Foreign
South African US Ambassador expelled for hating Trump
The South African Ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool has been expelled from the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio described Rasool in a post on X l as “race baiting politician”.
The U.S. Secretary of State also accused the South African ambassador of hating America and hating Donald Trump.
Rasool has been at loggerhead with the Trump’s administration since January when President Trump assumed office.
The row started after Rasool said in an online seminar hosted by a South African think tank that the MAGA movement was partially in response to worries about demographic change and a future when white Americans would no longer be the majority.
“So in terms of that — the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement — the Make America Great Again movement — as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white, and that the possibility of a majority of minorities is looming on the horizon,” said Rasool.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for the South African president, described the ambassador’s expulsion “regrettable.”
“We urge all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter,” he said. “South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America.”
The recent row may not be unconnected with the earlier false accusation by Trump that the South African government was confiscating land from white farmers and invited white Afrikaners to resettle in the US as refugees.
South Africa’s government said it was, quote, “ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged.”
Trump had earlier cut all financial aid to South Africa, citing the alleged persecution of the Afrikaners as well as South Africa’s genocide case against US ally Israel at the Hague.
Rubio snubbed South Africa last month too, by failing to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting. South Africa is the current G20 president but Rubio said he was skipping the event because the summit had DEI and climate change on the agenda.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also opted out of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Cape Town after the US objected to the themes of “solidarity, equality and sustainability.”
South African-born Trump adviser Elon Musk has also attacked South Africa for what he says are its “racist ownership” laws, that prevent him from taking his Starlink satellite service to the country unless he meets affirmative action requirements.
Ambassador Rasool was South Africa’s envoy to the US once before, from 2010 to 2015.
When he was a child, Rasool’s family was forcibly removed from their home during apartheid when the government declared their suburb a “whites only area.” He went on to become active in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement.
In his speech on the webinar that caused Rubio’s outrage on Friday, the ambassador said South Africa needed to be cautious and diplomatic in dealing with Trump’s administration.
US federal prosecutors said Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in an X post.
A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016,” the prosecutor said.
Mafi was arrested Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The post was accompanied by images of a woman presumed to be Mafi surrounded by federal agents at the airport, a large drone on a tarmac, a woman’s ID image and bundles of cash.
The United Nations recently warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping into “full-scale famine and collapse,” as the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its fourth year.
The UN Sudan chief, Denise Brown, told AFP Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and weapons from outside sources deserve part of the blame.
The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.
On one side, the Sudanese army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.
However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence that it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.
AFP
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and abandon ambitions for a nuclear weapon, describing negotiations as being on the verge of a major breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for Las Vegas, Trump said: “We’re very close to making a deal with Iran. We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything.”
He added that Iran had consented to return its enriched uranium, which he has repeatedly called “nuclear dust”, material believed to be buried deep underground following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump stated. He also suggested that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend and expressed uncertainty about whether the current fragile ceasefire would need extension.
The comments come amid efforts to end six weeks of conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for oil exports.
However, Iran has not publicly confirmed Trump’s assertions. Multiple reports indicate that Tehran has previously pushed back against similar claims, describing them as exaggerated.
Recent direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 collapsed without agreement, with core disputes remaining over the future of uranium enrichment inside Iran and the removal of existing stockpiles.
The White House has been discussing a possible second round of negotiations in Pakistan, with officials expressing optimism.
A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, adding pressure on Tehran.
Analysts caution that any final deal would require strict verification mechanisms, especially given the deeply buried nature of the material in question.
For Nigeria and other oil-producing nations, progress toward de-escalation could help stabilise crude prices, which have spiked due to fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
A lasting agreement might also open the door for sanctions relief on Iran, potentially shifting global energy dynamics.
Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a non-negotiable red line, while offering the prospect of broader regional stability in return for Iranian concessions.
No immediate reaction from Iranian officials was available as of press time. Further developments are expected in the coming days as diplomatic channels continue.
A devastating shooting at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday has left at least four people dead and 20 others wounded. The incident, which occurred in the province of Kahramanmaras, marks a harrowing second day of educational violence in the region, an anomaly in a country where school shootings are exceedingly rare.
The local governor, Mukerrem Unluer, confirmed to reporters that the fatalities included three pupils and one teacher. The perpetrator, identified as an eighth-grade student at the school, also died during the attack.
According to Governor Unluer, the assailant, typically aged 13 or 14 arrived at the institution concealing an arsenal within his backpack. The weapons, which authorities believe belonged to his father, a retired police officer, included five firearms and seven ammunition magazines.
“An eighth-grade student entered two classrooms occupied by fifth-grade students and opened fire indiscriminately,” Governor Unluer stated. The victims in the fifth grade are generally between the ages of 10 and 11.
The Governor further disclosed that four of the wounded are currently in critical condition and are undergoing emergency surgery.
Television footage from the site depicted a harrowing scene as police cordoned off the school gates while frantic crowds gathered nearby. Ambulances were seen transporting at least two victims from the premises as emergency services worked to stabilise the survivors.
The Justice Minister, Akin Gurlek, announced via the social media platform X that a formal investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the massacre. Authorities are expected to scrutinise how the minor gained access to his father’s service weapons.
This tragedy follows a similar incident on Tuesday in the neighbouring province of Sanliurfa, where a former student opened fire at a school, wounding 16 individuals including staff and pupils before taking his own life.
The back-to-back attacks have sent shockwaves through the Turkish nation, prompting urgent discussions regarding firearm security and the safety of academic environments.
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