DEBATE: There were heated scenes as politicians debated the proposals (Pic: GETTY)
SOUTH Africa has set a date for when its much-criticised land expropriations can begin after a politician declared: “Your time is up, white people”.
The country’s National Assembly approved a proposal to change the constitution to make the so-called reforms legal in a vote of 183 to 77. Continue reading
(Photo Credit: Gary van der Merwe via Creative Commons 3.0)
President Cyril Ramaphosa insists his government’s confiscation of white farmer-owned land without compensation is “no land grab,” but rather a “moral, social, and economic imperative.” He added:
“By bringing more land into productive use, by giving more South Africans assets and opportunities, the country is creating conditions for greater, more inclusive, and more meaningful growth.”
Yet social media posts out of South Africa tell a completely different story. In one video clip, black protesters can be seen chanting:
“Let us kill the white man. The white man must die.” Continue reading
(ANTIMEDIA) — Last week, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced a grant of $160 million for “development projects” in the Maldives, a country located in the Indian ocean that is currently battling an economic and political crisis.
“As part of the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi Fund for Development and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has pledged $160 million in support of the Maldives and its brotherly people for the development projects including the airport development and fisheries sector of the Maldives,” a statement on the Maldives presidency website said on February 18. Continue reading
BEIJING (Reuters) – China outlined a strategy to boost its naval reach on Tuesday and held a groundbreaking ceremony for two lighthouses in disputed waters, developments likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing’s maritime ambitions.
In a policy document issued by the State Council, the Communist-ruled country’s cabinet, China vowed to increase its “open seas protection”, switching from air defense to both offense and defense, and criticized neighbors who take “provocative actions” on its reefs and islands.
China has been taking an increasingly assertive posture over recent years in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where it has engaged in extensive land reclamation in the Spratly archipelago. Continue reading
As with countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Israel is not even included on the maps — even within in-flight maps aboard middle eastern airliners.
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that China’s mapping authority, Sinomaps Press, issued a new map of the country showing 80% of the South China Sea as internal Chinese water. Continue reading
Global Geopolitics 