friendship

During a trip to the Middle East marking the end of Israel’s war on Gaza, United States President Donald Trump turned to another source of strife in the region: the tensions between Tehran and Washington.

In remarks to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Trump, who took the unprecedented step of bombing Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year amid a 12-day war between Israel and Iran, offered a “hand of friendship”.

“We are ready when you are, and it will be the best decision that Iran has ever made, and it’s going to happen,” Trump said of a possible agreement with Tehran.

“The hand of friendship and cooperation is open. I’m telling you, they [Iran] want to make a deal. It would be great if we could make a deal.”

But despite the dovish rhetoric, the Trump administration has continued to take a hard line against Iran, and analysts say that a path towards better relations between the two countries remains filled with obstacles.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US-based think tank, said that the Israeli and US attacks in June, which came as nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran were ongoing, undermined advocacy for diplomacy in Iran.

“There’s a perception that the US is using diplomacy to lull Iran into a false sense of security,” Parsi said.

‘Iran is open to a deal’

Iran itself has not closed the door to diplomacy, but its leaders have not rushed to renew talks with the US, either.

“If we receive a reasonable, balanced, and fair proposal from the Americans for negotiations, we will certainly consider it,” Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said during a television interview on Saturday.

Iran had rejected an Egyptian invitation to attend a summit on the war in Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, citing US attacks and sanctions.

Talks over Iran’s nuclear programme have not resumed since the Trump administration’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel started the war in June, days before the US and Iranian officials were set for another round of talks.

The US, which during Trump’s first term in 2018 withdrew from a previous deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme, has also insisted that any new agreement include a total ban on Iranian uranium enrichment.

That demand goes beyond the original deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which only curbed Iran’s uranium enrichment programme under a strict international inspection system.

Iran has depicted that new demand as a denial of its rights as a sovereign country, noting that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) does not prohibit uranium enrichment.

The impasse over enrichment has become a sticking point in negotiations.

“Iran is open to a deal,” Parsi told Al Jazeera. “But regardless of Trump’s positive tone and kind words, what he is looking for is for Iran to capitulate. As long as he insists on zero enrichment, I don’t think he will get a deal.”

Israel’s war with Iran, which included Israel’s assassination of high-level military figures and civilian nuclear scientists, as well as air strikes that killed hundreds of people, has also increased scepticism about the prospects of a lasting deal with the US.

In a speech to the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the US decision to bomb Iran during the war as a “biblical miracle”.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israel has struck a series of blows against Iran and allied groups, such as Hezbollah, across the Middle East, leaving it significantly weakened and giving the US little incentive to make concessions on uranium enrichment and other issues.

Trump often reiterates that Iran’s nuclear programme has been “obliterated” by the US strikes on key facilities, but the extent of the damage remains unclear.

The Pentagon said earlier this year that the Iranian nuclear programme had been set back by one to two years. But Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has said that Iran could be enriching uranium again within months.

Trump can ‘let Iran sweat’

Iran insists that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon, while Israel is widely believed to possess an undeclared nuclear arsenal.

Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst at the US-based Eurasia Group, argued that time is on Trump’s side in the confrontation with Iran.

“Trump can sound optimistic about diplomacy, but he can also afford to wait and let Iran sweat,” Brew told Al Jazeera via email.

“With its nuclear programme in ruins, and with new Israeli strikes likely if Iran takes steps to rebuild the programme, [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and the rest of the leadership don’t have many good options.”

Iran is also facing renewed sanctions from the UN after France, Germany and the United Kingdom triggered a so-called snapback of sanctions in August, arguing that Iran had violated the terms of the JCPOA.

Tehran countered that the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and called another deal allowing inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA “no longer relevant” after the US and Israeli strikes.

Iran was incensed at the IAEA for failing to condemn strikes against its nuclear facilities, which Tehran argues are protected under international law.

“There’s no upside for Trump in resuming talks without Iranian concessions, and there’s currently little downside in letting pressure build, as Iran has been weakened to the point that its ability to threaten Israel or US interests in the region is fairly limited,” said Brew.

“Trump may be willing to let the matter rest for a few months to see if increased economic pain forces Iran back to the negotiating table on favourable terms.”

Sept. 24 (UPI) — The National Park Service on Wednesday removed bronze-colored statues of President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands and frolicking on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The papier-mache and paint statues were erected on Tuesday by an anonymous group called The Secret Handshake, UPI reported. The statues were near U.S. governmental buildings with the Capitol in the backdrop.

