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SA says no plans to develop a common Brics currency
South Africa’s government said there are no plans to create a so-called Brics currency, after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on members of the economic bloc that back the creation of an alternative to the US dollar.
“Recent misreporting has led to the incorrect narrative that Brics is planning to create a new currency,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, known as Dirco, said in a statement. “This is not the case. The discussions within Brics focus on trading among member countries using their own national currencies.”
https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/sa-says-no-plans-to-develop-a-common-brics-currency/
South Africa’s government said there are no plans to create a so-called Brics currency, after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on members of the economic bloc that back the creation of an alternative to the US dollar.
“Recent misreporting has led to the incorrect narrative that Brics is planning to create a new currency,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, known as Dirco, said in a statement. “This is not the case. The discussions within Brics focus on trading among member countries using their own national currencies.”
https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/sa-says-no-plans-to-develop-a-common-brics-currency/
Moneyweb
SA says no plans to develop a common Brics currency
'South Africa supports the increased use of national currencies in international trade and financial transactions to mitigate the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, rather than focusing on de-dollarisation,' Dirco said.
South Africa Reports
🚰 Just in: Johannesburg will start throttling its water supply from 14 November indefinitely to stabilise water levels in the city's reservoirs. Water levels in Johannesburg are currently at 40%. Rand Water, the city’s bulk-water supplier, warned last month…
🚰 Johannesburg to Tap Mountain Reservoir as Water Supplies Fall
South Africa is preparing to release water from a mountain reservoir to top up plunging levels at the main facility that supplies the country’s commercial hub of Gauteng and three of its biggest cities.
Water will be released from the Sterkfontein Dam when the Vaal Dam level falls to 18% of capacity from it’s current 28%.
The level at the Vaal Dam, which lies south of Johannesburg, has been falling due to evaporation from successive heat waves, poor early summer rains after a drought last season and the shut off of supply from neighboring Lesotho because of a six-month maintenance project that’s due to end by April.
The Vaal Dam is currently falling by as much as 2 percentage points a week.
South Africa is preparing to release water from a mountain reservoir to top up plunging levels at the main facility that supplies the country’s commercial hub of Gauteng and three of its biggest cities.
Water will be released from the Sterkfontein Dam when the Vaal Dam level falls to 18% of capacity from it’s current 28%.
The level at the Vaal Dam, which lies south of Johannesburg, has been falling due to evaporation from successive heat waves, poor early summer rains after a drought last season and the shut off of supply from neighboring Lesotho because of a six-month maintenance project that’s due to end by April.
The Vaal Dam is currently falling by as much as 2 percentage points a week.
📚 SA Grade 5s rank last out of 59 countries for maths and science
South Africa's Grade 5 pupils have been ranked last out of 59 countries in maths and science in an international standardised test conducted last year.
However, the country's Grade 9 performance in maths in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has shown "a remarkable upward trend" after pupils' scores improved by eight points from 389 in 2019 to 397 last year.
The South African Grade 9 pupils outperformed those in Jordan (388), Palestine (383), Brazil (378), Morocco (378) and Côte d'Ivoire (263) in maths.
South Africa's Grade 5 pupils have been ranked last out of 59 countries in maths and science in an international standardised test conducted last year.
However, the country's Grade 9 performance in maths in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has shown "a remarkable upward trend" after pupils' scores improved by eight points from 389 in 2019 to 397 last year.
The South African Grade 9 pupils outperformed those in Jordan (388), Palestine (383), Brazil (378), Morocco (378) and Côte d'Ivoire (263) in maths.
‘It isn’t safe’: South African first responders attacked while saving lives
Ambulance crews and paramedics are increasingly being robbed, their vehicles hijacked while they are working, in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/4/it-isnt-safe-south-african-first-responders-attacked-while-saving-lives
Ambulance crews and paramedics are increasingly being robbed, their vehicles hijacked while they are working, in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/4/it-isnt-safe-south-african-first-responders-attacked-while-saving-lives
Al Jazeera
‘It isn’t safe’: South African first responders attacked while saving lives
Ambulance crews and paramedics are increasingly being robbed and their vehicles hijacked while they are working.
1
Court bars South Africa from building new coal plants
The Pretoria high court has overturned the government’s plans to add 1 500 megawatts of new coal-fired power to the national grid.
In its landmark ruling delivered on Wednesday, the court found that the government had failed to adequately consider the impact of coal on children’s rights, particularly their right to a healthy environment.
