European Union leaders announced a 4.7 billion euro ($5.10 billion) investment package during a visit to South Africa on Thursday, at a time when both are on worse terms with the United States than they have been for decades.
The European leaders said the visit was an opportunity to strengthen close ties with Africa's most advanced economy, coinciding with the latter's presidency of the Group of 20 nations, which U.S. officials have so far largely snubbed.
U.S. President Donald Trump has stunned European leaders with his pivot towards Russia in the Ukraine war, upending U.S. policy since Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. His staunchly pro-Israel stance has brought him into conflict with South Africa over its genocide case against Israel at the World Court.
The U.S. administration has also interposed itself in Europe and South Africa's domestic politics, criticising Europe for attempting to isolate the far right and ignoring voters' concerns about immigrants, while cutting aid to South Africa over its efforts to address historic racial land injustice.
The EU trip was an opportunity to ameliorate ties, which soured when South Africa refused to outright condemn Russia's Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said South Africa had a vital role on the world stage as a leading voice of the Global South.
"In a moment of increased confrontation and competition, we must strengthen our partnership further," she said.
She said at talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town that Europe wanted to help the South African economy grow.
"Europe understands your potential," she said, sitting alongside European Council President Antonio Costa. She cited clean hydrogen, where South Africa could make use of abundant raw materials and vast renewable energy potential.
Ramaphosa said South Africa wanted Europe's support to transition to a low carbon economy and grow industry, and that it valued European support for multilateralism at a time of rising nationalism.
"African relations with the European Union should be built on a mutually beneficial partnership," he said.
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South African Trade Minister Parks Tau has met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for talks, Tau's office said on Friday, as Africa's biggest economy tries to reach a deal to roll back steep U.S. tariffs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on nations in the global south to “send relevant signals” and push Russia towards peace.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral trade, with both leaders agreeing that their respective negotiating teams would continue more detailed talks, Ramaphosa’s office announced on Thursday.
Despite tensions over U.S. tariffs and key absences, G20 finance chiefs voiced cautious optimism for a unified stance on trade and global challenges at their meeting in South Africa.
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At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
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The Department of War says that on 27 October, 2025, three U.S. strikes in the eastern Pacific killed 14 alleged narco-terrorists aboard four vessels, with one survivor rescued by Mexican authorities.
A light aircraft carrying foreign tourists from Hungary and Germany crashed in Kenya on Tuesday morning, killing all 11 people on board.
Ukraine is ready for peace talks but will not withdraw its troops from additional territory first as Moscow has demanded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has extended multiple invitations to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his visit to South Korea this week, with Seoul officials publicly supporting the idea.
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