Latest news with #Black-ownership
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
South Africa to offer Elon Musk Starlink deal before Donald Trump meet
South Africa 's government plans to offer Elon Musk a workaround of local Black-ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country, aiming to ease tensions with both the billionaire and US President Donald Trump . The offer will come at a last-minute meeting planned for Tuesday night between Musk or his representatives and a delegation of South African officials traveling with President Cyril Ramaphosa , according to three people familiar with the discussions. It's meant to defuse the onslaught of criticism by Musk and Trump — who've spread the conspiracy theory that there's a genocide against White people in Africa's most-industrialized nation — before Ramaphosa's visit to the White House on Wednesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they're not authorised to discuss the matter. The rand strengthened on the news, advancing as much as 0.7% against the dollar and trading 0.5% stronger at 18 per dollar by 3:21 p.m. in Johannesburg. 'News regarding the Starlink workaround regarding Black-ownership laws for Elon Musk to provide internet services in South Africa have boosted investor optimism regarding a favourable outcome resulting from the upcoming Ramaphosa-Trump meeting,' said Phoenix Kalen, head of emerging-market research at Societe Generale SA. The alternative to so-called Black economic-empowerment laws that in some cases require 30% Black ownership is not specific to Starlink and Musk, the people said. It would be applied to all information and communication technology companies, including those from China and the Middle East, the people said. A so-called equity-equivalent option would instead involve investments in infrastructure or training, or providing Starlink kits to rural areas in order to help improve Internet access. The auto industry in 2019 signed up for a similar workaround that involved the largest car manufacturers — including BMW AG, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. — setting up a fund to invest in bring disenfrachised groups into the sector. South Africa introduced BEE rules after the end of apartheid, during which Black people were subjugated and excluded from the formal economy by the ruling White minority. Today, White people earn on average five times what Black citizens do, according to official statistics, and own the vast majority of farmland despite making up 7% of the population. The new rules for ICT firms aren't about 'providing access to a single company, but rather part of a broader strategy to create an enabling environment for international investment and expand digital connectivity across South Africa,' the country's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies said in a response to a request for comment. They form part of the government's 'medium-term plans,' it said. Starlink Talks Stall Talks on launching Starlink in South Africa stalled earlier this year after Musk and Trump ramped up public rhetoric against policies such as BEE laws. Musk, who was born in Pretoria, claimed that he was not allowed to operate his satellite service in South Africa 'because I'm not Black' and accused the government of having 'openly racist ownership laws.' Trump has also granted refugee status to minorities in South Africa and criticised a law that gives the government the power to take land for a public purpose. The act is similar to US eminent-domain laws — though the legislation in South Africa allows for expropriation without compensation in certain cases such as land that's been abandoned and state-owned property not in use. For now, the government hasn't seized any land, though millions of people have taken occupation of private and state property — official data show that about 12% of households are situated in informal settlements. Trump twice last week repeated the false claim that White people are subject to a genocide in South Africa. A local court in February ruled that there was no evidence to support the claim, calling the idea 'clearly imagined and not real.' South Africa's talks with Musk over Starlink won't necessarily form part of a proposed larger trade deal with the US, though getting the entrepreneur on board may assist with more positive engagements between the two countries, said the people familiar with the discussions. Starlink's technology, which relies on a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, would be a potential game-changer for South African users who've historically faced expensive or unreliable internet options. Only 1.7% of rural households have access to the internet, according to a 2023 survey compiled by the local statistics agency. Also Read: Grok AI's 'white genocide' claims row: All you need to know
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Won't Participate in G-20 in South Africa, Rubio Says
(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested President Donald Trump wouldn't join a meeting of Group of 20 leaders in South Africa later this year, saying the country has been 'consistently unaligned' with US policy. America, 'Nation of Porches' Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? NJ Transit Train Engineers Strike, Disrupting Travel to NYC NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike 'We chose not to participate in this year's G-20, hosted by South Africa, either at the foreign ministers level or the presidents level,' Rubio said Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. 'They clearly, on the global stage and in multiple multinational organizations, have consistently been a vote against America's interests time and again.' The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said Monday that the US has been 'participating at all G-20 related activities.' He added there's been no formal communication about Trump's participation and that the invitation to attend remains open. 'It's still a long time between now and November, and a lot can still happen,' he said. Trump was non-committal when asked about the G-20 last week. 