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☆ 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 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.

The cause of death was not immediately known and authorities will perform a post-mortem to find out more, the outlet reported. Uday – who was named by Indian citizens in a contest – was among 20 cheetahs airlifted to India over the past few months from Africa. The news of the deceased 6-year-old cheetah came just three weeks after his fellow feline, Sasha, died from a kidney infection. Laurie Marker, founder of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), which also helped with transferring the animals, said re-establishing a population is very difficult. In late March, the country welcomed four newborn cheetahs for the first time since the species disappeared from India more than 70 years ago.

☆ Saadiyat: The 'island of happiness' just off Abu Dhabi
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoWhile Abu Dhabi itself is home to bombastic contemporary architecture, Saadiyat – an easy 20-minute drive from downtown and Abu Dhabi International Airport – is a natural wonderland, edged by small sand dunes. Elevated boardwalks protect them from beachgoers – part of a conservation project led by Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort and its inhouse marine biologist. Department of Culture and Tourism Abu DhabiOpen year-round, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is home to a Gary Player signature 18-hole golf course. Luc Castel/Getty ImagesInaugurated in 2017, The Louvre Abu Dhabi is France’s largest cultural project abroad. Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t the only highbrow place on Saadiyat – behind the dunes there are two world-class educational institutions, too.

CNN —Ten members from the same family, including seven women and three men, were killed by gunmen Friday in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa, police said Friday. The mayor of the area told local media that they needed to bolster capacity of local police stations. South Africa has been rocked by several mass shootings in recent months – some, say police, are related to taxi business violence while others appear to be linked to drug cartels. South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, according to police statistics. Four other people were killed in a separate shooting incident in a bar in Pietermaritzburg on the same evening.

☆ Wrexham gears up for Hollywood-style promotion party
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Wrexham are on the verge of winning promotion to the English Football League having amassed a record 107 points to sit top of the National League table with two games to go. Victory over Boreham Wood on Saturday would guarantee promotion to Football League Two, the fourth tier of English soccer, and people in the northern Welsh city are gearing up for a memorable evening. . . no chance," Mark Jones said from the Turf Hotel, the pub on the corner of the team's Racecourse Ground. Games draw huge viewing audiences, even in North America and the success story has left virtually no-one in Wrexham untouched. Inside The Turf, pictures of Reynolds, McElhenney and Deadpool battle for space on the red walls with Wrexham logos and longtime supporters' names.

☆ Gunmen ambush family in South African homestead, kill 10
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Rogan Ward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A body is moved at the scene of a deadly mass shooting, near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Rogan WardJOHANNESBURG, April 21 (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a homestead in a township outside the South African city of Pietermaritzburg and ambushed a family, killing 10 people, police said on Friday. South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with about 20,000 murders recorded every year out of a population of 60 million. Cele said police management needed to sit down to talk about whether the province needed more police resources. According to campaign group Gun Free South Africa, 30 people on average are shot and killed every day in the country, where about 4.5 million guns are registered.

☆ South African teen dreams of becoming first Black racer in MotoGP
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, April 21 (Reuters) - As 14-year old Oratilwe Phiri whizzes past his father on a black and turquoise motorcycle at a racetrack east of Johannesburg, he has one goal in mind: to one day be the first Black person to race in MotoGP. Ora - as he is known - has been racing since he was four, thanks to an interest ignited by his motorcycle enthusiast father Thabiso Phiri. Grand Prix motorcycle racing historically has been dominated by European racers. The teenager's idol Brad Binder - who he met last month - is the first and only South African to win a race in MotoGP. "(To) be the first Black person to be racing overseas, in the series MotoGP...

☆ Paralympics TikTok account uses 'edgy and unique content' but has been critiqued by some for lack of sensitivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Social media is awash with memes and GIFs and, at times, ‘edginess,’ but it can be a difficult balancing act as the official Paralympics TikTok account is discovering. The account is run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the organization which organizes and manages the Paralympic Games. In the comments, the official Paralympic account replied: “This is Brad Snyder. Mixed reactionsAs a result, the videos posted on the official account have received a mixed reaction, with commentators on many of them left disbelieving that the content published there is permitted. “Looking through that whole account, I might have seen one or two [videos] where the athlete actually does something successfully.

