Page 2 - South Africa

India becomes top source of vehicle imports for South Africa's auto sector

India has become the South African automotive industry's top country of origin for vehicle imports since 2013, the Automotive Business Council says in its BRICS+ Research Report 2024. This was because India has been established by various brands as the global hub for small and entry-level vehicles which comprise the bulk of sales in the domestic market, the report said. Tata and Mahindra have firmly established their automotive products in South Africa. Mahindra executives have even repeatedly reaffirmed that South Africa is their second home outside India because of major investments, including a production line in Durban. China and India have consistently featured as two of the South African automotive industry's top 10 trading partners since 2010, mainly due to the increasing level of automotive imports. More recent entrant China has consolidated its position as the second largest country of origin for vehicle imports since 2022 as financially strapped consumers gravitated towar

Namibia's drought triggers wildlife culling; Vantara steps in with help

The Vantara Foundation has expressed deep concern over the severe impact of the drought on Namibian wildlife

South Africa to offer 90-day visa waiver for Indian tourists from Jan 2025

South Africa will introduce the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to simplify the entry process for Indian and Chinese tourists

Mpox concerns grow in Pakistan as fifth case reported in Peshawar

Dr Saleem emphasised the importance of vigilance, particularly among travellers from the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia identified as a potential point of exposure

Namibia's drought crisis: Over 700 wild animals to be killed for food

The drought has depleted 84% of Namibia's food reserves, putting nearly half of the country's 2.5 million people at risk of severe food shortages from July to September

S Africa investigating alleged $7 bn corruption at state-owned companies

South Africa has active investigations into alleged corruption totalling more than USD 7 billion at some of its top state-owned companies, according to a report published Tuesday by the national anti-graft unit. The investigations are not new, and some have been running since 2018, and all of them were cited by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) in a report to a parliamentary committee to give an update on the status of the probes. Those investigations involve six state-owned businesses: ports and rail company Transnet, arms company Denel, power utility Eskom, the National Lotteries Commission, national airline South African Airways and passenger rail company PRASA. Around 60 suspicious contracts and hundreds of cases of conflict of interest and other alleged corruption worth nearly $4 billion of public money are under investigation at Transnet alone, according to the report. Also, there are nearly 40 other ongoing investigations into alleged corruption involving different state-r

Officials expediting efforts to bring next batch of cheetahs by year-end

India has expedited efforts to bring a new batch of 12-14 cheetahs by the end of the year, with a delegation set to visit South Africa soon for ground-to-ground negotiations, officials said on Tuesday. PTI has learned that negotiations are also ongoing with Kenya, and a memorandum of understanding is being finalized. "We are actively engaging with South Africa on the matter. A delegation will visit the country in late September or early October to hold ground-to-ground negotiations. The next batch of cheetahs could come from either of these two countries," the official said. The 'Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India' talks about bringing around 12-14 cheetahs each year from South Africa, Namibia, and other African countries for five years to establish a founder stock. "We have communicated to South Africa that we want to expedite efforts to bring another batch of cheetahs by the end of the year as per the recommendation of the Cheetah Project Steering Committee and in

Cheetahs set to roam free in MP's Kuno after year-long enclosure stay

African cheetahs brought to India as part of the world's first intercontinental translocation of big cats will soon be released into the wild, nearly a year after they were returned to enclosures in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park for health check-ups and monitoring, according to officials. Officials told PTI that the Centre's Cheetah Project Steering Committee on Friday decided to release the African cheetahs and their cubs, born in India, into the wild in a phased manner after the monsoon withdraws from central parts of the country. "Members of the committee and NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) officials conducted field visits to Kuno and discussed the schedule for releasing the cheetahs. While adult cheetahs will be released into the wild in phases once the rains end, the cubs and their mothers will be released after December," an official said. All 25 cheetahs -- 13 adults and 12 cubs -- are doing well, according to the official. The first batch of eight cheetah

India-S Africa ties special, can provide global leadership: Envoy-designate

India and South Africa share a special relationship that has potential at every level, the African nation's newly appointed High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal has said, expressing hope that the two countries can play an important role in providing leadership on the global stage. Sooklal, the first person of Indian-origin to be appointed South Africa's High Commissioner to India, made the remarks at an event here hosted to felicitate his appointment. South Africa and India have a special relationship, and I feel extremely privileged and indeed very lucky that I have been chosen to represent my country in India at one of the most interesting times in the history of our relationship, Sooklal said. He said the "special relationship" was highlighted by late President Nelson Mandela, who, after becoming South Africa's first democratically elected leader, visited India "not only to thank the government of India but the people of India for the important role they played (in leading the

