National Security News

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National Security News

Africa

Africa Must Prepare for Potential Economic Shock Amid Escalating Israel-Iran Conflict

The escalating geopolitical tension between Israel and Iran could potentially trigger a ripple effect, impacting African nations that are bracing for another significant economic shock through contagion. This perspective is derived from an article in ISS Today, which we are…

Jacob Zuma’s MK is not a South African democratic political party, it is a Russian “hybrid warfare” platform

OP-ED by Andre Pienaar, Co-founder of the Directorate of Special Operations (the Scorpions). Up to a million Russian controlled social media accounts are active daily in supporting the election campaign of Jacob Zuma’s MK party, the new service Bloomberg has…

Shadow Defence Minister Kobus Marais Advocates for South Africa’s Continued Presence in Mozambique to Combat Cabo Del Gado Insurgents

In June 2024, the forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), including South Africa, are set to withdraw from Mozambique. This country has been under the terror of Islamic insurgents, particularly in the northern Cabo Delgado province. The withdrawal…

“Nobody said two” – NSN Stands By Report on SANDF Soldiers in DRC

NSN notes the SANDF press statement of 3 April in response to NSN’s 2 April reporting on SANDF personnel being held in M23’s custody in the DRC. NSN is an independent publication that fact checks its reporting rigorously. NSN’s reporting…

South African soldiers surrender to M23 in the DRC and are taken as prisoners

Senior East-African government sources have told NSN that several South African soldiers, deployed by the ANC Government into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of an ill equipped and ill prepared force, surrendered to M23 rebels this…

NSN Exclusive: Perfect storm created for Somali pirates to return but strong resurgence unlikely – Denys Reva ISS

Somalian pirates are exploiting the crisis in the Red Sea, seeing it as an opportunity to target ships off Somalia’s coast. The World Bank has estimated that pirates operating off the Horn of Africa amassed between $18 billion annually during…

South African President Ramaphosa Denies Taking Sides in Gaza War, As His Foreign Minister Accuses Israel of Defying ICJ ruling 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted claims that South Africa is taking sides in the Gaza war and that relations with the United States have soured due to the International Court of Justice case against Israel. The South African…

Disinformation, governance and the South African election

By Phumzile van Damme – republished from ISS African Futures How can we safeguard South Africa’s hard-won free and fair elections in the age of disinformation online? Phumzile Van Damme weighs in. On 9 March 2024, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter…

Jacob Zuma, the MK Party, and the Kremlin’s GRU

On December 28, 2007, the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), known as the Scorpions, charged Jacob Zuma with eighteen charges of money laundering and corruption based on seven hundred and fifty-three illicit payments he received while serving as the Deputy…

Exclusive: Senior Research Fellow Martin Plaut on China, Russia and keeping the Red Sea open

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against targets linked to Houthis in Yemen. It’s the first time strikes have been launched against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year. An international…