South Africa

Fidel Castro was a staunch ally of nationalist, anti-colonialist and pro-independence African leaders like Nelson Mandela [Xinhua]
The 20th Century’s last great revolutionary, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, died on November 25.
And the age of revolution died with him.
Loved and respected by many, hated by some, there is no questioning that Fidel played a pivotal role in shaping the world in which we currently live.
François Hollande, president of France, called him a “towering figure of the 20th Century”. And so he was.

Earlier this year, Castro wrote to US President Barack Obama recounting the history of US aggression against Cuba [Xinhua]Cuba’s revolutionary leader and global icon Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90, his brother and President Raul Castro announced on state television. This marks the end of an era for Cuba and Latin America.
“The commander-in-chief of the Cuban revolution died at 10.29pm tonight,” Raul said.
World leaders reacted to the news with condolences and tributes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Castro as the ‘symbol of an era’.

Zuma’s ANC rejected calls by the opposition to remove the president in the latest no confidence vote [Xinhua]
South African President Jacob Zuma has survived yet another attempt to remove him from power after a vote of no confidence in his leadership was overwhelmingly defeated in parliament on Thursday.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), called for the vote a week after the former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, released a report into “State Capture” (when private interests covertly influence the government’s decision-making apparatus).

Will Temer spearhead a revitalization of Brazil’s economy in 2017? [Xinhua]
Brazilian President Michel Temer appeared less optimistic about the country’s emergence from recession, on Tuesday, saying he expects the economy to recover as late as the second half of next year.
During his speech to the powerful National Confederation of Industry (CNI) lobby, Temer acknowledged that cutting the budget deficit and reversing the course on recession will take time. He also said that he wanted to boost Brazil’s financial rating and combat rampant unemployment.

By Khavheni Shope | teleSUR | November 2016 To date, the ICC has investigated about 39 cases and 38 of them are on the African continent. The International Criminal Court was initially viewed as the world’s haven from atrocities and a tribunal that would protect the rights of those whose freedoms had been taken away […]

Will the ANC pressure Zuma to step down as some quarters say this needs to happen after the Public Protector’s report? [Xinhua]“The President [is] to appoint, within 30 days, a commission of inquiry headed by a judge solely selected by the Chief Justice who shall provide one name to the President.” Page 353 of the Public Protector report on State of Capture
The report into “State Capture”(when private interests covertly influence the government’s decision-making apparatus) by the former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, was released just before 5pm on November 2.

Gordhan, right, seen here with IMF chief Christine Lagarde, has always said that the charges against him were politically motivated [Xinhua]
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn fraud charges against South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan
NPA head Shaun Abrahams said that Gordhan “did not have the requisite intention to act unlawfully,” in the case of alleged severance payments made to two senior executives at the South African Revenue Service while it was under the finance minister’s tutelage a decade ago.

A number of business leaders and scholars have come to Gordhan’s aid and expressed outrage at his “vilification” [Xinhua]
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is set to announce the country’s midterm budget today which is supposed to curb the government’s budget deficit and cut spending.
Gordhan said he plans on cutting the deficit to 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) down from 3.9 per cent the year before.
This, however, comes as Gordhan’s court date for charges of alleged fraud looms closer.

Press TV – October 21, 2016 South Africa has joined Burundi in officially announcing its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying its laws are incompatible with obligations under the ICC. The South African government gave a formal notice of its intention to pull out of the ICC on Friday. South Africa “found that […]

From left to right: South African President Jacob Zuma, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Michel Temer [Image: BRICS2016]