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20 March 2026 Issue 346 - Making the World Normal Again
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| From expensive poverty to moderate prosperity, China making the world normal again |
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The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on 5 March (Xinhua)
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By Kirtan Bhana
At a moment when the global system appears increasingly unsettled defined by geopolitical rivalry, economic volatility and fractured multilateralism the recently concluded “Two Sessions” in Beijing offered something that has become surprisingly rare in global politics: policy continuity, long-term planning and institutional stability.
The annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are more than routine political gatherings. They represent a governance mechanism through which domestic priorities are calibrated with international realities. In an era of uncertainty, the proceedings in Beijing underpinned a central proposition that stable domestic governance is the foundation of responsible international leadership.
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| Courtney House International celebrates Cambridge top achievers 2025 |
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Rooted in excellence, Ready for the world
A Pretoria school rooted in three decades of academic tradition delivers another exceptional year of Cambridge results, reaffirming its place among South Africa's premier international education institutions.
At the heart of Courtney House International is a symbol: The oak leaf and acorn. Not a crest forged in tradition for tradition's sake, but small, quietly powerful, and carrying within it the blueprint of something far greater. It is a fitting emblem for a school that, since opening its doors in 1995 with a small group of children in Reception Year, has grown into one of Pretoria's most distinguished Cambridge International pathway institutions.
The 2025 Cambridge IGCSE, AS- and A-Level results, announced earlier this year, are the latest proof of that growth – not just in numbers, but in what those numbers represent: young people, many from the world's diplomatic community, stepping confidently onto the global stage.
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| Brazil - South Africa a Strategic South Atlantic Axis |
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In an era defined by shifting geopolitical centres of gravity, the relationship between South Africa and Brazil stands out as one of the most historically resonant and strategically underutilised partnerships of the Global South. Situated on opposite shores of the South Atlantic, these two nations represent not merely regional powers but civilisational bridges linking Africa and Latin America. The recent State Visit by Cyril Ramaphosa to Brazil and his bilateral discussions with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília signal a renewed commitment to elevate this partnership into a deeper, comprehensive strategic relationship capable of reshaping South–South cooperation.
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| From Symbolism to Sanction: Will Redefining Apartheid Deliver Justice? |
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Maria del Rosario Mina Rojas, Ambassador of Colombia to South Africa delivering introductory remarks (photo: TDS)
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By Kirtan Bhana
The life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela stands as a searing indictment of a system that weaponised law to enforce injustice. While Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was unjustly imprisoned on Robben Island, as a mother (MADRE), a woman, wife and daughter she endured harassment, banishment, surveillance and vilification at the hands of an apartheid regime that clothed racial supremacy in legal formality.
Apartheid did not collapse because its wording was amended. It fell because sustained resistance, global solidarity, sanctions and moral clarity converged to make enforcement of injustice unsustainable.
As negotiations continue on the draft Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) Treaty, diplomats and legal scholars recently gathered in Pretoria under the auspices of Maria del Rosario Mina Rojas, Colombia’s Ambassador to South Africa, to reflect on whether modernising the legal definition of apartheid can adequately address contemporary realities of systemic oppression.
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| Tunisia's Olive Oil Diplomacy |
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At a private and carefully curated olive oil tasting hosted at the Tunisian Embassy in Pretoria, Ambassador Karima Bardaoui and her team offered guests not only a culinary experience, but an invitation to understand Tunisia, a country in the far north of Africa, washed by the ancient waters of the Mediterranean, whose history and agriculture stretch back millennia.
Tunisia today stands as the world’s fourth-largest producer of olive oil. Yet statistics alone cannot convey the depth of its olive culture.
Olive trees planted more than 2,000 years ago still bear fruit across Tunisian landscapes. Families have inherited plantations and artisanal processes over generations, preserving cultivation methods that blend ancestral knowledge with modern standards. Olive oil is not merely an export commodity; it is, as Ambassador Bardaoui described, something that “runs in the veins” of the nation — Tunisia’s ‘Green Gold.’
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| SADC - officials confront trade, food, security and infrastructure gaps at Pretoria meeting |
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Senior Officials from the SADC Member States, the SADC Executive Secretary and SADC Deputy Executive Secretaries in a family photo during the Standing Committee of Senior Officials (photo: SADC)
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Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo has urged senior officials from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to confront “uncomfortable realities” around trade, food security and infrastructure, as they work to accelerate regional integration and economic development.
Opening the meeting of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials in Pretoria today, Seokolo said the region must move faster to translate policy commitments into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
The meeting is being held under the theme: ‘Advancing Industrialisation, Agricultural Transformation and Energy Transition for a Resilient SADC’.
Seokolo -- who is the Deputy Director-General: Africa Branch at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and Chairperson of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials -- said the meeting comes at a time when the global environment remains “dynamic, uncertain and dangerous”, characterised by geopolitical tensions, economic volatility, climate-related shocks and disruptions to global supply chains.
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| President Ramaphosa honours Rev. Jesse Jackson |
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid a deeply emotional tribute to civil rights leader, Reverend Dr. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr, describing him as a man whose voice carried hope across continents, and whose unwavering solidarity helped sustain South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.
The President was speaking at Rev. Jackson’s homegoing celebration (funeral) on Saturday, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America. Rev. Jackson passed away on 17 February 2026 at the age of 84.
President Ramaphosa said South Africa was not only joining the world in mourning the global figure, but was also “claiming him as one of their own”.
“The people of South Africa are with you today as you lay to rest a great man and celebrate a remarkable life that altered the moral direction of a nation and inspired the conscience of the world.
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| Angela Yeung climbs so that others may rise with her |
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Angela Yeung’s story does not begin on a mountain.
It begins with absence.
At just three years old, her mother left her under difficult circumstances, a wound that would shape her early life and quietly inform her lifelong search for belonging, identity and healing. For many, such a beginning becomes a shadow. For Angela, it became fuel.
Years later, she would embark on another kind of expedition, not across glaciers and crevasses, but across memory and history, searching for the mother she had lost. That deeply personal journey helped her confront pain not with bitterness, but with resolve.
Today, Angela Yeung stands at the intersection of enterprise, diplomacy and advocacy, an accomplished mountaineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose life bridges continents and communities.
Climbing With Purpose
Angela made history in 2023 as the first South African woman to reach the true summit of Mount Manaslu (8,163m) the world’s eighth highest. In 2025, she summited Mount Everest from the treacherous North Side, one of the most technically dangerous routes in the world, after a gruelling 50-day expedition.
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