JOHANNESBURG, Oct 4 (Reuters) – The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan
spiritual leader, canceled a trip to South Africa planned for
this week that had put Pretoria in a bind between its biggest
trading partner China and one of its modern heroes, Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.

The Dalai Lama’s office said on Tuesday he cancelled the
trip for him to attend Archbishop Tutu’s 80th birthday
celebration this week because South Africa — which has had his
application paperwork for weeks — had not issued him a visa on
time.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rulers have never entirely trusted capitalists and markets, which explains their fixation with China’s economic model.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe finished a trip to China on Friday by praising how it had mobilized state-owned-enterprises (SOEs) to construct a global power. Pretoria should learn from Beijing’s example, he added.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s deputy president left for China on Monday on a trip that Beijing may use to influence Pretoria to reject a visa application by the Dalai Lama.

South Africa has not made a decision yet to allow a visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, the Foreign Ministry said. The Dalai Lama was invited by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, another Peace Prize recipient, to attend his 80th birthday celebration in early October.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – With tears in his eyes, Zambia’s Rupiah Banda achieved a rare thing in African politics by conceding defeat graciously and with his gaze firmly on the future, not the past.

In his concession speech, Banda may have been delivering a message to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where entrenched leaders have suppressed democracy or used deadly force to crush protests.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma’s decision to appoint a panel to investigate a decade-old arms deal mired in corruption could mark a turning point in a bruising political battle in his ruling African National Congress.

The knives have been coming out for Zuma ahead of an ANC meeting next year when the party elects its leaders, with foes who are trying to oust him looking to expose as many embarrassing secrets as possible to tarnish him and his allies.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) – South African President
Jacob Zuma will appoint a commission to investigate a
multi-billion dollar arms deal, his office said on Thursday, in
a new probe into corruption allegations against several
companies and top officials including Zuma himself.

The 30 billion rand ($4 billion) deal to buy European
military equipment from about a decade ago has clouded South
Africa’s politics for years. It has led to a few convictions of
officials who took bribes to help land contracts but critics
said probes did not go far enough, letting several others off
the hook.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – One of the most powerful weapons in a South African politician’s arsenal may be silenced after a court ruled this week that songs once used to rally support against apartheid could be considered hate speech in the country’s new democracy.

Any politician from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) worth his salt knows how to whip up a crowd with an anti-apartheid struggle song, especially President Jacob Zuma whose favourite is a call to arms titled “Bring me my Machine Gun.”

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A well-preserved set of 2-million-year-old fossils shows a part-human, part-ape species had hands similar to man, sophisticated ankles that helped in movement and a surprisingly tiny but advanced brain, a report released Thursday said.

The fossils, discovered in a sunken cave north of Johannesburg, may change views of the origins of humans. They show a combination of anatomical features never seen before, demonstrating close links to the species and humans.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling ANC on Friday rejected a request from its Youth League leader Julius Malema to drop disciplinary charges against him, allowing a hearing to proceed that could derail the career of the populist firebrand.

Malema, who has galvanised the country’s poor black majority with his calls for a state takeover of mines and white-owned farms, has been accused of sowing dissent in the party and bringing it into disrepute.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 2 (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling ANC
on Friday denied a bid by its Youth League leader Julius Malema
to have disciplinary charges against him dropped, allowing a
hearing to proceed that could derail the career of the populist
firebrand.

The hearing is seen as a showdown between President Jacob
Zuma and Malema, who has galvanised the support of the country’s
poor black majority with his calls for a state takeover of
mines, white-owned farms and the redistribution of wealth.