bricslatest news & developments
Brics and the wider multipolar shift have opened a new political field in world affairs. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert / PR

Brics, the GNU and the erasure of African consciousness

The judiciary and legal academy entrenched the same exclusion. They protected the existing order through property law, constitutional abstraction and procedural sanctity. They elevated form above the history of conquest. They treated settler possession as the legal present and African dispossession as historical background

Global village: The Middle East crisis is no longer just a remote conflagration, South Africa is also affected by this distant geopolitical drama. Photo:
fair.org

Middle East conflict reaches SA’s doorstep

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans in Israel to cross the land border into Jordan — one of the few remaining safe exit routes

Punching above our weight: South African agriculture is proud to be a sector that is among the top 40 global agricultural exporters, the only
African country on that list, says the writer. Photo: Jaco Wolmarans

The Sona love letter to SA’s agric sector

We are working to expand the sector and ensure we provide high-quality products to new markets. It remains key that the sector’s “knowledge infrastructure” is up to date and, importantly, that new entrant farmers are supported

Newly appointed US ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III

Trump envoy arrives in Pretoria amid stormy US-SA relations

The US has not had a permanent ambassador to South Africa since January 2025

President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated solidarity with countries and territories experiencing conflict and occupation.. (GCIS)

SA’s sovereignty is ‘not negotiable’, Ramaphosa says in Sona

In a pointed message to powerful nations, the president declared that South Africa’s sovereignty was “sacrosanct” and would not be compromised

Will he? Will he not? Soccer boss Dr Patrice Motsepe is touted as the man to save the ANC, amid concerns about the party’s declining popularity and challenges facing the Cyril
Ramaphosa administration.

Motsepe, the Crown Prince?

Supporters argue that Motsepe possesses the skills and experience to lead the ANC and South Africa. His potential presidency is expected to strengthen relations with the United States, create jobs and reduce unemployment

Adapt or die: South Africa, represented here by President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the BRICS Business
Forum, has to strike a balance between idealogy and economics. Photo: GCIS

SA’s foreign policy at a crossroads

This does not require abandoning old allies but it does require recognising that the world has moved on from the ideological certainties of the past

The President’s Men: US President Donald Trump has made appointments to his cabinet of people who are obsequious to him, the writer says.

Trump’s whips and chains initiative

He has been ruling like a dictator, claiming wartime powers, circumventing the Senate and Congress

Iran has been under intensified scrutiny over its response to protests. (Screenshot: Al Jazeera)

South Africa urges restraint and dialogue in Iran conflict

The presidency said sustainable peace and stability could only be achieved through solutions that centred on the agency of the Iranian people

MAGA champion: Donald Trump’s solution is to “permanently” ban
immigration from all “Third World” countries.

Inside the G20 Animal Farm

African wildlife policy must be led by African scientists and communities, not curated for private facilities an ocean away

DUT students and staff at the 2025 BRICS Vocational Skills Competition in China.

DUT shines globally as students compete in 2025 BRICS data analysis and visualisation finals in China

A total of 13 students from the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) recently participated in the 2025 BRICS Vocational Skills China International Finals Competition at Guangdong Construction Polytechnic in Guangdong, China. This milestone underscored the institution’s dedication to promoting international learning, cross-cultural collaboration and global engagement. It reflected […]

The Green Italia left for Japan from the Durban port earlier this week,
loaded with 3560 pallets of citrus. Photo: Citrus Growers Association of
Southern Africa

South Africa’s agricultural exports boom

The latest data for the third quarter shows that South Africa’s agricultural exports totalled US$4.7 billion, up from 13% from the same period a year ago

The country’s foreign policy is centred on human rights, democracy, international law, peace and an Africa-first perspective. Photo: File

South Africa’s sovereignty is not for sale

The country must stand up to bullying from powerful states and form bonds, as an autonomous nation, with countries that share our values

President Cyril Ramphosa. (David Harrison)

Ramaphosa grilled in parliament on US tariffs, Postbank and Iran

The president said the government would never go ‘on bended knee’ to get the best deal in ongoing trade discussions with the United States

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the uncertainty of the new trading regime had already harmed the country’s economy

Brics leaders call for cooperation in protectionist global environment

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the uncertainty of the new trading regime had already harmed the country’s economy

Chinese ambassador Wu Peng. (X)

UPDATED: China trade to ‘soften blow of US tariffs’

China’s ambassador said South Africa’s call to narrow its trade deficit and diversify exports required building local beneficiation capacity

Africa’s choice should not be limited to East v West but rather to move from dependence to balance through diversified partnerships based in mutual respect and shared benefit. Photo: File

Africa, the US and the East: In search of balance in a changing world

South Africa and the continent need to quietly assert control over their future through investment, innovation and intellectual engagement

Trump’s trade tantrums reflect the US president’s transactional politics. Photo: File

Reciprocity or retaliation? The semantics of US trade power

The world is no longer panicking over US trade threats but laying the foundation for an environment where Washington can no longer hold it over a barrel

In 2024, global coal consumption reached a record high, with commercial banks investing more than $130 billion across Asia, the US and Europe.. (Paul Botes)

Brics talks green, acts dirty

Countries like Brazil and Ethiopia push for development that is led by renewable energy but other members of the Brics block are protecting their fossil fuel interests

South Africa accounts for 54% of all exports to the US under Agoa — a trade law which  gives eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products including clothing, agricultural goods, crafts and manufactured items.

30% tariff, 0% respect. Why South Africa must push back against US bullying

Donald Trump’s ‘solution’ to South Africa avoiding the tariff hike – move production to the US – is nothing more than economic blackmail