The ANC has taken some flak for sending a delegation to Moscow for a conference over the weekend, but after Bheki Cele announced on Friday that South Africans are being murdered (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2024-02-16-murders-rise-by-155-to-7710-in-final-quarter-of-2023/) at a rate of roughly 84 per day, I suppose it made sense: unless you’re getting drafted to Ukraine or criticising Vladimir Putin, you’re much safer in Moscow than back home.

I can’t tell you if the “Forum of Supporters of the Struggle Against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism — For the Freedom of Nations” achieved all its political goals. When I looked out of my window this morning the West was still there, and quite a lot of nations remained very much not free, including Russia...