BASIC bloc slams rich countries for 'leadership void' on climate change

They called on developed countries to set ambitious new targets to reach net-zero "significantly ahead of 2050 (and) preferably by 2030" and to achieve "net-negative" emissions immediately after that

Nelson Mandela International Day 2024: Date, history, quotes and more

The world comes together to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day on 18th July every year, to honour the life and legacy of South Africa's first black president

Storms in Cape Town destroy nearly 1,000 homes, city braces for worse

Nearly 1,000 homes in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa, have been destroyed by gale-force winds, displacing around 4,000 people, authorities and an aid organization said as the city braces for a week of damaging storms. South African weather authorities said Monday that Cape Town and surrounding areas are expected to be hit by multiple cold fronts until at least Friday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and flooding. Cape Town's disaster coordination team has been on alert since last Thursday, when the first front arrived. The worst-hit areas are expected to be the poor, informal settlements on the edge of South Africa's second biggest city. Thousands have been displaced in the township of Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town after strong winds destroyed homes and other structures. The Gift of the Givers local aid organization said it provided 10,000 meals and 3,000 blankets to displaced people in Khayelitsha over the weekend. Other areas have been flooded

ArcelorMittal decides against shutting its South African steel plant

It expects to report a headline half-year loss per share between 0.96 rand and 1.04 rand, compared with a headline loss of 0.40 rand per share in the same period last year

Laura Wolvaardt praises South Africa's 'grit' after loss against India

South Africa women's skipper Laura Wolvaardt on Monday praised her team for showing 'grit and determination' despite their 10-wicket hammering by India in the one-off Test here. South Africa were outplayed right on Day One with India piling up the highest score in a day's play in women's Tests of 525/4, eventually declaring at 603/6 for the highest-ever score. The visitors, who were shot out for a mere 266 in the first innings, put up a strong fight in the second after being asked to follow-on as they forced India bat again on the final day even though they could only manage a slender lead of 36 runs. "To lose is a bit disappointing, but the character shown by the group over the last two days has been absolutely amazing, Wolvaardt told the media here after the match. "The grit and determination of this group were amazing and it will do a lot of good for us," she added. Wolvaardt hit a 314-ball 122 while Sune Luus cracked 109 as South Africa fought valiantly to delay the ...

India-South Africa T20 WC final match records peak viewership of 53 mn

The T20 World Cup final match which ended India's 13-year wait to lift an ICC trophy witnessed a peak viewership of 5.3 crore on the OTT streaming platform but fell short of the record audience posted in the last year's ODI final match in November. The India-South Africa ICC Mens' T20 Cricket World Cup final match on Saturday recorded a peak viewership of nearly 5.3 crore on Disney+Hotstar OTT platform. The peak viewership in the final match between India and Australia in the 50-overs format on November 20, 2023 was 5.9 crore, despite the host nation ending on the losing side. This 5.9 crore still holds the record for peak concurrency for live streaming of any cricket match, according to industry experts. While the peak concurrency in the knockout match played between India and Australia in the T20 Cricket World Cup on June 24 was 3.9 crore. Disney Star has exclusive broadcast and media rights for both linear and digital platforms. Saturday's final match was also telecast live by

South Africa or Afghanistan set for historic first T20 WC final appearance

Afghanistan's progression to the semi-finals of the World Cup has been a remarkable and wholesome story

Would've liked more convincing victory: Markram after SA defeats Windies

Relieved to have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, South Africa captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that the Proteas erred a bit in attempting to finish off the chase against West Indies too soon, leading to an unconvincing victory. South Africa did well to restrict the two-time champions to 135/8. In reply, the Proteas were 15/2 in two overs when rain disrupted proceedings for close to an hour. The South African batters saw the reduced revised target and improved batting conditions after rain as an opportunity to go hammer and tongs at the target of 123 but kept losing wickets as the hosts made things tight. But Makram and his men eventually got the work done. "A lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. Not going to be brain-washed by that. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand," Markram said at the post match presentation. "After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. We did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried t

India to tour South Africa for 4-match T20 series in Nov, announces BCCI

As per the itinerary released by Cricket South Africa (CSA), the series will begin on November 8 at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in Durban

South Africa re-elects Cyril Ramaphosa as president; what happens next?

Two smaller parties, the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance, are also part of the pact

Ramaphosa re-elected South African President as ANC agrees on power-sharing

Ramaphosa won 283 of the votes cast by members of National Assembly on Friday night, and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema 44