Latest news with #Afrikaners
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump looks to skip G20 summit in South Africa after viral Oval Office meeting
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he may skip the G20 summit in South Africa in November over the nation's "very bad policies," and instead send someone else to represent the United States. Trump made the remarks aboard Air Force One in response to a reporter's question as he returned from a trip to Scotland, where the president achieved a massive trade deal with the European Union. "I think maybe I'll send somebody else because I've had a lot of problems with South Africa," Trump said. "They have some very bad policies." "Very, very bad policies, like policies where people are being killed," Trump added. In May, Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House with news clippings and a video allegedly showing grave treatment of White farmers. Trump has claimed that White Afrikaner South African farmers are being slaughtered and forced off their land. The Afrikaners are descendants of mostly Dutch settlers who first arrived in South Africa in 1652. South Africa and its president have denied claims of genocide and harassment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio already boycotted a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in South Africa earlier this year over the government's controversial land seizure policy. Both the Trump and former Biden administrations have also criticized South Africa after the nation accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and brought a case to the International Court of Justice.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Trump to skip G20 Summit in South Africa, citing 'very bad policies' and violence concerns
US President Donald Trump's February executive order in February establishing the program specified that it was for "Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination," referring to an ethnic group descended mostly from Dutch settlers. US President Donald Trump said he will probably not attend the G20 Summit in South Africa, citing 'very bad policies' as the reason. Speaking on Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump said he will send someone else because of the 'problems' he has with South Africa. 'I think maybe I'll send somebody else because I've had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies,' he said. 'They have some very bad policies… A lot of people are being killed. I'd like to, but I don't think I will.' This remark reflects Trump's ongoing criticism of South Africa, particularly his repeated references to unsubstantiated claims that Pretoria has targeted white farmers—a narrative the South African government has consistently and categorically rejected.
The South African
2 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
US department official says refugee programme is for 'white people'
A US Department of State official has reportedly confirmed that the refugee programme offered to South Africans was intended for white people, particularly Afrikaners. In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting minorities resettlement under the programme on the grounds of 'racial discrimination'. Since then, two groups of Afrikaner people have arrived in the US, with more expected to follow. According to Reuters , the US Department of State's Spencer Chretien, the highest-ranking official in the refugee and migration bureau, stated that the refugee programme was 'intended for white people'. Chretien had declined to comment further. This throws into disrepute the Refugee Admission Programme's claim that it is open to all 'minorities'. Despite initially being targeted at Afrikaner farmers and white people, US authorities have since included coloured, Indian, and 'mixed-race' South Africans. Applicants must prove that they are 'persecuted' South Africans who are victims of 'racial discrimination'. The US Embassy has updated its refugee status programme application, with an announcement that communication will be coordinated by RSC Africa, which manages all US-bound applicants from Africa. This will include: Conducting intake and referral interviews Collecting applicants' data and documentation Requesting background checks Scheduling USCIS interviews Arranging for medical exams Booking travel to the United States Ultimately, the application will be reviewed and determined by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The embassy has also detailed that the refugee status application would include several stages, as outlined in the diagram below. Image via US Embassy Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald
US diplomats asked if non-whites qualify for Trump refugee programme for South Africans
The internal back-and-forth between the embassy and the state department, which hasn't been previously reported, illustrates the confusion about how to implement a policy designed to help white Afrikaners in a racially diverse country that includes mixed-race people who speak Afrikaans and whites who speak English. To date the state department has resettled 88 South Africans under the programme, including the initial group of 59 who arrived in May. Another 15 are expected to arrive by the end of August, one source said. Trump, a Republican who recaptured the White House pledging a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, placed an indefinite freeze on refugee admissions from around the world after taking office, saying the US would only admit refugees who 'can fully and appropriately assimilate'. Weeks later he issued an executive order that called for the US to resettle Afrikaners, describing them as victims of 'violence against racially disfavoured landowners', allegations that echoed far-right claims which have been contested by government. Since the executive order, US diplomats working to implement the programme have been deliberating internally about which racial groups could be considered eligible, one source said. In the July 8 cable, Greene laid out a summary of the different ethnic and racial groups in the country before seeking guidance on eligibility. In addition to Afrikaners and mixed-race South Africans, Greene mentioned indigenous South Africans known as the Khoisan people. He said members of the Jewish community had also expressed interest, but in South Africa they are considered a religious minority and not a racial group. 'In the absence of other guidance, [the US embassy] intends to give consideration to well-founded claims of persecution based on race for other racial minorities,' Greene wrote. At least one family identified as coloured has travelled to the US as refugees, two people familiar with the matter said. The cable forced the administration to clarify its position on whether the policy is for whites only, and if it does include other aggrieved minorities, who would qualify, two people familiar with the matter said. Chretien, a conservative who wrote op-eds promoting the Heritage Foundation's 'Project 2025" plan to overhaul the federal government, is the senior official at the state department's bureau of population, refugees, and migration.
