MORE than 280 people were reportedly killed this past weekend in Geneina town in the West Darfur region of the conflict-torn Sudan. This coincides with a month into the escalation of fighting in Sudan,and just a few days since the warring parties signed the Jeddah Agreement. “The appalling levels of violence unfolding in West Darfur are nothing short of inhumane,” said William Carter, Norwegian Refugee Council’s country director for Sudan. “Scarcely had the two warring parties signed the Jeddah Agreement…

THE statesman, Joachim Chissano, has lamented the sanctions against Zimbabwe as having a dire impact on the Southern African region. The former Mozambican president added the current situation in theneighbouring country would hinder the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “The crisis in the country is having terrible consequences for the region, as Zimbabwe lies at the heart of Southern Africa,” Chissano said. He was speaking in Harare, the Zimbabwe capital, during a high-level debt resolution forum.…

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua)– Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday held talks with President Isaias Afwerki of the State of Eritrea in Beijing. Hailing China and Eritrea’s profound traditional friendship, Xi said the two countries will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations on May 24 and that over the past 30 years, China and Eritrea have always trusted and supported each other. China views and develops bilateral relations with Eritrea from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is a…

XI’AN, May 16 (Xinhua) — The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been one of the most talked-about buzzwords in international cooperation over the past few years. While many people know that it was proposed by China, few may realize that the concept was first put forward in Central Asia. In September 2013, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kazakhstan, he delivered a speech of far-reaching significance at Nazarbayev University. In his address, Xi took his audience back to…

The Russian Embassy in South Africa has broken its silence on claims that it received weapons from South Africa, labelling the allegations an old tactic by the United States of America to push false narratives aimed at starting wars with foreign countries. In a statement released today, Russia accused Reuben Brigety, the US Ambassador to South Africa, of “fabricating weapons story” in a bid to sway the country’s foreign policy.  It said his unsubstantiated allegations were part of a plot…

EFF leader Julius Malema has added his voice to those who have publicly raised concerns about the government’s handling of US Ambassador Reuben Brigety’s claims that South Africa armed Russia, saying he should have been expelled from the country and his credentials withdrawn.   Addressing a media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday, Malema poured cold water on Brigety’s allegations, insisting that the South African government had no capacity to produce any ammunition for the Russian government, even though he wished they did. …

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) — The recent U.S. Census Bureau data suggest that the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with China was larger in 2022 than when Donald Trump was president, said an article on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website. Adding that America’s overall trade deficit hit an all-time high of 1.18 trillion U.S. dollars, Carnegie noted that this fortifies the view that “tariffs would not reduce U.S. trade deficits and the costs would be paid largely by Americans.” Similarly,…

SOUTH Africans have denounced attempts by Western sponsored media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for orchestrating a smear campaign to influence South Africa to support Ukraine and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the conflict with Russia. Western sponsored media alongside the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) have been pushing this agenda. This came about after some pro-Ukraine local media with their American counterparts criticised Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma when she expressed her support of Russia’s military operation…

SOUTH Africa will not take sides in a contest between global powers, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said as he hit out at critics accusing his country of siding with Russia in the war with Ukraine. Ramaphosa was writing in his weekly letter, days after the United States envoy in South Africa accused the African National Congress-led government of arming Russia. “Since the advent of democracy nearly 30 years, South Africa has pursued an independent foreign policy.” Ramaphosa said. He noted…

AN economist has dismissed claims China’s increased maize imports from South Africa are a “political posture” by the Asian powerhouse to replace the United States. Some media have made the claims after China bought 108 104 tonnes of maize from South Africa in the last week of March and the first fewweeks of April 2023. State-owned trader, COFCO, brought the grain. Some Chinese buyers reportedly cancelled 562 800 tonnes of US corn orders in the last week of April. Wandile…