“We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend,’ Jeffrey Epstein,” the middle plaque reads. “There must be more to life than having everything.”

A member of the group behind the statue told MSNBC that U.S. Park Police took down the statue around 5:30 a.m. EDT, although they had a permit that allowed them to remain through Sunday evening. CNN also confirmed the removal.

The group said it had initially been told it would be given 24 hours’ notice if the administration wanted it removed.

“Instead, they showed up in the middle of the night without notice and physically toppled the statue, broke it and took it away,” the group said.

The permit is for a 6-foot-tall statue, but the display is taller than that when combined with its base, which is almost as tall.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the Park Service, told MSNBC, “the statue was removed because it was not compliant with the permit issued.”

In a statement to Time magazine, the White House said, “Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit — but it’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep.”

Trump is displayed with another plaque quoting the infamous 50th birthday card to Epstein, which reads in part, “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Epstein’s plaque reads: “Nor will I, since I also know what it is. Yes, we do come to think of it. As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.”

Epstein died by suicide in jail on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking. He had been convicted on state charges of soliciting prostitution in Florida in 2008.

Tourists stopped before the statues out of curiosity and lined up to take photos.

“I think it’s a really good reminder about how artists are the ones that always push back on fascists first, on fascist governments,” D.C. resident Matt Gordon told UPI on Tuesday.

“This is a hoot,” D.C. resident Lelaina Brandet also told UPI. “It seems there’s other daily distractions, whether calling a marginalized group a terrorist organization or attacking some random vote to distract from what pretty much everybody from both sides wants — which is to see the release of the Epstein files.”

One week ago, a 12-foot golden Trump statue whose faceplate called him the “Bitcoin president” was displayed anonymously at the same location for about a day before being taken down.

“It is great to have these artists that keep pushing the focus of ‘Hey, let’s not forget this is what America wants right now.’ We love it. It’s fantastic,” resident Brandet said.

In 2024, the group’s “The Resolute Desk” and “The Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame” statues went viral. In June, their “Dictator Approved” statue and another of a golden television appeared.

“Before this, they’ve never been anything but friendly to work with,” Patrick and Carol Flaisher, an independent contractor who files the group’s permits, told CNN.

The group said they were able to view the removed statues. Trump’s head was split in half.

“It’s a great example of where we’re headed in this country when it comes to freedom of speech,” Patrick said.

Last week, a giant banner with Trump and Epstein was unveiled on the lawn outside Windsor Castle, where Trump was hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The banner was removed before Trump arrived in Britain.

Protesters then projected images of them on the walls of Windsor Castle. Also targeted was Prince Andrew, who was associated with Epstein.

Only John Williams could have put me in the orbit of one of history’s most famous basketball players. Kobe Bryant, like so many others, was a huge fan of Williams’ music; he befriended and sought out the composer for career advice and, when he made his post-athletic pivot to filmmaking, hired Williams to compose a short score.

And because I cover film music for a living, I was able to interview Bryant — along with Williams and Disney animation legend Glen Keane — for The Times in the spring of 2017. I even got to meet Bryant in person, backstage at the Hollywood Bowl, when he rehearsed his narration of “Dear Basketball” at an all-Williams concert. It was an obscenely hot day, and I waited outside Bryant’s dressing room while they finished drying his sweat-soaked shirt with a hair dryer before he came out and cheerfully shook my hand.

I gave Bryant and “Dear Basketball” a fair amount of real estate in my new book, “John Williams: A Composer’s Life,” not because of his fame or athletic prowess, but because I feel that his short film inspired one of Williams’ most beautiful works of the last decade, and also because there was something poetic and moving about the whole affair, and about saying goodbye to the thing you love the most — especially as the film became a kind of eulogy for Bryant after his untimely death in 2020.

[The below excerpt is from Tim Greiving’s “John Williams: A Composer’s Life,” out Sept. 2. Greiving is a frequent contributor to The Times.]

