International Archives

Fighting for Scraps: South Africa’s ZEP Policy and the Damage Already Done

8May

By News SANo Comments

International

Fighting for Scraps: South Africa’s ZEP Policy and the Damage Already Done

By Sacha Knox: (Image: Getty Images) In recent months, at Johannesburg stations, hundreds of Zimbabweans have queued to board buses for what officials call “voluntary repatriation.” Families with luggage. Children who have known no other home. Voluntary is doing a lot of work in that sentence that the reality does not support.The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) has been fought over in the courts since Cabinet announced its termination in November 2021. The Pretoria High Court ruled on 28 June 2023 that then-Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision was procedurally unfair, unlawful, and invalid. He sought leave to appeal at every level - the High Court, then the Supreme Court of Appeal, then the Constitutional Court - and was refused each time. On 18...

Internal Rift in NATO Conceals Widening Political and Strategic Divisions

25Apr

By News SANo Comments

International

Internal Rift in NATO Conceals Widening Political and Strategic Divisions

By Thobile Jiwulane: The NATO flag (Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) We know divisions among the Western countries over the Gulf War were always to be expected after the debacle over Canada and Greenland that Donald Trump wants to seize as an extension of the US territory. But the rift over the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the worst crisis facing the North Atlantic since the post-Cold War era. The internal rift within NATO, long concealed behind ritual statements about “transatlantic unity,” is becoming increasingly visible. Its causes lie not only in the accumulation of contradictions between the United States and its European allies, but also in the evident crisis of American leadership, particularly against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s ...

MSF concludes 12-week emergency response in Nampula, Mozambique – but critical gaps remain

14Apr

By News SANo Comments

International

MSF concludes 12-week emergency response in Nampula, Mozambique – but critical gaps remain

By News SA Special Correspondent: Josefina Pedro and daughter, Esfenosa, waiting for care at an MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha, Nampula province. IMAGE: Costantino Monteiro | Date: 11/02/2026._ After 12 weeks of emergency response in northern Mozambique, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has concluded its operations in the Eráti district, Nampula province. As the most acute phase of the crisis subsided, many displaced people began returning home, and MSF handed over activities to the Ministry of Health. However, the intervention exposed longstanding structural gaps in access to healthcare that persist. MSF launched its response in December 2025, following the largest wave of displacement recorded that year, triggered by attacks by the armed group Islamic State ...

INITIATIVE FOR PEACE IN THE GULF: Five-Point Initiative of China and Pakistan For Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region

3Apr

By News SANo Comments

International

INITIATIVE FOR PEACE IN THE GULF: Five-Point Initiative of China and Pakistan For Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region

By Thobile Jiwulane: Ambassador H.E. Wu Peng addresses the Sino-SA Media Club launch in Pretoria on 2 April 2026. (IMAGE: Supplied by Chinese Embassy) The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to South Africa, Wu Peng, on Thursday night unveiled the Five-Point Initiative of China and Pakistan for Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region, underscoring the crucial role that the Global South plays in ensuring peace and stability in the world. Speaking at the media launch of Sino-SA Media Club held at the Summit in Menlyn, Pretoria on Thursday evening, convey the details of the initiative, which is designed to facilitate the end of the ongoing war between the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The war e...

Sudan’s Ongoing Conflict: Women and Girls Face Widespread Sexual Violence as Rape Becomes a Tool of War

2Apr

By News SANo Comments

International

Sudan’s Ongoing Conflict: Women and Girls Face Widespread Sexual Violence as Rape Becomes a Tool of War

By News SA Correspondent: A woman walks through Daba Naira camp for internally displaced people in Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan. Photographer: Cindy Gonzalez| on 14/02/2026 “They took us to an open area. […] The first man raped me twice, the second once, the third four times, and the fourth once. Apart from the rapes, they beat us with sticks and pointed guns at my head. Another girl who was 15…was raped by three men. We were raped throughout the night.” - Woman, unknown age, October 2025, Tawila. This is one of the tales of harrowing sexual violence experienced by women and young girls in the war-torn country contained in a new report released this week by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The report, released during a media conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, exposes the rampant...

