Europe faces its greatest threat from within rather than from foreign powers, US Vice President J.D. Vance has said, expressing concern about what he called the continent’s abandonment of its core values. Vance told the Munich Security Conference on Friday that while Washington is preoccupied with the question of achieving a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine, Europe has bigger problems. ”The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any…

The United States has long positioned itself as a global champion of human rights, democracy and economic opportunity. However, its policies and decisions concerning South Africa, particularly regarding its white minority, have often been fraught with contradictions, suspicions and unintended consequences.  From the apartheid era through the post-1994 democratic transition, Washington’s involvement in South Africa has frequently exacerbated racial tensions and economic disparities. The recent surge in H-2A visas issued to South African farm workers, who are predominantly white, and…

Each year, Lin Haiyan, president of the Chinatown Foundation in Mauritius, dedicates significant time and effort to organising the Spring Festival celebrations. During the Spring Festival season in February 2024, the Mauritius National Multi-Sport Complex was adorned with large red lanterns and Chinese knots, creating a vibrant setting for the festivities. The event featured captivating performances, including lion and dragon dances, parades showcasing traditional Chinese women’s clothing, or qipao, singing, and tai chi demonstrations, providing the perfect atmosphere to celebrate the…

Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on ‘Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa’ (07/02/2025) is not a new development but a continuation of racist United States policies implanted on South Africa dating back decades. America is and has remained the godfather of oppression of Africans, Indigenous People and others within its borders, and these heinous policies were exported to South Africa to strengthen subjugation and ‘apartness’. Therefore, Trump’s EO is not an anomaly but a reflection of embedded…

For centuries, Europe was the architect of global imperialism, carving up foreign territories and subjugating populations in pursuit of dominance. Driven by a potent cocktail of ambition, religious zeal and racial superiority, the expansion of the European empire ranks amongst the worst human disasters, especially for the world’s subalterns. The empire was built on exploitation, enslavement and violent subjugation and birthed the dreadful, unequal and racist modern world.  Now, the tables have turned in the face of US Imperialism or…

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced on Thursday that 10 U.S. companies have been added to the unreliable entities list for selling arms to the Taiwan region. The companies include Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Lockheed Martin Missile System Integration Lab, according to the MOC announcement. These companies will be prohibited from engaging in China-related import or export activities and barred from making new investments in China, the MOC added. Senior executives of the companies…

While international law is based on equal sovereignty for all states, the rules-based international order upholds hegemony on the principle of sovereign inequality. The rules-based international order is commonly presented as international law plus international human rights law, which appears benign and progressive. However, this entails introducing contradictory principles and rules. The consequence is a system devoid of uniform rules, in which “might makes right.” International human rights law introduces a set of rules to elevate the rights of the…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has been called out for caving into United States of America (USA) pressure not to protect Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was expected to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month.  The West has also been accused of undermining South Africa’s sovereignty and independent foreign policy, by weaponising trade and resorting to economic blackmail to achieve its foreign policy objectives.   Yesterday, Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that they reached a “mutual agreement” with Putin that he was better…