Tim Greiving

(Laura Hinely)

Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star, was an unexpected admirer of John’s music: as a boy, Bryant would tie a towel around his neck and run around to the theme of Superman; as a player, he used the Imperial March to hype himself up before games; and as a father, he would rock his infant daughters to sleep on his chest listening to Hedwig’s Theme. The six-foot-six athlete from Philly could hardly have been less like John, but he recognized mastery when he heard it. “I asked myself a question,” Bryant said: “What makes a John Williams piece timeless? How is he using each instrument? How is he using the space between them? How is he building momentum, and then how is he taking it away to build it again?” As a basketball player, Bryant said he was “essentially conducting a game,” “so I just wanted to talk to him about how he composed music and try to find something similar that I can then use to help my game as a leader and winning championships.”

Bryant first contacted John for counsel just before the 2008 NBA season. “The first thing I told Kobe was, I’d never seen a basketball game,” John confessed. “High school, college, professional, or television. And of course he laughed.” “But once I had told him my reason for reaching out to him,” Bryant said, “he saw the connection immediately…If we look in our same industry and we just look at things from that funnel, then you wind up essentially recycling information. So sometimes you look outside of that discipline to have a new point of view, a new perspective on it. [John] was digging it.”

They continued to see each other over the years, with Bryant often visiting John backstage after shows at the Hollywood Bowl. When Bryant retired from basketball in 2016, he turned his attention to entertainment. He wrote a sentimental open letter, “Dear Basketball,” as a retirement announcement, and one of his first post-game projects was turning that text into a short film. He wanted it crafted by undisputed masters of their fields, so he commissioned Disney animation veteran Glen Keane— who designed and animated Ariel in The Little Mermaid, among other achievements— and he asked John to write the score. The first thing John said to Bryant was, “I do classical pieces, and it’s all by hand,” almost as a warning. Bryant answered: “The piece will be hand-animated by Glen Keane, who is you in the animation space. I want it to have the human touch. I don’t want it to be poppy, I don’t want it to be hip-hoppy. I want timeless, classical music.”

Somehow, these three disparate artists—with two decades between each of them—hit it off. Keane was an avid fan of Lost in Space growing up in the 1960s, and when he told John how much he loved the music, John was completely embarrassed. “But it’s wonderful, John!” Keane said. “It held the promise of wonder and excitement and fun and quirky and scary and dangerous, and it was all in this one score. And John— the roots of your entire career are in that score.” Keane asked if he could play some of the old music. John said, “No, please don’t!” “No, I really gotta play it for you,” Keane insisted. “So I did.” The unlikely trio sat around a table in Keane’s office “and we just talked,” said Bryant. “John talked about how [the letter] made him feel, Glen how it makes him feel, and we all centered on the same thing, which is why I wrote it in the first place: the beauty of finding what it is that you love to do, and then finding the beauty of knowing that you will not be able to do that forever. Once they saw the nature of the piece, there was really nothing else to discuss.”

(Oxford University Press )

Keane illustrated the five-minute film with graphite on paper, depicting the arc of Bryant’s letter— from young Kobe tossing rolled-up tube socks, to NBA glory, to retiring at 37. John was equally inspired by Bryant’s childlike enthusiasm and Keane’s artisanal process. “The drawings have great fluidity and, in the best sense of the word, great simplicity,” John said. “They really are gorgeous, not only to look at, but rhythmically they’re fabulous.” Keane always animated while listening to music, and for this story it was selections from Empire of the Sun. John used that score as a reference point, but initially he wrote something that was too big, “and he went back and he rewrote it for something that was more understated,” said Keane, “in a similar way that Kobe’s delivery, his narration, is very personal, uninflected, not trying to sell anything. More like revealing. Kobe’s got a very quiet voice, and that also had a big impact in how we animated.”

John took a short break from The Last Jedi and spent two weeks in March 2017 to write and record this short piece—a gift for Bryant. When the towering baller arrived at the Sony scoring stage, John said: “I hope that you like what I’ve written.” Bryant just looked at John and said, “I feel pretty confident that it’s going to be just fine.” When Bryant heard John’s piece for the very first time, emanating from a symphony orchestra, “Oh my God,” he said. “I almost lost my mind. As soon as his hands went up and then the music started, I almost yelled out loud— but I had to remember that the red light was on and we’re recording… It was the most unreal experience I could ever have.” Bryant looked over “and just put his head on my shoulder,” said Keane, “like, ‘I can’t believe it.’ It was so beautiful. Then when it was done, John turned to us and said, ‘I promise it’s going to get better.’”