Judge Cornelius van der Westhuizen, who presided over the case, declared the government’s 2020 decision to procure the new coal-fired power unlawful and invalid.
This was on the basis that there was insufficient consideration of the harms and the limitation of rights of present and future generations that could follow from building new coal-fired electricity generation.
https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2024-12-05-court-overturns-south-africas-coal-fired-power-plans-protecting-childrens-health-and-the-environment/
The Pretoria high court has overturned the government’s plans to add 1 500 megawatts of new coal-fired power to the national grid.
In its landmark ruling delivered on Wednesday, the court found that the government had failed to adequately consider the impact of coal on children’s rights, particularly their right to a healthy environment.
Judge Cornelius van der Westhuizen, who presided over the case, declared the government’s 2020 decision to procure the new coal-fired power unlawful and invalid.
This was on the basis that there was insufficient consideration of the harms and the limitation of rights of present and future generations that could follow from building new coal-fired electricity generation.
https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2024-12-05-court-overturns-south-africas-coal-fired-power-plans-protecting-childrens-health-and-the-environment/
The Mail & Guardian
Court overturns South Africa’s coal-fired power plans, protecting children’s health and the environment – The Mail & Guardian
1 500 megawatts of new coal power locked in landmark legal victory
South Africa Reports
Janusz Walus has been released from prison on parole. He will have to serve his parole sentence of 2 years in South Africa under supervision of the Department of Correctional Services
Janusz Walus to be deported to Poland
Former South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani's killer, Janusz Walus, will be deported to his home country, Poland.
In November 2022, the Constitutional Court found then-justice minister Ronald Lamola's decision to refuse Walus parole in 2020 had been irrational and set it aside, paving the way for his release from prison the following month, after 28 years behind bars.
Former South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani's killer, Janusz Walus, will be deported to his home country, Poland.
In November 2022, the Constitutional Court found then-justice minister Ronald Lamola's decision to refuse Walus parole in 2020 had been irrational and set it aside, paving the way for his release from prison the following month, after 28 years behind bars.
South Africa Reports
Janusz Walus to be deported to Poland Former South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani's killer, Janusz Walus, will be deported to his home country, Poland. In November 2022, the Constitutional Court found then-justice minister Ronald Lamola's…
Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs and Democratic Alliance MP, expresses empathy at the idea of a dead Communist.
📎 Leon Schreiber
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Another farmer was murdered in South Africa over the weekend. This time on their farm near Rouxville in the Free State province. His wife was kidnapped. Three suspects arrested. One farmer is murdered every week in South Africa. Less than 30 thousand commercial farmers left in SA
📎 Jaco Kleynhans
https://www.algoafm.co.za/domestic/four-arrested-for-fs-farm-murder-kidnapped-wife-rescued
https://www.algoafm.co.za/domestic/four-arrested-for-fs-farm-murder-kidnapped-wife-rescued
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South Africa Reports
Fentanyl is here: South Africans test positive for potent opioid
People in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have tested positive for fentanyl, a lab-made painkiller that has been at the centre of the opioid crisis in the United States (US). In the US, fentanyl has caused tens of thousands of deaths each year, often among people in their 20s and 30s. While the drug can be prescribed as a legal pharmaceutical, the US crisis is primarily driven by illegally-made fentanyl, distributed by drug cartels.
Up until recently, South Africa appeared to be insulated from the illicit fentanyl crisis. But preliminary research suggests the drug has made its way onto our streets. The study is still ongoing, but lead researcher Dr Alanna Bergman provided GroundUp with information about the findings so far.
“I believe we now have 320 people that we’ve tested,” says Bergman, “The fentanyl rate remains high. Each day, a few more people are added to the sample. When I check in on it, it’s anywhere between 25 and 33 percent who are positive for fentanyl at any given time”.
Bergman’s research is some of the first direct testing showing fentanyl use in South Africa. But there have already been signs of a brewing problem. One is a largely overlooked 2021 study, which tested wastewater at several treatment plants in Gauteng. It found biological markers for fentanyl in the sewage at each plant.
https://groundup.org.za/article/fentanyl-is-here-south-africans-testing-positive-for-potent-opioid/
People in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have tested positive for fentanyl, a lab-made painkiller that has been at the centre of the opioid crisis in the United States (US). In the US, fentanyl has caused tens of thousands of deaths each year, often among people in their 20s and 30s. While the drug can be prescribed as a legal pharmaceutical, the US crisis is primarily driven by illegally-made fentanyl, distributed by drug cartels.
