Page 4 - South Africa

Grok's focus on South Africa's racial politics 'unauthorised': Musk's xAI

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company said an unauthorised modification to its chatbot Grok was the reason why it kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of white genocide on social media this week. An employee at xAI made a change that directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic, which violated xAI's internal policies and core values, the company said in an explanation posted late Thursday that promised reforms. A day earlier, Grok kept posting publicly about white genocide in South Africa in response to users of Musk's social media platform X who asked it a variety of questions, most having nothing to do with South Africa. One exchange was about streaming service Max reviving the HBO name. Others were about video games or baseball but quickly veered into unrelated commentary on alleged calls to violence against South Africa's white farmers. It was echoing views shared by Musk, who was born in South Africa and frequently opines o

South African President Ramaphosa to visit US next week to meet Trump

President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are scheduled to meet at the White House next week following allegations by Trump and denied by South Africa that genocide is being committed against white farmers in the majority Black country. The meeting, announced Wednesday by the South African government and set for May 21, also comes after the US welcomed 59 white South Africans as refugees this Monday, the start of what the Trump administration said is a larger relocation plan for minority Afrikaner farmers who Trump has claimed are being persecuted in their homeland because of their race. South Africa denies the allegations and says whites in the majority Black country are not being singled out for persecution. Ramaphosa's office said he will be in the US from Monday to Thursday of next week, and will meet with Trump on Wednesday at the White House. Ramaphosa's trip would aim to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries, his office said. Th

Trump administration welcomes 49 white South Africans as refugees

The Trump administration on Monday welcomed a small group of white South Africans as refugees, saying they face discrimination and violence at home, which the country's government strongly denies. The decision to admit the 49 people also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why the group should be admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people who are fleeing war and persecution and have gone through years of vetting before coming to the US. The group from South Africa, including children holding small American flags, arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on a private charter plane and was greeted by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar. I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years," Landau told the group in a hangar at the airport, many of them holding U.S. flags. "We respect t

Varun Beverages ready to bottle in gains on robust volume growth

The organic volume growth was 15.5 per cent Y-o-Y apart from the consolidation of South Africa & DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo)

After Musk's criticism, South Africa paves way for Starlink's entry

South African official is paving the way for Starlink, and other similar providers, to operate in the country through an alternative to the requirement of Black ownership

South Africa eyes more trade with India, China amid sweeping US tariffs

South Africa is looking at expanding its trade with India and China as it faces the prospect of a 30 per cent tariff imposed on it by US President Donald Trump, Deputy President Paul Mashatile said on Monday. The geopolitics at the moment really requires that we should be engaging other nations as well. We know that we are one of the US's biggest trading partners, but there is nothing that says that we should not intensify our trade relations with India, China and other countries, Mashatile told a gathering of business and community leaders. He was speaking at the inaugural breakfast event hosted by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, named after the late Indian-origin freedom activist who served one less year than the 27 of Nelson Mandela as a political prisoner of the minority white apartheid government. Mashatile also commented on South Africa's G20 presidency this year as an opportunity to benefit the entire continent. Solidarity for us is very important. We should use the G20 to ma

India third most dangerous country to drive, Norway safest: Report

South Africa has been named the world's most dangerous country to drive in the annual report put together by a US-based driver training company based on research in 53 countries. India, at 49th place, was listed among the bottom five with the US ranking 51, making it the third most dangerous country to drive, according to Zutobi.com, the international driver's education company with courses in multiple countries. For the fourth year in a row, Norway is the safest country in the world for driving, while South Africa maintained its last position in the list for the second consecutive year. The Zutobi statement said it analysed countries based on indicators including motorway speed limits, blood alcohol concentration limits for drivers and road traffic death rates, to determine the world's safest and most dangerous countries to drive. The average number of estimated road traffic deaths per 1,00,000 across all countries has decreased since the previous year from 8.9 to 6.3, while there

South Africa's Prez denies 'white persecution' amid Musk's genocide claim

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday the claim that white people are being persecuted in his country is a completely false narrative. It was his latest attempt to push back against allegations made by US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and some white minority groups in South Africa. South African-born Musk, who has regularly accused South Africa's Black-led government of being anti-white, repeated a claim this weekend in a social media post that some of the country's political figures are actively promoting white genocide." Ramaphosa said in his weekly message to the nation that South Africans should not allow events beyond our shores to divide us or turn us against each other. In particular, we should challenge the completely false narrative that our country is a place in which people of a certain race or culture are being targeted for persecution. Ramaphosa did not mention names, but his denial was a reference to the allegations by Trump and others that South Af

South African Tourism sees India as top APAC mkt for international arrivals

This comes after 75,541 Indian tourists visited South Africa last year, with 63 per cent from Mumbai

