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On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution underscoring the need to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the principles of the Charter of the U.N. South Africa maintained its neutral position again by abstaining in the 193-member Assembly that saw 141 member states back the resolution that also expresses strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and Member States to promote such peace in Ukraine.

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President Vladimir Putin has made his first known visit to a newly occupied Russian territory in Ukraine since he launched his invasion last year. The Kremlin says Putin made what it called a spontaneous trip to the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, ceased by Russian troops in May last year. Russian state media says he flew in by helicopter and drove around the city. Of course this comes just after it was announced yesterday that the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Putin. Letd explore further what this means for SA who is due to host a BRICS summit later this year. Putin is reportedly scheduled to attend. We speak to Senior research fellow and Director at Africa Asia Dialogues, Thembisa Fakude

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U.S President Joe Biden has welcomed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin Biden says this decision is justified. Yesterday - the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, a claim Moscow has repeatedly denied. International Relations expert, Thembisa Fakude weighs in.

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In his first speech of his new presidential term, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to turn the country's military into a Great Wall of Chinese steel. This came at the close of China's National parliamentary gathering in Beijing, where Xi shored up control of the Chinese government. Guest: Thembisa Fakude, Senior Research Fellow at Africa-Asia Dialogues

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Russia Ukraine war first anniversary. How does this end? Guest : Thembisa Fakude, Senior Researcher at AFRASID.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa faced more criticism as MPs wrapped up their Sona debate. Political analyst Thembisa Fakude unpacks some of the critical points that were made ahead of Ramaphosa’s response on Thursday.

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Tension between the United States and China continue to escalate in the aftermath of Washington's downing of what it has referred to as a Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4th. Both capitals fingered the other for spying with Beijing this week accusing the U.S. of flying its own high-altitude balloons through China's airspace more than ten times in the past year, an allegation Washington swiftly rejected. In recent days the U.S. military has shot down three additional flying objects over North America - objects which so far remain unidentified but said to be much smaller than the balloon shot down earlier this month. Guest: Thembisa Fakude, Senior Research Fellow at the Africa-Asia Dialogues.

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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visit South Africa

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One of the much-talked-about stories today. The US claims the giant Chinese balloon it shot down was spying on key military sites across America. The US Department of Defence confirmed its fighter jets brought down the balloon over the country's territory. China's foreign ministry is unhappy with this and says the balloon was not involved in any nefarious activity. We are now joined by Senior Research Fellow, Africa Asia Dialogues, Thembisa Fakude.

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The Presidency has confirmed that Deputy President David Mabuza has been asked to remain in office to ensure a smooth transition. Mabuza said he was stepping down to make way for Paul Mashatile, who was elected as the ANC's deputy president at December's national conference. Mashatile is due to be sworn in as a member of parliament tomorrow. Political analyst Thembisa Fakude shares his views on the developments in the presidency.

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Sweden's top diplomat says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to South Africa is of concern. Tobias Billstrom was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, dedicated to coordinating military support for Ukraine. EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, announced after the meeting that he will soon be heading to South Africa for ministerial talks. Thembisa Fakude is a senior researcher for Africa Asia Dialogues (Afrasid), he joined via Zoom.

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According to a report by Gun Free South Africa, gun violence is the leading cause of murder in South Africa. In 2022, 30 people were murdered by gunshot in South Africa every day between 1 April and 30 June 2022, which is up from the 23 killed in 2020 over the same period. Now let us discuss this we are now joined via Zoom by Thembisa Fakude, Senior Research Fellow at the Africa-Asia Dialogues.