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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union would provide a 4.7 billion euro ($5.1 billion) funding package for South Africa's healthcare sector, Just Energy Transition Partnership projects, and connectivity and transport corridors, Daily Maverick reported on March 13. 

South Africa: EU Announces $5B Package, Start of Negotiations for Trade Partnership  

South Africa's center-right Democratic Alliance, or DA, will not support the version of the budget that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented to parliament, Reuters reported on March 12. 

South Africa: Coalition Government To Face Weeks-Long Tensions Over Budget 

The center-left African National Congress party, or ANC, and center-right Democratic Alliance party, or DA, have not reached an agreement regarding South Africa's 2025 budget less than two days before Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is due to present it to parliament, News24 reported on March 10. 

South Africa: Budget Standoff Between ANC and DA Continues

Mozambique

Military & Security

According to unconfirmed reports, opposition leader and former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane crossed the border into neighboring South Africa, Club of Mozambique reported on March 7.

Mozambique: Mondlane Suspected To Have Fled to South Africa

South Africa's presidency confirmed that the Trump administration had halted the United States' $1 billion participation in South Africa's $13.8 billion Just Energy Transition Plan, or JETP, Engineering News reported on March 6. 

South Africa: Trump Pulls U.S. Out of JETP, Seeks Concessions on Expropriation, Black Empowerment

Israel

In a joint op-ed published in Foreign Policy with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of "systematically" violating international law in Gaza and criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to "take over" Gaza as "ethnic cleansing," Bloomberg reported on Feb. 27. 

South Africa: Ramaphosa's Criticism of Israel and U.S. To Escalate Tensions With Washington   

South Africa's state-owned energy company Eskom eased rolling blackouts, locally known as load-shedding, to Stage 4 after raising them to Stage 6 on Feb. 23 due to the failure of several power-generating units, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 24.

South Africa: Fresh Bout of Load-Shedding Raises Doubts Over Outlook for Energy Security

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana postponed the presentation of the country's 2025 budget after the center-right Democratic Alliance, or DA, opposed plans to increase the country's value-added tax, or VAT, rate from 15% to 17%, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 20. 

South Africa: Government Postpones Budget Over Disagreement on VAT Hike

Assessments

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at a briefing at his African National Congress (ANC) party's headquarters in Johannesburg on May 13, 2024.

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

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Ukraine

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.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: German Elections, Macron and Starmer Meet Trump

The Geopolitics of Water

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

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Kenya

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Iran

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Moldova

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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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Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Qatar

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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

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

U.S.-China Relations

U.S.-Iran Relations

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

Snapshots

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

Australia

Malaysia

New Zealand

Switzerland

President Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in as member of parliament during the first sitting of the new South African parliament on June 14 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ramaphosa will be inaugurated to a second term in a ceremony scheduled to take place June 19 in Pretoria.

The Weekly Rundown: Ukraine's Peace Summit, South Africa's Inauguration

South African President and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa (center) delivers his remarks after the official announcement of the results of South Africa's general election at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, on June 2, 2024. 

Global Elections

To secure a parliamentary majority, President Ramaphosa appears likely to seek an agreement with the center-right Democratic Alliance party, which would raise investor confidence but also risk triggering violent unrest.

What's Next for South Africa Following the ANC's Historic Electoral Defeat

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: EU Announces $5B Package, Start of Negotiations for Trade Partnership

South Africa: Coalition Government To Face Weeks-Long Tensions Over Budget

South Africa: Budget Standoff Between ANC and DA Continues

Mozambique: Mondlane Suspected To Have Fled to South Africa

South Africa: Trump Pulls U.S. Out of JETP, Seeks Concessions on Expropriation, Black Empowerment

South Africa: Ramaphosa's Criticism of Israel and U.S. To Escalate Tensions With Washington

South Africa: Fresh Bout of Load-Shedding Raises Doubts Over Outlook for Energy Security

South Africa: Government Postpones Budget Over Disagreement on VAT Hike

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