Hosted by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and initiated by a proposal from Angola, the summit took place in Malabo in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, 28 May 2022.

In response to the growing threat of terrorism and violent extremism, the AU Assembly, at its 35th Ordinary Session, held in February 2022, through Decision Assembly/AU/Dec. 828(XXXV), decided to convene an “Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Governments in Africa (UCG)”, as proposed by the Republic of Angola.

The summit assessed the persistent threats, evaluated current response mechanisms and decided on the specific actions and measures necessary to strengthen the collective security of member states facing terrorism and violent extremism.

The summit also discussed actionable measures needed to stem the upsurge in these challenges on the continent.

The gathering of leaders provided the first high-level political platform since 2000, for heads of state to address a new wave of unconstitutional changes of government.

 It was also the first opportunity for African leaders since 2014 to address collective defence and security in the face of terrorism and violent extremism currently affecting all five regions of the AU.

Responding to these threats is an integral part of the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa, which aims to achieve peace and security on the continent.

President Ramaphosa was accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor.

Addressing a media briefing on interventions and much-needed humanitarian aid from the State of Qatar following the devastating floods, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said government had prioritised finding shelter for people who had been displaced.

“We have started moving some of them to temporary residential units and the process has been a bit slow because we need to get new land. We can’t put them on the floodplains where their houses were washed away by the floods,” she said at a briefing in eThekwini on Sunday, 29 May 2022.

By then, 459 people had lost their lives in the floods that took place in April and May. According to police, 88 people were still reported missing.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, said more than 131 temporary residential units had been constructed.

“The province has started building temporary residences for affected families on state-owned land parcels that have been identified in KwaZulu-Natal for possible resettlement.

“Our rebuilding does not only involve the construction and repair of major infrastructure but also the construction of houses and damaged infrastructure. Houses will be rebuilt within suitably located areas. We are implementing measures to protect residents from such adverse weather events in the future,” Premier Zikalala said.

“Critical infrastructure like schools, bridges and roads were also destroyed, with damage to public infrastructure currently standing at R25 billion, while businesses incurred damage estimated at R7 billion.

“These costs exclude new ones emanating from the May floods. Some areas of our province have been transformed by the floods into inaccessible ‘islands’,” the Premier said.

He said the humanitarian aid would help lighten the burden of meeting the humanitarian needs of the over 4 000 citizens housed in community care centres.

“About 45 000 working people are temporarily out of employment because their places of employment are temporarily not operational, as they were affected by the floods.

“Government is providing burial assistance, death certificates, identity documents, post mortems, health services and psychosocial support,” the Premier said.

Extensive work is underway to restore basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and waste removal.

“The N2 towards uMgababa, which was damaged and made it difficult to access areas in the South Coast, was re-opened on Friday.  We successfully constructed an emergency lane in a period of seven weeks.

“[With regard to] the recovery of the full width of the N2 north of Durban after the Gateway interchange, construction is progressing well and we anticipate to open the closed lane in the next two weeks or earlier. More work to rebuild infrastructure and secure suitable land for housing is being done,” Premier Zikalala said.

The Premier recognised the growth and strengthening of bilateral and trade relations between Qatar and South Africa, which continue to yield positive results for both countries.

“We also salute the transnational humanitarian work of the Red Crescent in bringing relief to the vulnerable and desperate in their greatest hour of need. The personal protective equipment and disaster relief equipment will be of enormous value to us. Beyond this, the expertise of the technical team of the Red Crescent will enhance our own capacity in dealing with disasters,” he said.

The Ambassador of Qatar, Tariq Ali Faraj, wished a quick recovery to South Africa.

“We hope this plight will be over soon. Our team will be here on the ground for a couple of weeks to participate and assist with the distribution as well as the management of the disaster response,” he said.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, welcomed the donation from Qatar.

“What we are experiencing today is true international friendship from the people and government of Qatar, and we are most excited because this is an expansion of a relationship that has existed over a number of years.

“I am excited that a team will be in KwaZulu-Natal for just over two weeks. I think this is incredibly important. It is not just bringing an aeroplane load of humanitarian aid. It’s also carrying out an assessment on what the needs on the ground are, what further support might be needed or rendered by the State of Qatar to South Africa,” Minister Pandor said.

