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Commonwealth

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COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth's greatest prize lies beyond the games

While the Commonwealth Games capture global attention, the true long-term prize for its 56 nations lies in harnessing its economic network to boost trade, investment, and…

  • Gaston Browne
4 min read
The fallen: The Cenotaph and two statues in Cape Town are in remembrance of both World Wars, showing the Western Front, the East African Campaign and the Battle of Delville Woods. Photo: Jaco Marais/Getty Images
1ST SOUTH AFRICAN INFANTRY BRIGADE

Poppy Day: When did we forget to remember?

The act of remembrance is the recognition of the futility of war and mourning the loss of men and women whose future ended too soon

  • Shaun Read
12 min read
King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort during the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace ahead of the coronation of the King Charles III and the Queen Consort at Buckingham Palace, on May 3, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
BRITISH ROYALS

To carry the ivory spectre or not? Queen Camilla’s predicament

Animal rights activists and conservationists disagree over the significance of including the historical symbol during King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday

  • Emmanuel Koro
5 min read
Pakistani people move to a safer place for a flooded water due to the flood situation in Tando Jam city of Sindh. (Photo by Jan Ali Laghari/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
AFRICA

Pakistan floods show we must shift the global financing system in the age of climate change

More nuanced and constructive ways of measuring the vulnerabilities of nation states to climate crises are required

  • Patricia Scotland
4 min read
Well-wishers turn on their phone torches as they gather at a band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of alleged murder victim Sarah Everard was cancelled after police outlawed it due to Covid-19 restrictions, on Clapham Common, south London on March 13, 2021, – The police officer charged with murdering young Londoner, Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home from a friend’s house, appeared in court on March 13, 2021, as organisers cancelled a vigil in her honour due to coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
COMMONWEALTH

End violence against women and save $1.5-trillion a year

High economic cost of gender-based violence should further motivate governments to take action

  • Patricia Scotland
5 min read
A person holds their phone with a screensaver of Queen Elizabeth II who died this afternoon on September 8, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and acceded the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is survived by her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Andrew, Duke Of York and Edward, Duke of Wessex. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
COMMONWEALTH

Should South Africans really care that the Queen of England is dead?

With the passing of Elizabeth II, the monarchy is set to lose credibility, visibility and popular appeal, according to recent polls

  • Drew Forrest
7 min read
(Gemma Ritchie/M&G)
COMMONWEALTH

But when will we see the money?

Risk-versus-reward uncertainty hamstrings any Ramaphoric investment rush

  • Richard Calland
9 min read
High hopes: People use boards to make a portrait of President Emmerson Mnangagwa at Independence Day celebrations. Zanu-PF’s manifesto
COMMONWEALTH

What should we expect from the Zimbabwean elections?

A new dispensation does not necessarily equate to a free, fair and credible vote

  • Joe Devanny
8 min read
Zimbabwe’s newly elected President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. (AFP)
COMMONWEALTH

EU to observe Zimbabwe polls for first time in 16 years

The elections will be the first since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was removed from power last November following a brief military take over

  • Agency
2 min read
Mnangagwa had vowed the elections would be free and fair and turn the page on Mugabe’s often repressive 37-year rule. (Aaron Ufumeli/EPA)
COMMONWEALTH

Zimbabwe’s bid to rejoin Commonwealth

​On Monday, the Commonwealth announced that Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the group after quitting the organisation 15 years ago

  • Arielle Schwartz
1 min read
The lack of blood in the streets does not mean the vote reflects the will of the Zimbabwean citizenry. (Reuters)
COMMONWEALTH

Can SADC safeguard Zimbabwe’s election?

Assessing whether or not the country’s ongoing election preparations comply with the SADC guidelines is not an easy task

  • Gwinyayi A Dzinesa
9 min read
Mnangagwa had vowed the elections would be free and fair and turn the page on Mugabe’s often repressive 37-year rule. (Aaron Ufumeli/EPA)
COMMONWEALTH

Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe inches forward – but where is it headed?

Zimbabwe has high hopes for a post-Mugabe era, but it has some serious growing pains to deal with first

  • Stephen Chan
4 min read
In her resignation letter
AMBER RUDD

UK interior minister Amber Rudd resigns in blow to Prime Minister May

​Britain’s interior minister Amber Rudd resigned Sunday, admitting she "inadvertently misled" lawmakers about deportation targets

  • Staff Reporter
4 min read
CHRIS NICHOLSON 1

Tribute: A brave, ‘activist’  judge

In numerous civil and criminal cases, Ramon Leon gave exemplary judgments and was noted for his wisdom, fairness and justice

  • Chris Nicholson 1
6 min read
The declaration on a framework for future relations, meanwhile, sets out how the UK and EU will work together after Brexit on areas as trade and security. (Reuters)
BRITISH PARLIAMENT

Windrushers gain justice from British Parliament

​Britons born in Commonwealth countries without proper documentation have been granted some relief on the status of their citizenship

  • Arielle Schwartz
2 min read