JOHANNESBURG, April 19 (Reuters) - South African inflation rose for the second month in a row in March to 7.1% year on year, driven by a steep increase in food prices, data showed on Wednesday. Economists said the pickup in inflation, from 7.0% in February, meant the central bank would probably raise interest rates again next month. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has hiked interest rates nine times in a row since November 2021 to try to tame inflation. First National Bank senior economist Koketso Mano said it appeared that power constraints were exacerbating local food inflation. Consumer inflation rose to 1.0% month on month in March from 0.7% in February.

☆ Uganda: Leading scientists urge President Museveni to veto anti-LGBT bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A group of leading global scientists and academics have signed an open letter urging Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to veto a hardline bill criminalizing homosexuality in the country. The Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, which was passed by Ugandan lawmakers in March, is set to be either signed into law or vetoed by the president on Thursday. Before the bill was passed almost unanimously last month, President Museveni called on scientists to establish whether homosexuality was natural or learned. The letter has been signed by 15 leading scientists around the world, from countries including South Africa, the United States, Canada, the UK, Kenya, and Australia. Under the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, it would be a crime to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.

☆ South African rand gains as dollar slips; inflation in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, April 17 (Reuters) - The South African rand gained against the dollar in early trade on Monday as the U.S. currency slipped on global markets , with local investors' focus on inflation data this week. At 0700 GMT, the rand traded at 18.0275 against the dollar, about 0.2% stronger than its closing level on Friday. There are no major South African economic data releases on Monday, so the rand is likely to track dollar moves. Analysts are looking to the March consumer price index (CPI) to gauge the success of the South African Reserve Bank's interest rate hikes in taming price pressures. The worst power cuts on record mean the prospects for growth in Africa's most industrialised economy this year are bleak.

☆ 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.

☆ South African older women splash their way to health in Soweto pool
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Thandi Mnisi, a retired school teacher and one of 40 novice swimmers, arrives at a public pool for her lessons in Soweto, South Africa, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoSOWETO, South Africa, April 14 (Reuters) - At a public pool in South Africa's township of Soweto, novice swimmers in their golden years take deep breaths as they move forward, encouraging each other as they go. Lifeguard-turned-coach Sibu Zabane launched the class in 2021, when COVID-19 was circulating widely in South Africa, in an effort to help vulnerable older members of the community get fitter. I couldn't float, I couldn't breathe and my knees were sore," said Molefe, who can now swim without flotation aids. Reporting by Sisipho Skweyiya and Shaffiek Tassiem; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa targets $111 billion investment goal in tough investor climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on as he delivers the opening address at the 5th Investment Conference to showcase opportunities available in the country to local and international companies, in Sandton, South Africa, April 13, 2023. Jairus Mmutle/Government Communication Information System (GCIS)/Handout via REUTERSJOHANNESBURG, April 13 (Reuters) - South Africa needs to urgently fix energy, transport and security challenges if it is to reverse souring investor sentiment, executives said on Thursday as President Cyril Ramaphosa targets 2 trillion rand ($111 billion) in new investments over the next five years. "The way we see it for the future of South Africa, international investment is so important and these challenges make it difficult for us to position the potential of South Africa as an attractive investment destination while there is uncertainty on when reforms will be implemented," Brown said. South Africa has experienced its worst power cuts on record, leaving businesses and households in the dark for up to 10 hours daily. The South African Reserve Bank estimates these blackouts have shaved off at least 2 percentage points from growth.

☆ From swimming pools to gardening, the rich's privileged lifestyles are driving urban water crises, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Published in the Nature Sustainability journal this week, the peer-reviewed research looked at the South African city of Cape Town, which has experienced severe drought in recent years. For the study, researchers split Cape Town's urban population into five social groupings and then modeled water consumption. "Informal dwellers and lower-income households constitute together 61.5% of Cape Town's population but consume a mere 27.3% of the city's water." "Specifically, privileged water consumption is unsustainable because in the short term, it disproportionally uses the water available for the entire urban population." Longer term, the report described what it called privileged consumption as constituting an environmental threat to the status of local water sources.

☆ South Africa central bank governor sees upside risk to inflation outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSouth Africa central bank governor sees upside risk to inflation outlookSouth African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago discusses the central bank's recent surprise move to hike interest rates and concerns about movements in the currency.