– Source: SAnews.gov.za

Bilateral relations between South Africa and Uruguay remain sound and the various common ideals, such as democracy, human rights as well as equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, and objectives of the two governments provide a potential basis for enhanced bilateral relations as well as for cooperation at multilateral level. Bilateral cooperation with Uruguay is in line with South Africa’s foreign policy objective of South-South cooperation to develop mutually beneficial political and economic relations and technical cooperation and to advance the development agenda of the South.

South Africa and Uruguay have signed several agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding Establishing the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, in March 2015.

Uruguay has added significance to South Africa due to its membership of MERCOSUR – the Southern Common Market comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and has signed a Preferential Trade Agreement with the Southern African Customs Union.

The two countries have identified the following priority areas for the development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation in defence; mineral resources and energy; social security; sports; and trade and investment. During the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on key regional and global developments and ways to strengthen cooperation on multilateral issues of mutual interest.

The aim of the engagement was to raise awareness about socio-economic challenges facing the community under the Ehlanzeni District Municipality.

Gender-based violence (GBV), femicide, drug and alcohol abuse continue to present challenges to the health, safety and well-being of all South Africans.

The issues under discussion included drug and substance abuse, GBV, human trafficking, teenage pregnancies, increasing violent behaviours, rising unemployment and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Deputy Minister also visited Professor SR Resinga Secondary School, where she donated learning materials.

Deputy Minister Mashego-Dlamini was accompanied by various stakeholders, including members of the Diplomatic Community.

However, since there is no globally agreed template of proof of vaccination, it has come to our attention that some countries use vaccination cards with a QR Code, while others use certificates with a QR Code as a proof of vaccination.

Thus, in order to ensure smooth and fair verification process without inconveniencing the travellers at the ports of entry, the Government will, with effect from 27 May 2022, recognise all verifiable vaccination proofs with QR codes, either paper-based or electronic.

The details on the certificate/card should correspond with the information of the traveller as they appear on the passport. However, in cases where the vaccination certificate or card is not verifiable, the department's officials have the right to contact the relevant embassy or high commission in South Africa to confirm a type proof of vaccination issued by respective countries.

Travellers are reminded that onsite COVID-19 testing services are available at the ports of entry for individuals who are unable to present proof of vaccination, and those who test positive and are experiencing symptoms, will be required to self-isolate.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Strategic Framework 2020-2030, has identified cross-border exchanges with the rest of Africa as a key pillar of the implementation of reconfiguring and expansion of existing SEZs.

The CDC has expanded its non-SEZ services to other markets in countries that include Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal under the Coega Africa Programme (CAP).

The CDC is providing technical advisory and co-development of SEZs, industrial parks, dry ports and public infrastructure.

Through its African Trade and Investment Solutions Strategy, the CDC is championing the country’s renewed push for business exchanges between South Africa and the rest of the continent.

“The CDC, with its proven track record in infrastructure implementation and programme management spanning over two decades, has delivered mega infrastructure projects successfully within budget, scope and quality standards.

“The organisation has an arsenal of systems and processes, utilising international best practice in project management using advanced project methodology, which also enables job creation and transform economies through developing emerging businesses,” the CDC said.

With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than USD3 trillion, the CDC said the African continent was a major market for trade for any country that is serious about sustainable development.

According to the CDC, the AfCFTA, which is the largest global free trade area by countries participating, could transform the continent's economic prospects.

“The agreement aims to reduce all trade costs, improve intra-African trade and enable Africa to integrate further into global supply chains. Ultimately, the AfCFTA aims to improve the continent’s economic integration in line with Agenda 2063’s Pan-African vision of an industrialised, stable and peaceful Africa,” the CDC said.

The agreement also aims to eliminate customs tariffs for intraregional trade, to improve capital and individual mobility, and to facilitate investment at national and continental levels.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook (April 2022), looking beyond the pandemic and current geopolitical tensions, job creation and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals will require strong, inclusive and sustainable growth in the region. To this end, decisive policy action is needed to enhance economic diversification, unleash the private sector’s potential and address the challenges posed by climate change.

Africa’s land area exceeds that of China, Europe and the United States combined. Its 54 countries have a collective population of 1.2 billion, with over a thousand languages being spoken, huge diversity in income levels, resource endowment, business sophistication and infrastructure development.

With the world’s largest free trade area and a 1.2-billion-person market, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people.

