Page 2 - South Africa

Prez Murmu leads Indian diaspora in Botswana to honour Delhi blast victims

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday led the Indian community Botswana to pay condolences to the victims of the recent blast in Delhi. A high-intensity blast outside the Red Fort in Delhi on Monday claimed at least 13 lives. President Murmu, during her interaction with the members of the Indian diaspora on the last day of her three-day State Visit, expressed her heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wished for a quick recovery of the injured. After the National Anthem and an introductory welcome by Indian High Commissioner to Botswana, Bharath Kumar Kuthati, Murmu asked the members of the Indian community in the hall to pay respect to the departed souls. The gathering stood up and remained silent for a minute. The Indian community in Botswana is about 10,000 strong and engaged in sectors such as education, health, diamond processing and some other trades. The Indian community's achievements are a source of pride for India and their success enhance

South Africa calls Trump's G20 Summit boycott an 'imperialist act'

The South African government and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday reacted angrily to US President Donald Trump's decision to boycott the G20 Summit scheduled to take place in a fortnight in Johannesburg. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula lashed out at both Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who repeated the allegations made by Trump. Mbalula called the statements by the two US leaders false, labelling them as imperialist interference. Trump announced on Friday that no US official would participate in the Summit, which is being hosted by South Africa as it prepares to hand over the annual Presidency to the US. Trump cited the alleged persecution of white Afrikaner farmers in South Africa as the reason for his decision. This allegation has been denied and disproved repeatedly by both the South African government and leaders within the white community itself. It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners are being killed

8 more African cheetahs to arrive in India soon, S Africa team visits MP

Eight cheetahs have been captured in Botswana in southern Africa ahead of their translocation to India under the cheetah reintroduction programme, launched in 2022 after the fastest land animal went extinct here decades ago, a senior forest official said. The cheetahs, including two males, will be quarantined for a month and undergo a medical examination before being sent to India, the official told PTI, requesting anonymity. "Inter-continental translocation involves several formalities. Considering these and the upcoming Christmas holidays, I can't say when the cheetahs will be flown to Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh; most probably in January," he added. When contacted, Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma stated that the matter was being handled by the two governments and he could not comment on it. "We already have enclosures and facilities ready for the third batch of cheetahs, which were prepared when the animals were earlier brought from Namib

US to boycott G20 in South Africa over white farmers issue, says Trump

President Donald Trump said Friday that no US government officials would be attending the Group of 20 summit this year in South Africa, citing the country's treatment of white farmers. Trump had already announced he would not attend the annual summit for heads of state from the globe's leading and emerging economies. Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to attend in Trump's place, but a person familiar with Vance's plans who was granted anonymity to talk about his schedule said Vance would no longer travel there for the summit. It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa, Trump said on his social media site. In his post, Trump cited abuses of Afrikaners, including violence and death as well as confiscation of their land and farms. The Trump administration has long accused the South African government of allowing minority white Afrikaner farmers to be persecuted and attacked. As it restricted the number of refugees admitted annually to the US to 7,500, the

Cupid to earn up to ₹115 crore annually from South Africa procurement deal

Health and wellness products maker Cupid Ltd expects its annual revenue to cross Rs 115 crore mark from the South African market, as the company has bagged the maximum allocation in the African country's procurement programme for contraceptive products, according to a statement. The procurement is expected to commence from December 2025 and Cupid is coordinating closely with South African approved distributors for phased roll out, the company said in a statement. Cupid has secured a leading position in South Africa's five-year (20252030) national procurement program for female and male condoms. The total financial visibility (annual and indicative) for Cupid is USD 12.98 million (Rs 115 crore), it said further. Aditya Kumar Halwasiya, Chairman and Managing Director, Cupid Limited, stated, "These allocations place Cupid at the forefront of South Africa's prevention program. We're working on the ground with our customers and the public-health system to ensure a smooth start in Decembe

Will not attend G20 summit in South Africa later this month, says Trump

US President Donald Trump has said he will not attend the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in South Africa later this month. I am not going. We have a G20 meeting in South Africa. South Africa shouldn't even be in the Gs anymore because what's happened there is bad. I told them I'm not going. I'm not going to represent our country there. It shouldn't be there, Trump said at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday. South Africa assumed the year-long G20 Presidency on December 1, 2024, and will host the group's leaders for a summit meeting in Johannesburg from November 22 to 23, the first time the G20 Summit will be held on African soil. India was the President of the G20 from December 2022 to November 2023 and had hosted the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Then-US President Joe Biden had travelled to India to attend the G20 Summit. The G20 comprises 19 countries Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, So

Trump cuts US refugee limit to 7,500, mostly white South Africans

The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees it admits into the country to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop after the US previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world. The administration published the news Thursday in a notice on the Federal Registry. No reason was given for the numbers, which are a dramatic decrease from last year's ceiling set under the Biden administration of 125,000. The Associated Press previously reported that the administration was considering admitting as few as 7,500 refugees and mostly white South Africans. The memo said only that the admission of the 7,500 refugees during 2026 fiscal year was justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.