IN REMEMBRANCE: Pakistan’s High Commission hoists flag to commemorate Pakistan National Day in Pretoria

25Mar

By News SANo Comments

International

IN REMEMBRANCE: Pakistan’s High Commission hoists flag to commemorate Pakistan National Day in Pretoria

By Diplomatic Correspondent: Pakistan's High Commissioner in Pretoria, H.E. Mr Malik Muhammad Farooq. (Image: Supplied The High Commission of Pakistan, Pretoria, commemorated Pakistan Day on Monday, 23 March 2026, with a simple and dignified flag hoisting ceremony held at the High Commission premises in Pretoria. The High Commissioner of Pakistan to South Africa, H.E. Mr Malik Muhammad Farooq, hoisted the national flag to the tune of the National Anthem of Pakistan. The significant ceremony was attended by members of the Pakistani diaspora from different walks of life, friends of Pakistan in South Africa, as well as officers and officials of the High Commission. The proceedings commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Messages of the President, Prime...

STATEMENT BY THE CHINA–SOUTH AFRICA YOUTH FEDERATION ON THE APPOINTMENT OF AMBASSADOR LETSATSI-DUBA

17Mar

By News SANo Comments

International

STATEMENT BY THE CHINA–SOUTH AFRICA YOUTH FEDERATION ON THE APPOINTMENT OF AMBASSADOR LETSATSI-DUBA

By China–South Africa Youth Federation: Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, appointed SA Ambassador to China. (Image: SA Government) The China–South Africa Youth Federation extends its warm and sincere congratulations to Ms. Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba on her appointment as the Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the People’s Republic of China. This appointment represents an important moment in the continued strengthening of the long-standing and strategic relationship between South Africa and China. The Federation is confident that Ambassador Letsatsi-Duba’s distinguished record in public service, leadership, and dedication to advancing international cooperation will make a meaningful contribution to deepening bilateral relations between the two countries. South Africa ...

Justice Cannot Wait: What CSW70 Means for Africa in an Age of Gender Backlash

15Mar

By News SANo Comments

International, Opinion

Justice Cannot Wait: What CSW70 Means for Africa in an Age of Gender Backlash

By Professor Narnia Bohler-Muller: The gender equality agenda does not reset every year with a new host country, but it accumulates, or it erodes, says the writer. (Image: Freepik) When the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) opened at United Nations headquarters in New York on 9 March, the world witnessed something unprecedented in seven decades of multilateral gender diplomacy. The Agreed Conclusions, which have traditionally been adopted by consensus, were instead passed by recorded vote: 37 in favour, 1 against (the United States), with 6 abstentions. The applause that erupted in the General Assembly Hall was a political declaration. For those of us working on gender equality from the Global South, that moment crystallised some...

Nigeria: MSF hands over Cross River project after three years of lifesaving care in Nigeria

10Mar

By News SANo Comments

International

Nigeria: MSF hands over Cross River project after three years of lifesaving care in Nigeria

By News SA Correspondent: An MSF signpost pointing towards the primary healthcare facility MSF supports in the Old Ndebeji community in Akamkpa. (Image: Abba Adamu Musa/MSF, 2024 ) In September 2025, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) concluded its Cross River project after three years of collaboration with the state ministry of health, providing free, comprehensive health care to thousands of people living in Akor and Old Ndibeji, located in the Akampa Local Government Area near the Nigerian-Cameroonian border. Launched in May 2022, the project supported two primary health care centres in communities whose access to medical services had been extremely limited. After donating medical supplies, MSF handed over operations to the Ministry of Health. For many community members ...

Statement by the China-South Africa Youth Federation on Solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran

6Mar

By News SANo Comments

International

Statement by the China-South Africa Youth Federation on Solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran

By CSAYF: Iranian Ambassador to South Africa, H.E.Mansour Shakib Mehr, addressing the South African media in Pretoria on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. (Image: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pretoria) The China-South Africa Youth Federation (CSAYF) expresses deep concern regarding recent developments involving the Islamic Republic of Iran and reports of military actions attributed to the United States government. Guided by the foreign policy principles of the Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa – both rooted in sovereignty, non–interference, peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for international law – we strongly reaffirm our commitment to justice, peace and multilateralism. We condemn any violation of international...