It was one of the simplest, yet most inspired pieces John wrote during this decade: a brief journey taken by a humble, hummable tune that bottled a young boy’s guileless dreams and aspiration for greatness and glory. His hymnal theme begins as a gentle woodwind duet, which is passed to strings and then accelerates into soaring triumph to accompany Bryant’s heyday. Then it grows small again, a lonely keyboard wandering a broken chord as Bryant’s voiceover admits that his body can only play for so long. John’s knack for noble flying music closes the loop, with heraldic horns and rolling timpani connecting Bryant’s story to his music for American heroism— concluding with a bittersweet reprise of the theme on piano and an uplifting coda as the credits roll. Like the letter itself, the score is part valentine, part elegy—and John put his heart into it. He premiered it at the Hollywood Bowl in September, and Bryant surprised the audience by joining John onstage to narrate. The short film won an Oscar in March 2018—and then very shortly afterward, it became a poignant eulogy for Bryant when he died, age 41, in a helicopter crash on a foggy Sunday morning in Calabasas that also killed his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. John’s wistful, symphonic poem suddenly took on a new shade. “It is elegiac, but it isn’t weepy,” John said of the film when he first scored it, never imagining the sudden tragic fate of his young friend.

It strikes its own manner of saluting the man and the game and the accomplishments with a lot of modesty, I think. It’s very touching, and in the end that may be its highest achievement, that it’s able to praise this man the way it does, without a lot of false vanity or hubris that could easily have spilled into it. That’s my take on it in any case.

THEY were the larger than life characters who ruled the MasterChef kitchen for 20 years.

But as Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s reign as judges ended under a murky cloud of accusations of sexist and racist language, the relationship between the two men publicly soured quicker than warm milk.

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They may have known each other for more than 30 years, but their relationship has always been complicated.

When accusations of misconduct first surfaced against Wallace, Torode’s silence was deafening.

Instead of coming out to support his colleague, Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner stayed quiet, causing furious Wallace to unfollow them both on social media.

But those who know Wallace, 60, and Torode, 59, best are unlikely to be surprised that battle lines were drawn.

Despite their on-screen chemistry winning them an army of fans, their relationship behind the scenes seems unconventional to say the least.

As Torode once said bluntly: “It’s funny, we’ve never been friends.” 

After moving to the UK in the 1990s, Australian Torode was working at a London restaurant when he first encountered Wallace, who was the owner of George Allan’s Greengrocers.

And despite their good working relationship as chef and supplier, in 2013 Torode spoke about his doubts about Wallace for MasterChef.

“In 2005 I was asked to go to an interview about some cooking show and Karen Ross, the boss at Shine, the production company involved, said, ‘I’d love you to do it, but I need to audition people to partner you with.’ I had everyone from AA Gill to Oliver Peyton,” he told The Independent.

“One day she asked, ‘Do you know a guy called Gregg Wallace?’ I had misgivings, as Gregg was big, brash and loud.

“Actually, nothing has changed, except no one expected the success the show has had.”

And Wallace had a similar view of Torode from their old days, recalling their first meeting: “It was a hot day and the kitchen door was open into the alleyway and I saw this young brash Aussie chef with his trousers rolled up around his knees, a tartan baseball cap, and a voice that was as loud as his attire.”

But working together so closely filming MasterChef – which returned today – was always going to take its toll on two big characters. 

Torode told The Independent: “Spending 200 days a year filming together, we got a lot closer, but any relationship where you spend that much time together inevitably gets strained. 

“We used to fight about stuff, as we’re both so opinionated. In the first series it was over [eventual winner] Thomasina Miers, as Gregg had said, ‘There’s no way I want her.’

“Then in the second round he said, ‘I want her.’ And I said, ‘You git, how can you hate someone vehemently one day then like them?’”

6am phone calls

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Wallace has said there is no-one he is closer to, other than his mum, than Torode and has praised his former co-star for supporting him with his mental health struggles.

But it has seemed that it is Torode who has wanted to keep their relationship purely professional, complaining about everything from Wallace’s 6am phone calls to his OCD tendencies.

Speaking to The Times in 2022, Torode said: “We know each other so well. But that’s not to say we don’t have our moments.

“With Gregg my issue is the 6am phone calls. Last time it happened I wasn’t very happy and I said, ‘Gregg, mate, it’s 6am.’ And he said, ‘But you’re on my list!’

