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How the Iran War Is Hitting South Africans Where It Hurts Most
28Mar By News SANo Comments
Opinion

How the Iran War Is Hitting South Africans Where It Hurts Most

By Lungelo Dlamini: Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei The ongoing conflict involving Iran may seem far removed from daily life in South Africa, yet its effects are already being felt in a very real and personal way. The war has disrupted global oil supply, pushing prices above 100 dollars a barrel and creating uncertainty across international markets. What this means for South Africans is simple. When oil prices rise globally, we pay more locally. At the heart of the issue is fuel. South Africa relies heavily on imported oil, and this makes the country extremely vulnerable to global shocks. As tensions in the Middle East have escalated, the price of crude oil has surged, and this is feeding directly into higher petrol and diesel costs. Analysts warn that petrol prices co...
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WAR OF ATTRITION: Iran’s Battle  Game Plan Shocks US,  Devastates Israel 
18Mar By News SANo Comments
Opinion

WAR OF ATTRITION: Iran’s Battle  Game Plan Shocks US,  Devastates Israel 

By Nelvis Qekema: There will be very few people in the world who would not cheer Iran up for daring to stand up to the psychopathic Trump and oil-thirsty US imperialism.  AZAPO is part of those political forces that stand with Iran against this imperialist aggression. A unipolar world is undesirable. Substantive multilateralism is the way to go. Though they would ideologically support the bombing and destruction of Iran by the US and Israel, even the NATO countries are embarrassed and distancing themselves from Trump's illegal war against Iran.  Sanctions Fail to Drain Russia’s Strong Power Trump treated these European countries like rubbish during the Russo-Ukraine conflict, from which the US profited by selling arms, and hoping that the con...
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Bombs in the Gulf, Billions on the Move: Will Cape Town Benefit from the Conflict?
15Mar By News SANo Comments
Opinion

Bombs in the Gulf, Billions on the Move: Will Cape Town Benefit from the Conflict?

As missiles fly between Iran, Israel and the United States, the real battle may be unfolding in oil markets, investor confidence, and the global flow of capital—from the Strait of Hormuz to cities as far away as Cape Town. By Zola Pinda: Mansour Shakib Mehr, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to South Africa, making a statement on the recent attacks by Israeli and U.S. regimes against Iran during the press conference held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 4 March 2026 While bombs rain across the Strait of Hormuz, investors are already fleeing, luxury capital is on the move, and cities like Cape Town are quietly positioning themselves as the world’s next safe havens. Two weeks into the war between Iran and the coalition led by the United States and Israel, m...
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Six Weeks after Davos Things No longer the Same
17Feb By News SANo Comments
Opinion

Six Weeks after Davos Things No longer the Same

By Zola Pinda: President Donald Trump at the WTO forum in Davos. (Image: SABC/Reuters) Davos 2026 was a masterclass in contrast: predictable pragmatism versus reckless volatility. On one side, China strutted its narrative of stability, multilateralism, and market continuity.  On the other hand, the United States, under President Donald Trump, reminded the world why Western allies are hedging, diversifying, and quietly building bridges elsewhere. Trump promised protection. What he delivered is chaos. Tariffs slammed onto allies like a sledgehammer. Threats over Greenland, abrupt policy reversals, and a transactional approach to diplomacy have turned American businesses into collateral damage.  Supply chains buckle. Investments are postponed. Costs soar. Mark...
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Maduro’s Capture: Symptom, Not Disease
6Jan By News SANo Comments
Opinion

Maduro’s Capture: Symptom, Not Disease

By Zola Pinda: Incumbent President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro (Image: Facebook) Zamikhaya Maseti’s latest analysis of Nicolás Maduro’s capture demonstrates intellectual rigour and the depth of insight often associated with Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. Like Mbeki, Maseti interrogates structural forces rather than merely chronicling events, situating Venezuela within a broader pattern of U.S. unilateralism and the erosion of multilateral norms.  He is correct: Maduro’s capture is less a rupture than a symptom of a global order already under strain. Washington frames the seizure and trial of Maduro as justice delivered.  Globally, however, it signals the audacious exercise of extraterritorial authority, unbound by law or institutional restraint. Vacuums in ...
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LABOUR MOBILITY: The buzzword to counter resistance to labour migration
12Nov By News SANo Comments
International

LABOUR MOBILITY: The buzzword to counter resistance to labour migration

By Fawzia Moodley: A mechanic using a laptop (Image: Peoplecreations on Freepix) With the growing resistance to labour migration in many parts of the world, it’s harder for workers, including highly skilled professionalsseeking new pastures, to find jobs abroad. For India and African countries, including South Africa, the latest blow is the imposition of a hefty $100,000 fee to apply for an H-1B visa to work in the US, which is valid for three years and renewable for another three years.  Trump imposes hefty visa fee The H-1B visa allowed employers to recruit non-immigrant foreign workers with specialised skills, and was seen as a way for US companies to remain competitive, grow and create more jobs. But amidst a widespread pushback against immigrant workers an...
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RAPPROACHMENT: India and the us seek to defuse tension
19Sep By News SANo Comments
International

RAPPROACHMENT: India and the us seek to defuse tension

 By Fawzia Moodley: President Donald J. Trump holds hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a surprise walk-in in 2019, in Houston, Texas. (Image: White House Official Photo by Shealah Craighead) Realpolitik demands that Washington and New Delhi find common ground amidst the fallout between the two allies over Donald Trump’s imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the US and indications are that the two countries may be on the way to some kind of rapprochement.  Signs of a possible thaw India has been holding out hope that Trump, who had accused New Delhi of supporting Russia against Ukraine by purchasing oil from Russia, would reconsider the 50% tariff—the highest levy imposed on any country, except Brazil, which received the same treatment...
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PUNISHING INCREASE: Will the Indian economy survive Trump’s high tariffs? 
13Aug By News SANo Comments
International

PUNISHING INCREASE: Will the Indian economy survive Trump’s high tariffs? 

By Fawzia Moodley: Narendra Modi and Trump at the United Nations. (Image: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) Donald Trump has slapped tough tariffs on India, which is bracing for even more punishing trade levies from the world’s most powerful country. On August 6, the US imposed an additional 25% to the 25% tariffs already announced by Trump against India, to come into effect in 21 days.  Unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations, the resultant 50% tariffs will be among the highest imposed by the US on any country so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has enjoyed cordial relations with Trump until now, was understandably taken aback by the harsh measures, and India, while hoping for a thaw in Trump’s stance, is bracing itself for the impact of th...
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THE TRUMP EFFECT: Apple shifts operations from China to India amidst ongoing tariffs and trade war
2Jun By News SANo Comments
Technology

THE TRUMP EFFECT: Apple shifts operations from China to India amidst ongoing tariffs and trade war

By Fawzi Moodley: The heat from US President Donald Trump’s trade war against China may have turned down a notch after the two countries reached a temporary truce in mid-May, but Trump’s tariff policy has created a climate of uncertainty among American companies with operations in China. Tech companies reliant on Chinese components, technology, and skills are particularly hard hit, and under pressure to move their operations away from China, preferably to the US. Even the iconic Apple iPhone brand has not escaped unscathed. Caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war and in a bid to avoid falling foul of the resulting economic fallout of the tensions between Washington and Beijing,  Apple is gradually moving its iPhone production from China to India. Trump h...
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