🇿🇦🇺🇸 South Africa Prepares Trade Deal Meant to Ease Tensions With Trump

South Africa is preparing a new trade offer to present to President Trump, hoping to appeal to his transactional approach to foreign policy and ease boiling tensions with Washington, a spokesman for South Africa’s president said this week.

The spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, said in an interview that South African officials are anticipating Mr. Trump will call for an end to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a decades-old trade agreement that has been an economic boon to the 32 African nations that it includes.

One option under consideration is to increase cooperation between the two countries on gas, with the United States getting more access to gas exploration in South Africa and South Africa sourcing more of its gas from America, he said. The proposal also would include a plan for what South Africa would consider fair tariffs, he said.

While South African officials are betting that a favorable trade deal will convince Mr. Trump to work with them, serious obstacles remain.

Emma Louise Powell, a South African lawmaker who met with the Trump administration and members of Congress in Washington last week, said she had been warned South Africa should expect further punitive actions from the United States.

https://archive.is/mhQKb

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/world/africa/south-africa-trump-trade.html

🇺🇸✡️🇵🇸⁉️ President Trump says Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has "become" a Palestinian and says "he used" to be Jewish but isn't anymore.

@TabZLIVE

🇨🇳🇦🇺 China's warships encircle Australia

A flotilla of three Chinese navy ships sailed around Australia for nearly a month, moving in and out of its exclusive economic zone, conducting live-fire drills and forcing civilian flights to reroute.

China's two warships had 144 missile launchers, while Australia's entire fleet of 10 warships had only 200. Australia's two fuel tankers, crucial for long-range operations, were out of commission.

Australia's navy is old and dependent on the United States.

🔗 Clash Report

🇺🇸 Marco Rubio on pro-Hamas agitators with student visas: "When you come to the United States as a visitor, which is what a visa is... we can deny you that visa... and if you end up having a green card, and you're here engaging in those activities, we're going to kick you out."

🔗 Rapid Response 47

🇨🇳 First photos of China's invasion barges

The front barge (self propelled) is the smallest type, some are twice this size

🔗 Xavier Vavasseur

🇺🇸💥🇵🇦 — The United States is considering increasing its military presence in Panama to reclaim the Canal, reports Reuters.

🇶🇦🇸🇾🇯🇴 Qatar is set to supply Syria with gas via Jordan to improve the nation's meager power supply, according to exclusive sources.


📝 Reuters
🗺 @PoliticsGR

🇺🇸🇵🇦 Trump White House has asked U.S. military to develop options for the Panama Canal, officials say

WASHINGTON — The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options to increase the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Donald Trump’s goal of “reclaiming” the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning.

In his joint address to Congress last week, Trump said that "to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.” Since then, administration officials have not said what "reclaiming" means.

U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans from partnering more closely with Panamanian security forces to the less likely option of U.S. troops’ seizing the Panama Canal by force, the officials said. Whether military force is used, the officials added, depends on how much Panamanian security forces agree to partner with the United States.

The Trump administration’s goal is to increase the U.S. military presence in Panama to diminish China’s influence there, particularly access to the canal, the officials said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-white-house-asked-us-military-develop-options-panama-canal-offic-rcna195994

📈 The numerical increase of 8.3 million foreign-born in the last four years is larger than in any four-year period in American history.

https://cis.org/Report/ForeignBorn-Number-and-Share-US-Population-AllTime-Highs-January-2025

🔗 CIS

🇨🇳 Sal Mercogliano on X:

Lots of discussion about China jack-up "invasion barges."

These would not be used in the amphibious assault, that is why China have their version of US LHDs, LSDs & LPDs.

These come in behind to offload their modified ferries that all have decks that are strengthened to handle the heaviest Chinese armored vehicles.

This rig can be set up in less than a day. Marry the ferries to them and you are offloading them as fast as you can drive off. We had the same set up with the Afloat Prepositioning Ships bringing watercraft and lighters (but we are phasing out this capability).

The other issues is to discern these ships in a mass of China and commercial vessels that will be in the area.

Some have been comparing these to WWII Mulberries. This not entirely accurate as Mulberries were configured for one time use and slow to deploy. These are mobile and can be redeployed.

The last thing to remember is that these are intermediate logistic assets. They are to be used between the assault phase and the seizure of a port. These will allow the massive offload of vehicles to flood any area.

We should not lightly dismiss them. They are logistic multipliers. Especially compares to our last over the shore operation.

🔗 Sal Mercogliano

🇲🇽 The Jalisco Cartel Extermination Camp

The horrors described take the Mexican tragedy to a new level of Hell

The ranch was alleged to be run by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one if its over-zealous local warlords as a “training and extermination camp,” and people briefly went into Google Maps and labeled it as such. It adds credence to the U.S. State Department action in February to designate the Jalisco mob as a terrorist organization.

Mexico has been scarred by mass graves and massacres since at least 2010, and I make a list of the worst atrocities here. Yet there are indications this could take the tragedy of Mexico’s conflict to a new level of Hell.

https://www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-jalisco-cartel-extermination