Cultural exchanges help bridge global divides
HANGZHOU, 5 December 2025 (Xinhua) - Amid escalating geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts, the unifying power of culture has grown increasingly vital in connecting people, fostering friendship, dispelling misunderstandings, and even bridging divides.
South African Ambassador, Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela participated in the 2nd Greek Youth Diaspora Symposium
5 December 2025
The South African Ambassador, Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela participated in the 2nd Greek Youth Diaspora Symposium that was addressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Mr George Gerapetritis on 25 November 2025. He was accompanied by the Deputy Minister, Mr Ionnnis Loverdos and the Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy.
A Response to Secretary Rubio’s Substack post
by Minister Ronald Lamola, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
Secretary Rubio,
I have read your Substack post from 3 December 2025.
From the outset, let me extend congratulations to the United States on assuming the G20 Presidency. We offer our sincere wishes for a successful term, one that we hope will serve the cause of global unity and inclusive progress.
5th Volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" Promoted in South Africa
by Kirtan Bhana – TDS and Yanshuo Ni – ChinAfrica - CICG
5 December 2025
A promotional event was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 3 for the English edition of the fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," drawing around 200 participants.
President Ramaphosa urges stronger economic integration, regional peace efforts
4 December 2025
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for deeper economic integration and intensified regional peace efforts as South Africa and Mozambique opened the fourth Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Maputo on Wednesday, reaffirming a partnership built on struggle-era solidarity and sustained by expanding economic ties.
America Welcomes a New G20
by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
4 December 2025
Next year, the United States will host the world’s 20 largest economies for the first time since 2009. Coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary, the 2026 G20 will be a chance to recognize the values of innovation, entrepreneurship, and perseverance that made America great, and which provide a roadmap to prosperity for the entire world. We’ll showcase these values and more when we host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in December 2026 in one of America’s greatest cities, Miami, Florida.
Two Nations in Song Linking the Dominican Republic and South Africa
by Dilon Bhana and Anisha Pemjee - TDS
1 December 2025
When Dominican soprano Stephany Ortega landed in South Africa, she said she felt as though she had arrived in the Dominican Republic. In an interview with The Diplomatic Society, she shared that the country felt familiar and that she was happy to be in Africa for the first time. “It is like I am putting together the puzzle of my roots and exploring the heritage of African music,” she said.
BMA - 1 December 2025
The Commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Michael Masiapato, has confirmed that on the afternoon of 26 November 2025, BMA Port Agriculture officials intercepted an aircraft from Kenya and Tanzania carrying veterinary medicines (“Berenil”) in two (2) polystyrene boxes weighing about eighty-four (84) kilograms that were allegedly in transit through the Polokwane International Airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport. The consignment was initially refused entry as it did not have the requisite import permits as provided for in Section 6 of the Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984.
Southern Africa’s highest weather station to boost research
1 December 2025
The South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), in collaboration with the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) at the University of the Free State, has installed the highest weather station in Southern Africa, located in the Mont-aux-Sources area of the Maluti-Drakensberg.
SA records R15.6 billion trade surplus in October
1 December 2025
South Africa has recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R15.6 billion in October 2025, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said.
Vladimir Tretchikoff - The People’s Artist Who Painted Humanity into Diplomacy
By Kirtan Bhana
27 November 2025
When Alexander Pankin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, delivered his video address at the opening of the exhibition commemorating the artistic legacy of Vladimir Tretchikoff on 25 November 2025, his words carried an unmistakable truth: Tretchikoff was more than an artist — he was a bridge.
Anglo American and South Africa’s Original Sin: Between Legacy, Liability and the Search for Closure
By Kirtan Bhana
27 November 2025
As the dust settles on the Johannesburg G20, a summit that laid bare the contradictions of a world in transition, South Africa finds itself grappling with a different kind of reckoning, one buried not in geopolitics but in the very rock on which the city is built. Johannesburg, the City of Gold, owes its existence to mining. Yet mining also represents South Africa’s most enduring wound. And at the centre of this paradox stands one company: Anglo American.
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