Page 15 - South Africa

Women's T20 WC Final: Australia defeat S. Africa by 19 runs, win 6th title

Australia win women's T20 World Cup for record sixth time with 19-run win over hosts South Africa in final

12 cheetahs brought from SA served first meal at Kuno National Park in MP

Twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh two days ago have been served their first meal in their new home, an official said on Monday. The seven male and five female felines, brought as part of the Indian government's ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme, were served 65 to 70 kg of buffalo meat at around 5.30 pm on Sunday in the 10 quarantine bomas and they ate it all, KNP Divisional Forest Officer PK Verma told PTI. Before being brought to India on Saturday, they were fed at around 6 am on February 15 at the bomas in Rooiberg and Phinda Reserves in South Africa, officials said. The 12 cheetahs brought on Saturday will be kept in the quarantine enclosures for at least a month before they are moved into the acclimatisation enclosures. A decision on it will be taken by the task force on cheetahs, they said. According to experts, the cheetahs go in for the kill once in three to four days. They eat the prey fast at one go, fearin

Cheetah translocation to India result of S Africa's changed eco laws

The translocation of 12 cheetahs to India from South Africa on Saturday could be made possible because of changed eco laws after Nelson Mandela was elected president following 27 years as a political prisoner of the white minority apartheid government. Before that, India had ended all relations with South Africa for nearly four decades as it led the international fight against apartheid. In South Africa, the transition to democracy had substantial implications for wild cheetah conservation. The Game Theft Act (No. 105 of 1991) was responsible for a major change in land use from agriculture to ecotourism," the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said in a statement on Saturday. Since 1994 (when Mandela was installed as President) cheetahs have been reintroduced into 63 newly established game reserves that currently support a combined metapopulation of 460 individuals, it said. The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment has approved the expor

12 cheetahs from S Africa released into enclosures at Kuno National Park

Hours after 12 cheetahs were brought to Madhya Pradesh from South Africa on Saturday, they were released into the quarantine enclosures at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district of the state. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for Environment and Forests Bhupender Yadav released these felines into the quarantine bomas after they were transported to the KNP from Gwalior around noon. An Indian Air Force (IAF) plane carrying them in wooden boxes from South Africa had arrived at Gwalior airport around 10 am. From there, they were flown to the KNP in IAF helicopters. These cheetahs - seven males and five females - comprise the second set of big cats coming to the state, with the first group of eight from Namibia having been released into the KNP on September 17 last year at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the addition of these 12 members, the count of cheetahs at the KNP has gone up to 20. "The cheetahs from South Africa ha

12 cheetahs from South Africa arrive in Gwalior; to be flown to new home

Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters carrying 12 cheetahs from South Africa landed at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Saturday. These felines were flown into Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh from South Africa in an IAF plane around 10 am, from where they were shifted to the KNP. The helicopters carrying them arrived at the KNP around noon. These cheetahs - seven males and five females - comprise the second set of big cats coming to the state, with the first group of eight from Namibia having been released into the KNP on September 17 last year at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These animals had embarked on a journey to their new home thousands of miles away aboard an IAF transport aircraft from the O R Tambo International Airport, Gauteng in South Africa shortly before midnight, a project participant and expert told PTI. They will now be released into quarantine bomas by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for ...

Flight bringing Cheetahs to Kuno National Park takes off from South Africa

The cheetahs are being brought to India as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction project on the basis of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the South African and the Indian governments

Russia, China and S Africa to begin naval drills off Indian Ocean coast

Russia, China and South Africa are set to begin naval drills off South Africa's Indian Ocean coast Friday in a demonstration of the three countries' close ties amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's tense relationship with the West. The 10 days of exercises, named Mosi II, will coincide with the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. A Russian frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov, arrived in Cape Town earlier this week sporting the letters Z and V on its sides, letters that mark Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and are used as a patriotic symbol in Russia. In protest, a small yacht flying Ukraine's flag sailed by the Russian frigate in Cape Town's harbor. South African protesters opposed to the exercises are expected to demonstrate at the Russian Consulate in Cape Town on Friday. The arrival of the Admiral Gorshkov has stirred considerable controversy because it is armed with the latest Zircon hypersonic missiles, a weapon that Russia says can ..

Relocation of cheetah to India a measure of goodwill between BRICS partners

The "historic" relocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa to India on Saturday is a measure of "goodwill" between the two BRICS partners to share the gene pool to ensure the survival of a species, senior officials from both countries have said. India originally initiated plans to bring the cheetahs to the country by mid-2022, but a delay in finalising a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments led to a postponement, with the animals continuing with their quarantine at a reserve in Limpopo province. "This is a historic MoU. It is a transcontinental location from wild to wild. Normally animals do move, but this has been a challenge for both countries, said Dr Amit Mallick, Inspector-General of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Flora Mokgohloa, Deputy Director General for Biodiversity and Conservation in the South African Department of Forestry, Fishing and the Environment, said the financial value of the cheetahs being sent to India by South Africa was ...

