US lawmaker group wants S Africa punished over Russia ties

US lawmakers urge Biden to move a US-Africa trade summit over ‘deepening military relationship’ with Russia.

A group of US lawmakers has called for a US-Africa trade summit planned for later this year to be moved from South Africa in response to what they said was the country’s “deepening military relationship” with Russia.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials, they also suggested South Africa is in danger of losing its benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – Washington’s flagship trade programme.

South Africa is due to host the AGOA Forum in Johannesburg, a meeting of African leaders and US officials, to discuss the future of the programme, which is slated to expire in 2025.

South Africa’s exports to the US under AGOA reached nearly $1bn in the first three months of this year, making it the second-biggest beneficiary of the programme after Nigeria.

African nations are seeking to extend AGOA, which grants qualifying countries’ exports preferential access to the US.

“We are seriously concerned that hosting the 2023 AGOA Forum in South Africa would serve as an implicit endorsement of South Africa’s damaging support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the letter, dated June 9, stated.

Referring to the letter, South African foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said on Twitter, “There is no decision by the State Department/White House to move the AGOA Forum from SA.”

South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, which manages the country’s trade relations with the United States, said it was not planning to respond publicly to the letter.

Judd Devermont, a special assistant to President Joe Biden focusing on Africa, said the White House shared Congress’s concern over South Africa’s “potential security partnership with Russia”.

However, he declined to say whether the administration was considering a change of venue for the AGOA Forum.

“I’m not going to get into the specifics of private conversations with the South Africans, but be sure we are having these conversations,” he told an online media briefing.

South Africa’s government has declared its neutrality in the war in Ukraine, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is participating in an effort by African leaders to mediate in the conflict.

However, the lawmakers voiced frustration with South Africa’s hosting of joint naval operations with China and Russia in February, as well as plans to hold a summit of BRICS leaders to which Russian President Vladimir Putin is invited despite being charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

The lawmakers also appeared to back up an accusation by the US ambassador to South Africa that a sanctioned Russian vessel collected weapons at a South African naval base last year. South African officials say they are not aware of such an arms transfer and have launched an independent inquiry into the incident.

Herman Mashaba, the former mayor of Johannesburg said on Twitter he will write a letter to the US lawmakers asking them to “give South Africa a chance until after the 2024 Provincial and National government [elections]”.

“South Africans should not be punished as a result of ANC government choosing to be on the wrong side of history,” he said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Sprinter Tori Bowie died from childbirth complications: Autopsy

Olympic medallist and former 100-metre world champion showed signs of undergoing labour when discovered dead on May 2.

US Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report reported by US media outlets.

Bowie, who won three medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was found dead last month. She was 32.

The report from the office of the medical examiner in Orlando, Florida, said Bowie was estimated to be eight months pregnant and showing signs of undergoing labour when she was discovered dead on May 2.

It said she was found in bed in a “secured residence” with possible complications including respiratory distress and eclampsia. The autopsy report said “the manner of death is natural”.

Bowie’s agent Kimberly Holland told CBS News the news on Monday would end the “hurtful” speculation about the cause of death.

“Unfortunately, so many people, including the media, are making speculations that she did something to herself, which is very hurtful,” she said.

“So hopefully, now knowing the truth, there will be many apologies.”

Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States – 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded in early May to a home in the area “for a wellbeing check of a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days.” She was later identified as Frentorish “Tori” Bowie.

The toxicology results were negative and the autopsy report listed bipolar disorder in her medical history.

Bowie grew up in Mississippi after being taken in by her grandmother as an infant. As a teenager, she considered herself a basketball player and only reluctantly showed up for track, where she blossomed into an elite sprinter and long jumper. She attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where she swept the long jump NCAA championships at the indoor and outdoor events in 2011.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowie won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She then ran the anchor leg on a 4×100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold.

A year later, she won the 100 metres at the 2017 world championships in London. She also helped the 4×100 team to gold.

“A talented athlete, her impact on the sport is immeasurable, and she will be greatly missed,” United States Track and Field chief executive Max Siegel said in a statement in May.

US sprinting great Justin Gatlin paid tribute to Bowie last month as a “fierce competitor and great teammate”.

“Tori was a beautiful human being and had a smile that made you want to smile, too,” Gatlin said. “A true legend that made her mark in our sport and hearts.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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