When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

South Africa

Ideas

What Makes Rugby The Defining Sport Of Modern Democracy

As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.

-Analysis-

PARIS — The Rugby World Cup has an unusual, if not unique, feature among major national team competitions: all 20 participants are free-market democracies.

The list of countries — South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland, Australia, France, Japan, Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay, Tonga, Romania, Namibia, Chile and Portugal — can be verified as being among the more or less liberal states that, according to the Freedom House think-tank, account for only one-quarter of humanity.

It's true that some of these democracies, such as Georgia, have room for improvement, or haven't always been so democratic, as in the case of Argentina 40 years ago. And of course there's the unique case of South Africa, which lived under the racist system of apartheid until 1991, before the team's memorable post-apartheid victory in the 1995 World Cup — albeit controversial for other reasons, with suspicions of doping and poisoning of New Zealand's opponents before the final.

But none of the participants in this year's tournament are to be found among the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East, Africa, Asia or Latin America, where rugby is hardly ever played — the number of rugby players never exceeds 0.01% of the population.

Watch VideoShow less

This Happened — September 7: Desmond Tutu Named Archbishop

On this day in 1986, Desmond Tutu was named Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.


Keep reading...Show less

This Happened — August 18: Steve Biko Is Arrested

Steve Biko, a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, is arrested on this day in 1977 in South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Keep reading...Show less

Gùsto! How • What • Where Locals Eat (& Drink) In Cape Town

The best tables near Table Mountain!

Penguins on the beaches, a flat-topped mountain, a place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet: Cape Town, or as others call it, the “Mother City," is a place where eating and drinking is truly a worldly and unique experience.

Known as the “Rainbow Nation,” South Africa is a diverse country and it shows in the country's cuisine. It involves combinations of ingredients, flavors and methods from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Netherlands, indigenous Southern African cultures, Germany, Portugal, France and even the UK. Needless to say, South African food is a truly global mix.

Keep reading...Show less
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Alexei Zabrodin

Can Saudi Arabia Really Broker Ukraine Peace Without Russia?

Saudi Arabia is set to host non-Western countries to discuss how to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow-based daily Kommersant takes an in-depth look at what the high-level talks, slated for Aug. 5 in Jeddah, mean for Russia — who wasn't invited to the summit —, Ukraine and the world.

MOSCOW — Representatives of dozens of countries are expected to meet on Aug. 5 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss how to initiate peace talks on Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the news on Sunday. According to the Wall Street Journal, the meeting is organized on the initiative of Kyiv and with the support of the West. In addition to Ukraine's allies, countries such as Brazil, India, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa have been asked to participate. Notably, Russia has not received an invitation to the event.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The summit is intended to bridge the gap between Western and non-Western perspectives on both the Ukrainian war and ways to resolve it. Based on statements made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in St. Petersburg, it appears that global demand for a quick end to the conflict is growing.

Watch VideoShow less
Economy
Claire Bargelès

A BRICS Common Currency? The New Plans To Challenge U.S. Dollar Hegemony

The creation of a new common currency will be one of the main questions on the agenda at the BRICS summit in South Africa in August. But there are still many obstacles to overcome before breaking free from the almighty dollar.

-Analysis-

PARIS — Faced with the dollar's continuing hegemony, the BRICS bloc of non-Western nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — have been loudly calling for an alternative in recent months.

First, it was Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in April, after the appointment of Brazil's former president Dilma Rousseff to head of the New Development Bank (NDB): "I ask myself every night why all countries are obliged to trade according to the dollar," Lula said.

A month later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that "'de-dollarization' has begun." It is hardly a new idea, but it has been bolstered by plans to create a common currency.

The group of five countries accounts for over 40% of the world's population, nearly a quarter of global GDP and 18% of global trade. This drives their monetary ambitions, which align with their vision for a multi-polar world no longer dominated solely by American power.

After World War II, the dollar replaced the pound sterling as the world's standard currency, and today it accounts for 58% of the world's foreign exchange reserves. Russia in particular welcomes this proposal, as American sanctions following the war in Ukraine have demonstrated the dollar's political power.

Yet, "it's not really a case of wanting to dethrone the dollar," says Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-author of the study "Can BRICS De-dollarize the Global Financial System?"

Watch VideoShow less
This Happened

This Happened — June 24: South Africa Wins Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand took place on this day in 1995 at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Watch VideoShow less
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

Can South Africa Be An Honest Broker For Peace In Ukraine?