“That’s the thing with Gregg, he gets up very early and his whole life is diarised and run on lists. Anyway, the next time I saw him face to face I sensed that disturbance in the force — I knew there was something wrong. I said, ‘Mate, come on, what’s up?’

“He said, ‘You weren’t very nice to me on the phone the other morning.’ I said, ‘It was 6am!’ and he said, ‘But I get up at 5am and you were on my list!’

Best man… but ‘not friends’

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But in 2013 Torode was the one who said he would be open to expanding their friendship, but Wallace’s OCD made it complicated.

He claimed: “Gregg has rules in the dressing-room that are pretty easy to understand as they are vocalised quite often.

“Things like, ‘Don’t put anything on my table, don’t touch my stuff and stay on the left-hand side of the room until lunch.’

“I know that, with his OCD, if I went to his house, say, I’d have to sit in a certain place. It’s frustrating, as I’m open [to expanding the friendship], but I don’t feel Gregg is.

“But he’s also given me so much: he’s taught me the importance of being self-deprecating and he’s made me laugh at myself. He’s fun and very funny.”

In 2016 Wallace asked Torode to be his best man at his fourth wedding to Anne-Marie Sterpini.

But it was just a year later that Torode said they weren’t even friends.

“It’s funny, we’ve never been friends,” he told The Mirror.

“We’ve not been to each other’s houses… He’s so OCD, he wouldn’t know what to do. He’d build it up in his mind for three days, and probably make himself quite sick, then he’d have an argument with his wife and not turn up.

“If I went to his house, he would feel like he wasn’t in control.”

Fractured

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Whatever their relationship was before the MasterChef scandal saw them both out of a job, it seems that it is now fractured beyond repair.

The pair were both fired by the BBC last month after a report into the cooking show upheld allegations against them.

The report revealed that more than 40 complaints against Wallace had been upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of undress.

He has insisted he was cleared of “the most serious and sensational allegations”. 

The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018.

The presenter said he had “no recollection” of it and that any racist language is “wholly unacceptable”.

Despite unfollowing Torode and his wife Lisa on social media, Wallace defended Torode in an interview with The Sun, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.”

But he added: “We never really did get on that well. We’re two very, very different characters.

“But we made bloody good telly together for 20 years.”

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WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

Trump did not say what the people’s jobs were or where they worked, and the White House had no immediate comment. But with the fresh comments, Trump shed a little light on the reason why he has said he had ended the relationship with Epstein, though Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, recently said on X that, “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep.”

Epstein killed himself, authorities say, in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump and his top allies stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death before Trump returned to power and are now struggling to manage the fallout after the Justice Department said Epstein did in fact die by suicide and that it would not release additional documents about the case.

The president and his allies, some of whom are now in the administration, had promised to release the files.

The case has dogged Trump at home and abroad and even followed Vice President JD Vance during an appearance in his home state of Ohio on Monday. A small group of protesters assembled outside a factory in Canton that Vance toured, holding signs that spelled out “JD Protects Pedophiles” and indicating that “GOP” stands for “Guardians Of Pedophiles.”

The Republican president spoke at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland, as he sat with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the leaders had met and were answering questions from U.S. and U.K. journalists. Asked to explain why the relationship had faltered, Trump said, “That’s such old history, very easy to explain, but I don’t want to waste your time by explaining it.”

He then explained, saying he stopped talking to Epstein after “he did something that was inappropriate.”

“He hired help and I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again,’” Trump said. “He stole people that worked for me. I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata.”

“I threw him out and that was it. I’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth,” Trump added.

Trump recently directed Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to seek the public release of sealed grand jury transcripts in the case. One federal judge has denied that request; a second judge has yet to rule.

Vance on Monday visited the factory to promote Trump’s tax cut and border bill, but also addressed the Epstein matter, saying the president wants “full transparency” in the case.

“The president has been very clear. We’re not shielding anything,” Vance said in response to a reporter’s question. “The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.”

“Some of that stuff takes time,” Vance said, adding that Trump has been “very clear. He wants full transparency.”

Trump had said back in 2019 that Epstein was a fixture in Palm Beach but that the two had had a falling-out a long time ago and he hadn’t spoken with Epstein for 15 years.

Trump on Monday also denied contributing to a compilation of letters and drawings to mark Epstein’s 50th birthday, first reported on by the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the letter believed to be from Trump included a drawing of a woman’s body.

