CAPE TOWN, South Africa: The United States Embassy in South Africa said Thursday it received a list of more than 67,000 people interested in refugee status in the US under President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate members of a white minority group he claims are victims of racial discrimination by their Black-led government.
The list was given to the embassy by the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, which said it became a point of contact for white South Africans asking about the program announced by the Trump administration last month. The chamber said the list does not constitute official applications.
Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 7 cutting US funding to South Africa and citing “government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.”
Trump’s executive order specifically referred to Afrikaners, a white minority group who are descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. The order directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to prioritize humanitarian relief to Afrikaners who are victims of “unjust racial discrimination” and resettle them in the US under the refugee program.
There are approximately 2.7 million Afrikaners in South Africa, which has a population of 62 million. Trump’s decision to offer some white South Africans refugee status went against his larger policy to halt the US refugee resettlement program.
The South African government has said that Trump’s allegations that it is targeting Afrikaners through a land expropriation law are inaccurate and largely driven by misinformation. Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform that Afrikaners were having their farmland seized, when no land has been taken under the new law.
The executive order also criticized South Africa’s foreign policy, specifically its decision to accuse Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a case at the United Nations’ top court. The Trump administration has accused South Africa of supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran and taking an anti-American stance. The US has also expelled the South African ambassador, accusing him of being anti-America and anti-Trump.
An official at the US Embassy in the South African capital, Pretoria, confirmed receipt of the list of names from the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US but gave no more detail.
Neil Diamond, the president of the chamber, said the list contains 67,042 names. Most were people between 25 and 45 years old and have children.
He told the Newzroom Afrika television channel that his organization had been inundated with requests for more information since Trump’s order and had contacted the State Department and the embassy in Pretoria “to indicate that we would like them to make a channel available for South Africans that would like to get more information and register for refugee status.”
“That cannot be the responsibility of the chamber,” he said.
Diamond said only US authorities could officially register applications for resettlement in the United States. The US Embassy in South Africa said it is awaiting further instructions on the implementation of Trump’s order.
67,000 white South Africans express interest in Trump’s plan to give them refugee status
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67,000 white South Africans express interest in Trump’s plan to give them refugee status
- Trump has offered refugee status to some white South Africans who claimed they are victims of racial discrimination by their Black-led government
Thousands of demonstrators march through Rome to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza
Up to 300,000 people participated in the rally organized by the leftist opposition to ask the government for a clear position on the conflict in Gaza
ROME: Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday against the war in Gaza in a protest called by Italy’s main opposition parties, who accuse the right-wing government of being too silent.
Protesters held a banner reading “Stop the massacre, stop complicity!” at the start of the march, which moved peacefully through the center of Rome amid a massive display of rainbow, Palestinian and political party flags.
The protest attracted a diverse crowd from across the country, including many families with children. According to organizers, up to 300,000 people participated in the rally organized by the leftist opposition to ask the government for a clear position on the conflict in Gaza.
“This is an enormous popular response to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians and the crimes of (Israeli leader Benjamin) Netanyahu’s government,” the leader of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, told reporters at the march.
“There is another Italy that doesn’t remain silent as the Meloni government does,” she said, referring to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Meloni was recently pushed by the opposition to publicly condemn Netanyahu’s offensive in Gaza, but many observers considered her criticism too timid.
”(The Italian government) is not reacting despite an abnormal massacre, despite an absolutely cruel and inappropriate reaction. The (Italian) government remains silent,” said Nadin Unali, a Tunisian demonstrator at the march.
Earlier this week, the Italian premier urged Israel to immediately halt its military campaign in Gaza, saying its attacks had grown disproportionately and should be brought to an end to protect civilians.
Israel faces mounting international criticism for its offensive and pressure to let aid into Gaza during a humanitarian crisis.
Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, with experts warning that many of its 2 million residents are at high risk of famine.
The war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive.
Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
German justice minister condemns attacks on judges after asylum ruling
- It is a key duty of free courts to determine whether the law is being respected
- Hubig, from the Social Democrat party, said in the joint statement that attacks on judges’ independence “strike at the basic values of our constitution”
BERLIN: German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has condemned “alarming” attacks on judges who earlier this week delivered a ruling challenging a key plank of the government’s immigration crackdown.
Hubig said in a statement together with the justice ministers of Germany’s federal states that “we condemn such attacks on the judicial system and on judges’ independence.”
The Berlin judges’ association said on Wednesday that two of its members had been “defamed and threatened” after handing down their decision on Monday.
In that ruling, the judges found that the pushback of three Somali asylum seekers to Poland on May 9 had been illegal.
Hubig, from the Social Democrat party, said in the joint statement that attacks on judges’ independence “strike at the basic values of our constitution.”
“It is a key duty of free courts to determine whether the law is being respected,” the statement read.
Straight after entering office early last month, the government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz introduced a policy of refusing undocumented migrants — including almost all asylum seekers — entry at Germany’s borders.
The court said that the three Somalis should not have been sent back to Poland before it had been determined which state was responsible for processing their claim under the EU’s so-called “Dublin” system.
Nevertheless, Merz said that the government would continue the policy, a central part of his promised crackdown on immigration.