South Africa, Nigeria set to exit FATF's 'grey list' in October plenary

The two nations were put under heightened scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force in February 2023 for shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows

Indian mining firms eye opportunities as South Africa eases regulations

The South African government's move to ease mining regulations and privatisation of infrastructure opens up opportunities for Indian business, according to Nitin Agrawal, Group Chairman of Oza Holdings, which has assets in the mining and manufacturing sectors. Agrawal was addressing a gathering of 36 business leaders from the NPO Young Indians, which is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The delegation was in South Africa in the past week as part of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance. South Africa holds the Presidency of the G20 this year. Indian Consul General in Johannesburg Mahesh Kumar hosted the group for interactions with local business leaders, government representatives and business school leaders. "South Africa is a large and developed economy within Africa. It has very well-established mineral reserves and resources, along with very well-developed infrastructure, be it road, rail, or ports that can handle large volumes of commodities. It has a very good

Trump to skip G20 summit in South Africa, V-P Vance to attend in his stead

The president's fight with South Africa reached a boiling point in May when he ambushed President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video purporting to back up his claims White farmers are being targeted

ArcelorMittal South Africa job cuts likely to rise above 4,000: Report

The company has been reporting losses since 2023 and posted a half-year headline loss of 1.0 billion rand ($56 million) on persistently low sales volumes and low prices

US aid cuts leave South Africa's most vulnerable struggling for HIV drugs

On a warm evening in Johannesburg, the news spread like wildfire among sex workers: Within 24 hours, several nonprofit clinics providing free HIV services would be closing as President Donald Trump announced the United States was slashing foreign aid. Some South Africans living with, or at risk of, HIV secured supplies of life-saving drugs just in time. Others did not. Half a year later, the country with more people living with HIV than any other is struggling to treat its most vulnerable. Over 63,000 people were being treated in the 12 clinics across the nation that shut down. Up to 220,000 people have faced disruption to their daily HIV medication. South Africa's government has vowed it won't let the US withdrawal of about USD 427 million in support collapse its HIV program, the largest in the world. Sex workers, among the most vulnerable South Africans as their work is illegal, and transgender people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation

Tata Motors returns to South African car market after six-year absence

Growing demand for budget-friendly cars is luring global automakers to offer consumers more options

Lavish homes left by fleeing Gupta brothers up for sale in South Africa

Atul, Rajesh and Ajay Gupta fled to Dubai in 2018, just before the ANC forced Jacob Zuma to resign as president over declining support linked partly to his ties with the controversial family

Natco Pharma offers to acquire 35% in Adcock Ingram for ₹2,000 crore

The proposed Rs 2,000 crore deal will give Natco Pharma a strategic foothold in South Africa, with transaction completion expected within four months subject to approvals

Trump tariffs may cost South Africa 100,000 jobs: Central bank chief

Kganyago told local radio station 702 that the impact of the 30 per cent tariff, which Africa's biggest economy faces from August 1, could cause significant damage to specific industries

G20 watchdog outlines climate risk plan but halts further policy work

The US has withdrawn from multiple groups dedicated to exploring how flooding and wildfires and big climate-related policy shifts could impact financial stability

US aid cuts pause HIV vaccine research in S Africa, to have global impact

Just a week had remained before scientists in South Africa were to begin clinical trials of an HIV vaccine, and hopes were high for another step toward limiting one of history's deadliest pandemics. Then the email arrived. Stop all work, it said. The United States under the Trump administration was withdrawing all its funding. The news devastated the researchers, who live and work in a region where more people live with HIV than anywhere else in the world. Their research project, called BRILLIANT, was meant to be the latest to draw on the region's genetic diversity and deep expertise in the hope of benefiting people everywhere. But the $46 million from the US for the project was disappearing, part of the dismantling of foreign aid by the world's biggest donor earlier this year as President Donald Trump announced a focus on priorities at home. South Africa hit hard by aid cuts South Africa has been hit especially hard because of Trump's baseless claims about the targeting of the ..

Cricket's spirit lives: Wiaan Mulder's humility reveres the game's legacy

What South African Captain Wiaan Mulder did is out of character with the times, but it shows humility and reverence for the spirit of this great game

SA20 Season 4: Full schedule, live match time (IST), streaming details

JioHotstar, through its app and website, will live stream SA20 Season 4 matches in India