Trump ambushes South African president with ‘genocide' accusation
The visit by the South African leader was billed as a chance to smooth relations following vociferous – and unfounded – genocide claims by Trump and his billionaire, South African-born ally Elon Musk, who was also in the Oval Office.
'We are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa,' Ramaphosa said.
He arrived at the White House with two of South Africa's top golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and the country's wealthiest man Johann Rupert, in a bid to woo the golf-loving US President.
The support of the three high-profile Afrikaners in Ramaphosa's delegation comes days after around 50 Afrikaners arrived in the United States to take up Trump's offer of 'refuge'.
Trump made the offer despite the United States having halted arrivals of asylum seekers from most of the rest of the world as he cracks down on migration.
The South African President was also expected to come bearing gifts, with reports that his government would offer Musk a deal to operate his Starlink satellite internet network in the country.
The Tesla and Space X boss has accused Pretoria of 'openly racist' laws, a reference to post-apartheid black empowerment policies seen as a hurdle to the licensing of Starlink.
Land law row
Trump's administration has torn into a series of policies in South Africa since the US President began his second term in office.
It has slammed South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, cut foreign aid, announced 31% tariffs, and expelled Pretoria's ambassador after he criticised Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
But the biggest issue for Trump and his team has been a South African land expropriation law signed in January that aims to redress the historical inequalities of white minority rule.
Musk, who has spearheaded Trump's radical cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attacked the land laws at the Qatar Economic forum this week.
'Why are there racist laws in South Africa?' he said.
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people despite being only 7.3% of the population.
Ramaphosa has rejected Washington's assertion that the law will be used to arbitrarily confiscate white-owned land.
Right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups have claimed that Afrikaans farmers are being murdered in targeted killings, but authorities say this is unfounded.
Most of the victims of South Africa's sky-high murder rate are young black men in urban areas, according to police figures.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
3 hours ago
- 1News
Trump injects new dose of tariffs uncertainty as start date pushed back
For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night (local time) imposing new tariffs, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so the tariff schedule could be updated. The change in tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands was potentially welcome news to countries that had not yet reached a deal with the US. It also injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what's going to happen and when. Trump told NBC News the tariffs process was going 'very well, very smooth". But even as the Republican president insisted these new rates would stay in place, he added: 'It doesn't mean that somebody doesn't come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal.' Trump has promised that his tax increases on the nearly US$3 trillion (NZ$5 trillion) in goods imported to the United States will usher in newfound wealth, launch a cavalcade of new factory jobs, reduce the budget deficits and, simply, get other countries to treat America with more respect. The vast tariffs risk jeopardising America's global standing as allies feel forced into unfriendly deals. As taxes on the raw materials used by US factories and basic goods, the tariffs also threaten to create new inflationary pressures and hamper economic growth — concerns the Trump White House has dismissed. ADVERTISEMENT Questions swirl around the tariffs despite Trump's eagerness President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, July 25, 2025, in Washington. (Source: Associated Press) As the clock ticked toward Trump's self-imposed deadline, few things seemed to be settled other than the president's determination to levy the taxes he had talked about for decades. The very legality of the tariffs remains an open question as a US appeals court on heard arguments on whether Trump had exceeded his authority by declaring an 'emergency' under a 1977 law to charge the tariffs, allowing him to avoid congressional approval. Trump was ebullient as much of the world awaited what he would do. 'Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again,' he said on Truth Social. Others saw a policy carelessly constructed by the US president, one that could impose harms gradually over time that would erode America's power and prosperity. 'The only things we'll know for sure on Friday morning are that growth-sapping US import taxes will be historically high and complex, and that, because these deals are so vague and unfinished, policy uncertainty will remain very elevated,' said Scott Lincicome, a vice president of economics at the Cato Institute. 'The rest is very much TBD.' ADVERTISEMENT The new tariffs build off ones announced in the spring President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands after reaching a trade deal at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Source: Associated Press) Trump initially imposed the Friday deadline after his previous 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates announced then led to recession fears, prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty agreements. Swiss imports will now be taxed at a higher rate, 39%, than the 31% Trump threatened in April, while Liechtenstein saw its rate slashed from 37% to 15%. Countries not listed in the Thursday night order would be charged a baseline 10% tariff. Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines — allowing the president to claim victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates. He said there were agreements with other countries, but he declined to name them. Asked if countries were happy with the rates set by Trump, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: 'A lot of them are.' Thursday began with a palpable sense of tension ADVERTISEMENT Vehicles for export are parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Source: Associated Press) The EU was awaiting a written agreement on its 15% tariff deal. Switzerland and Norway were among the dozens of countries that did not know what their tariff rate would be, while Trump agreed after a phone call to keep Mexico's tariffs at 25% for a 90-day negotiating period. The president separately amended an order to raise certain tariffs on Canada to 35%. European leaders face blowback for seeming to cave to Trump, even as they insist that this is merely the start of talks and stress the importance of maintaining America's support of Ukraine's fight against Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already indicated that his country can no longer rely on the US as an ally, and Trump declined to talk to him. India, with its 25% tariff announced by Trump, may no longer benefit as much from efforts to pivot manufacturing out of China. While the Trump administration has sought to challenge China's manufacturing dominance, it is separately in extended trade talks with that country, which faces a 30% tariff and is charging a 10% retaliatory rate on the US. Major companies came into the week warning that tariffs would begin to squeeze them financially. Ford Motor Co. said it anticipated a net US$2 billion (NZ$3.4 billion) hit to earnings this year from tariffs. French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment and rising prices. It's unclear whether Trump's new tariffs will survive a legal challenge President Donald Trump meets with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club on Monday, July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Federal judges sounded sceptical about Trump's use of a 1977 law to declare the long-standing US trade deficit a national emergency that justifies tariffs on almost every country. 'You're asking for an unbounded authority,' Judge Todd Hughes of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit told a Justice Department lawyer representing the administration. The judges didn't immediately rule, and the case is expected to reach the Supreme Court eventually. The Trump White House has pointed to the increase in federal revenues as a sign that the tariffs will reduce the budget deficit, with US$127 billion (NZ$216 billion) in customs and duties collected so far this year — about US$70 billion (NZ$119 billion) more than last year. New tariffs threaten to raise inflation rates President Donald Trump talks to the media as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Source: Associated Press) There are not yet signs that tariffs will lead to more domestic manufacturing jobs, and Friday's employment report showed the US economy now has 37,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than it did in April. ADVERTISEMENT One crucial measure of inflation, known as the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, showed that prices have climbed 2.6% over the 12 months that ended in June, a sign that inflation may be accelerating as the tariffs flow through the economy. The prospect of higher inflation from the tariffs has caused the Federal Reserve to hold off on additional cuts to its benchmark rates, a point of frustration for Trump, who on Truth Social, called Fed Chair Jerome Powell a 'TOTAL LOSER'. But before Trump's tariffs, Powell seemed to suggest that the tariffs had put the US economy and much of the world into a state of unknowns. 'There are many uncertainties left to resolve,' Powell told reporters Wednesday. 'So, yes, we are learning more and more. It doesn't feel like we're very close to the end of that process. And that's not for us to judge, but it does — it feels like there's much more to come.'
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trump moves nuclear submarines after statements by former Russian president
Trump on Tuesday said Russia had "10 days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit, along with its oil buyers, with tariffs. Photo: AFP / Pool / Christopher Furlong US President Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to the "appropriate regions" in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump said in a social media post that called Medvedev's statements highly provocative. He said he ordered the submarines moved "just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances". Trump and Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, traded taunts in recent days after Trump on Tuesday said Russia had "10 days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit, along with its oil buyers, with tariffs. Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has shown no sign that it will comply with Trump's deadline. Medvedev on Monday accused Trump of engaging in a "game of ultimatums" and reminded him that Russia possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words." Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Kremlin critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior Kremlin policy-making circles. - Reuters
Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Licensing decision welcomed
A decision to have one licence for all alcohol vendors was welcomed by the Alexandra Blossom Festival committee. In June, the Central Otago licensing committee declined the Alexandra Blossom Festival a special liquor licence, which led to a district licensing committee hearing last month. This week the committee released its decision — approving one licence for all vendors in Pioneer Park. Last year each vendor had to get their own licence, which limited the committee's control. Regardless of who held the licence, each vendor was required to have a duty manager on site. Festival manager Martin McPherson said he was very pleased with the decision. "The festival now has hands-on control of our venue." At the hearing Mr McPherson reiterated the festival was not about alcohol, and had always been designed around the idea of a family day out. People came into the park, got lunch and a beer or wine and sat at the tables to watch the entertainment. Alcohol was secondary to the crowning of the festival prince or princess, the floats and the entertainers. Festival committee chairwoman Sharleen Stirling-Linsday said the festival was proud of its management of alcohol sales. "Last year's changes to the licence limited our ability to manage unwanted behaviour from punters and vendors," she said. Mr McPherson said this year's Saturday in the Park food and beverage sales would be no different from previous years. A wide variety of international food flavours — including Thai, Mexican, Filipino, South African and South American — would be available, along with the traditional whitebait patties, pizza and hot dogs, accompanied by eight vendors offering Central Otago wine and beers, he said.
