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☆ Africa is doubling down on its space ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“It was really giving me a hard time in my mind.”Now Ouattara is helping to lead Africa into space. Early this year, Ouattara became the first president of the African Space Council, which oversees the newly inaugurated African Space Agency (AfSA). VCG/Getty ImagesAfrica’s space industry could be worth $22.6 billion by 2026, up from $19.5 billion in 2021, according to the consultancy Space in Africa. Better data from Earth observation could unlock more than $2 billion in value for Africa, according to a 2021 report by the World Economic Forum. More than 20 countries now have national space programs, and African nations budgeted more than $400 million for the sector in 2024, according to Space in Africa.

Persons: Tidiane Ouattara, ”, “, Ouattara, Temidayo Oniosun, Aloyce, Deche, Andrew Nyawade, Simon Maina, that’s, “ It’s, Oniosun, ” Oniosun, ” Ouattara Organizations: CNN, Moon, African Union Commission, African Space Council, Space Agency, ”, World Economic, World Bank Group, Kenya Space Agency, University of Nairobi, Getty, African Development Bank, European Space Agency Locations: Ivory Coast , West Africa, stargaze, Canada, Africa, Ivory Coast, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, Egypt, Cairo, ” Africa, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Bulgaria, AFP, ”

☆ Host nation Ivory Coast continues miraculous run to AFCON final to set up a matchup against Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The host nation is seeking its third AFCON title, while Nigeria is looking to lift the trophy for the fourth time. ET on Sunday and will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast midfielder Ibrahim Sangare (L) fights for the ball with DR Congo's Simon Banza. Against Mali, Ivory Coast pulled off yet another great escape, grabbing a last-minute equalizer. Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali made two saves and striker Kelechi Iheanacho netted the deciding penalty to send Nigeria into the final.

Persons: Ouattara, Ivory, Les Éléphants, Jean, Louis Gasset, Emerse Faé, Ibrahim Sangare, DR Congo's Simon Banza, Franck Fife, Faé, Franck Kessié, Simon Adingra, Sébastien Haller, Ivory Coast's, Sia Kambou, William Troost, Ekong, Victor Osimhen, Osimhen, Percy Tau, Teboho Mokoena, Issouf Sanogo, Grant Kekana, Stanley Nwabali, Kelechi Iheanacho Organizations: CNN, Africa, of Nations, beIN Sports USA, DR Congo, Guinea, Equatorial, Coast, Ivory, DR Congo's, Getty, Senegal, Against, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Super Eagles, South Africa Locations: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ivory, Abidjan, South Africa, Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, AFP, Against Mali, Europe, AFCON, Cameroon, Angola, Africa

South Africa’s genocide case has put the spotlight on a deeper fault line in global geopolitics. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty ImagesReactions from the Global North to the ICJ case have been mixed. “This war is a war that is not only between Israel and Hamas,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told MSNBC in December. “It’s a war that is intended – really, truly – to save Western civilization, to save the values of Western civilization.”So far, no Western countries have supported South Africa’s case against Israel. Traditionally, the West has wielded significant influence in international affairs, but South Africa’s move signals a growing assertiveness among Global South nations that threatens the status quo, says Adekoya.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, ”, Nesrine Malik, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, Biden, ” Remi Adekoya, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, ” Hugh Lovatt, Garry Andrew Lotulung, ” Lovatt, Lovatt, Israel –, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Alaister Russell, Isaac Herzog, Hage Geingob, Berlin’s, Namibians, ” Adekoya Organizations: CNN, Israel, International Court of Justice, Guardian, Hamas, West Bank, Getty, US, UN, University of York, Palestine Liberation Organization, North Africa, European Council, Foreign Relations, Global, Arab League, ICJ, West, ”, International, MSNBC, ZDF, Dhaka Tribune, Germany Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Israel, The Hague, Gaza, South, Africa, Sudanese, United States, Europe, Ramallah, West, AFP, England, PLO, East, Indonesian, Jakarta, Indonesia, Anadolu, China, Soviet, Ekurhuleni, Germany, German, Germany’s, Namibia, Namibian, Bangladesh, Pakistan

☆ Tiangong: China to double the size of its space station as it offers an alternative to NASA-led ISS
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —China plans to expand its space station to six modules from three in coming years, offering astronauts from other nations an alternative platform for near-Earth missions as the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its lifespan. The operational lifetime of the Chinese space station will be more than 15 years, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a unit of China’s main space contractor, said at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday. At 180 metric tons after its expansion to six modules, Tiangong is still just 40% of the mass of the ISS, which can hold a crew of seven astronauts. Russia, a participant in the ISS, has similar space diplomacy plans, suggesting that Moscow’s partners in the BRICS group – Brazil, India, China and South Africa – could construct a module for its space station. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said last year it was planning to build a space station comprising six modules that could accommodate up to four cosmonauts.