'South Africa's out of control and it's been out of control for a long time,' Trump said May 16 at the White House. Asked if he planned to attend the meeting, he said: 'I'm not sure, I'm really not sure.' Rubio, who skipped the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in February, also cited South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel, a top American ally, of committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. South Africa's position on Israel is 'not just off balance, but completely geared towards one side. And it makes one wonder about these allegations that are out there now of foreign influence, including with Iran.' Trump will host Ramaphosa at the White House Wednesday, as Pretoria seeks to 'reset' relations, which have also been frayed by racially charged accusations about persecution of white Afrikaner farmers. The White House has offered refugee status to members of the South African minority group that Trump claims face 'unjust discrimination' under Black-ownership and employment-equity laws. Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, South Africa's government plans to offer Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally, a workaround of local Black-ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country. Ramaphosa, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, also struck an upbeat tone about the meeting and highlighted investments between the countries. South Africa is facing a 'reciprocal tariff' from the US of 30%, which had been suspended for 90 days as it seeks to hammer out some kind of trade framework. 'With unemployment soaring past 30% and the economy's growth rate averaging less than 1% over the last decade, economic issues trump the political ones for Ramaphosa as he spends the week in the US capital,' analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note Tuesday. The Afrikaner issue, they wrote, is 'way down the priority list.' When announcing his plans earlier this year to skip the foreign ministers' meeting, Rubio also said Pretoria was using the G-20 to promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies and focus on climate change, two issues the Trump administration has aggressively sought to exclude from US policies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also skipped the first finance ministers' meeting in Cape Town in February, but attended the second session held in Washington on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings last month. The Washington Post last week reported that the National Security Council had ordered US agencies and departments to suspend work with the G-20, citing sources it didn't identify. --With assistance from Kate Sullivan. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump to skip G-20 summit in South Africa: Secretary of State Rubio
Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested President Donald Trump wouldn't join a meeting of Group of 20 leaders in South Africa later this year, saying the country has been 'consistently unaligned' with US policy. 'We chose not to participate in this year's G-20, hosted by South Africa, either at the foreign ministers level or the presidents level,' Rubio said Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. 'They clearly, on the global stage and in multiple multinational organizations, have consistently been a vote against America's interests time and again.' The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said Monday that the US has been 'participating at all G-20 related activities.' He added there's been no formal communication about Trump's participation and that the invitation to attend remains open. 'It's still a long time between now and November, and a lot can still happen,' he said. Trump was non-committal when asked about the G-20 last week. 'South Africa's out of control and it's been out of control for a long time,' Trump said May 16 at the White House. Asked if he planned to attend the meeting, he said: 'I'm not sure, I'm really not sure.' Rubio, who skipped the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in February, also cited South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel, a top American ally, of committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. South Africa's position on Israel is 'not just off balance, but completely geared towards one side. And it makes one wonder about these allegations that are out there now of foreign influence, including with Iran.' Trump will host Ramaphosa at the White House Wednesday, as Pretoria seeks to 'reset' relations, which have also been frayed by racially charged accusations about persecution of white Afrikaner farmers. The White House has offered refugee status to members of the South African minority group that Trump claims face 'unjust discrimination' under Black-ownership and employment-equity laws. Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, South Africa's government plans to offer Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally, a workaround of local Black-ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country. Ramaphosa, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, also struck an upbeat tone about the meeting and highlighted investments between the countries. South Africa is facing a 'reciprocal tariff' from the US of 30%, which had been suspended for 90 days as it seeks to hammer out some kind of trade framework. 'With unemployment soaring past 30% and the economy's growth rate averaging less than 1% over the last decade, economic issues trump the political ones for Ramaphosa as he spends the week in the US capital,' analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note Tuesday. The Afrikaner issue, they wrote, is 'way down the priority list.' When announcing his plans earlier this year to skip the foreign ministers' meeting, Rubio also said Pretoria was using the G-20 to promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies and focus on climate change, two issues the Trump administration has aggressively sought to exclude from US policies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also skipped the first finance ministers' meeting in Cape Town in February, but attended the second session held in Washington on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings last month. The Washington Post last week reported that the National Security Council had ordered US agencies and departments to suspend work with the G-20, citing sources it didn't identify.