– Source: SAnews.gov.za

The annual commemoration of Africa Day on 25 May marked the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

The department said the current focus of African bilateral relations within the water sector was in line with the implementation of existing strategic partnerships, especially with countries where cooperation agreements and tangible bilateral projects existed, particularly with countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

“South Africa shares major river systems with six immediate neighbouring countries, namely Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe,” the department’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, said.

Ratau said to regulate the use of water from the river systems in the neighbouring countries, several bilateral commissions and committees had been established between South Africa and its neighbours.

“The most eminent bilateral relation is with the Kingdom of Lesotho, through the implementation of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which is meant to ensure improved water security and economic upliftment through the creation of jobs, income opportunities and security of energy supply for the Mountain Kingdom.

“Adding to this is the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM), which was established in 2000 through an agreement between Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. The ORASECOM Council advises its member countries (ministers responsible for water) on matters related to the development, use and conservation of the water resources in the basin,” Ratau said.

Another trans-boundary agreement includes the Limpopo Watercourse Commission, established in 2003 between Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The purpose of the commission is to advise the four countries on the management of water resources in the Limpopo River Basin.

South Africa also serves on the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) Executive Committee and on its Technical Advisory Committee. In the SADC region, it serves on the overarching SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses.

Ratau said South Africa had played a significant role in the successful development and deployment of the first web-based AMCOW reporting tool.
The integrated Pan-Africa web-based reporting system was launched during the Africa Day celebration at the Stockholm World Water Week in 2016, which was a first for both Africa and the world.

“As the global community observes Africa Day, South Africa continues to actively promote and contribute to sustainable development through good water governance in the shared basins across the SADC region, and the continent,” Ratau said.

The department has urged members of the public to practise patriotism by preserving water amid water scarcity challenges in the country and on the African continent.

– Source:  SAnews.gov.za

“I feel extremely humble and honoured to have received this prestigious award and recognition by the World Organisation for Animal Health,” said Dr Brückner, who graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Science in 1972. “I would like to thank my family and many colleagues all over the world for their support and for working side by side with me – without which, this achievement would not have been possible. I am also thankful that South Africa will receive recognition through this award.”

– Source: https://www.up.ac.za/

The team believes that this operation is the largest-ever big-cat rescue from an active war zone.

Warriors of Wildlife director, Lionel de Lange, was the driving force responsible for arranging the rescue and repatriation of the lions to a temporary home at Targo Mures Zoo in Romania.

Lionel travelled thousands of miles from South Africa to complete the mission together with award-winning South African radio presenter Daron Mann. Help was enlisted from British animal rescue specialists Breaking the Chains. Founder/Director of Worldwide Vets, Gemma Campling, also accompanied the team into Ukraine to sedate the animals prior to travel and ensure their general well-being and good health.

After vet checks and sedation on the day of departure, each lion was individually crated and carefully loaded onto trucks for a 30-hour convoy journey through three countries.

A significant factor in the success of this speedy operation was the CITES paperwork being expedited post-haste by Roxanna Ciorni of the Casa Lui Patrocle organisation in Romania. She also facilitated with the processing of all necessary admin documents and liaised on the matter with security officials and the director of Targo Mures Zoo, Janos Szantho.

It was Szantho, in collaboration with the mayor’s office of the city of Targo Mures, who gave the green light for their zoo to provide a safe haven for this young pride of lions while their permanent home is secured.

“Ideally, we would like to keep the entire pride together, but we understand that this is an extremely big ask of any single sanctuary, and it may not end up being possible. Negotiations in this regard are ongoing though,” Lionel said

“It’s extremely satisfying for me to rescue any animal out of a difficult situation, but as someone who has lived in Ukraine, this was extra special,” he added.

De Lange, who has now rescued and relocated as many as 38 lions, eight bears and a tiger from captivity, vowed that this would not be the last rescue he and his team would perform.

“There are many more animals in need of help, and funds permitting, we will continue to keep trying to rescue them”, he said.

– Source: www.goodthingsguy.com

The pretty pink and white-flowered plants have only been found in two locations – both on the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area (NWSMA) in the Overberg, close to the most southerly tip of Africa. With fewer than 250 plants in total, covering an area of less than 5km², it’s likely that the new Cyrtanthus will be classified as endangered on the South African National Biodiversity Institute Red List once assessed.