“I don’t do drawings of women, that I can tell you,” Trump said.

Superville writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Julie Carr Smyth in Canton, Ohio, contributed to this report.

The Valdai Discussion Club, in partnership with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), will hold the 3rd Russian-African conference titled “Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context” in late July 2025. The primary goal of the conference is to form and expand communities of African and Russian experts interested in cooperation, the confidential discussion of the most pressing international issues, and the preparation of recommendations for practical foreign policy work.

It is no coincidence that South Africa has been chosen as the venue for the Valdai’s conference. In 2025, South Africa chairs the G20 summit. In preparation for the upcoming late July conference, Steven Gruzd, Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme and the Africa-Russia Project at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), offers an insight into the current Russia-South Africa relations, the United States trade issues with Africa, and Africa’s future prospects in this rapidly changing world. Here are the interview excerpts:

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) will host the 3rd Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in South Africa. Within the context of the shifting geopolitics, what would you say, in terms of current Russia-South Africa relations, its status and prospects, as one of the themes for discussion?

Steven Gruzd: SAIIA looks forward to co-hosting the Third Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club later in July 2025. We believe that it is important to interact and engage with a variety of actors in a balanced and nuanced way. We do not believe that academic boycotts are constructive.

The event is being held against the backdrop of rapidly shifting global geopolitics and the erosion of the “rules-based international order,” as nationalism is reasserted and conflicts endure in the Great Lakes in East-Central Africa and in the Middle East.

South Africa has maintained good relations with Russia throughout the last decade, although trade remains at a relatively low level and there is much scope to improve it. Diplomatically, relations are warm and constructive, and have been enhanced by regular interaction between the two countries in both BRICS and the G20. South Africa has tried to play a mediating role in Russia’s war with Ukraine, but here it has been one voice among many and does not have much concrete to show for these efforts, as the war rages on. Nevertheless, it remains a key driver of the African Peace Initiative. At the UN, most of South Africa’s votes on the Russia-Ukraine war have been abstentions, in line with its declared non-aligned stance.

To what degree are the few points raised above influencing or reshaping Russian-African relations? Do you also think Russia is rivaling and competing with its own BRICS members, for instance, China and India, across the continent?

SG: Russia-Africa relations have been steadily growing, as the two well-attended Russia-Africa Summits in 2019 and 2023 attest to. As Russia has faced sanctions and been shunned by the West, it has sought new markets and to strengthen ties with the Global South, including in Africa. Russia supported the membership of Egypt and Ethiopia to become full BRICS members at the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. The 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, was successful and added Algeria, Nigeria, and Uganda as “partner countries.” This was an important occasion for Russia to show that it was not internationally isolated and could still rely on many countries as friends.

The operations of the Wagner Group, especially in the Sahel, have been gradually subsumed under the Africa Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Russia has been strengthening bilateral relations with many African countries and is looking to provide peaceful-use nuclear technology to about 20 African countries. It is heavily involved in the building of a nuclear energy plant in Dabaa, Egypt.

Russia’s BRICS partners—China and India, but also the UAE and Saudi Arabia—are active on the African continent, but at this stage it seems that all are able to achieve their strategic objectives in Africa without coming into conflict with one another.

Do you view South Africa’s G20 presidency as a unique factor for fighting neo-colonialism and Western hegemony and for addressing thorny trade issues with the United States?

SG: South Africa’s G20 presidency is important. It remains the only African member state of the G20, although the African Union has joined as a full member since 2023. This is the first time that the G20 is hosted in Africa. As the president, South Africa has the ability to influence the G20’s agenda. It is the fourth developing country in a row to host the G20—after Indonesia (2022), India (2023), and Brazil (2024). It has continued several of the initiatives of these Global South states in its focus. South Africa’s priorities include strengthening disaster resilience and response, ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries, mobilizing finance for a just energy transition, and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The aim is for a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient global economy.

So far, the US has not sent its top leaders to preparatory meetings in South Africa, and there is doubt whether US President Donald Trump will attend the G20 Summit in November. This threatened to damage South Africa’s leadership, but the other G20 members have rallied to support South Africa.

I do not think that the G20 is the venue to “fight neo-colonialism, Western hegemony, and trade issues with the United States,” or at least not in using that language. I think BRICS may be a more appropriate platform to air these issues. South Africa will nevertheless push the concerns of the Global South this year.

