Page 13 - South Africa

PM Modi to attend BRICS summit in Johannesburg to discuss its expansion

With the upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa set to discuss admitting new members, India on Thursday dismissed as "baseless" reports that it is opposed to the expansion of the five-nation grouping. In a telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he looked forward to visiting Johannesburg to participate in the BRICS Summit. "President Ramaphosa invited the prime minister for the BRICS summit being hosted by South Africa on August 22-24, and briefed him on the preparations for the same," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "The prime minister accepted the invitation and conveyed that he looked forward to his visit to Johannesburg to participate in the summit," it said following the Modi-Ramaphosa phone talks on Thursday. The summit scheduled from August 22 to 24 is set to extensively deliberate on expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, .

PM Modi, South African Prez review progress in bilateral cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the two leaders reviewed progress in the bilateral relations between their countries. Modi tweeted, "Pleased to speak with President @CyrilRamaphosa. Reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation as we celebrate 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Look forward to participating in the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg later this month.

India should go for younger cheetahs habituated to human presence: Experts

Younger cheetahs that are habituated to management vehicles and human presence are preferred candidates for relocation to India, international experts involved in the Project Cheetah have told the government based on the lessons learnt from the initial experience in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park. In a status report submitted to the government recently, the experts said these attributes enable easier monitoring of health-related issues, simplify stress-free veterinary and management intervention, and enhance tourism value. Kuno, where two batches of cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa have been introduced, is set to open for tourism and these qualities in cheetahs can enhance the park's appeal to visitors, they said. They emphasised that young adult cheetahs are more adaptable to their new environments and have higher survival rates compared to older cheetahs. Younger males display "lower aggression" towards other cheetahs, reducing the risk of intraspecific competition ...

PM Modi unlikely to travel to South Africa for Brics, to attend virtually

China and Russia are keen to discuss expansion of BRICS at the summit, while India has reservations about that idea

Fifa Women's World Cup: South Africa shock Italy 3-2, knock them out

Italy's players dropped to their knees, buried their faces and tearfully wondered how their tournament had suddenly ended following a shocking upset to South Africa in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The 54th-ranked team in the world stunned Italy, ranked 16th by FIFA, with a 3-2 victory over the Italians in Wednesday's Group G finale. South Africa won with a stoppage-time goal by Thembi Kgatlana. South Africa was ecstatic as players screamed and danced and said thankful prayers in the hallway leading to their locker room. The Italians left in tears and were unable to explain the upset. "I really don't know," goalkeeper Francesca Durante said after the match. "I don't know what didn't work." Nearly every player took the blame for the early elimination, even Arianna Caruso, who scored both of Italy's goals. "I don't think I can find the right words at this moment," Caruso said. "I am not happy because we scored two goals and we didn't do anything." Italy's problems against Sou

Brics will move forward on expansion at summit, says South Africa

Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will make a pronouncement on the enlargement of the group when they meet Aug. 22-24, Anil Sooklal said

Foreign experts move SC over being uninformed on cheetah project in India

The experts, all members of the national cheetah project steering committee, under which 20 cheetahs have been translocated to India, have raised "serious concerns" over the project's management

Indian-origin creator receives S Africa's NSTF award for aircraft project

A team led by a South African Indian-origin innovator has received a national award for a project he has been working on for almost a decade to create a pioneering vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The Pegasus Universal Aerospace Team, led by well-known aesthetics doctor Reza Mia, 40, received the prestigious National Science and Technology (NSTF) award in the category for Innovation and research. The NSTF Awards - which are endorsed by the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation - honour and celebrate outstanding contributions to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation. For the design and development of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that is envisaged to create between 7,000 and 11,000 new jobs and the development of the necessary skills locally, the award goes to the Pegasus Universal Aerospace Team," said the citation which was read before Mia collected the Award. I'm excited and grateful to have been awarded this innovation

Cheetah deaths at KNP troubling but not unduly alarming: NTCA to SC

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have told the Supreme Court the death of five adult cheetahs and three cubs at KNP is troubling but not "unduly alarming", and the surviving big cats are being captured and medically examined as a precautionary measure. Under the Project Cheetah, a total of 20 radio-collared animals were imported from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh and later four cubs were born from Namibian cheetah 'Jwala'. Out of these 24 feline, eight including three cubs have died. Some cheetahs were reported to have developed infections due to radio collars. The joint affidavit, filed on behalf of the environment ministry and NTCA, said the provisional diagnosis of mortality events points towards "natural causes" and none of the cheetahs have died due to unnatural reasons such as poaching, snaring, poisoning, road hits, electrocution etc. "It is respectfully submitted that the

Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military

Mutinous soldiers in Niger this week overthrew the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum, adding to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa's Sahel region and raising fears of regional destabilization. The Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert, faces growing violence from Islamic extremists, which in turn has caused people to turn against elected governments. The military takeovers have followed a similar pattern: The coup leaders accuse the government of failing to meet the people's expectations for delivering dividends of democracy. They say they will usher in a new democratic government to address those shortcomings, but the process gets delayed. Karim Manuel, west and central Africa analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, says the military governments threaten to unwind democratic gains made not just in the Sahel region but in the broader West Africa region. This increases political instability going forward and makes the

Soldiers declare Niger general as head of state after he leads a coup

Mutinous soldiers who staged a coup in Niger declared their leader the new head of state on Friday, hours after the general asked for national and international support despite rising concerns that the political crisis could hinder the nation's fight against jihadists and boost Russia's influence in West Africa. Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that the constitution was suspended and Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani was in charge. Various factions of Niger's military have reportedly wrangled for control since members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France. Niger is seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence in the fight against extremism. France has 1,500 ...