According to Cyrtanthus expert Dr Dee Snijman, who described the new species, “The species epithet honours the recent restoration of biodiversity in the Nuwejaars Wetlands area.” This conservation area covers 47 000 hectares and includes critically endangered fynbos and irreplaceable wetlands and rivers crisscrossing the landscape. The farmers who are members of the NWSMA have appointed a team of conservationists to help restore and manage these land- and waterscapes.

A new sister for the Bredasdorp Lily

In a botanical twist, the Cyrtanthus Novus-Annus is seen as a sister species to the critically endangered Cyrtanthus guthrieae (the Bredasdorp Lily), given their resemblance and their reasonably close proximity to each other. The Bredasdorp Lily only occurs on the mountains above the Overberg town. There’s only one other example of a sister pair in the Amaryllidaceae family in the Western Cape, near Wellington.

This most unexpected discovery took place in 2019 when during an exploratory NWSMA trip, a small population of soft pink and white flowering plants were spotted. A series of events, including COVID and the subsequent lockdowns, put the discovery on hold. But in late 2021, the NWSMA conservation team came across another flowering population.

With the help of the Botanical Society of South Africa’s Rupert Koopman, the experts were brought in to undertake a complete assessment earlier this year, including Dr Snijman and Dr John Manning.

Snijman has just released her scientific paper, “A new species of Cyrtanthus (Amaryllidaceae: Cyrtantheae) from the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape, South Africa”. She says in the paper, “The unexpected discovery in 2019 of a small population of Cyrtanthus on the Agulhas Plain that could not be matched with any known taxon prompted the description of one further species.”

According to Koopman, “This is a great story which highlights how special the Overberg is in terms of plant diversity. And in fact, how special the fynbos biome is in general, considering that we are still picking up new species even in areas that are well known.”

The new species occurs on low, open vegetation, which includes elements of both Central Rûens Shale Renosterveld and Elim Ferricrete Fynbos. Both of these are critically endangered.

– Source: www.goodthingsguy.com

Founder of Soul Barrel, Nick Smith, says winning Best Beer in Africa is one of the most significant accomplishments a brewery can achieve in Africa. “The African Beer Cup is the most competitive, intense beer competition on the continent with some of the best judges in the world.  We are so proud to have won with a beer that features our very own malt and hops as well as fynbos from our garden. We believe in South African agriculture and winning best beer in Africa with a beer that’s brewed with 100% local ingredients is a testament to that.”

Live Culture Grand Cru is a barrel-aged farmhouse ale fermented with wild yeast native to the Simondium-based brewery. It’s brewed with barley from Caledon, along with citrus, fynbos and hops grown in Soul Barrel’s beer garden. The team has always believed that this is one of the best beers they’ve ever made and the award is confirmation.

This is the third year that the competition has run and the first time that international judges were invited to join. Judges from 16 different countries evaluated the 251 entries over three days. The awards evening was held at the Jack Black Brewing Company in Cape Town.

“We want to elevate the competition to be in line with other international competitions,” says the founder of African Beer Cup, Lucy Corne. “And inviting extremely experienced, highly respected beer industry experts from around the world is crucial for our competition. It’s the first time any beer competition in Africa has welcomed such highly esteemed judges.”

This year’s competition attracted a number of sponsors, including global fermentation specialists Fermentis, Cape Town companies Draught Guardian and Frontier Canning, and Austrian-based Anton Paar.

The judges awarded 10 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 27 bronze medals across 32 categories. The competition is judged according to the Beer Judge Certification Programme guidelines, which focus on stylistic accuracy rather than personal preference. Beers must reach a certain score threshold in order to be considered for a medal, with a maximum of one gold, one silver and one bronze per category.

The 10 gold medallists then went head to head in a Best of Show round to determine the Best Beer in Africa. Rather than a trophy, the winner receives a custom painting to celebrate their win. This year’s painting was created by Cape Town artist Ann Gadd.

– Source: https://www.capetownetc.com

“The nose of my boat went under the jetty on the first portage,” Hartley said.

“I had to get it out and empty the water out of my boat while I was running the portage. I managed to catch back up and I feel pretty excited to have won a bronze medal representing South Africa,” she added.

Callam Davis represented South Africa in the men’s marathon short course event on Saturday where he finished 22nd.

– Source: www.sapeople.com

The 18-year-old, who collected two silvers and a bronze at the previous leg in Barcelona the previous  week, kicked things off with a gold in the 50-m backstroke – outgunning American Michael Andrew to win in an impressive meet record time of 24.75 seconds. Andrew took the silver in 24.79.

