South Africa's lingering racial divide
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
U.S. announces Syria-Israel truce as new clashes rock Druze heartland
The United States said early Saturday that it had negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Syria's government as new clashes erupted in Syria's Druze heartland following violence that prompted massive Israeli strikes. At least 638 people have died since Sunday in violence between the Druze and Bedouins, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, drawing questions over the authority of Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Israel intervened Wednesday with major strikes in the heart of the capital Damascus, including hitting the army's headquarters. Tom Barrack, the U.S. pointman on Syria, said in the early hours of Saturday in the Middle East that al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed to a ceasefire" negotiated by the United States. Barrack, who is U.S. ambassador to Ankara, said the deal was backed by Turkey, a key supporter of al-Sharaa, as well as neighboring Jordan. "We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors," he wrote on X. The United States on Wednesday announced an earlier deal in which al-Sharaa pulled government forces out of Sweida, the southern hub of the Druze minority. Al-Sharaa said the mediation helped avert a "large-scale escalation" with Israel but his office accused Druze fighters of violating it. Al-Sharaa's office on Friday evening pledged to deploy fresh forces to the region to break up further clashes in the south, urging "all parties to exercise restraint and prioritize reason." Renewed fighting erupted Friday between Bedouin tribal factions and the Druze at the entrance to Sweida, a correspondent said. About 200 tribal fighters clashed with armed Druze men from the city using machine guns and shells, the correspondent said, while the Syrian Observatory also reported fighting and shelling on neighborhoods in Sweida. In the corridors of the Sweida National Hospital, a foul odor emanated from the swollen and disfigured bodies piled up in refrigerated storage units, a correspondent reported. A small number of doctors and nurses at the hospital worked to treat the wounded arriving from the ongoing clashes, some in the hallways. Omar Obeid, a doctor at the government hospital, said that the facility has received "more than 400 bodies" since Monday morning. "There is no more room in the morgue. The bodies are in the street" in front of the hospital, added Obeid, president of the Sweida branch of the Order of Physicians. The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration on Friday said that 79,339 people have been displaced since Sunday, including 20,019 on Thursday alone. Tribal reinforcements from across Syria gathered in villages around Sweida on Friday to reinforce local Bedouin, whose longstanding enmity towards the Druze erupted into violence last weekend. Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from the central city of Hama, said he and his men had made the journey to the village of Walgha, northwest of Sweida, because "the Bedouin called for our help and we came to support them." A correspondent saw burning homes and shops in the village, now under the control of the Bedouin and their allies. Israel, which has its own sizable Druze community, said Friday that it was sending support valued at nearly $600,000, including food and medical supplies, to Druze in Sweida. Israel has vowed to defend the Druze community, although some diplomats and analysts say its goal is to weaken the military in Syria, its historic adversary, seeing it at a weak point since al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamists toppled Bashar Assad, an Iranian ally, in December. Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of local news outlet Suwayda 24, said the humanitarian situation was "catastrophic." "We cannot find milk for children," he said. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for an end to the bloodshed and "independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations." The International Committee for the Red Cross warned that health facilities were overwhelmed, with power cuts impeding the preservation of bodies in overflowing morgues. "The humanitarian situation in Sweida is critical. People are running out of everything," said Stephan Sakalian, the head of ICRC's delegation in Syria. "Hospitals are increasingly struggling to treat the wounded and the sick, and families are unable to bury their loved ones in dignity," he said. The latest violence erupted Sunday after the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant by local Bedouin triggered tit-for-tat abductions, the Britain-based Observatory said.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
G20 communique delivers rare show of unity amid Trump trade war
Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs committed to international policy cooperation in a communique adopted Friday, finding rare consensus amid escalating tensions over the U.S. trade war. "The global economy is facing heightened uncertainty and complex challenges, including ongoing wars and conflicts, geopolitical and trade tension,' the communique said. "We emphasize the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks to the global economy.' The agreement, forged during the G20 summit in South Africa's eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, was reached despite simmering tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, which is set to intensify when higher tariffs take effect on Aug. 1. They have strained the G20's multilateral foundations and complicated South Africa's efforts — as this year's rotating president — to keep the group's agenda on course. "The fact that all members consented to language covering debt relief, climate finance, tax cooperation, and financial stability during such a period demonstrates the success of the approach that we have adopted,' said South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. It was the first G20 communique this year. Tariffs were not explicitly mentioned in the five-page document. But Godongwana played that down, noting it was a relatively recent issue "and in any case I feel that our discussion on the broad number issues affecting global growth have included the range of risk to economic growth, without singling out tariffs.' The G20 communique did note the importance of the World Trade Organization to advance trade issues, while adding that it recognized "the WTO has challenges and needs meaningful, necessary, and comprehensive reform to improve all its functions.' Officials also sided with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has excoriated for opposing him by not lowering interest rates, out of concern the levies could spur inflation. "Central banks are strongly committed to ensuring price stability, consistent with their respective mandates, and will continue to adjust their policies in a data-dependent manner,' the communique said. "Central bank independence is crucial to achieving this goal.' South African Reserve Bank Gov. Lesetja Kganyago told reporters at a closing news conference that the issue of independence "came out strongly in the conversation.' Powell did not attend this G20, with the Fed being represented by Vice Chair Philip Jefferson. The communique also included a prominent reference to "frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters which impact economic growth, financial and price stability.' Climate-change language has been a sticking point with the Trump administration in the past. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the event in favor of a trip to Japan, but Washington still sent a delegation to represent its interests. By imposing trade levies, scorning South Africa's G20 motto of "solidarity, equality and sustainability' and pulling billions of dollars in funding for climate finance and international aid, the U.S. is testing a world order that has dominated since the end of World War II. That makes achieving a communique all the more impressive, said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil prior to its adoption. "This is a major achievement for the G20 presidency, which has conducted these negotiations with prudence and skill,' he told reporters at the gathering, at a lush resort on the Indian Ocean near the port city of Durban. Issuing the communique sends "a strong signal in favor of multilateralism,' he said. Still, tariff uncertainty has dented global economic growth. The International Monetary Fund in April cut its projection for 2025 to 2.8% from a January forecast of 3.3% and IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, who attended the G20, said that while financial conditions have improved, vigilance was important. "While we will update our global forecast at the end of July, downside risks continue to dominate the outlook and uncertainty remains high,' she said in a statement as the gathering concluded.
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
G20 finance chiefs point to rising economic uncertainty
Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 nations have wrapped up two days of talks in South Africa. They point to rising tensions over trade, but stopped short of directly mentioning sweeping US tariffs. The meeting came after US President Donald Trump announced plans to hit a host of countries with higher levies. The G20 issued a communique on Friday. It says the global economy faces complex challenges that pose a risk to growth and stability. Unlike previous statements, it does not refer to resisting protectionism. Japanese Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu told reporters that the joint communique underscores the G20's commitment to addressing challenges together. Some economic observers say new US tariffs could sow confusion in global supply chains, raising the need for coordinated measures from the G20 and other international frameworks.