Cheetahs unlikely to pose threat to people near Kuno National Park: Study

As Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh waits to welcome 12 more cheetahs on Saturday, which will take the count of the big cats at the protected forest to 20, a study says the carnivores are highly unlikely to pose a threat to the people living in the vicinity. The cheetahs, including five females, are being brought from South Africa, five months after the first batch of eight spotted felines from Namibia were released into a quarantine enclosure at KNP under India's ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme. There exist no records of wild-born metapopulation attacking humans... All (12) founder cheetahs sourced for reintroduction (in India) are wild born. The prospect of any of these cheetahs attacking humans can be considered highly unlikely, says the risk management plan of the project authored by South African cheetah metapopulation manager Vincent van der Merwe. The findings could assuage concerns over potential man-animal conflicts among locals. The buffer zone of KNP, wher

12 cheetahs to be flown in from South Africa on Feb 18: Bhupender Yadav

Twelve cheetahs will be flown in from South Africa on February 18, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday. Under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the first batch of eight spotted felines -- five females and three males -- from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year. Presently, the eight cheetahs at Kuno are killing a prey every three-four days and are in good health, officials said. One of the cheetahs was unwell as her creatinine levels had shot up. She has recovered after treatment, they said. "A C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) left the country Thursday morning to bring 12 cheetahs from South Africa. Ten quarantine enclosures have been created at the Kuno National Park for these felines," the minister said at a press conference here. India and South Africa had in January signed an MoU to transport cheeta

Relocation of cheetahs from S Africa comes 3 years after it was mooted

The relocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa that will arrive in India on Saturday comes three years after the idea was first mooted by the government of India. India had originally initiated plans to Understanding between the two countries led to a postponement, with the animals continuing with their quarantine at a reserve in the Limpopo province. In January 2020, the Supreme Court permitted the central government to introduce the Southern African cheetah to suitable habitat in India as part of a trial to see if they can adapt, said a report compiled by Vincent van der Merwe, the coordinator of the cheetah metapopulation in South Africa. This ruling came in response to an application filed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking permission to introduce the Southern African cheetah from Namibia. Eight cheetahs from neighbouring Namibia were sent to India in September last year. A month after the ruling, the NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) contacte

Cabinet approves signing of MoU between India and SA in 'disability sector'

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the India and Republic of South Africa for cooperation in the 'disability sector'

South Africa declares emergency after severe flooding in several parts

The South African government has declared a state of emergency over severe flooding in various parts of the country following non-stop rains for the past week, days after the government announced 'State of Disaster' over electricity crisis in the country. A national disaster may be declared by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs where disastrous events occur or threaten to occur in more than one province. The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has, in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, classified the impact of current, above-normal rainfall in various parts of the country with Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape provinces as the most affected as a national disaster, the Presidency said in a statement on Monday. This followed the declaration of a State of Disaster last Thursday as South Africa faces large-scale blackouts with embattled state-owned electricity supplier Eskom unable to meet demand following years of rampant looting and

12 S African cheetahs to land in India on Feb 18; Kuno park to welcome them

After months of delay, 12 cheetahs from South Africa will finally arrive on February 18 in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP), where eight such spotted cats were brought from Namibia last year, a wildlife expert associated with India's cheetah revival project has said. These big cats seven males and five females will embark on journey to their new home thousands of miles away aboard an Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft from the OR Tambo International Airport, Gauteng, South Africa on Friday evening, the project participant and expert told PTI. He said the South African cheetahs will first arrive at the Gwalior Air Force base in MP on Saturday morning and 30 minutes later they will be transported some 165km away to KNP in Sheopur district by IAF helicopters. After landing at KNP around 12 noon, they will be put into quarantine bomas (enclosures) after half an hour (12.30 pm), added the expert. KNP Director Uttam Sharma said they have set up 10 quarantine bomas for .

South Africa witnesses 200% surge in Indian travellers amid strong recovery

For the third consecutive year, South African Tourism finished another extremely successful partnership with South Asia's premier travel exhibition, SATTE 2023

India vs SA highlights, Hockey WC: Men in Blue sign off with 5-2 win

India vs South Africa 9-12th place Classification Highlights: India won 5-2 thanks to goals from Abhishek, Harmanpreet, Samsher, Akashdeep and Sukhjeet. It will finish in the top 10 in this World Cup

South Africa to host 15th BRICS summit at Durban in late August 2023

The 15th BRICS summit is all set to take place in South Africa's Durban in late August this year

Initial batch of 12 cheetahs to be flown in from South Africa in February

An initial batch of 12 cheetahs will be flown in from South Africa in February.

US Treasury Secy Janet Yellen discusses energy transition in South Africa

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is discussing South Africa's transition from its heavy reliance on coal to greener energy sources during talks with the country's finance minister Thursday. Yellen made brief remarks to reporters ahead of a meeting with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Pretoria but avoided mention of South Africa's recent decision to take part in joint navy drills with Russia and China off its east coast next month. South Africa is a key U.S. and Western partner but also holds strong ties to Russia and China, and it has adopted a neutral stance over the war in Ukraine. The announcement that South Africa would host Russian and Chinese warships for 10 days of exercises in February has raised concern at the White House. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in Pretoria for an official visit earlier this week. Yellen's 10-day trip to Africa, which has already included stops in Senegal and Zambia, is one of the first steps in the Biden administration's aim o

Fugitive businessman Atul Gupta loses bid to get new S African passport

Atul Gupta, one of the three Gupta brothers now in self-exile in Dubai, has lost a high court bid to get a new passport from the South African government. Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta are accused of siphoning billions of rands from South African parastatals through their close association with former president Jacob Zuma. Atul and Rajesh are currently awaiting extradition to face charges in South Africa. The brothers and their families fled to Dubai after Zuma was ousted from the presidency in 2018 by his ruling African National Congress. They have also been blacklisted by the US and the UK. The Pretoria high court ruled on Friday that Atul Gupta did not qualify for a South African passport because he was a fugitive from justice. Gupta had approached the South African consulate in Dubai for a new passport in 2018. This was before he faced extradition charges. But the Department of Home Affairs had rejected Gupta's application after the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed tha