Up until recently, South Africa appeared to be insulated from the illicit fentanyl crisis. But preliminary research suggests the drug has made its way onto our streets. The study is still ongoing, but lead researcher Dr Alanna Bergman provided GroundUp with information about the findings so far.
“I believe we now have 320 people that we’ve tested,” says Bergman, “The fentanyl rate remains high. Each day, a few more people are added to the sample. When I check in on it, it’s anywhere between 25 and 33 percent who are positive for fentanyl at any given time”.
Bergman’s research is some of the first direct testing showing fentanyl use in South Africa. But there have already been signs of a brewing problem. One is a largely overlooked 2021 study, which tested wastewater at several treatment plants in Gauteng. It found biological markers for fentanyl in the sewage at each plant.
https://groundup.org.za/article/fentanyl-is-here-south-africans-testing-positive-for-potent-opioid/
GroundUp
Fentanyl is here: South Africans test positive for potent opioid
Preliminary research shows people are using fentanyl, a lab-made opioid over 30 times as potent as heroin, responsible for thousands of deaths in the US
South Africa Reports
Fentanyl is here: South Africans test positive for potent opioid People in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have tested positive for fentanyl, a lab-made painkiller that has been at the centre of the opioid crisis in the United States (US). In the US, fentanyl…
📝 2021 study: The occurrence of opioid compounds in wastewater treatment plants and their receiving water bodies in Gauteng province, South Africa
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749121016304
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749121016304
The former international relations and cooperation minister, who has also served as minister of science and technology, said several universities could lose funding after severing ties with Israeli institutions and urged the South African government to offer financial support.
Pandor told the Science Forum South Africa in Pretoria last week that the sector was not immune to the impact of the toxic geopolitical environment.
“South Africa’s support for the struggle for [Palestinian] sovereignty has resulted in some key research initiatives that rely on international funding facing the threat of funds being withdrawn,” she said.
“This is reportedly happening to universities that have decided not to pursue links with institutions in Israel that have links to the military actions in Palestine.”
https://mg.co.za/education/2024-12-09-south-african-research-funds-at-risk-over-gaza-stance/
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The Mail & Guardian
South African research funds ‘at risk’ over Gaza stance – The Mail & Guardian
A number of local universities may face cuts to their funding after cutting ties with Israeli institutions
South Africa’s ambassador to Syria has remained at his post as have other members of the embassy, despite the toppling of the government of President Bashar al-Assad by a largely unknown Islamist rebel force early on Sunday, 8 December.
Ambassador Ashraf Suliman’s decision to remain on post in Damascus suggests that he and Pretoria trust the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led rebels who captured the city to keep their promises not to harm minorities and to protect public and private property in Damascus.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-12-09-sa-ambassador-damascus-assad/
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Trump’s return presents African countries with an opportunity to take a proactive stance in shaping their political and economic relations with the US and developing resilient strategies instead of reacting to shifting US policies.
Key bilateral relationships, particularly between the US and South Africa, are expected to shift – stemming from US opposition to South Africa’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel over Gaza, and the country’s close ties with China and Russia.
In particular, South Africa’s neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine war will be a point of tension in a second Trump presidency. The president is also opposed to South Africa’s growing partnership with China, which is amplified by China’s efforts to direct global trade away from the US and BRICS’ attempt at de-dollarisation, a move criticised by Trump.
Notable figures in Trump’s camp will also likely affect US-South Africa relations. For example, Senator Marco Rubio, the presumptive Secretary of State and a strong critic of China condemned South Africa’s decision to downgrade Taiwan’s embassy.
Trump’s pick for UN Ambassador, Elise Stefanik, was part of a petition condemning South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel, calling it an attempt to ‘demonize’ Israel. Michael Waltz led a push to review US-South Africa ties, a move Biden resisted, but with Waltz as Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, it could gain momentum.
South Africa assumed the G20 chair on 1 December and will host the 2025 Johannesburg summit. The country now faces a dual challenge of maintaining neutrality while addressing growing geopolitical divisions – seeking to build consensus among G20 members and
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-must-prepare-for-trump-s-comeback
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ISS Africa
Africa must prepare for Trump’s comeback
How will Donald Trump’s second-term policies affect US relations with the continent?
