South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana (not pictured), at the treasury offices in Pretoria, South Africa, January 26, 2023. The United States, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union backed South Africa's "Just Energy Transition Partnership," or JETP, in late 2021 with a combined $8.5 billion, but the total cost could be ten times that high. "The United States' commitment to the energy transition being 'just' is firm. That is why President Biden made an additional commitment to President Ramaphosa of $45 million in grant funding to support South Africa’s efforts," Yellen said. But President Cyril Ramaphosa's plan to transition South Africa away from coal and towards renewable energy has divided the governing African National Congress (ANC).

☆ Yellen says South Africa needs action to maintain energy transition momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends media briefing ahead of bilateral talks with South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana (not pictured), at the treasury offices in Pretoria, South Africa, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, Jan 27 (Reuters) - South Africa needs concrete action soon if it is to maintain momentum on an energy transition program backed by the United States and other countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday after visiting the coal mining region of Mpumalanga. She expressed hope that Washington's focus on a just energy transition would underpin donor interest in backing the nearly $100 billion project aimed at supporting South Africa's gradual phasing out of fossil fuels. The United States, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union have backed South Africa's "Just Energy Transition Partnership" with a combined $8.5 billion, which Yellen called a "substantial down payment" designed to mobilise additional money. "An energy transition that is not just will simply not work.

☆ Russia, South Africa and a 'redesigned global order': The Kremlin's hearts and minds machine is steaming ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pretoria as part of an African tour, his second since the invasion, which will also reportedly take him to Botswana, Angola and Eswatini. On Feb. 24 2022, shortly after the Ukraine invasion, South Africa urged Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine. South Africa was one of 15 African nations to abstain from the subsequent U.N. vote in March to condemn Russia's war of aggression. watch nowShe emphasized the multilateral responsibilities of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc of leading emerging economies in a changing global landscape. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that "the United States has concerns about any country … exercising with Russia as Russia wages a brutal war against Ukraine."

☆ Russia's Lavrov visits ally South Africa amid Western rivalry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Carien Duplessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, ahead of their bilateral meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023. Lavrov met his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, after flying in earlier in the day on a trip some South African opposition parties and the small Ukrainian community have condemned as insensitive. President Cyril Ramaphosa's government regards South Africa as neutral in the Ukraine conflict and has expressed a desire to mediate. The South African armed forces said last week the exercise is a "means to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China". There was no official public comment from the Ukrainian embassy but officials said it had asked the South African government to help push President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's 10-point peace plan, which he proposed to the G20 in November.

☆ South Africa's Eskom says worst power cuts over for now but urges less use
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But outgoing CEO Andre De Ruyter also re-affirmed that power cuts would continue for two more years at least. South Africans were braced for worse, with the risk of "stage 8 load shedding" - more than half a day with no power. "We would really urge South Africans to plan (evening) consumption such that ... we have reduced demand," he said. Creaking coal-fire power stations, corruption in coal supply contracts, criminal sabotage and failure to ease up regulation to enable private providers to swiftly bring renewable energy on tap have all left South Africa in a deep power deficit. Eskom's Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer said that by the end of March the firm should be able to bring 1,862 megawatts back online, and that it would focus on keeping its top six power stations running smoothly.

[1/2] A man walks beneath electricity pylons during frequent power outages from South African utility Eskom, caused by its ageing coal-fired plants, in Orlando, Soweto, South Africa, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoSummarySummary Companies Power cuts to become less severe from TuesdayDepends on generators returning to service as plannedEskom tells politicians power cuts to continue into 2024JOHANNESBURG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom said it would shorten power cuts from Tuesday morning as 14 generators come back on tap this week, but electricity shortages look set to continue at least into 2024. The past week has seen some of the worst power cuts on record in Africa's most industrialised nation, at least six hours a day for most households and often as much as 10 hours. The company implemented power cuts on more than 200 days last year, the most in a calendar year. The utility said it had procured an additional 50 million litres of diesel, which would be used to manage pumped storage dam levels and limit power cuts.

☆ South Africa's president to skip WEF to deal with crippling power cuts at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos due to the ongoing energy crisis in the country, his spokesman said on Sunday. Power cuts have worsened since Tuesday when struggling state utility Eskom said it would implement its worst-ever outages until further notice. The power cuts are a major source of public frustration with the governing African National Congress (ANC) and a brake on economic growth in Africa's most industrialised nation. "Currently the President is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament, NECCOM (National Energy Crisis Committee) and the Eskom board," Vincent Magwenya, presidential spokesman said. The beleaguered utility supplies the vast majority of South Africa's electricity, relying mainly on an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations that are unreliable and prone to faults.

☆ Dollar slips vs euro on upbeat German business morale data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Banknotes of Japanese yen and U.S. dollar are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationNEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The dollar edged down against the euro as upbeat German business morale data supported the common currency, while a modest improvement in investors' appetite for riskier currencies weighed on the safe-haven dollar. German business morale rose more than expected in December as the outlook for Europe's largest economy improved despite the energy crisis and high inflation, a survey showed on Monday. The euro rose 0.2 % to $ 1.06085 , not far from the six-month high of $1.0737 touched last week. "I think the dollar is generally softer on slightly higher risk-on trading," said John Doyle, vice president of dealing and trading at Monex USA.

☆ South African President Ramaphosa Is Re-Elected as Party Leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Gabriele Steinhauser | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JOHANNESBURG—South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was resoundingly re-elected as the leader of the ruling African National Congress on Monday, shrugging off a parliamentary investigation that found he may have violated the country’s constitution, as well as a forceful challenge by allies of his disgraced predecessor. Mr. Ramaphosa, who has been president of Africa’s most developed economy since 2018, beat his former health minister, Zweli Mkhize, gaining 2,476 votes out of 4,384 cast at the ANC’s elective conference that sets the party’s direction for the coming five years. Perhaps more important, officials backed by Mr. Ramaphosa won four out of the other six positions in the party’s leadership team, giving him a stronger hand in picking his cabinet and pushing through his chosen economic policies.

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