United States
The United States is a federal republic in North America, bordered by Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its capital is Washington, DC, and its largest city is New York. With a population exceeding 330-million, the US has the world's largest economy, measured by nominal gross domestic product, and is a leading centre for technology, finance, manufacturing and services. The country operates as a constitutional democracy with a presidential system, comprising 50 states and several territories. Its currency is the US dollar, which serves as the dominant global reserve currency and is widely used in international trade and finance. The US is a founding member of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and it plays a central role in global economic and security affairs. Major exports include aircraft, machinery, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and agricultural commodities such as soybeans and maize. The economy is characterised by high levels of innovation, a large consumer market and significant foreign direct investment flows. Key sectors include information technology, healthcare, energy, aerospace and financial services. The US is also a major source of development assistance and health research funding, supporting programmes in HIV treatment, vaccine development and disease surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.
United States Updates
Trump administration to admit primarily Afrikaners under new refugee proposal
By: Reuters 23rd September 2026 The Trump administration plans to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 17 500 over the next 12 months consisting "primarily" of South Africans from... →
US ties Sudanese army leader's UN visa to ceasefire plan, sources say
By: Reuters 23rd September 2026 The United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN appearance in a move that Sudanese... →
Daily Podcast – September 21, 2026
By: Halima Frost 21st September 2026 Making headlines: Three suspects appear in court in Ekurhuleni cases; DA challenges Lamola to oppose ‘ANC’s race-based’ policies after US Apartheid... →
FW de Klerk Foundation distances itself from outgoing director’s US policy comments
By: Thabi Shomolekae 21st September 2026 The board of the FW de Klerk Foundation has formally distanced itself from statements made by its outgoing executive director Christo van der... →
DA challenges Lamola to oppose ‘ANC’s race-based’ policies after US Apartheid 2.0 remarks 
By: Thabi Shomolekae 21st September 2026 The DA has challenged International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola to oppose race-based policies within South Africa’s own... →
Key African central banks set to keep high rates as buffer against shocks
By: Bloomberg 21st September 2026 African central banks from South Africa to Egypt are poised to keep their interest rates high for longer, seeking to shield their economies from... →
DA welcomes Lamola’s rejection of race-based policy
21st September 2026 The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Ronald Lamola’s recent remarks in the United States... →
Scale up hydrogen, global council urges amid growing energy security concerns
By: Martin Creamer 18th September 2026 The global Hydrogen Council is urging the world to scale up its hydrogen energy ecosystem at pace, which coincided with green hydrogen being... →
Egyptian deported by US to Equatorial Guinea held incommunicado for a week, lawyer says
By: Reuters 18th September 2026 An Egyptian man deported from the US to Equatorial Guinea who criticised the conduct of security forces there has been held for a week at a... →
US gives UN more time to end support for Somalia peacekeepers
By: Reuters 18th September 2026 The United States has agreed to give the UN another year to wind down its support for African peacekeepers in Somalia, a document showed - a move... →
