Tag: South Africa

South Africa and Russia Are Old Friends. A War Isn’t Going to Change That.

Chin@Strategy

JOHANNESBURG — While the United States and Europe have pressured countries to turn their backs on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, South Africa has bolstered its longtime alliance with Moscow — a friendship that dates to the struggle against apartheid. Russia and South Africa, along with China, are scheduled on Friday to start 11 days of joint military exercises off the east coast of South Africa that will include a Russian warship bearing the letters Z and V — Russia’s patriotic symbols for its war in Ukraine — and…

South Africa to Hold Naval Drill With Russia and China Amid Ukraine War

Chin@Strategy

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s military announced on Thursday that it plans to hold joint training exercises off its coast next month with Russia and China, a move criticized by the United States, which has been trying to rally other countries to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine. The exercises will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24. South Africa was among three dozen countries that abstained last year in a vote in the United Nations to condemn Russia for its…

The world in 2023: what our writers say you should watch out for

Chin@Strategy

A near-inevitable global recession sparked by a lengthening war in Europe’s frozen east; an energy crisis coupled with soaring inflation; Covid-19 finally running rampant in China – predictions for 2023 are grim. Still, there are reasons to be hopeful. That same energy crisis has spurred an unprecedented demand for renewables, which are expected to boom, while in Brazil, a new president has sworn to protect the Amazon. Repressive regimes, meanwhile, will be nervously looking at Iran, where hardline clerics are locked in a struggle with a formidable pro-democracy uprising that…

China Recruiting Former R.A.F. Pilots to Train Army Pilots., U.K. Says

Chin@Strategy

LONDON — China has recruited as many as 30 retired British military pilots, including some who flew sophisticated fighter jets, to train pilots in the People’s Liberation Army, according to Britain’s Defense Ministry. A senior official said the ministry worried that the practice could threaten British national security. Britain said it was working with allies to try to stop the practice, which the official said dated to before the coronavirus pandemic but had gained momentum in recent months. The recruited British pilots, the senior official said, included former members of…

Blinken makes case for democracy at start of sub-Saharan Africa tour

Chin@Strategy

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has appealed to “governments, communities and peoples” across Africa to embrace Washington’s vision of democracy, openness and economic partnership in the first major speech of three-nation tour of sub-Saharan Africa. Blinken was speaking in South Africa on the first stop of his tour, which will include the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The new diplomatic effort comes after several years during which Washington appeared uninterested in sub-Saharan Africa. The tour has been portrayed as an attempt to counter recent efforts by…

‘A necessary war’: reporting on the Ukraine ‘disagreement’ outside the west

Chin@Strategy

Many an insult has been hurled at Vladimir Putin since he invaded Ukraine a fortnight ago, causing chaos, heartbreak and death. A bloodstained aggressor. A 21st-century Stalin. A total fucking dickhead. Beelzebub. “Look at the face of Putin. You will see the devil,” one US commentator opined on Wednesday as a maternity hospital was bombed in the city of Mariupol. But for the Venezuelan pundit Alberto Aranguibel, Putin’s 24 February invasion was “la guerra necesaria” – the necessary war. The Chinese academic Wang Shuo saw it as “a US-created crisis”.…

Only 6% of G20 pandemic recovery spending ‘green’, analysis finds

Chin@Strategy

Only about 6% of pandemic recovery spending has been “green”, an analysis of the $14tn that G20 countries have poured into economic stimulus. Additionally, about 3% of the record amounts governments around the world have spent to rescue the global economy from the Covid-19 pandemic has been spent on activities that will increase carbon emissions, such as subsidies to coal, and will do little to reduce greenhouse gases or shift the world to a low-carbon footing. The analysis of the G20 fiscal stimulus spending, published on Wednesday in the journal…

Your Monday Briefing: South Africa’s Parliament Burns

Chin@Strategy

Good morning. We’re covering a fire in South Africa’s Parliament, a breach in the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea, and possible changes to women’s rights in China. South Africa’s parliament burns A large fire damaged much of the Houses of Parliament on Sunday. Officials warned that the damage to the historic complex would be extensive. Officials said the fire spread from an office space on the third floor of a building adjacent to the old National Assembly building. Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesman warned that…

Covid news live: infections hit record highs across Europe; South Africa reinstates contact tracing and isolation

Chin@Strategy

Infectious disease epidemiologist and World Health Organization Covid-19 Technical Lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, has cautioned against becoming “numb” to rising case numbers. Do not become numb to these numbers. Each one is a person, a family, a friend, a loved one… Do not become complacent. Even if Omicron is less severe. Many places are seeing record numbers of cases and hospitalisation rates… We can do more. We need to end this pandemic.” Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) Do not become numb to these numbers. Each one is a person, a family,…

Most of the World’s Vaccines Likely Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron

Chin@Strategy

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson…