South Africa

Next week’s BRICS meeting is set to discuss options for creating new customs cooperation initiatives which could pave the way for integration between the BRICS, the Eurasian Economic Union and the overarching goals of One Belt–One Road.
Russia which is a core member of both organisations currently operates a customs union within the single market of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a bloc which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia. Indonesia has recently been in talks to either join the EAEU or develop a customs deal with the bloc.

King/Kill Kanye, the Nashville Statement and the Satanic Panic redux + this day in history w/the death of Diana and our song of the day by Godspeed You! Black Emperor on your Morning Monarchy for August 31, 2017.

Special Report on 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China
Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei (C), Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (R) and President of the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS K.V. Kamath attend the launching ceremony of the bank in Shanghai, east China, July 21, 2015 [Xinhua]
The BRICS New Development Bank is hoping to increase the size of its loans in 2017, a Chinese Ministry of Finance official said on Thursday.
The statements by Zhou Qiangwu reiterate remarks made last year by the NDB Vice-President Zhu Xian.

File photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) at the 5th BRICS Summit on 27 March 2013 in Durban, South Africa [PPIO]
The African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank (NDB) was launched by South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday in Johannesburg.
The African Regional Center will allow countries in the continent to have access to the $100 billion NDB.

Supporters of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) celebrate outside Parliament after South African President Jacob Zuma survived a no confidence motion in Cape Town, South Africa, on Aug. 8, 2017 [Xinhua]Members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa rallied around President Jacob Zuma preventing his ouster from office through a vote in Parliament.

Everyone knows who Nelson Mandela was-- not "everyone," but all normal, aware people who didn't vote for Trump. The 1984 Specials song, top 10 throughout Europe but barely top 100 in the U.S. (although #1 on alternative stations like KUSF where I was a dj at the time) helped, of course. Listen to it; it holds up. Nelson Mandela was the world's pre-eminent anti-apartheid hero; he served 27 years in prison before becoming South Africa's first democratically-elected president (1994), and is widely considered the George Washington of South Africa.

Originally appeared at RussiaFeed.com
Nikolai Patrushev:

“We invite all BRICS nations to join the international data bank for countering terrorism created by the FSB in Russia. Thanks to the participation of 33 foreign special services and a number of relevant international organizations, we have created a consolidated array of information on persons complicit in terrorist activities and also on extremist and terrorist groups.”

  That matters have come to a head in South Africa is going to prove to be the catalyst for change that is overdue. The myth that the ANC is governing the country for the benefit of all its people has been smashed. It has become a party of the ANC elites who have one agenda, which is using their[Read More...]

Many tourists flock to South Africa to take in its natural beauty, such as these flowers of the Jacaranda blossom in Pretoria [Xinhua]
The release of the Tourism 2016 report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) this week showed that although there was a strong rebound in last year due to the weak rand, which made a holiday in South Africa very cheap for an overseas tourist, the country was still suffering from the imposition of more stringent visa requirements.

Workers work in new assembly production plant of China First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa [Xinhua]
The South African current account deficit on the balance of payments widened to 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on a seasonally adjusted annualised basis in the first quarter 2017 from 1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter 2016, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its latest Quarterly Bulletin.