Chasing Cheetah

Poor management and lack of transparency raise doubts

S African Reserve Bank applies to court to liquidate Habib Overseas Bank

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Friday launched proceedings in the High Court for an order for the final winding up of the local subsidiary of Pakistan-based Habib Overseas Bank Limited (HOB). The application, brought by SARB together with the Prudential Authority (PA), is to be heard on August 8, 2023, or as soon thereafter as determined by the Court, SARB confirmed in a statement. This follows the decision by the Minister of Finance, on the recommendation by the PA, to place HOB under curatorship in March 2023. HOB was placed under curatorship to deal with its governance, compliance and operational failures. Since the curatorship, in-depth assessments undertaken by the curator found that HOB's financial position was significantly worse than that reported by the bank's management. The findings by the curator concluded that HOB is insolvent. In accordance with the requirements of the Banks Act 94 of 1990 (Banks Act), Craig du Plessis, who is the appointed representative

BRICS came into being to create more just world: S African ambassador

The BRICS bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa was created to address the inequities in the current world order, South African diplomat Anil Sooklal said on Thursday. Sooklal, the Ambassador at Large: Asia and BRICS at the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, was speaking on radio station 702 after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not personally attend the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the summit. However, Putin will deliver his speech via video conference at the BRICS Summit that will take place between August 22 and 24. South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS. The ICC has indicted Putin for war crimes over accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children. As a member of the ICC, South Africa is expected to arrest Putin if he sets foot in the country. "President Putin decided n

Twenty two nations apply for BRICS membership, says South Africa

Sooklal has previously said that countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran have formally asked to become BRICS members

Putin to skip summit next month because of ICC arrest warrant: South Africa

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS economic summit in Johannesburg next month, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement Wednesday. The decision means South Africa will not face the dilemma of whether it should carry out an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Russian leader. South Africa is a signatory to the treaty that created the ICC and would have been obliged under that to arrest Putin, although the country had given strong hints that it would have likely not executed the arrest warrant. But Wednesday's announcement allows South Africa to avoid the problem and comes after Ramaphosa spoke with Putin by telephone in recent days. The decision for Putin not to attend was by mutual agreement," Ramaphosa's office said. Russia will instead be represented at the Aug 22-24 summit by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The BRICS economic bloc is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa

Arresting Putin in S Africa would be declaration of war: Prez Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa argued in his affidavit that South Africa's Bill of Rights required the government to protect and promote certain rights, including "the right to be free from all forms of violence."

Reports attributing some cheetah deaths to radio collar speculative: Govt

The environment ministry on Sunday said five out of the 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa died due to natural causes and media reports attributing the deaths to factors like radio collars were based on "speculation and hearsay without scientific evidence". In a statement, the ministry also said several steps have been planned to support the cheetah project, including the establishment of a Cheetah Research Center with facilities for rescue, rehabilitation, capacity building, and interpretation. "Out of 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa to India, five mortalities of adult cheetahs have been reported. As per the preliminary analysis, all mortalities are due to natural causes. There are reports in the media attributing cheetah deaths due to radio collar etc. Such reports are not based on any scientific evidence but on speculation and hearsay," the statement said. The ministry said consultations are being conducted with international cheetah .

Zambia reaches deal with China, other nations to rework $6.3 bn in loans

Zambia and its government creditors, including China, have reached a deal to restructure USD 6.3 billion in loans, the French government announced Thursday on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris. The agreement covers loans from countries including France, the UK, South Africa, Israel and India as well as China Zambia's biggest creditor at USD 4.1 billion of the total. The deal, announced by officials who spoke anonymously in accordance with the French government's customary practices, may provide a roadmap for how lenient China may be with other nations in debt distress. The International Monetary Fund approved the deal, meaning it's going to allow Zambia to receive more financing from the institution, they said. A discussion between French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema to praise the conclusion of year-long negotiations is to take place during a dinner of heads of state and government at the Elysee ..

Internationally-acclaimed Sulabh sanitation project to be taken to S Africa

The internationally-acclaimed Sulabh sanitation project established by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak across India is to be extended to South Africa to bring these facilities to rural communities. Dr Pathak was a guest speaker at the Gandhi-King-Mandela International Conference 2023 in Pietermaritzburg last week because the model he developed that brought not just sanitation but also dignity to women in India was based on Gandhian principles. "Gandhi spoke about sanitation. In 1919 he said in India that he wanted a clean India and education first; independence later. So, I have invented a technology which has helped to have toilets inside the house. Because of the support of the government of India, every house has a toilet now," he said. Pathak said that they have also put up public toilets at places like railway stations, bus stops and police stations to solve the sanitation problem of India. Those can be applicable and implemented in South Africa because it is a technology that can be ...