Can South Africa’s presidency change perceptions of the G20’s role in global politics and its invaluable contributions to Africa’s development?

SG: I believe South Africa is doing well in its G20 stewardship so far and will hopefully host a successful summit, which has become especially challenging in the current geopolitical environment. If Trump does not attend, it will be damaging to the G20, particularly because the US is the host for 2026. South Africa’s relations with the US have deteriorated, including over Trump’s views on the treatment of white farmers, the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from Washington, and threatened high tariffs, among many other issues.

The summit will hopefully showcase South Africa and change perceptions about failed or failing African states. South Africa remains a key player in Africa, contributing to the continent’s development through peace efforts, trade, and political interactions.

But I also think South Africa should be and has been modest in its expectations of what the G20 can do during any one-year presidency. The G20 remains one of the few forums where Russia and the West still sit around the same table, and it has been challenging to reach consensus.

South-South cooperation is frequently resonating, as is the United States skipping the G20, Trump, and the new world architecture featuring in bilateral and multilateral discussions. Can African leaders change attitudes and face geopolitical development realities? Can Africa remain non-aligned? What then can we expect as future prospects, especially for Africa?

SG: There is no doubt that South-South cooperation is happening and being talked about more and more, and it is set to continue. The global environment is subject to profound geopolitical tensions, not least due to Trump’s “America First” policies, including high trade tariffs. The entire world of development assistance or foreign aid is likewise undergoing far-reaching changes. Trump has destroyed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), putting at risk or shutting down countless development projects in Africa. European countries—for a long time generous donors to Africa—are diverting billions of euros in development funding to defense and dealing with migration-related issues.

African countries will be under continual pressure to “pick a side” in what some have called the “New Cold War,” and for the most part they will continue to assert their non-aligned stances. How long they can continue on this path is unclear. And many say they are non-aligned but continue to lean closer to either the West or China and Russia in reality. African leaders are having to adjust to a rapidly changing and uncertain world, the contours of which are not entirely clear at this point. African leaders have been forced to deal with a world with less aid. Hopefully this will encourage African states to be more self-reliant, curb corruption, and pursue their national interests.

The star best known for his role as Robert Sugden and the character recently made a return to the long-running soap just as his ex Aaron Dingle was due to tie the knot with half-brother John

Emmerdale’s Ryan Hawley shared his appreciation for his soap rival Oliver Farnworth amid a tense storyline. Ryan is best known for his role as Robert Sugden and the character recently made a return to the long-running soap just as Robert’s ex Aaron Dingle was due to tie the knot with half-brother John.

Robert admitted he wanted Aaron back and the duo ended up sharing a secret smooch. However, it wasn’t enough for them to get back together as Aaron chose to marry John. Robert is now back in jail as he broke the terms of his bail and, next weeks, fans will witness John visiting him in prison to taunt him.

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In an act of petty revenge, Robert reveals the secret kiss he had with John’s partner, angering him. While there’s a lot of drama to unfold, in real life, Ryan is a big fan of working with Oliver (who plays John).

“I’ve never worked with Oli [before], but I’ve been having a lot of fun working with him. Me and him have quite a lot in common,” Ryan revealed to Digital Spy.

“He’s a lovely guy. I really like him. I’ve had a lot of fun working with him. He’s great at playing this character. And I’m really happy he’s part of the cast.”

Ryan went on to compliment Oliver’s skills as an actor before adding how he’s “well liked around here.”

Meanwhile, an episode next week featuring just a few cast members could see truths come to light, with fans set to see moments they’ve been waiting for for six long years .

Some scenes our Mirror soap insider have revealed would be “exactly what Robron fans have wanted for so long”. Not only that but there’s moving scenes with Aaron at the prison as well as drama with John, before Robert heads back to the village.

Just months after his exit Robert had called for a divorce and cut Aaron and even his sister Victoria Sugden out of his life. So fans have absolutely no idea what life has been like for Robert in prison, and what’s gone on in that time. It’s been teased he could be harbouring secrets and a story about those six years he was offscreen for.

Some of these things could well come out next week, as Ryan has promised viewers will learn a thing or two. With Ryan hinting at tense and dark scenes with John and then tear-jerking scenes with Robert and Aaron, he promised “big” moments ahead.

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‘Lots of resentment’

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