Persons: Tiangong, ” Organizations: CNN, NASA, Space, China Academy of Space Technology, International Astronautical, European Space Agency, ESA, Global Times Locations: China, Baku, Azerbaijan, European, United States, Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Russian

☆ Elon Musk once caught malaria on safari and was 'hours from death,' book says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Polly Thompson | Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk shines new light on the world's richest person. Musk once took a safari during a vacation to his native South Africa but contracted malaria. Walter Isaacson, whose biography of Elon Musk was published this week, was given access to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over the past two years. AdvertisementAdvertisementPeter Thiel and Elon Musk with X.com credit in October 2000. Recalling the ordeal earlier this year, Elon Musk and his mother, Maye, tweeted that "modern medicine" had saved his life.

Persons: Walter Isaacson's, Elon Musk, Musk, he'd, Elon, Walter Isaacson, Peter Thiel, Isaacson, Justine Musk, Paul Sakuma, Max Levchin, Maye, I'd, Musk's, Thiel, X.com, Levchin, Grimes Organizations: Service, SpaceX, PayPal, Canada, Sequoia Hospital, Centers for Disease Control, Paypal Locations: South Africa, Wall, Silicon, Brazil, Pretoria, Palo Alto , California, Redwood City, X.com, Crimea

But most concurred it was a foreign policy triumph for Modi as he pushes to increase India’s influence on the world stage. “India’s statement embodies the voice of the emerging Global South” said Derek Grossman, an analyst focused on the Indo-Pacific at the RAND Corporation. “It’s emerging as a successful case study of Western and non-Western powers and the Global South working together to pursue shared goals,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's leader Xi Jinping skipped the G20 summit this year. Heading into the summit, Modi had argued that the developing countries should have more say, noting that they are disproportionately impacted by many crises including climate change, food shortages and rising energy prices.

Persons: —, Narendra Modi, Rishi Sunak, Olaf Scholz, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, ”, Amitabh Kant, Modi, “, Derek Grossman, Michael Kugelman, Wilson, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Sergey Lavrov, India's, ” Lavrov, Michael Schuman, ” Schuman, ” Kugelman, Krutika Pathi, Adam Schreck, Joanna Kozlowska Organizations: DELHI, British, United, Russia, RAND Corporation, Beijing, ”, Union, South Asia Institute, Global, Russian, Atlantic, European Union, “, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Moscow, United Nations, India, New Delhi, Brazil, South Africa, Beijing, London

☆ Inside the talks leading to a step-down in the G20’s Ukraine declaration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Four diplomats involved in the discussions described a pained process that resulted in a document that – despite public support from the White House – left many supporters of Ukraine deeply disappointed. Ukraine itself declared the document “nothing to be proud of.”The talks unfolded over 200 hours of meetings and 15 different drafts, according to the Indian government official responsible for shepherding the talks. Focus turned to the paragraph in last year’s G20 declaration adopted in Bali condemning Russian “aggression” in Ukraine. “This is not the statement the G7 or NATO would have written,” one European official involved in the talks said. Concluding the summit without a statement would have amounted to a major disappointment; no G20 summit in the past 15 years has ended without one.

