Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Africa and African Diaspora Conference opens in Ekurhuleni on Monday

Published

The conference runs under the theme "The return to Africa" and ends on Friday. Co-convenor Frank Chikane said it will cover reparations, decolonisation, human rights, gender and climate change, and will produce a declaration and action plans.

International Relations and Co-operation Minister Ronald Lamola will address the conference. Former president Thabo Mbeki and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia, will also speak. The Kagiso Trust is the main sponsor, and its chair, Zwoitwaho Nevhutalu, said the organisers wanted to make the gathering a success.

Chikane spoke at a media briefing in Midrand on Thursday. He said some delegates were concerned about coming to a country where "our brothers and sisters are being attacked". He said delegates also raised concerns about the killing of women in Kempton Park.

Chikane explained why Africans and people of African descent meet at international conferences. He said: "Whenever we meet together, we always find each other."

Key facts

Who
Frank Chikane (co-convenor of the Africa and African Diaspora Conference); Ronald Lamola (international relations & co-operation minister, to address the conference); Thabo Mbeki (former president, to address the conference); Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former president of Liberia, to address the conference)
What
The Africa and African Diaspora Conference, under the theme "The return to Africa", opens in Ekurhuleni on Monday and will cover reparations, decolonisation, human rights, gender and climate change, according to co-convenor Frank Chikane. It ends on Friday and will have a declaration and action plans.
When
26 October 2026
Where
Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Midrand
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update