1 August 2025

 

1.    Sudan – Khartoum- Afrika Union 

African Union rejects RSF’s rival government in Sudan amid escalating conflict

Just days after Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced the formation of a 15-member governing council, the African Union is pushing back. The bloc is urging member states and the international community not to recognize the rival government, warning that the RSF’s move could further fragment Sudan and derail fragile peace efforts.

 

2.    Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Ethiopia launches drive to plant 700 million trees in one day

Ethiopia embarked on an unprecedented environmental endeavor Thursday as millions of citizens participated in a nationwide effort to plant 700 million trees in a single day. This ambitious initiative forms part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Green Legacy program, which aims to plant 50 billion trees across the drought-prone nation by 2026.

 

3.    Zimbabwe – Madagascar- SADC 45TH Summit 

What has Mnangagwa achieved as SADC chair? President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who assumed the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on August 17, 2024, during the 44th SADC Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, is set to hand over the role to President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar in August 2025.

 

4.    As part of Woman Month in South Afrika – we will look at  our beautiful transformers and  trailblazers in Afrika 

Who is transforming Africa? The women who refuse to wait their turn.

Africa has always had brilliance, courage, or vision. It has always had women who are not waiting for history to remember them, but shaping it in real time. 

 

5.    In our historical archives, it was on this day 1 August 1954 when the Apartheid unjust law  known as the Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954 was passed.

 

The Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954 empowered the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg. Subsequently, less than a year after the Act was passed Sophiatown residents were forcefully removed to Meadowlands in Soweto.

 

 

Guest: Prof. Bonke Dumisa: Independent Economic Analyst

 

 

Guest: Dereleen James: ActionSA Member of Parliament 

 

 

Guest: Hennie Britz: Co-Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests 

 

 

Guest: Bophelo Seleke: Independent Legal Analyst 

 

 

Guest: Eric Shunmagum: Eskom, Engineering General Manager in the office of the Group Executive Generation

 

 

Guest: Mr Sello Makhubela: The Joburg Market Acting Chief Executive Officer

 

 

Guest: Dr Aaron Motsoaledi: Health Minister 

 

 

Guest: Denise van Huyssteen: CEO, Nelson Mandela Bay  Business Chamber 

 

 

31 July 2025

 

1.    DR Congo- Kinshasha

Joseph Kabila faces treason charges as military trial continues in Kinshasa today.

Joseph Kabila, who did not attend the hearing last week, is facing multiple charges, including treason, murder, rape, torture, participation in an insurrectionist movement, and the occupation of the rebel-held city of  Goma.

 

2.    Angola – Luanda 

Angola fuel social unrest by taxi chauffeurs/pilots turn deadly as fatalities rise to 22

A presidential statement confirmed 22 fatalities, 197 injuries, and 1,214 arrests, along with damage to 66 shops, 25 vehicles, and the looting of multiple supermarkets and warehouses.

 

1. USA- Benin

US Grammy winner Ciara becomes citizen of Benin under new slavery descendants’ law

US singer Ciara has become one of the first public figures to be granted citizenship of Benin, under a new law offering nationality to the descendants of slaves.

 

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day 31 July 1981, when Federation of South African Women (FSAW or FEDSAW) President and the first person to be banned under the 1976 Internal Security Act, Fatima Meer, was banned again for the second time for a further five years.

Her first ban emanated from trying to organise a rally with Steve Biko.