Expulsion of S African envoy by US just hiccup in relations: Prez Ramaphosa

The arbitrary expulsion of South Africa's Ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool on Friday is "just a hiccup" in the relations between the two countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa said as the controversy around the issue raged over the weekend. Ramaphosa was speaking informally to journalists on Monday afternoon for the first time since US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Rasool "persona non grata" in a post on the social media platform X on Friday. This was after Rasool had participated in a discussion hosted earlier on Friday by the South African NGO Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection in which Rasool made comments which angered Rubio enough to call for his repatriation even before any formal diplomatic channels were followed. In his post on Friday, Rubio referred to Rasool as a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. "South Africa's ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," Rubio added. In his academic address

Trump admin says South African ambassador has to leave US by Friday

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the US and posted his decision Friday on social media

Want to build biz in India for 100 years: Shriram Capital-Sanlam executives

Executives talk about their plans for the wealth management business and the group's banking ambitions

South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in US, Marco Rubio says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled Ebrahim Rasool 'a race-baiting politician who hates America' and officially declared him persona non grata

Mahindra SA inks MoU to explore auto production feasibility in South Africa

Mahindra South Africa, the local subsidiary of the Indian automative giant, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to undertake an in-depth feasibility study on the potential establishment of a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) vehicle assembly facility in the country. Mahindra South Africa is also in the process of increasing its productive capacity at its assembly facility operation by AIH Logistics in KwaZulu-Natal province as it enters a third decade in the country, which it often refers to as "Mahindra's second home." Reaching the milestone of our 25,000th locally assembled Pik Up is (a) testament to Mahindra's growing footprint and long-term commitment to South Africa," said Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa. "As we continue to strengthen our operations, this MoU allows us to explore the feasibility of expanding our local assembly capabilities. This study will provide valuable insights into the potential for deeper ...

Over 100 firefighters battle blazes on South Africa's Table Mountain

More than 100 firefighters battled two blazes on the slopes of South Africa's Table Mountain on Wednesday, and national parks authorities said they were starting to bring them under control after the fires threatened to move toward nearby Cape Town. South African National Parks, which manages the mountain, said 115 firefighters, four helicopters and two planes had been deployed and there had been significant progress. The fires have burned since at least Sunday on the flat-topped mountain that overlooks Cape Town. A meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from Group of 20 countries began Wednesday in the city and was due to continue Thursday. There was no danger to the gathering. Fires are common in the Cape Town region in the hot, dry summer months between December and April, when they are often fed by strong coastal winds. A fire on Table Mountain in 2021 was the worst in recent years and burned down historic buildings at the University of Cape Town and forced ...

G20 finance ministers to meet in South Africa amid fractious geopolitics

South Africa had hoped to make the G20 a platform for pressuring rich countries to do more to tackle climate change

Jaishankar calls on S African prez, meets counterparts from Russia, China

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and conveyed the warm greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaishankar, who is in Johannesburg on a two-day visit to South Africa to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, assured India's support for South Africa's G20 priorities. Honoured to call on President @CyrilRamaphosa of South Africa on the sidelines of the G20 FMM in Johannesburg. Conveyed the warm greetings of Prime Minister @narendramodi. Assured India's support for South Africa's G20 priorities, Jaishankar said in a post on X. South Africa holds the Presidency of the G20 for this year, the first time that it is being hosted on the African continent. On the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Jaishankar interacted with several world leaders, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. Glad to meet FM Sergey

G20 foreign minister's meet underway in S Africa amid tensions with US

A meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries will get underway in Johannesburg on Thursday, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend amid diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the US. Diplomats including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to attend the gathering, while the US will be represented by acting ambassador to South Africa Dana Brown. The European Union, the United Nations and the African Union, which is part of the G20, will also be in attendance. Rubio snubbed the meeting after an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to the country over a law that the White House said amounts to discrimination against the country's white minority. The US is also displeased with South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said that Rubio's decision was not a complete boycott of South Africa's G20." He s

Jaishankar to visit South Africa for G20 foreign ministers' meeting

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a two-day visit to South Africa beginning February 20 to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the MEA announced on Wednesday. The minister is expected to hold a few bilateral meetings on the margins of the meet. South Africa is currently the chair of the influential grouping. "External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar will be visiting Johannesburg, South Africa on 20 & 21 February 2025 to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FMM) at the invitation of the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Ronald Lamola," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The minister's participation in the G20 FMM will "strengthen" India's engagement with G20 countries and "bolster the voice of the Global South" in this important forum.

South African NGOs worry Trump's aid freeze will disrupt HIV treatment

At a rural village in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, unemployed 19-year-old Nozuko Majola is trying to figure out if she has enough money for the one-hour ride to collect her much-needed HIV medication, usually delivered to her home that can't be easily reached due to rough, untarred roads. Majola is one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by US President Donald Trump's global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment, infection rates going up and eventually a rise in deaths. In 2024, think tank Human Sciences Research Council released figures showing that Majola's province recorded the second-highest HIV prevalence in the country, at 16 per cent, with at least 1,300 young people estimated to contract the disease every week. KwaZulu-Natal also had the highest number of people living with HIV in South Africa in 2022, about 19,80,000. The country counts more than 7.5 million people infected with the virus that causes AIDS -- mo