'Explosive device' thrown into Jewish Community Centre in Cape Town
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said on Tuesday metro police helped SAPS analyse CCTV footage after an alleged explosive device was thrown into the Jewish Community Centre in Gardens.
Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies executive director Daniel Bloch said on Friday an “improvised explosive device” had been “thrown into the property and failed to detonate”.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2024-12-10-explosive-device-thrown-into-jewish-community-centre-in-cape-town/
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said on Tuesday metro police helped SAPS analyse CCTV footage after an alleged explosive device was thrown into the Jewish Community Centre in Gardens.
Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies executive director Daniel Bloch said on Friday an “improvised explosive device” had been “thrown into the property and failed to detonate”.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2024-12-10-explosive-device-thrown-into-jewish-community-centre-in-cape-town/
TimesLIVE
'Explosive device' thrown into Jewish Community Centre in Cape Town
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said on Tuesday metro police helped SAPS analyse CCTV footage after an alleged explosive device was thrown into the Jewish Community Centre in Gardens.
Julius Malema slams ‘back-stabbing’ Jacob Zuma as South African left reshapes
South Africa’s populist firebrand Julius Malema has lashed out at his old rival Jacob Zuma as a “back stabber”, as he sought to scotch speculation that his leftist movement could soon merge with the former president’s upstart party.
Malema, whose Economic Freedom Fighters marked him out as the radical agitator of the country’s opposition, has been rattled by a number of recent defections to Zuma’s one-year-old political party, which defied expectations to win nearly 15 per cent in May’s election.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Malema dismissed the idea of coming together with Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) to unite the radical opposition, even though both parties champion stripping land from whites without payment, and nationalising mines and banks.
https://www.ft.com/content/3070a75a-a579-497e-8d7a-acc50e2dc46e
South Africa’s populist firebrand Julius Malema has lashed out at his old rival Jacob Zuma as a “back stabber”, as he sought to scotch speculation that his leftist movement could soon merge with the former president’s upstart party.
Malema, whose Economic Freedom Fighters marked him out as the radical agitator of the country’s opposition, has been rattled by a number of recent defections to Zuma’s one-year-old political party, which defied expectations to win nearly 15 per cent in May’s election.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Malema dismissed the idea of coming together with Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) to unite the radical opposition, even though both parties champion stripping land from whites without payment, and nationalising mines and banks.
https://www.ft.com/content/3070a75a-a579-497e-8d7a-acc50e2dc46e
China is encouraging its electrical vehicle manufacturers to invest in South Africa as it seeks to broaden ties between the two nations.
“We encourage the Chinese companies to consider, very seriously consider, to move some of their assembly lines or value added in South Africa,” the Asian nation’s ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng said in a Bloomberg interview in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Chinese companies operating in South Africa are also expected to expand cooperation in critical areas such as infrastructure, new energy and mineral processing, Peng said.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/804019/china-wants-its-major-companies-to-move-operations-to-south-africa/
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BusinessTech
China wants its major companies to move operations to South Africa
China’s ambassador says Chinese companies should “very seriously consider” moving some of their operations to South Africa.
South Africa Reports
🚰 Johannesburg to Tap Mountain Reservoir as Water Supplies Fall South Africa is preparing to release water from a mountain reservoir to top up plunging levels at the main facility that supplies the country’s commercial hub of Gauteng and three of its biggest…
🚰 Johannesburg to cut water to 4 million residents this weekend
As many as four million Johannesburg residents could be left high and dry over this long weekend as water parastatals embark on a marathon maintenance project.
With a day to go before the 86-hour shutdown of the Eikenhof pump station and 36-hour maintenance on the Zwartkopjes pump station, Johannesburg residents have been warned to expect low pressure or no water at all in areas fed by those Rand Water stations.
The Rand Water pump station pumps purified water from the bulk supplier to two-thirds of Johannesburg's CBD, Deep South, and West.
As many as four million Johannesburg residents could be left high and dry over this long weekend as water parastatals embark on a marathon maintenance project.
With a day to go before the 86-hour shutdown of the Eikenhof pump station and 36-hour maintenance on the Zwartkopjes pump station, Johannesburg residents have been warned to expect low pressure or no water at all in areas fed by those Rand Water stations.
The Rand Water pump station pumps purified water from the bulk supplier to two-thirds of Johannesburg's CBD, Deep South, and West.