South Africa

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Politics

Around two-thirds of the left-leaning African National Congress party's lawmakers in South Africa's National Assembly have urged the party's leadership to remove the center-right Democratic Alliance from government on the basis that the DA was undermining the ANC and government cohesion, The Sunday Times reported on May 4. 

South Africa: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that he would present a new budget to South Africa's National Assembly on May 21, adding that it would focus on spending discipline and not involve additional taxes or borrowing, the Daily Maverick reported April 30.

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

South Africa's National Treasury announced that it would not proceed with a 1% increase in the value-added tax rate scheduled in the country's 2025 fiscal framework and would instead ask parliament to "adjust expenditure" in a way that does not harm the country's fiscal sustainability, Reuters reported on April 24.

South Africa: ANC Capitulates on VAT Hike, Spending Cuts Now on the Table

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India

Military & Security

India is conducting its largest-ever naval exercise off the east coast of Africa, known as the Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement, or AIKEYME, with 10 other African countries on April 13-18, Radio France Internationale reported on April 16.

East Africa: India Holds Its Largest Naval Exercise With East African Countries

The National Executive Committee of the African National Congress party, or ANC, will meet to discuss whether to scrap a planned 1% value-added tax hike, Daily Maverick reported on April 14.

South Africa: ANC Mulls Scrapping VAT Hike To Pass 2025 Budget

United States

South African Trade Minister Parks Tau said the South African government was finalizing a trade proposal to the United States that would ensure "mutually beneficial" bilateral trade, Engineering News reported on April 10.

South Africa: Pretoria Finalizing Trade Offer to U.S., Mulls Support to Auto Sector 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed back against calls from top business leaders to salvage ties with center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) party after it voted against a key element of the 2025 budget, stressing that ''business does not dictate what happens in government'' and that his center-left African National Congress (ANC) party would be ''principally influenced by what our people say,'' News24 and Daily Maverick reported April 6.

South Africa: Ramaphosa Pushes Back Against Business Pressure To Mend Ties With Democratic Alliance 

The African National Congress (ANC)'s Youth League said that President Cyril Ramaphosa should sack members of the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) from the government after DA lawmakers voted against a key budget document on April 2, News24 reported April 3. 

South Africa: Key ANC Figures Say DA Cannot Remain in Government Following Budget Vote  

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

Assessments

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

Global Trade

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

U.S.-China Relations

U.S.-Iran Relations

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

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.

Energy

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

South Korea

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

Environment, Science & Technology

The Geopolitics of Water

Science & Technology

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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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

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Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

Photograph of the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, at night. 

The government will likely face intra-coalition challenges and strong pushback from trade unions, but early signs of compromise from both the DA and ANC suggest it could successfully pass several structural reforms in the coming years.

The Challenges Facing South Africa's New Coalition Government 

Venezuela

Saudi Arabia

Europe

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference at the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2024. 

Biden's exit from the U.S. presidential race will free him to pursue more aggressive action against Russia over Ukraine and increase pressure on Israel to end its war with Hamas. 

What To Expect from Biden's Foreign Policy Farewell Tour

Parc des Champions on July 4, 2024, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero in Paris.

The Weekly Rundown: The Paris Olympics, Netanyahu Addresses Congress

Japan

The European Commission in Brussels. On July 18, incumbents Roberta Metsola and Ursula von der Leyen are expected to be confirmed for a second term as presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission, respectively.

The Weekly Rundown: A New European Commission President, the Third Plenary Session of the CPC

Turkey

A map illustrating Turkey (in red) and the BRICS countries (in blue).

Joining BRICS would underscore Turkey's balancing act between the West and the Global South, but the organization's weaknesses will limit its potential for economic growth.

For Turkey, BRICS Is Far From a Political and Economic Panacea

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: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

South Africa: ANC Capitulates on VAT Hike, Spending Cuts Now on the Table

East Africa: India Holds Its Largest Naval Exercise With East African Countries

South Africa: ANC Mulls Scrapping VAT Hike To Pass 2025 Budget

South Africa: Pretoria Finalizing Trade Offer to U.S., Mulls Support to Auto Sector

South Africa: Ramaphosa Pushes Back Against Business Pressure To Mend Ties With Democratic Alliance

South Africa: Key ANC Figures Say DA Cannot Remain in Government Following Budget Vote

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