Economic Times
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Economic Times
South Africa to offer Elon Musk Starlink deal before Donald Trump meet
South Africa's government plans to offer Elon Musk a workaround of local Black-ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country, aiming to ease tensions with both the billionaire and US President Donald Trump. The offer will come at a last-minute meeting planned for Tuesday night between Musk or his representatives and a delegation of South African officials traveling with President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to three people familiar with the discussions. It's meant to defuse the onslaught of criticism by Musk and Trump — who've spread the conspiracy theory that there's a genocide against White people in Africa's most-industrialized nation — before Ramaphosa's visit to the White House on Wednesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they're not authorised to discuss the rand strengthened on the news, advancing as much as 0.7% against the dollar and trading 0.5% stronger at 18 per dollar by 3:21 p.m. in Johannesburg.'News regarding the Starlink workaround regarding Black-ownership laws for Elon Musk to provide internet services in South Africa have boosted investor optimism regarding a favourable outcome resulting from the upcoming Ramaphosa-Trump meeting,' said Phoenix Kalen, head of emerging-market research at Societe Generale SA. The alternative to so-called Black economic-empowerment laws that in some cases require 30% Black ownership is not specific to Starlink and Musk, the people said. It would be applied to all information and communication technology companies, including those from China and the Middle East, the people said. A so-called equity-equivalent option would instead involve investments in infrastructure or training, or providing Starlink kits to rural areas in order to help improve Internet access. The auto industry in 2019 signed up for a similar workaround that involved the largest car manufacturers — including BMW AG, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. — setting up a fund to invest in bring disenfrachised groups into the Africa introduced BEE rules after the end of apartheid, during which Black people were subjugated and excluded from the formal economy by the ruling White minority. Today, White people earn on average five times what Black citizens do, according to official statistics, and own the vast majority of farmland despite making up 7% of the new rules for ICT firms aren't about 'providing access to a single company, but rather part of a broader strategy to create an enabling environment for international investment and expand digital connectivity across South Africa,' the country's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies said in a response to a request for comment. They form part of the government's 'medium-term plans,' it said. Starlink Talks Stall Talks on launching Starlink in South Africa stalled earlier this year after Musk and Trump ramped up public rhetoric against policies such as BEE laws. Musk, who was born in Pretoria, claimed that he was not allowed to operate his satellite service in South Africa 'because I'm not Black' and accused the government of having 'openly racist ownership laws.'Trump has also granted refugee status to minorities in South Africa and criticised a law that gives the government the power to take land for a public purpose. The act is similar to US eminent-domain laws — though the legislation in South Africa allows for expropriation without compensation in certain cases such as land that's been abandoned and state-owned property not in now, the government hasn't seized any land, though millions of people have taken occupation of private and state property — official data show that about 12% of households are situated in informal twice last week repeated the false claim that White people are subject to a genocide in South Africa. A local court in February ruled that there was no evidence to support the claim, calling the idea 'clearly imagined and not real.' South Africa's talks with Musk over Starlink won't necessarily form part of a proposed larger trade deal with the US, though getting the entrepreneur on board may assist with more positive engagements between the two countries, said the people familiar with the discussions. Starlink's technology, which relies on a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, would be a potential game-changer for South African users who've historically faced expensive or unreliable internet options. Only 1.7% of rural households have access to the internet, according to a 2023 survey compiled by the local statistics agency. Also Read: Grok AI's 'white genocide' claims row: All you need to know
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
South Africa to offer Elon Musk Starlink deal before Donald Trump meet
Synopsis South Africa is reportedly offering Elon Musk's Starlink a workaround to Black-ownership laws to ease tensions before President Ramaphosa's visit to the White House. This alternative, applicable to all ICT companies, involves investments in infrastructure or training instead of mandatory Black equity.