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Paarl at your leisure — heritage, big rocks, big flavours and big cats
The Cape Winelands aren't all about wine. There are also olives, almonds, grappa, walking, conservation and several hundred years of history. In 1657, Jan van Riebeeck sent Abraham Gabbema, the public treasurer for the Dutch settlement in Table Bay, to scout the interior. While out and about he saw a giant granite outcrop glistening in the sun after a rainstorm, and named it 'de Diamondt en de Peerlberg' (Diamond and Pearl Mountain). People being what we are, it eventually became simply Paarl. The Khoikhoi folk who already lived there called it !hom !nāb/s (Tortoise Mountain), because it looks like a tortoise. I sent myself off to scout the interior, too. I saw mist, rain, sunshine, a big rock and lots more besides. But first, a nip round the geology department: Paarl Mountain has three main granite outcrops – Paarl, Bretagne (or Kettingsklip) and Gordon's rocks – and it's the third-largest granite feature in the world. Sibebe Rock in Eswatini is the largest. Then comes Stone Mountain in the US and then Paarl. And a pit stop at the toponymy department: unusually, Paarl is pronounced differently in English and in Afrikaans. Also unusual, it's customary for Afrikaners to talk about die Pêrel (the Paarl) rather than simply Pêrel. Paarl is the birthplace of Afrikaans, which celebrates its centenary this year – its official birthday was 8 May – so block off some time in your itinerary to take a turn at the Afrikaans Museum on Pastorie Avenue and to drive up to the Taal Monument. It's beautiful and the views are spectacular. Check the Afrikaans 100 website for anniversary-related events. Afrikaans 100-Makietie is on 25 October at the monument. It's a great big party with traditional food, wine and fun to celebrate the language's diversity and growth. The museum is in the old house of Gideon Malherbe, one of the founding members of the Society of True Afrikaners (Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners) in 1875. An aside: the driver behind the formation of the society was Arnoldus Pannevis, a polyglot who first recognised Afrikaans as a language all of its own. Did you know? Arabic Afrikaans is generally accepted as the first written version of the language. The museum is open on weekdays from 8am to 4.45pm. The Taal Monument is open every day from 8am to 5pm. If you take the dirt road to the right before the monument, you land up at Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve – good for mountain biking, hiking, picnicking and general hanging about in nature. I did not do this. Because rain. One must eat Dinner was at Brookdale Bistro, the fabulous restaurant under executive chef Gary Coetzee at Brookdale Estate, where I happened to be staying. It made rolling down to bed easy afterwards. A word to the wise: Brookdale is a gorgeous place, a working wine farm producing some outstanding wines – the Brookdale Twenty 2024, a field blend of 20 varieties, is young (this is its maiden vintage), but it is a sign of where the wine is going. Accommodations at the estate's Manor House are top-shelf – luxurious, elegant, understated. You want for nothing. The breakfast will set you up for the day as well, but still, you'll want to stop at some of the other eateries. As befits a Winelands town, Paarl is not short of options. I lunched at La Grapperia Pizza & Bistro, a hospitable German-Italian set-up at Spice Route Destination on Suid-Agter Paarl Road. It's attached to Wilderer Distillery, which makes grappa, eaux de vie, liqueurs, gin, rum, vodka and moonshine. All a bit strong for my delicate constitution, especially at lunchtime. Instead, I settled for a carafe of Spice Route Rosé and a margarita pinsa and felt suitably Italian. The weather was positively northern, however, and the fire-warmed interior was more inviting than the terrace (though there were some hardy souls braving it out there). Spice Route Destination, on a historic wine farm, has restaurants, arty boutiques, distillers, brewers, ceramic painting