Sana Khan

"We view this agreement as one more step in our efforts to enhance cooperation across a range of key strategic sectors to enable further development that is underpinned by a strong relationship between our two countries," CBD Vice Chairman and President, Tan Jiong.

"Today's global governance structures reflect yesterday's world. They were largely created in the aftermath of World War II when many African countries were still ruled by colonial powers and were not even at the table," Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres said.

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will join the BRICS economic bloc in January 2024.

"We hope that this evening you will experience South Africa's story, one that interweaves our many different cultures, traditions, and languages as the foundation of an inclusive nation," President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

"Energy cooperation with China is a recent development that we look to deepen, particularly in line with our respective commitments to low-carbon, climate-resilient development," President Ramaphosa said.

"There is volatility in the financial, energy, and other markets, and that state and private debts are rising," President Vladimir Putin noted while offering free grain to Africa.

The conference was attended by over 500 women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across 18 countries including Saudi Arabia, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and more.

BRICS played an important role on a global level due to its market potential, economic power, development cooperation, and political influence, the South African president said.

"While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date," the Health Department said.

"From Pakistan to Hawaii, we have seen too many lives and livelihoods devasted. Yet, Africa has been facing extreme climate conditions with greater impacts for longer than most," COP28 President-Designate, Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber said.

"As a BRICS nation, we must continue to support and invest in the township economy. By doing so we can rewrite the narrative of our township and create a brighter and more inclusive future for all," Minister Maropene Ramokgopa said.

The event will be held under the "Human and financial capital: The key drivers for sustainable industrialization of the SADC Region" theme.

"There is no doubt that many sectors will be positively impacted from the accommodation, transportation, food, security, logistics, and hospitality establishments, with the majority of them already fully booked," the Gauteng Tourism Authority said.

"Johannesburg will be expected – if there is load shedding on the day – to make its contribution to ensuring we protect the grid," Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said.

"This is a result of a sting operation that was put together after observing certain trends that were suspicious and did not make sense," Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.

President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi is also expecting to visit South Africa to meet his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss Iran's interest in joining BRICS and how both countries can collaborate further.

"It is with great disappointment that we must announce that the talks between the government and the Santaco leadership, which took place in an attempt to resolve the cause for the taxi stay away, was suspended," Santaco's leadership said.

"Twenty of these actions are on track so essentially what that means is that we are in keeping with the timelines that we had set for ourselves. Twelve of these actions are delayed but progressing well," Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said.

"New Zealand's ties with South Africa range from trade and tourism, agriculture, disarmament, fisheries, environment, indigenous and human rights issues as well as sports," DIRCO wrote.

"Reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Look forward to participating in the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg later this month," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Indian Prime Minister is unlikely to attend the summit in person and might participate virtually, according to a Reuters report. However, no official statement has been issued yet. India might be opting out to attend in person due to increasing tension between India and China over territorial disputes.

City of Johannesburg City Manager, Floyd Brink shared that the officials flew their drones into those tunnels to check if there were any signs of "black scorch from a fire" but there were no such marks found. Furthermore, he turned down the speculations behind the blast including illegal mining underground or gas leakage.

"The Mmamabula-Lephalale rail link will be operated as one seamless service with no stopovers at the SA-Botswana border. On completion, the rail link is expected to deliver significant socioeconomic benefits such as a shift from road to rail," as per the notice.

"The average international product prices of petrol, diesel, and Illuminating paraffin followed the increasing trend of crude oil prices during the period under review. These led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel, and illuminating paraffin by 63.59 c/l, 99.09. c/l and 98.71c/l, respectively," DMRE said.

"They are openly pushing for the genocide of white people in South Africa. Why do you say nothing?" Elon Musk questioned South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Out of 25 ongoing projects located in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape, 22 projects will be providing 24 gigawatts by 2033.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency signed a technical cooperation agreement, which will be implemented through a training program called Quality and Productivity Improvement (QPI).

"We've also added a much stronger focus on matters of trade. All of these will be part of the subjects that we will discuss during this second summit," Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor said.

"If we extend Agoa largely in its current form, we can incrementally improve the terms over the next few years. Many African countries are keen on an early extension because it gives investors certainty to commit additional investment on the continent," Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said.