Persons: Narendra Modi, –, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Biden, Russia’s, “, ” Biden, Modi Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, NATO, White Locations: New Delhi, Ukraine, Russia, China, Bali, Russian, Moscow, Brazil, South Africa, Europe

Hanoi, Vietnam CNN —President Joe Biden will arrive at Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s doorstep on Sunday with a deal in hand to draw yet another one of China’s neighbors closer to the United States. “It’s not going to be easy for Vietnam, because they’re under enormous pressure from China,” the official went on. In Vietnam, it’s not only China whose influence Biden is competing with. On Monday, Biden plans to announce steps to help Vietnam diversify away from an over-reliance on Russian arms, a senior administration official said. “I think that’s a deliberate design by the Biden administration,” said Yun Sun, the China program director at the Stimson Center.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping’s, Biden, ”, It’s, playbook, Xi Jinping, Evelyn Hockstein, ” Biden, Modi, Xi, States ’, it’s, ratchets, aggressions, Didier Marti, “ We’re, “, Biden’s, Mao Ning, Vietnam’s, Antony J, Blinken, Trung, Patricia Kim, Le Hoai, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, ” –, General Secreatary Nguyen, Trong, Yun Sun, ’ Organizations: Vietnam CNN, White House, Korean, Getty, Saturday, Communist Party, Xinhua, China’s, Monday, Communist Party of Vietnam's, Department of State . US Department of State, Biden, Brookings Institution, Communist, NATO, Wing, Stimson Locations: Hanoi, Vietnam, United States, Philippines, China, Beijing, New Delhi, AFP, Asia, States, Russia, Moscow, India, Brazil, South Africa, –, That’s, South China, Washington, South Korea, Helsinki, Japan, Korea, Australia, United Kingdom

☆ BRICS summit: China's Xi visits South Africa in second trip abroad this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For Xi, the first in-person summit of the BRICS grouping since the pandemic presents another opportunity to advance that vision. The bloc’s members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – account for more than 40 percent of the global population. “Xi is going to be the center of the BRICS summit, given that Vladimir Putin is not attending in person,” he said. His last journey to the continent – also for the BRICS summit in South Africa – in 2018 includes a whirlwind of visits to Senegal, Rwanda and Mauritius, spanning almost every corner of Sub-Saharan Africa. Instead, the Chinese leader will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Vladimir Putin, strongmen, –, “ Xi Jinping, ”, Steve Tsang, Tsang, South Africa Chen Xiaodong, BRICS, ” Chen, Joe Biden, Camp Davis, China’s, Paul Nantulya, Xi, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Nantulya, CNN Yun Sun, ” Nantulya, Cyril Ramaphosa Organizations: CNN, South Africa, US, SOAS China Institute, University of London, Africa Center, Strategic Studies, ”, Stimson, Initiative, Institutes, South Africa –, ’ Locations: South, United States, Moscow, – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Camp, Asia, South China, Beijing, Ukraine, Washington, Africa, Senegal, Rwanda, Mauritius, Saharan Africa

☆ BRICS group: Russia proposes joint research module on space station for China, India, Brazil and South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The head of Russia’s space agency has extended an offer to Moscow’s partners in the BRICS group – Brazil, India, China and South Africa – to participate in the construction of a joint module for its planned orbital space station, state media reported Monday. Construction of the planned space station follows Moscow’s decision last year to end its decades-long partnership with NASA and withdraw from the aging International Space Station – one of the last remaining channels of cooperation between Russia and the United States. The offer to broaden cooperation on the project to include BRICs partner nations was made by Yuri Borisov, the director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, during a meeting Monday in Hermanus, South Africa. Yuri Borisov, director-general of Russian space agency Roscosmos, on September 7, 2020. The International Space Station, which has been continuously occupied for more than 22 years, was originally a collaboration between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.

Persons: Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Yuri Borisov, “, Borisov, Omar Sanadiki, Mir Organizations: CNN, South Africa –, NASA, Russian Orbital, BRICS, Space, European Space Agency Locations: Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Russia, United States, Hermanus, Soviet Union, Japan, Canada

☆ The not-quite-redemption of South Africa's infamous ultra-marathon cheats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan Brown | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

"A runner can always recognize another runner," Eugene tells me. Ryan Brown for insiderIn those days, they didn't run for South Africa, but for QwaQwa – one of ten "homelands" established for Black South Africans. Tiny, non-contiguous territories – supposedly, the original territory of different Black South African ethnic groups – dotted across the country. It didn't turn out like that, but it didn't turn out like that for most Black South Africans either. As I sat speaking to Sergio, South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was fighting for his political life after revelations that wads of cash, potentially ill-gotten, had been stolen from inside his sofa.

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