South Africa expects to be notified by the US that it will be excluded from participating in Group of 20 meetings during its presidency, according to people familiar with the matter, marking a further deterioration in ties between the two countries.

Visa-free travel between the two regions removes paperwork, fees and waiting periods for South Africans and Indonesians.

The G20's leadership is heading away from the Global South just as debt problems in poorer countries threaten to flare again, testing whether the group's ambitions on debt relief will translate into action under a United States presidency.

South Africa ranks sixth on CEOWORLD magazine’s list of the best places to visit in your lifetime, earning global attention.

Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola did not say who South Africa believed had organized the chartered plane that arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday with 153 Palestinians, but his comments were seen as accusing Israel of being behind a campaign to remove people from the Palestinian territories and send them to other countries.