In a Johannesburg concert venue that usually hosts pop stars, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had the crowd on their feet. Modi is in South Africa as part of a tour of southern and east Africa aimed at strengthening diplomatic and economic ties. [...] This human connection is the foundation in Modi’s plans to create a stronger presence in Africa, as the country tries to match China. India’s trade with Africa has grown from $1 billion in 1995, to $35 billion in 2008, rising to roughly $70 billion last year.

South Africa was one of the high-priority visits for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not just because of the shared partnership on multilateral fora but also because of historic ties that connect the two nations. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in the last 10 years. [...] The Indian media, along with a sections of the American press has billed this visit as another effort by New Delhi to counterbalance Beijing’s influence in the continent. 

Cuban ambassador Carlos Fernández de Cossío has for the first time attended the 4th of July celebrations by the United States embassy in Pretoria. De Cossio even had a private meeting with US ambassador Patrick Gaspard on the sidelines of the celebrations at his official home on Thursday. The Miami theme included the serving of Cuban food and a performance by an Afro-Cuban band.

"The central aim of the forum will be to implement the agreements reached at the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg and further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa on media related matters," said Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting Director General, Donald Liphoko, on his arrival in Beijing, on Monday.

International Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union. It honours those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day in South Africa where thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976, in a march more than half a mile long, to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. 

There have been complaints by Nigerians on how they are treated when seeking visas.' In this regard, he made two important points. First is that the South African President 'has indicated that Nigeria and South Africa need to intervene by making it easier for our nationals to have visas to our two countries [...] that both countries 'have totally moved from political diplomacy to economic diplomacy and to promote this economic diplomacy, there is need for smooth movement of people between our two countries.'

The President of PRCAN, John Ehiguese, who led his team to receive a delegation from Brand South Africa in Lagos, said there were learnings that Nigeria could draw from the strategies deployed by Brand South Africa in its own destination branding programme [...] there were salient opportunities for Nigeria to consider arising from the successful nation branding of South Africa.

Since democratic elections officially signaled the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has taken pride in describing itself as a ‘Rainbow Nation,’ filled with people of diverse races, cultures, and sexualities [...] Digital artist Tiger Maramela wanted to try and contribute to this activism through art, producing a colorful, striking collage series that examines the South African narrative of post-apartheid unity.