After Beijing's dubious push to lead negotiations on settling the war in Ukraine, now it's South Africa's turn. But its "ambiguous" neutrality on the war — and reports of secret weapons sales to Russia — raise serious skepticism in Kyiv and the West.

-Analysis-

PARIS — New peace initiatives for Ukraine continue to be announced one after the other, without much success. China has just sent an envoy to Kyiv, who will continue on to Moscow and Paris soon after.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Now, it's Africa's turn: a delegation of six African heads of state is expected soon to go to Kyiv and Moscow "to try to find a peaceful solution" to the conflict, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

When war is raging, all peace initiatives are welcome, of course. Still, questions remain about the true motivations behind these efforts.

China, which has an ideological alignment with Vladimir Putin's Russia, has significantly increased its purchases of Russian hydrocarbons, and took over a year to establish contact with Ukraine.

The same applies to the recently announced trip by the South African president. His country is at the center of a diplomatic storm over its relations with Russia, which raises serious questions. The peace initiative seems to come at the right time for South Africa to extricate from a diplomatic predicament.

Watch VideoShow less
This Happened

This Happened — April 27: First Democratic Election In South Africa

South African citizens of all races were allowed to vote in a general election for the first time on April 27, 1994. This was the first democratic election in South Africa after the end of the apartheid system.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Watch VideoShow less
Geopolitics
Pierre Haski

Lula's Return And The Dream Of A BRICS Revival

The Brazilian president, back in power after more than a decade later, has not lost his vision of a post-Western world in which the BRICS would occupy a central place. Lula's visit to Beijing puts such a vision front and center on the global agenda.

-Analysis-

PARIS — In the popular concept of the "global south," which refers to the non-Western world that expresses its distrust of the West, Brazil plays an important role. And its President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who returned to power in January, wasted no time in demonstrating this.

Lula has been in China this week at a time when the balance of power of the new century is being redefined. Brazil and China are both members of the BRICS, a club of emerging countries that also includes South Africa, India, and Russia. (Wrapping up

When the BRICS first emerged in the 2000s, during Lula's first term in office, he believed that he'd found a model for an alternative world. However, the club did not live up to its promises, partly due to China's disproportionate weight compared to its partners and its ambitions as a superpower.

Upon returning to office, Lula quickly booked his path to Beijing, after a first trip to Washington. His statements show that he has not lost his vision of a post-Western world in which the BRICS would occupy a central place.

Watch VideoShow less
LGBTQ Plus
Emma Albright

Meet The Transgender Women Breaking Into The World's Top Beauty Pageants

After years of resistance, more and more major beauty pageants are selecting transgender women to compete. It's shaking up ideas about inclusivity, questioning the modern world’s beauty standards — and perhaps redefining gender itself.

Jenna Talackova’s selection to compete for Miss Universe Canada in 2012 was a watershed moment for both beauty pageants and transgender rights. Believed to be one of the first trans women to participate in a major beauty contest, Talackova won the title of Miss Congeniality, and many hoped it would pave the wave for more trans pageant contestants around the world.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

It would take awhile, but just over a decade later, the revolution that Talackova sparked is finally gaining momentum. As Berlin-based Die Welt reports, Germany just announced that for the second year in a row, a trans woman has made the finals of its national pageant. Last week Miss Universe Puerto Rico said it will include its first openly transgender woman, all adding to a wave the past three years of top pageants opening up to trans contestants to compete.

Not surprisingly, there has been resistance. Last year, a U.S. judge rejected the appeal of Anita Green, a transgender woman, who had sued The Miss United States of America pageant for barring her from participating in the competition.

Meanwhile across the world, Miss Fabulous Laos 2022, a beauty pageant competition that allowed transgender women to participate, has been discontinued after the country’s ruling party banned transgender people from entering any beauty pageants.

Still, it seems as though the universe of women’s beauty pageants is reaching its transgender tipping point with more and more competitions opting for inclusivity, questioning the modern world’s beauty standards and redefining gender itself.

Here’s a look at some of the transgender women participating in beauty pageants around the world:

Watch VideoShow less
This Happened

This Happened - February 11: Walk To Freedom

Nelson Mandela was released from prison on this day in 1990.

Watch VideoShow less
EXPLORE OTHER TOPICS
chinaitalyusafrancegermany