and tastings. You can get a Spice Route Passport and rove around to all the tasting venues on the property. There are also activities for children: a Spies Route Spy Adventure, play areas, pump track, chocolate tastings and painting. Big cats I spent a day occupied by conservation things. Because it's a few minutes down the road from Brookdale, first stop was Ashia Cheetah Conservation. It's an impressive under-the-radar cheetah research and conservation centre on Sonstraal Road. Part of Ashia's phased reintegration and reintroduction programme involves the rescue and rehabilitation of cheetahs from the wild where necessary (for example, if the mother is killed) that culminates in the cat being released back into the wild. This is critical: Ashia is not a petting zoo. There is absolutely no human-cheetah interaction, not with volunteers and not with visitors. All reintroduction is carefully planned and undertaken with receiving reserves to expand the gene pool and preserve the population. Tours of the facility include walks outside the large fenced enclosures to witness the cheetahs do their cheetah thing. Time it right and you can watch them in the running field. Booking is essential; no under-16s. Ashia is only open for tours on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. From cheetahs to lions, and a tiger. A leisurely 15-minute drive down Old Paarl Road brought me to the Drakenstein Lion Park, an altogether different experience, but one also guided by animal welfare. Again, this is critical: the lion park is not a petting zoo. There is zero interaction with the cats, which are captive-born and rescued from appalling conditions in zoos or private homes around the world and brought to Paarl where they live out their days in happier circumstances. Each lion has its story on a board on the fence of its (big, green) enclosure: Pythagoras, for example, was 'rescued from a social media influencer in northern Lebanon' who taped its mouth shut and abused it. Pi's fieldmate is Freya, who was also rescued from Lebanon. They're both about 18 months old and play like overgrown kittens. Seriously cute. There's even a tiger, abandoned in a closed-down zoo in Argentina, called Tana. Tana declined to so much as raise its head for a photo. More steps were got in at Olive Valley Walks at Waterfall Valley. I rambled with co-owner Maika Goetze along the stream, past the waterfall and through some of her olive groves, to end with an olive oil tasting. It was misty and overcast in the lush, green valley, absolutely beautiful. And a welcome change from the general Winelands landscape, which has mountains and valleys, sure, but is mostly monoculture vineyards and open stretches of fynbos. The tasting was sumptuous, with various olive-y treats and breads, fynbos salts and herbs as well as cheese and charcuterie. Maika also offers Harvest Tables under the olive trees, and an itinerary of walks. These include swimming in the dam, tasting wines, visiting Ashia and learning about fynbos. Her Walk to Workshop ends in a lesson in making marzipan, using almonds grown in southern Paarl. History lesson Another night was spent in Brookdale splendour before more walking: this time on the Paarl Heritage Route, which is essentially a 2km trek down Main Road, a stretch with 34 stops along the way. I did a guided tour with Hybré van Niekerk from Paarl Historical Walk and Tours, who really does know her stuff. It starts at Het Gesticht Church, the original slave church, and ends at Paarl Museum, which charts the region from the time the Huguenots arrived. As well as history, the walk is a trip through the architectural styles of South Africa, including neo-Gothic, Cape Dutch, Cape Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, vernacular, Cape Dutch revival, Dutch Renaissance revival, neoclassical and yes, even art deco. Gimnasium, the primary school built in 1858, was one of only three buildings in the Cape with Egyptian decorations – it has plaster figures of Hathor, Ra, sphinxes, scarabs and lotus flowers. Yet another unexpected but pleasant Paarl surprise. DM
