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Global reality: Africa plays an increasingly central role in global debates surrounding development finance, climate governance, migration and international peace and security yet it does not have influence. Photo: APS

“You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate”

As the global order becomes more multipolar, opportunities for African agency are expanding. Yet these opportunities will only translate into meaningful influence if African states strengthen their coordination, develop sophisticated negotiating strategies and engage proactively in shaping the rules of global governance

The Danish Refugee Council has documented a 2026 law that allows Ukrainian authorities to remove children from danger zones without parental consent.

The widescale abuse of Ukraine’s children by the State

Coverage of Ukrainian children often fixes blame on Russia and leaves the conduct of the Ukrainian government in the background, even though the evidence of exploitation, forced separation, weak oversight and institutional damage inside Ukraine’s own system is extensive and public

Guard jealously: Africa must move at pace with other nations seeking to protect data as a strategic asset. Photo: Dragos Condrea

Africa’s data, the new sovereignty frontier

Data sovereignty refers to the principle that all data is subject to the laws and regulations of the nation state or jurisdiction in which it is collected. This concept gained prominence in the early 2010s following the Edward Snowden revelations about mass surveillance by the United States

A US marine observes nearby vessels from the amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), during a strait transit at the Strait of Hormuz. (Cpl. Adam Dublinske/Released)

Editorial: The high cost of war

The war in the Middle East isn’t coming to our doorstep- it is already here. You will feel it at the pumps, in the supermarket aisles and in your beer mug. The ripple effect of fuel price increases is such that everything else including taxi fares and food prices will shoot through the roof

Bracing: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has warned that if the conflict is not resolved soon, it could
have serious implications for South Africa. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Mideast war: Treasury rallies to cushion blow

As Iranian conflict rattles oil markets and raises economic risks for South Africa, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is building a scenario plan to assess the implications for the country

Aloof: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana criticised for trivialising grievances of the people. Photo: GCIS

An elite detached from daily struggles

When workers marched and criticised the macroeconomic direction under Minister Trevor Manuel, it was never about personalities. It was about policy. It was about defending jobs, state capacity and redistribution

Iranian ambassador Mansour Shakib Mehr. (X)

Iran’s envoy in South Africa defends retaliatory attacks on US bases in the Middle East

Ambassador Mansour Shakib Mehr said Tehran’s actions ‘are directed at military bases used against us’

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to assist in efforts to bring home 17 South African men caught in the Russia-Ukraine war. (Russian Embassy in South Africa/X)

Ramaphosa secures Putin’s support for the return of 17 South Africans caught in Russia-Ukraine war

The men found themselves trapped in the conflict after being allegedly lured to Russia by uMkhonto weSizwe’s Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla

Road carnage: Twelve learners were killed when the scholar transport vehicle they were travelling in crashed into a truck in Vanderbijlpark in the
Vaal. Photo: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers

SA binges on lawlessness, impunity

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says South Africa’s tolerance for “just one drink” has become a licence for mass death

False claims: Contrary to popular narrative, President Cyril Ramaphosa is far from the indecisive leader he’s alleged to be, says the writer. Photo: GCIS

Ramaphosa no weak president

Bold and assertive Cyril debunks the myth of a weak and indecisive leader

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

First couple: Maduro faces a narco-terrorism conspiracy charge. He and his wife were both charged with cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses. Photo: Screen grab WRAL

The Caracas Rupture bleeds world order

This is not diplomacy; it is an eviction notice served by Delta Force

Nature’s bounty: Africa possesses extraordinary renewable energy
potential, with its abundant sunshine, wind, geothermal and
hydroelectric resources. Photo: Paul Botes

Venezuela, proof that fossil fuels are a security curse

Crisis in Caracas should provide impetus for Africa to lead the renewables revolution and shield itself from the chaos of fossil fuel geopolitics

The war in Ukraine continues to reshape Europe’s security landscape, testing international resolve and the principles of sovereignty and territorial
integrity. Photo Ukraine Ministry of Defence

Us today; you tomorrow

WW2 is conventionally dated to September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, but its origins can reasonably be traced back to 1935 when Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia

Stop the war: Begged not to start the war against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin went ahead to break a decade-long global taboo of bigger nations invading their smaller counterparts.

Russia’s new old imperialism

It takes true evil to send unwitting, unprepared young men, complete strangers to the whole Ukraine-Russia context, into Europe’s worst meat grinder since World War Two

Call for South Africa to support the UN Resolution on the return of the Ukrainian children

Supporting the return of Ukrainian children is consistent with South Africa’s constitutional values and its long-standing commitment to human rights

Trump-ed it: The Johannesburg Declaration placed debt relief, climate finance and fair value for critical
minerals at the centre of the global agenda. Photo: Gauteng Provincial Government

South Africa shrugs off Trump theatrics post G20, plans to attend 2026 summit

South Africa’s risk is not expulsion, which the G20’s rules do not allow, but a year of disruption that could blunt the gains of its presidency

Lady linchpin: Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is at the heart of the furore over SA men dispatched to Russia.
Photo: MK Party

Men trapped in Ukraine war promised MKP jobs

MK party says it knows nothing about the ill-fated Russian trip involving 17 South Africans

President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates that all G20 members except the US had signed the declaration.

Breaking with G20 custom, world leaders adopt declaration at start of annual summit

President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates that all G20 members except the US had signed the declaration

G20: President Cyril Ramaphosa will host leaders from 42 countries at the two-day G20 leaders’ summit in
Johannesburg this weekend. Photo: GCIS

G20: All eyes on Ramaphosa

The absence of US President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin puts the spotlight squarely on President Cyril Ramaphosa and South Africa