South African president bangs gavel after rejecting plan from US, which hosts next meeting, for him to hand over to junior official

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, closed the G20 summit in Johannesburg by banging a gavel, having rejected a US proposal for him to hand over to a relatively junior embassy official for the next summit in Florida in a year’s time.

South Africa presented the two-day event as a triumph for multilateralism but it was marred by a boycott by the US, which has repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against white-minority Afrikaners, a claim that has been widely discredited.

Trump press secretary accuses Cyril Ramaphosa of ‘running his mouth’ after US boycott of summit in Johannesburg

The dispute between South Africa and the US over the Trump administration’s decision to boycott the G20 in Johannesburg has continued, with South Africa objecting to a US plan for a junior embassy official to take part in the closing ceremony meant to mark the handover to the next summit, which will take place in Florida.

The two-day summit, which opens on Saturday, comes at a febrile moment in global politics. The US has proposed a deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it agreed with Moscow without the involvement of Ukraine or the EU.

Bike culture, once seen as an elite hobby or a last resort for the poor, is flourishing in the post-apartheid City of Gold

On a hot Saturday spring morning, Karabo Mashele urged a group of female cyclists up the hills of a plush Johannesburg suburb. “Come on my ladybugs,” the 32-year-old shouted over the sounds of 4X4 cars overtaking the riders. “You can do hard things!”

Twice a month, Mashele, who only learned to cycle aged 29, leads Girls on Bikes casual rides for up to 25 women in their 20s and 30s, through Johannesburg or Pretoria. On other weekends, she and a core group join longer, mixed gender rides.

Karabo Mashele, the founder of the Girls on Bikes bicycle club, on the streets of Johannesburg.