☆ Thabo Bester: South African convicted rapist and murderer accused of faking his own death is arrested abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Thabo Bester was arrested Friday in the Tanzanian border town of Arusha, having apparently fled the country, according to a media briefing by the South African Justice Minister and Minister of Police. It’s a bizarre story that has embarrassed South Africa, exposed alleged loopholes in the management of a private prison and captivated the nation with every blockbuster revelation. The 35-year-old convicted murderer was arrested with his girlfriend Dr. Nandipha Magudumana and a Mozambican national named as Zakaria Alberto. South African police minister Bheki Cele told reporters that the trio had several passports each that had not been stamped and were just 10 kilometers from crossing into Kenya. A South African delegation of police and prisons officials are in Tanzania to arrange for their deportation.

☆ Opinion: A pleasant flight in South Africa vs. air travel horrors in America
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —This past weekend, I had one of the most unusual experiences of my life: a day of air travel that was easy, sensible, efficient — dare I say pleasant. But last Saturday, it was — which highlighted just how unpleasant and undignified air travel often is, particularly within the United States. So, let’s say your flight is still scheduled and you’ve paid extra money to travel with a bag. But air travel was bad well before the pandemic. But every once in a while, like this past weekend as I settled into my oversized South African Airways seat without having broken a sweat, I’ll see a little glimmer of what air travel could be.

[1/5] A bride and a groom wait during the Easter Sunday mass wedding ceremony, organised by the International Pentecostal Holiness Church Jerusalem City (IPHC), with more than 800 couples taking part, in Kgabalatsane in the North-West province, South Africa, April 9, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, April 9 (Reuters) - More than 800 couples walked down the aisle on Easter Sunday in one of the biggest mass wedding ceremonies in South Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Pentecost Holiness Church blesses polygamous unions, which are common in some African communities, and the church says are authorised by the Bible. Its mass nuptials take place three times a year – at Easter, in December, and also during the celebrations in September of the church's founding in 1962. Current wives wore colourful attire to the ceremony at the International Pentecost Holiness Church's Jerusalem congregation, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Johannesburg.

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.

☆ Uganda’s anti-gay bill is the latest and worst to target LGBTQ Africans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aditi Bhandari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

Same-sex activity in Africa is punishable by … Map of the 32 African countries where same-sex activity is illegal. Same-sex activity in Africa … Map of the 22 African countries where same-sex activity is legal. In 1993, Guinea-Bissau became the first African country to legalise LGBTQ activity when it adopted a new Penal Code that didn’t include any laws criminalising it. Country Constitutional protection Broad protections Employment Hate crime Incitement Marriage or civil union Adoption Angola No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Botswana No No Yes No No No No Cape Verde No No Yes Yes No No No Gabon No No No No No No No Guinea-Bissau No No No No No No No Lesotho No No No No No No No Mozambique No No Yes No No No No Sao Tome and Principe No No Yes Yes No No No Seychelles No No Yes No No No No South Africa Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes YesNote: Broad protections include laws protecting against discrimination in at least 3 of 4 categories: the provision of goods and services, housing, healthcare and education. Namibia and Mauritius criminalise same-sex activity, but around 35% of respondents said they would dislike having a gay neighbour.

☆ In South Africa, Insurers Fix Potholes, Sponsor Fire Brigades and Direct Traffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Alexandra Wexler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Firefighters in Johannesburg extinguish a fire. The city has a shortage of operational fire engines. JOHANNESBURG—Insurance companies in South Africa are fixing potholes, sponsoring fire brigades and directing traffic in an attempt to lower payouts and lure new clients as the country’s government increasingly struggles to provide vital public services. Corruption, mismanagement and the deepest recession on record amid the coronavirus pandemic have eroded the finances of South Africa’s municipalities and state-owned companies that are responsible for repairing infrastructure and providing essential services. With their unusual activities, South African insurers are joining other private companies in taking over public services, such as security, healthcare, education and mail delivery, in a country that the World Bank ranks as the most unequal on earth.

☆ South Africa fights to keep phone networks up as lights go out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A bank of expensive backup batteries, theft-proofed within a block of concrete. "Our costs have gone through the roof," lamented Sitho Mdlalose, managing director of Vodacom South Africa (VODJ.J). President Cyril Ramaphosa in February declared a national state of disaster, calling the crisis an existential threat to South Africa's social fabric. While most network towers in South Africa are equipped with a battery for backup power, more advanced systems are less common. That risks delaying South Africa's pivot to the digital economy and could leave rural areas, which already suffer from sparse coverage, lagging even further behind.

☆ South African banks are among the world's best managed and capitalized: Asset management firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSouth African banks are among the world's best managed and capitalized: Asset management firmPaul Stewart of Merchant West Investments says he's "puzzled as to how investors have become so pessimistic about South African banks."

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