international relationslatest news & developments

CHRIS ROPER: Make Africa great(er) again

The UN has voted to phase out the Mercator projection in favour of an accurate world map, restoring Africa's true geographical scale

EDITORIAL: Agoa’s unlikely revival comes with a catch for South Africa

America wants Agoa. Does it still want South Africa?

Fifa’s fandangos

Fifa President Gianni Infantino faces a major challenge to his authority. With an endorsement from Trump, his re-election bid hangs in the balance.

Cyril Ramaphosa at the Namibia-South Africa Binational Commission. Picture: NIPDB.

‘Kleinboet’ emerges as a key economic player

Namibia’s investment surge and offshore oil prospects are redefining its relationship with South Africa and global investors

Prime Minister Andy Burnham arrives at 10 Downing Street on July 20. Picture: Lauren Hurley/No. 10 Downing Street; Creative Commons.

Britain’s new PM: ditch the podium – and maybe dodge the revolving door

On Sunday, London stopped, briefly, to watch what has now become an almost familiar ritual: one PM in, one out

A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

‘Malignment’: the direction of South Africa’s foreign relations

By backing Iran and ignoring other violations of international law, South Africa risks losing the moral authority that once defined its diplomacy

SA international relations hypocrisy. Rawpixel/Currency collage

South African foreign policy: vrot with contradiction 

South Africa’s stance on Iran is as predictable as it is hypocritical. Not least given the latest assault on Zimbabwe’s democratic laws

South Africa in the world order. Rawpixel/Currency collage

How South Africa can win in the new world order  

Hint: it will require more diplomatic hard work and a shift in allegiances away from the Brics towards the G20 bloc

Dirco direction compass. Rawpixel/Currency collage

Israel and South Africa: nostalgia is not a strategy

South Africa’s international relations require derisking, not provocation. Dirco hasn’t got the memo

South African politics in 2026. Rawpixel/Currency collage

Local polls, the GNU and Trump shocks: politics in 2026

Local government elections, a DA electoral conference, the all-important annual budget and global headwinds. Here’s your political year ahead

Trump and Ramaphosa. Picture: Rawpixel/Currency collage / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Inside Cyril’s gift box for Donald

Cars, gas, rare earths – and a nod to equity equivalence. South Africa’s gift box to Trump may not dazzle, but it’s a transactional start

US toppled. Statue of liberty

Trump and the shifting paradigm

Dissecting the Trump administration is complicated. But it’s clear the US no longer has the power, or money, to maintain its dominance

Image by Currency News

Cat-in-the-hat Donald puts Cyril in a corner

Donald Trump has left Cyril Ramaphosa – and South Africa – in a quagmire. Can he navigate out of it?

Image by Currency News

Rubicon 2.0: South Africa must press the reset button 

South Africa needs some brutally honest introspection if we are to emerge from the Trump firestorm in a better place

Reuben Brigety

US envoy Brigety leaves South Africa with hope – and a warning

The US ambassador on South Africans ‘finding each other’, the price of being free, and constructive international relations. But no word on the Lady R