Not long after, Coetzé was back in the pool for the 200-m backstroke where he roared back in the second half of the race to secure the gold in a time of 1:58.27. Britain’s Olympic bronze medallist Luke Greenbank had to settle for silver in 1:58.88.

“The 200 was awesome,” said a thrilled Coetzé afterwards. “To be honest, I didn’t really know if I was going to get the win at the last turn, but things worked out well and I was able to get a good, fast last 50 to get the win so that was good – especially in such a strong field,” he added.

“Coming into it I knew it was going to take a good one to win it so I’m very happy to get that win. Also, the 50 was awesome to win – and to get the meet record was great and to race all these guys. It’s awesome to be here and it’s been a big learning experience.”

Matt Sates claims his eighth Gold medal of the week

Meanwhile, Matt Sates claimed his eighth gold medal of the week – this time in the 400-m individual medley. The Maritzburg teenager continued his clean sweep of golds secured in every event he’s swum at the Mare Nostrum series so far by taking the title in 4:13.05 – well ahead of second-placed Hungarian David Verraszto who took the silver in 4:15.30.

After missing out on the medals in Barcelona in midweek, veteran Chad le Clos made sure to reach the podium in Canet. The 30-year-old claimed bronze in the 100-m butterfly, finishing in a time of 52.14 seconds. Japan’s Naoki Mizunuma took the gold in 51.42, with Switzerland’s Noe Ponti finishing second in 51.83.

The Mare Nostrum series concluded on 29 May 2022.

– Source: www.sapeople.com

Selecting his best of the best for Ruck.co.uk, Carter’s team includes 10 World Cup winners and six former World Player of the Year winners.

A 2007 World Cup hero, Bok colossus Schalk Burger slots into the loose trio alongside Kiwi GOAT Richie McCaw and mercurial Frenchman Thierry Dusautoir.

Commenting on Burger’s inclusion, Carter said: “A real competitor and absolute top bloke off the field as well.

“His mindset was a little bit different when he was out there competing. That just made him such a tough opponent to come up against.”

Tendai Mtawarira, whose final Test in the green and gold was South Africa’s 2019 RWC glory in Japan, packs down in the front row with New Zealanders Dane Coles and Olo Brown.

Bryan Habana, who scored eight tries as part of the Bok team that won the 2007 showpiece in France, forms a back three with All Blacks alum Jonah Lomu and Ben Smith.

Englishman Jonny Wilkinson and Kiwi Aaron Smith, and Irishman Brian O’Driscoll and ex-All Black Ma’a Nonu, make up the halfback and midfield pairings, respectively.

Former Ireland and British & Irish Lions skipper Paul O’Connell is down to start in the second row with Kiwi stalwart Brodie Retallick.

 – Source: www.sarugbymag.co.za

The Senior Captain was named National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Player of the Year for 2021 and recently, the talented South African also received the coveted Radcliffe Prize.

First established in 1975, this award is given annually to that member of a women’s team, who, through dedication to the sport, qualities of leadership and outstanding ability on the playing field best reflects the purposeful achievement of Radcliffe alumnae in every field around the world. In short, the award goes to the most outstanding athlete from a women’s team.

Pearce also won the William J Bingham ’16 Award as Harvard’s top female athlete.

Pearce had her best season – playing for the Ivy League University – in 2021, leading the team with 30 points (14 goals, two assists) and serving as the team’s most valuable defensive player. She is also an NFHCA Academic Squad honoree.

According to Harvard University’s daily newspaper, “Consecutive weekends of back-to-back wins bumped Harvard field hockey to No. 12 in the United States of America. Exciting victories over Columbia and Bucknell, and then against the University of Pennsylvania and University of New Hampshire the following weekend brought the team’s overall win-loss tally to 9-1, marking an incredible start to the season.”

MatchKit – a South African platform that helps athletes manage their digital brands – explained to Good Things Guy that according to their research, Hannah is actually the first South African to captain the respected university’s hockey team, and she continues to build her credentials and establish her case to make it back into the national team as she looks ahead to Paris Olympic 2024 qualification.

“Our team has a very strong bond and a very good team environment. It’s been really fun to get back to playing after such a long break, [and] it’s been great to be back with [everyone] and be playing hockey again.”

– Source: www.goodthingsguy.com