South Africa

United States

Environment, Science & Technology

Politics

Science & Technology

South Africa oversaw the adoption of a political declaration at the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg that acknowledges the need to increase access to climate finance and ease financing costs for developing countries, despite U.S. opposition to such a move, Reuters reported Nov. 23.

South Africa: G20 Adopts Declaration Despite U.S. Opposition  

Europe

Economics

Energy

South Africa signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union on the formation of a Clean Trade and Investment Partnership, or CTIP, and another on the development of critical mineral supply chains, Daily Maverick reported Nov. 21.

South Africa: Pretoria Strikes Clean Trade and Energy Partnership, MoU on Critical Minerals With EU

Military & Security

Chief of the South African navy Vice Adm. Monde Lobese slammed the South African government's curbs on defense spending, questioning whether the decision had been "directly or indirectly" influenced by drug cartels and other criminal groups benefiting from weaker maritime security, Independent Online reported on Nov. 17.

South Africa: Navy Chief Slams Government Over Defense Budget Cuts, Questions Potential Criminal Capture

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement that South Africa's effective inflation target would be reduced from 4.5% to 3% with a 1% "tolerance band," News24 reported on Nov. 12. 

South Africa: Finance Minister Confirms Reduction of Inflation Target, Curbs on Spending in Budget Speech

Leaders of political parties part of South Africa's coalition government adopted the country's Medium-Term Development Plan, vowed to accelerate reforms and ratified the terms of reference of the government's clearinghouse mechanism to resolve intra-coalition disagreements, News24 reported on Nov. 3.

South Africa: Coalition Government Agrees on Clearinghouse Mechanism, Policy Agenda 

Burkina Faso

Mozambique

Nigeria

The Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, removed South Africa from its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing "grey list" after assessing that it had met all the necessary actions proposed in a 2023 plan, News24 reported on Oct. 24.

Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mozambique Removed From FATF 'Grey List'

Namibia

South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment informed an oil major that appeals lodged against its Environmental Authorisation, a necessary approval to conduct oil exploration works, would be temporarily "held in abeyance," News24 reported on Oct. 17.

South Africa: Government Effectively Freezes Issuance of New Oil Permits Pending Supreme Court Ruling 

Taiwan

Taiwan's trade regulator announced that it was implementing an approval process for bulk exports of chips to South Africa, adding that "we are adopting measures to restrict trade to maintain our sovereignty," Bloomberg reported on Sept. 23.

Taiwan, South Africa: Taipei Restricts Chip Exports Amid Diplomatic Row

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Banners bearing portraits of leaders of the G20 on Nov. 20 in Johannesburg. The South African government has focused the G20 summit's agenda on issues key to African countries.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A High-Stakes British Budget, South Africa Hosts the G20

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Nepal

Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, 2025, after youth protesters set fire to the building. 

Recent events in Nepal, Madagascar and elsewhere show how digitally coordinated, leaderless protests can succeed, but eventually face even larger challenges in sustaining the momentum for change.

Worldwide Gen Z Protesters May Be Disappointed With Their Success

Media

Podcasts

What does the country's latest corruption scandal mean for President Cyril Ramaphosa and South African politics? 

Essential Geopolitics: The Outlook for South Africa's Coalition Government

China

 The European Union and China will hold a high-level leaders' summit July 24 in Beijing, marking the 50th anniversary of Chinese-EU diplomatic relations.

U.S.-China Relations

The Weekly Rundown: An EU-China Summit, South Africa's Budget Vote

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Poland

Global Trade

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

Portugal

Romania

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21 during an official trip to the United States.

The Weekly Rundown: South Africa's U.S. Reset, Three European Elections

Snapshots

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen holds a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Rising tensions between the ruling ANC and its key coalition partner over the 2025 budget are raising the risk of a coalition breakdown, which would threaten policy paralysis and a marked depreciation of the rand.

What the Democratic Alliance's Exit From Government Would Mean for South Africa

Germany

France

A list of countries facing reciprocal tariffs on display April 2 at the White House.

U.S.-Iran Relations

The Weekly Rundown: The Escalating Global Trade War, South Africa's Coalition Government on the Brink

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at a briefing at his African National Congress (ANC) party's headquarters in Johannesburg on May 13, 2024.

Social Issues

South Africa will struggle to meet Trump's demands for major foreign and domestic policy changes, which will risk exposing the country to disruptive U.S. economic retaliation, including entity-based sanctions.

Trump Turns Up the Heat on South Africa

The Reichstag on Jan. 22 in Berlin. The center-right alliance between the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, is widely expected to emerge as the largest bloc in the Bundestag after the Feb. 23 general election and lead the next coalition government.

The Weekly Rundown: German Elections, Macron and Starmer Meet Trump

The Geopolitics of Water

While government reforms will help catalyze much-needed investments in water infrastructure, these are unlikely to rapidly resolve the country's water supply challenges, which threaten to undermine South Africa's economic growth amid more frequent droughts. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Cascading Effects of South African Underinvestment in Water Infrastructure

Ethiopia

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United Arab Emirates

Moldova

India

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

At the tip of the African continent lies South Africa. The country borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and also surrounds Lesotho and much of Swaziland. South Africa's current borders were consolidated by the British in 1910 as the Union of South Africa, following the Boer Wars between the United Kingdom and Dutch settlers.    The Drakensberg and Karoo mountains rim the coastlines, separating a dry interior from a coastal region, which captures the majority of the country's rainfall.    Two key factors distinguish South Africa from much of the rest of the continent. The country has a malaria-free climate, which attracted European settlers. It also has abundant mineral resources — including gold, diamonds, coal and platinum — in the north-central interior.    This mining area is the geographic core of South Africa — encompassing the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria and adjoining parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State provinces. This core is connected by road and rail to a series of ports — from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, to Durban and Richards Bay — that carry goods and resources to and from Gauteng.    The wealth generated there underwrites financial, agricultural, industrial and manufacturing activity in other parts of South Africa.    South Africa's geographic challenge is to protect the extraction of natural resources in its interior while striving to maintain sufficient employment. It must then find ways to disperse enough wealth to appease its populations in the Gauteng and peripheral zones of the country.

SITUATION REPORTS

South Africa: G20 Adopts Declaration Despite U.S. Opposition

South Africa: Pretoria Strikes Clean Trade and Energy Partnership, MoU on Critical Minerals With EU

South Africa: Navy Chief Slams Government Over Defense Budget Cuts, Questions Potential Criminal Capture

South Africa: Finance Minister Confirms Reduction of Inflation Target, Curbs on Spending in Budget Speech

South Africa: Coalition Government Agrees on Clearinghouse Mechanism, Policy Agenda

Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mozambique Removed From FATF 'Grey List'

South Africa: Government Effectively Freezes Issuance of New Oil Permits Pending Supreme Court Ruling

Taiwan, South Africa: Taipei Restricts Chip Exports Amid Diplomatic Row

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