Social distancing was enforced as the envoys made short speeches expressing wishes of broadening and deepening bilateral relations with South Africa before presenting the president with the letters from their heads of state.

Some of the ambassadors managed to make powerful use of the two minutes allotted to them.

Sweden’s Håkan Joholt recalled how he’d become an anti-apartheid activist at age 25 before serving 23 years as a member of parliament.

“I have come here to build bridges and to forge people-to-people ties between Swedes and South Africans,” he said. “What we can do together is fight for democracy, human rights, peace and a sustainable environment,” he said.

Entering his second term as ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mohammed Beissat said Polisario and the ANC forged ties as liberation movements at the most difficult times for their countries.

He recalled how Oliver Tambo visited the Western Sahara and returned to South Africa with apartheid-built tanks captured by the Saharawi from the Moroccan.

“Now Mr President the Western Sahara faces fresh aggression from Morocco,” he said referring to the kingdom breaking the 30 year old truce signed under UN auspices that ended the war that followed Morocco’s 1975 invasion of the former Spanish colony.

“We are confident we can overcome yet another challenge from the illegal occupier, especially since we are assured of your support and the solidarity of your government and people,” said the ambassador.

Braving a heatwave that took the mercury into the thirties, the ambassadors were greeted by a guard-of-honour before entering the guest house to have their exchange with the President.

In addition to the Western Sahara and Sweden, Ramaphosa received credentials from the ambassadors of 

Vietnam, North Korea, Iran, Botswana, Cote’Ivoire, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Egypt, China, Sweden, Mauritius, Pakistan, Sudan and South Sudan, Slovenia, Finland.

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The action echoes that of Vietnam, South Korea and Singapore.

They’ve joined the list of countries that have barred the plane, waring for experts to examine the sound and data boxes from the Ethiopian Airways flight that crashed near Addis Ababa last Sunday and  see whether it is unsafe or just unlucky.

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Australia is not among the countries already using the 300 Boeing 737 Max.

With 5 000 on order, the plane’s become the biggest seller in aviation history.

The United States Federal Aviation Authority insists it is airworthy, despite the two crashes that cost 346 lives in the past five months.

A growing list of countries is simply not prepared to chance it.

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They’re trying to stop trafficking in the African ant-eater species whose scales are highly prized in Chinese medicine.

More than 3 000 pangolins would have had to be killed to provide the scales set alight by Malaysian officials.

They were confiscated from major anti-trafficking operations this past year.

Authorities have contacted the governments of South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana from which the pangolins originated.

Malaysia’s become major transit point in moving the grizzly goods to China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Pangolins are one of the most trafficked species.

Under threat they roll into a ball allowing the poachers simply to lift it and put it in a bag.

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Deputy Director General for Asia and the Middle East at the Department of International Relations, Anil Sooklal says the countries have a population the size of the European Union which has South Africa’s largest trading partner.

Ambassador Anikl Sooklal was speaking at a  seminar at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation organized to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Malasia, the Phillipines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Sooklal says South Africa’s political ties with all four countries are very strong. People to people relations are growing. Yet economic links remain moderate.

“Are we using our relations to best effect and with enough energy. I don’t think so,” he said

He says economic relations have to be improved for the good of the country and region.

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They’re on their way home where their families say they never gave up hope of seeing them again.

It took international mediators nearly two years of negotiations to secure their freedom.

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The hostages were met by their diplomatic representatives in Nairobi.

They come from Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Their ship was seized south of the Seychelles.

When eventually it sank, the hostages were moved into the bush where they were forced to live off the land.

They spoke of eating rats to stay alive.

Their ship was  not insured against piracy.

Mediators had to get the pirates to modify their huge demands and accept a lesser payment for what they called compensation for the local community

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The Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature says  at least 1,338 rhinos were killed last year.

That’s  the largest number since the poaching crisis intensified nearly a decade ago, taking the toll to nearly 6 000

The number of rhinos killed in Africa has gone up for six  successive years. There was a ray of hope in South Africa, where the killings decreased slightly after aggressive anti-poaching efforts,.

The killing of the animal has increased in recent years, fueled by a growing belief in Asia that its horns purportedly cure cancer.

As clients in countries such as China and Vietnam pay top dollar for rhino horns, poachers from global crime networks are getting brutal and sophisticated.

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