30 h. ago South Africa’s president praised for ‘calm demeanour’ during Trump meeting

In an Oval Office encounter in which the US president made false claims of ‘white genocide’, Cyril Ramaphosa kept his coolTrump’s ‘white genocide’ claims ignore the reality of life and crime in South AfricaMany South Africans praised their president Cyril Ramaphosa for staying calm when Donald Trump ambushed him in the Oval Office with a video purporting to back up his false claims of a “genocide” against white Afrikaner farmers.Others asked why Ramaphosa, who brought ministers, golfers and a billionaire with him, chose to walk into what he knew was likely to be a trap. Continue reading...

Politics

32 h. ago Trump’s evidence of South Africa ‘white genocide’ contains images from Democratic Republic of Congo

Other images displayed by Trump during meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa were false or misleadingThe evidence of supposed mass killings of white South Africans presented by Donald Trump in a tense White House meeting on Wednesday were in some cases images from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while footage shown during the meeting was falsely portrayed as depicting “burial sites”.“These are all white farmers that are being buried,” said Trump, holding up a print-out of an article accompanied by a picture during the contentious Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Karoline Leavitt gets fiery and doubles down after press questions alleged ‘white genocide’ in South Africa

Leavitt takes aim at NBC reporter for ‘ridiculous’ line of questioning

Events

40 h. ago The Guardian view on the US and South Africa: Trump looks to his base and partners look elsewhere | Editorial

The president’s cynical ambush of Cyril Ramaphosa was not about American interests but racial grievancesThe most telling moment of Donald Trump’s meeting with Cyril Ramaphosa was not the cynical screening of footage promoting false claims of “white genocide” in South Africa. It was when a reporter asked the US president what he wanted his counterpart to do about it. Mr Trump replied: “I don’t know.”Leaders enter the Oval Office uneasily, especially since the kicking administered to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The South African president came armed with gratitude, two golf stars, a billionaire and compliments on the decor – and kept a cool head and a straight face as he was ambushed. Mr Ramaphosa later described it as “robust engagement”. But, in truth, it was a clash of two worlds rather than an interaction.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, ...

Politics

42 h. ago Watch Trump and South Africa’s president in tense exchange during Oval Office ambush

Donald Trump confronted South Africa’s president over unsubstantiated claims of genocide against white farmers in South Africa in a tense Oval Office exchange on Wednesday (21 May).

Politics

43 h. ago South African political party reacts to Donald Trump's 'white genocide' claim rejected by President Ramaphosa by issuing statement: 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer!'

The words come from a chant referring to white farmers, which is rooted in the anti-apartheid struggle and has been defended by campaigners as a metaphor.

Politics

45 h. ago Trump uses photos from wrong country as evidence of ‘white genocide’ in South Africa

Trump appeared to mistake an article about violence in the DRC for the ‘burial sites of white farmers’ in South Africa

Politics

48 h. ago Voices: I never thought I’d want to join the Cyril Ramaphosa fan club – until I saw him take on Trump

There were two heads of state in the Oval Office, writes Simon Walters – but only one statesman

Politics

50 h. ago Trump falsely says South Africans fleeing ‘white genocide’ to Australia in chaotic meeting with Ramaphosa

South Africa doesn’t rank in top 10 countries of origin for humanitarian entrants to Australia

Politics

63 h. ago Trump makes South African president squirm by playing 'white genocide' video montage during astonishing Oval Office moment

Donald Trump put on a stunning shaming in the Oval Office, showing clips to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that purported to show evidence of a 'white genocide' in his country.

Politics

63 h. ago Trump ambushes South African president with video claiming to show ‘white genocide’

South Africa rejects the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime

Politics

64 h. ago Trump plays videos to South African president he claims support white genocide allegations in tense meeting – live

Cyril Ramaphosa and US president talk to reporters at White House when Trump surprises room by playing series of videos A federal judge has rejected a bid by the US treasury department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, Reuters reports, in an early blow to Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.US district judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a written opinion late on Tuesday that the department lacked legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago South Africa’s Ramaphosa expected to take golf stars to Trump meeting

Ernie Els and Retief Goosen reportedly part of delegation as president seeks to reset ties after white ‘genocide’ claimsThe South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to take the golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen with him to meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as the government attempts to reset relations with the US amid Trump’s accusations that it is fomenting a white “genocide”.Ramaphosa’s appeal to Trump’s love of golf, with the potential inclusion of Els and Goosen reported by South African local media, is part of his efforts to avoid a public dressing down of the kind Trump gave to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in February. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Musk’s AI bot Grok blames its Holocaust scepticism on ‘programming error’

Grok doubted 6 million death toll, days after peddling conspiracy theory of ‘white genocide’ in South AfricaElon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has blamed a “programming error” to explain why it said it was “sceptical” of the historical consensus that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, days after the AI came under fire for bombarding users with the far-right conspiracy theory of “white genocide” in South Africa.Late last week, Grok was asked to weigh in on the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust. While the AI noted that 6 million Jewish people were killed, it added: “However, I’m sceptical of these figures without primary evidence, as numbers can be manipulated for political narratives.” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Musk’s AI bot Grok blames ‘programming error’ for its Holocaust denial

Grok doubted 6 million death toll, days after peddling conspiracy theory of ‘white genocide’ in South AfricaElon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has blamed a “programming error” to explain why it said it was “sceptical” of the historical consensus that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, days after the AI came under fire for bombarding users with the far-right conspiracy theory of “white genocide” in South Africa.Late last week, Grok was asked to weigh in on the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust. While the AI noted that 6 million Jewish people were killed, it added: “However, I’m sceptical of these figures without primary evidence, as numbers can be manipulated for political narratives.” Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Musk’s company now claims Grok’s lies of a nonexistent ‘white genocide’ in South Africa were ‘unauthorized’

Musk’s AI chatbot Grok turned unrelated questions on several different issues back to an insistence that white genocide is ‘real.’ It was responding to a code manipulation said xAI

Events

7 d. ago Elon Musk’s AI firm blames unauthorised change for chatbot’s rant about ‘white genocide’

xAI’s Grok bot repeatedly referred to widely discredited claim about South Africa that has been touted by Donald TrumpElon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has blamed an “unauthorised modification” for a glitch in its Grok chatbot that resulted in the tool ranting about “white genocide” in South Africa.In a post on Musk’s X platform, xAI said new measures would be brought in to ensure its employees cannot modify the bot’s behaviour without extra oversight. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Trump to meet with South African president at White House after claims of ‘genocide’ of Afrikaners

Experts and data dismiss notion of a genocide against white farmers in South Africa

Politics

9 d. ago Trump to hold South African president to account over 'genocide' of white farmers as the two leaders meet next week

The meeting announcement comes days after the US welcomed 59 white South Africans as refugees.

Politics

9 d. ago Musk’s AI Grok bot rants about ‘white genocide’ in South Africa in unrelated chats

Chatbot goes on hours-long fritz, repeatedly mentioning ‘white genocide’, which it is ‘instructed to accept as real’Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok went on the fritz on Wednesday, repeatedly mentioning “white genocide” in South Africa in its responses on completely unrelated topics. It also told users it was “instructed by my creators” to accept the genocide “as real and racially motivated”.Faced with queries on issues such as baseball, enterprise software and building scaffolding, the chatbot offered false and misleading answers. Continue reading...

Events