PRETORIA: About a thousand people gathered outside the US embassy in Pretoria on Saturday to show their support for President Donald Trump after he hit out at the “injust” treatment of white South Africans.
Denouncing a recent law on land expropriation and murders committed against farmers, 1,200 people took part in the rally, according to the South African police.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen in my lifetime that a foreign president stands up for the Afrikaner people like what we’ve seen him do, so we have to support this,” said Walter Wobben, a 52-year-old owner of a cattle farm in the Western Cape province, referring to the descendents of Dutch settlers.
He handed out “Make Afrikaners Great Again” caps to the all-white crowd, which included bikers in black leather, fans of the local Bulls rugby team and farmers wearing traditional beige shirts and shorts with leather boots.
“Less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from here my uncle and aunt were brutally attacked, and my uncle died in hospital after being in emergency care for about three weeks,” he said.
“My aunt is still in a wheelchair. She’s never recovered, she can’t walk. And she’s got brain damage. Two elderly people in their 80s.”
The country, which had a population of 62 million according to the 2022 census, suffers from one of the highest homicide rates in the world, with nearly 28,000 murders recorded in the year from February 2023 to February 2024, according to the latest annual statistics released by police.
“There are so many other things happening in South Africa, but nobody gives specific attention to farm killings,” said Rose Basson, 64. “No one other than Trump talks about what’s happening. They ignore it.”
Between rows of motorbikes and pick-up trucks, Basson, a doctor of psychology turned chess teacher, said she believes that there are “too many racial laws.”
Whites represented a little more than seven percent of the population but owned 72 percent of agricultural land in 2017, according to government figures. Laws passed since 1994 aim to roll back the legacy of expropriation of black-owned land under colonization and then apartheid.
One thousand South Africans gather for pro-Trump rally
https://arab.news/w4suw
One thousand South Africans gather for pro-Trump rally
Ransomware group Lockbit appears to have been hacked, analysts say
- Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs and it has survived past disruptions
WASHINGTON: The ransom-seeking cybercriminals behind the extortion group Lockbit appear to have suffered a breach of their own, according to a rogue post to one of the group’s websites and security analysts who follow the gang.
On Wednesday one of Lockbit’s darkweb sites was replaced with a message saying, “Don’t do crime CRIME IS BAD xoxo from Prague” and a link to an apparent cache of leaked data.
Reuters could not immediately verify the data, which appeared to capture chats between the hackers and their victims, among other things. But others who sifted through the material told Reuters it appeared authentic.
“It’s legit,” said Jon DiMaggio, the chief security strategist with the cybersecurity company Analyst1.
Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics at cybersecurity firm Rapid7, agreed the leak “looks really authentic.” He said he was struck by how it showed Lockbit’s hackers hustling even for modest payouts from small businesses.
“They attack everyone,” he said.
Reuters could not immediately reach Lockbit or establish who had apparently leaked their data. Some darkweb sites associated with Lockbit appeared to be inoperative on Thursday, displaying a note saying they would be “working soon.”
Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs — diMaggio once called it “the Walmart of ransomware groups” — and it has survived past disruptions. Last year British and US officials worked with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies to seize some of the gang’s infrastructure. A few days later, the group defiantly announced it was back online, saying, “I cannot be stopped.”
Behind the bravado, diMaggio said this week’s hack was an embarrassment.
“I think it will hurt them and slow them down,” he said.
US military to ‘immediately’ start removing 1,000 trans troops
WASHINGTON: The US military will “immediately” start the process of removing some 1,000 transgender troops and will force out those who do not leave voluntarily by early June, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January banning transgender military service, and the US Supreme Court ruled this week that the ban could take effect while litigation challenging it plays out.
“The Military Departments will immediately begin processing for separation service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation prior to March 26, 2025,” a memo from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.
Approximately 1,000 troops who identified as having gender dysphoria diagnoses fall into that category, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
There were a total of 4,240 currently serving troops with such diagnoses as of late last year, according to a senior defense official, and the memo said those who do not voluntarily leave by June 6 for active-duty troops and the following day for reserves will be removed.
“On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes,” the memo said.
In his January 27 executive order, Trump stated that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
The Pentagon followed that up with a memo issued in late February stating that it would remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, as well as prevent transgender people from joining.
Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has sought to keep them out of the ranks.
Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Thursday for a month-long unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
“Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” Trump said on his Truth Social network shortly after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump said that “both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations” to halt the conflict that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The US president said he wanted any ceasefire to then build to a “lasting peace.”
“It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in February in a bid to end the war that he had previously pledged to end within 24 hours of starting his second term.
But he has shown growing impatience, first with Zelensky and more recently with Putin as the fighting has continued.
Trump and other top US officials have stepped up warnings in recent weeks that Washington is prepared to walk away from its role as a broker if there is no progress soon.
Zelensky said on social media that he had told Trump Thursday that Ukraine was ready for talks on the war with Russia “in any format” but insisted that there first had to be a full ceasefire.
US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’
WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said Washington wanted to see a “de-escalation” in a worsening conflict between India and Pakistan, but that it was “fundamentally none of our business.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” said Vance, who has been a proponent of US disengagement from international conflicts, in an interview with Fox News.
Senegalese lawmakers weigh corruption cases against former ministers
DAKAR: Senegalese lawmakers on Thursday began debating whether to allow several former ministers to face charges before a special court over accusations they embezzled funds meant for the country’s fight against COVID-19.
Senegal’s National Assembly is controlled mainly by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s party, elected in March last year on a promise to change how the West African country is run compared to his predecessors.
Faye has made the fight against corruption a policy priority and has launched investigations into the administration of Macky Sall, president from 2012 for 12 years.
But the opposition has slammed the moves as a “witch hunt.”
Last Friday, lawmakers lifted parliamentary immunity from prosecution for two opposition MPs caught up in the allegations while serving in Sall’s administration.
Proceedings of this type are rare in Senegal, and lawmakers must authorize cases against former ministers in the exercise of their duties.
Moustapha Diop was the industrial development minister while Salimata Diop was the women’s affairs minister under Sall when the fund to fight the spread of Covid-19 was established in 2020-21.
Both have rejected accusations that they misappropriated any of the money, totaling one trillion CFA francs ($1.7 billion).
The funds were intended to reinforce the health care system, support households and the private sector, and protect jobs during the pandemic.
However, a December 2022 Court of Auditors report revealed irregularities, such as 2.7 billion CFA francs in over-invoicing of rice purchased for disadvantaged households and some 42 million CFA francs for sanitiser.
Three other former ministers accused are Amadou Mansour Faye, the former president’s brother-in-law, Aissatou Sophie Gladima, and Ismaila Madior Fall.
Several prominent figures, including artists, broadcasters, fashion designers, and senior officials, have been questioned during an investigation.
Parliament lifted immunity for Moustapha Diop and Salimata Diop last Friday as they were elected lawmakers in November after Sall left office.
A three-fifths majority of the 165 lawmakers is required to adopt each draft resolution, with voting by secret ballot.
The High Court’s investigative committee could then question the accused, who will decide whether or not to commit them for trial.
The court’s final decision is not subject to appeal.
