One might assume that the new president of the United States has a pretty full in-tray. So at first glance, it was a bit of a surprise to hear Donald Trump lash out at South Africa, threatening to cut aid over its 2023 Employment Equity Act. There's obvious suspicion over who did the whispering in Trump's ear. South African-born Elon Musk has been locking horns with the ANC-led government of Cyril Ramaphosa over its refusal to sign onto SpaceX founder's Starlink broadband via satellite system. Musk calls post-Apartheid laws on Black empowerment "openly racist". Who wins this showdown? More broadly, are tech titans now dictating US foreign policy? How much power do they wield? And as the developing world goes online, who controls the personal information of citizens who log on?

Watch more'US driving South Africa and other Global South, non-aligned countries into the arms of China'

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.