He and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, both from the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, point to the fact that the judgment technically only applied to the three
Somalis and said the government can successfully defend the policy in any further court action.
Merz insists that a tougher immigration policy is essential to halt the growth of the far-right Alternative for Germany, which achieved a record score of over 20 percent in February’s general election.
However, some in the center-left SPD, the junior partner in Merz’s coalition, have expressed unease at the pushbacks and doubts over their legality.
ICC gives victims of the gravest crimes a voice, EU leader says
- Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court “a cornerstone of international justice” and said its independence and integrity must be protected
BRUSSELS: The EU has given its backing to the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and EU member Slovenia said it would push Brussels to use its power to ensure the US sanctions could not be enforced in Europe.
“The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on the social media platform X.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court “a cornerstone of international justice” and said its independence and integrity must be protected.
The International Criminal Court must be free to act without pressure.
Ursula Von der Leyen, European Commission president
The US imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in retaliation for the war tribunal’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.
The initial US order names Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia.
The US sanctions mean the judges are now on a list of specially designated sanctioned individuals.
Any US assets they have will be blocked, and they are put on an automated screening service used by not only American banks but many banks worldwide, making it very difficult for sanctioned persons to hold or open bank accounts or transfer money.
The initial order announcing sanctions on the ICC also said that US citizens who provide services for the benefit of sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties.
Slovenia urged the EU to use its blocking statute, which lets the EU ban European companies from complying with US sanctions that Brussels deems unlawful.
“Due to the inclusion of a citizen of an EU member state on the sanctions list, Slovenia will propose the immediate activation of the blocking act,” Slovenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on the social media site X.
ICC president Judge Tomoko Akane had urged the EU already in March this year to bring the ICC into the scope of the blocking statute.
The new sanctions have been imposed at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier US sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a UN investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
The court’s governing body, representing 125 member states, condemned the US government’s decision to retaliate against judges.
“These ... are regrettable attempts to impede the court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions,” the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties said.
‘Return to your country’ Kabul tells Afghans rebuffed by Washington
- US President Trump this week announced travel ban targeting 12 countries, including Afghanistan
- Afghan PM assures nationals of protection even if they worked with US-led forces against Taliban
KABUL: The Taliban government on Saturday urged Afghans hoping to emigrate to the United States to instead return to Afghanistan, after Washington tightened entry conditions.
US President Donald Trump this week announced a travel ban targeting 12 countries, including Afghanistan, which his proclamation said lacked “competent” central authorities for processing passports and vetting.
Commenting on the ban on Saturday, Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urged Afghans to return to their country, saying they would be protected even if they worked with US-led forces in the two-decade fight against the Taliban insurgency.
“For those who are worried that America has closed its doors to Afghans... I want to tell them, ‘Return to your country, even if you have served the Americans for 20 or 30 years for their ends, and ruined the Islamic system’,” he said in a speech marking the Eid Al-Adha holiday, broadcast by state media.
“You will not face abuse or trouble,” he said, making reassurances that the Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had “granted amnesty for all.”
After surging to power in 2021, Taliban authorities announced a general amnesty for Afghans who worked with the Western-backed forces and government. However, the United Nations has recorded reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and abuses.
In the past four years, the Taliban government has imposed a strict view of Islamic law and restrictions on women which the UN says amount to “gender apartheid.”
Afghans fled in droves to neighboring countries during decades of conflict, but the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops saw a new wave clamoring to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington.
The United States has not had a working embassy in Afghanistan since 2021 and Afghans must apply for visas in third countries, principally Pakistan which has recently ramped up campaigns to expel Afghans.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, Afghans have gradually seen their chances of migrating to the United States or staying there shrink.
Trump administration orders have disrupted refugee pathways and revoked legal protections temporarily shielding Afghans from deportation starting in July.
France’s president will visit Greenland in a show of EU unity, Danish leader says
- Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semiautonomous Danish territory on June 15
- Frederiksen acknowledged the “difficult foreign policy situation in recent months”
COPENHAGEN: French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greenland next weekend, the Danish prime minister’s office said Saturday — a visit by a high-profile European Union leader in the wake of US expressions of interest in taking over the mineral-rich Arctic island.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semiautonomous Danish territory on June 15, hosted by Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The visit by Macron, whose nuclear-armed country has one of the EU’s strongest militaries, comes as US President Donald Trump hasn’t ruled out using force to carry out his desire for the resource-rich and strategically located island to become part of the United States.
While the issue of US interest in Greenland has drifted from the headlines in recent weeks, Nielsen said in late April that such comments by US leaders have been disrespectful and that Greenland will never be “a piece of property” that anyone can buy.
In the statement Saturday, Frederiksen acknowledged the “difficult foreign policy situation in recent months” but praised “great international support” for Greenland and Denmark.
“President Macron’s upcoming visit to Greenland is yet another concrete testament to European unity,” she said, alluding to the membership of France and Denmark in the 27-member-country EU.
The three leaders were expected to discuss security in the North Atlantic and the Arctic, as well as issues of economic development, climate change and energy during the visit, her office said.
