Tag: South Africa

South Africa Defends Planned Military Drills With ‘Friends’ Russia and China

South Africa’s foreign minister on Monday deflected criticism of joint military drills planned with Russia and China, saying that hosting such exercises with “friends” was the “natural course of relations.” Naledi Pandor made her comments during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting South Africa 11 months after Russia’s invasion of…


Global Criminal Masterminds Finding Plenty of Shelter in South Africa

When police special forces teams, backed by Interpol agents, smashed into a luxury house in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston at 4 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2022, they soon realized their intelligence was wrong. The intel had understated what they would find behind the mansion’s facade, framed by manicured lawns, rosebushes, and fountains—all perfect…


South Africa to Host China and Russia for Military Exercises

China, Russia, and South Africa will conduct joint military exercises off the coast of South Africa in February. The South African Department of Defense announced the drills, dubbed “Operation Mosi,” on Jan. 19. The exercises are planned to take place from Feb. 17 to 27, and will coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion…


South Africa Gas Truck Explosion Death Toll Rises to 34

JOHANNESBURG—The death toll from an explosion of a tanker truck on Christmas Eve near eastern Johannesburg has risen to 34, including 10 health workers at a nearby hospital, officials report. The truck was carrying gas when it got stuck under a low-lying bridge in the town of Boksburg, sparking flames. As firefighters tried to extinguish…


Truck With Liquified Gas Explodes in South Africa; 8 Killed

JOHANNESBURG—A truck carrying liquified petroleum gas has exploded in the South African town of Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, killing at least 8 people and injuring 50 others on Saturday, officials said. The top of the truck scraped a low-lying bridge, sparking flames that caused the explosion, according to emergency services officials. Video footage shared by…


Passing of Land Bill Ignites Farmers’ Old Fears of Seizures in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG—Dries Marais gazed over his golden fields on his farm in the South African province of North West, corn glittering in the aftermath of a heavy thunderstorm. In guttural Afrikaans, the 62-year-old barked: “When many of my friends and relatives left South Africa in the 1990s and early 2000s, I stayed. “I told my sons,…


Mysteries of Universe in Focus for South African Mega Telescope

CARNARVON, South Africa—South African officials and scientists on Monday celebrated a milestone towards building the world’s largest radio astronomy instrument, which is co-hosted with Australia and aims to unlock mysteries of the universe. The construction launch outside the remote town of Carnarvon, Northern Cape, marks the next phase of developing a complex instrument aimed at…


Where to Go in 2023: 8 Top Travel Destinations

Antarctica Gentoo penguins may be seen while sailing Antarctica’s coastline. (Vadim_N/Shutterstock) Believe it or not, this mostly undiscovered continent is getting busy. This year, a record 82 passenger ships will visit the coldest, darkest, windiest, highest, driest place on earth. Most of those will travel the relatively short distance from the tip of South America…


South African ‘Businessmen’ Financing Global Terror, Says US Intelligence

JOHANNESBURG—The South African government is rushing through legislation in a desperate attempt to avoid being “gray-listed” by the Financial Action Task Force, a global intergovernmental watchdog of money laundering and terrorist financing.  In a report in October 2021, the FATF said the country had “failed to demonstrate that it is effectively identifying, investigating or prosecuting…


‘Romance’ Scams Targeting Americans: Nigerian ‘Air Lords’ Get Wings Clipped in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG—It is springtime dawn in Equestria, a far-eastern suburb of Pretoria, South Africa’s capital. A heatwave’s scalding the area, with a temperature well over 80F—even though it’s only 5.30 a.m. It is weather more characteristic of midsummer.  And things are about to get hotter.  A 20-strong group of men and women in plain clothes, some…