As is no doubt by now well known, the Institute for Security Studies recently reported that its violence monitoring project had identified 2 880 public protests in this country between 2013 and... 

The news, released earlier this month, that Egypt had become Africa’s second largest economy, pushing South Africa into third place, did not create all that much of a stir. There were two good... 

South Africa’s programme to acquire a number of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) seems to be suffering from yet another delay. The Requests for Proposals to the various groups interested in... 

Normally, I like to vary my columns from month to month, but I find myself, for the the second month in a row, impelled to remain with the topic of nuclear energy. The reason is the current... 

Since December, when President Jacob Zuma, with unbelievable incompetence, abruptly and, to this day without giving any good or believable reason, dismissed then Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and... 

By now, everyone is aware that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa from 1.3% to 0.7%. Which is utterly dismal. Unless you are a Brazilian.... 

This month, November 2015, marks the centenary of the unveiling of his General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein. He did so in four short papers published in the Proceedings of the Prussian... 

Over the years, I have been to quite a few defence technology and industry conferences in South Africa. Invariably, they include lots of fascinating presentations and show just how impressive and... 

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress certainly seems to have a fixation on China. It is already well known that the foreign affairs chapter of the party’s NGC 2015 Discussion Documents... 

Have you heard of Mikta? No, me neither – until very recently. (If you had heard of Mikta, congratulations! You have been keeping a sharp eye on international developments.) Mikta is, of course, an... 

Last week – on July 21, to be precise – the New Development Bank (NDB) formally came into existence in Shanghai, China. Created by the countries of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South... 

There can be little doubt that the discreditable episode of Sudanese President Omar al Bashir’s attendance at the African Union summit in South Africa earlier this month has been most damaging to... 

My irritation has reached the point that I can no longer ignore it. And I’m afraid that my irritation is with some of my journalistic colleagues (no, not at Engineering News, as will soon become... 

As is well known, at the end of last month, retired General Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria’s Presidential elections. A northerner and a Muslim, Buhari... 

China’s emergence – or, more accurately, re-emergence – as one of the world’s most important economies and influential States received a powerful endorsement earlier this month. In a move that... 

Earlier this month, global assurance, tax and advisory services group PwC published The World in 2050: Will the Shift in Global Economic Power Continue? From an African point of view, the most... 

To start: absolutely nothing justified the murderous attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo or on a kosher supermarket, in Paris, early this month. Both were expressions of... 

Some weeks ago, three economists – Prof Jannie Rossouw, head of the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Economic and Business Sciences, Adele Breytenbach and Fanie Joubert, both at the... 

The BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group was formed in 2009 and became BRICS when South Africa joined the next year. Many saw it as a force that would transform the world, profoundly... 

There can be no doubt that the rise of China – or, more accurately, its return to its traditional place as one of the greatest powers in the world – remains a process that causes worldwide... 

There has lately been some quite important news from, and affecting, the local defence industry. For example, it has been announced that, provided all the regulatory and other approvals are... 

The leaders of the five Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries signed an accord officially creating the New Development Bank, more popularly called the Brics Bank, at the... 

Recently, US aerospace group Boeing announced that a VIP version of the company’s 777-300ER wide-body airliner had been ordered by a customer whose identity was confidential. Boeing refers to this... 

Barely had the announcement been made that Nigeria had leapfrogged over South Africa to become, by a substantial margin, the biggest economy in Africa, than the West African country was subjected... 

It had been expected, but not, I think, so soon. And the scale was greater than expected. So it came as quite a jolt. I am, of course, referring to Nigeria’s rather dramatic leapfrogging of South... 

Globalisation. Love it or hate it, it is the economically dominant phenomenon of today. As much free trade as possible encompassing as many countries as possible, to mutual benefit and enrichment.... 

This year is going to be an important year for the loose alignment of countries known as BRICS. Three of them are going to have national elections. That’s 60% of the group. If you want to be really... 

Late last month – on December 26 to be precise – the London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) released its 2013 World Economic League Table. This estimates the gross domestic... 

One of the most significant recent events, worldwide, was the meeting of the Third Plenum of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China. A plenum involves the entire Central Committee of the... 

On October 21, Brazil should have auctioned the first element of its rich new “pre-salt” offshore oil resources, the Libra oilfield. (“Should have” because this column was written before the... 

On September 12, the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Nasa) announced that its scientists had concluded that the Voyager 1 space probe had left the solar system and entered interstellar... 

Well, at long last, the Seriti Commission of Inquiry into South Africa’s acquisition of modern fighters, fighter-trainers, light utility and maritime helicopters, frigates and submarines is now... 

Early this month, the Departments of Trade and Industry and of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs jointly launched their ‘Guidelines for Reducing Municipal Red Tape: How Municipalities... 

The 2013 G8 Summit took place at the beginning of last week, near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh in the UK province of Northern Ireland. The G8 group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy,... 

One of the unintentionally funny aspects of “l’affaire Gupta” – in which a chartered jet landed at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria carrying guests from India for a wedding being celebrated by... 

The Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit has come and gone. In comparison to the hype that preceded it in this country, the results appeared to be meagre. However, as... 

I recently attended a seminar on “South Africa and Brazil in the Brics and Beyond” jointly organised by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and Centro de Estudos e Pesquisa... 

It was recently reported in Brazil that that country’s Federal government intended to privatise, through concessioning, 158 port terminals. This marks another step in the reactivation of... 

Firstly, a Happy New year to everybody. And a prosperous one. After all, only through prosperity can we retain existing and create new jobs. Obviously, the the world did not end, as some feared...