World
Trump yanks G20 invitation from South Africa over false genocide claims
United States President Donald Trump has taken to social media to announce that South Africa will not be allowed to attend next year’s Group of 20 (G20) intergovernmental forum in Miami, Florida.
In Wednesday’s post, Trump renewed false claims that a white “genocide” was unfolding in the African country.
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He also repeated his threat that South Africa would no longer receive funding from the US, a policy he put in place earlier this year.
“South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere,” Trump wrote. “We are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
The message on Truth Social was the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing feud with South Africa, a country he has accused of “shocking disregard” for the rights of white Afrikaners.
Human rights experts agree there is no basis for Trump’s claims of an Afrikaner genocide.
Yet, Trump has repeatedly cited such claims as he puts pressure on the government of his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. He has also blamed the media for failing to carry his message.
“The South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right [sic] Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.
“To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them. Perhaps, worst of all, the soon to be out of business New York Times and the Fake News Media won’t issue a word against this genocide.”
Passing the gavel
Trump’s latest comments come after an awkward diplomatic incident over the weekend, one that highlighted the increasingly fractious nature of US-South African relations.
In recent decades, the two countries have enjoyed largely amicable ties.
The US is South Africa’s second largest single-country trading partner, behind China, and business between the two countries is valued at approximately $26.2bn, as of 2024.
But last weekend’s G20 summit in the South African city of Johannesburg signalled how dramatically the relationship between the two countries had changed.
The summit was a big deal for Africa as a whole: It was the first time the continent had hosted the G20 leaders.
But while the US is typically a major presence at the G20, this time, the Trump administration decided to boycott the proceedings. Not only did Trump refuse to attend, but he also declined to send any top officials from Washington, DC, to the event.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” he wrote in a post on November 7.
“No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”
The G20 has traditionally been a meeting ground for leaders from the European Union, the African Union and other major world economies to discuss technology, environmental initiatives and shared financial growth.
Next year, the summit is scheduled to take place in Miami. Traditionally, the host of the G20 summit closes the meeting by banging a gavel and then passing the little wooden hammer to officials from the next country to hold the meeting.
But on Sunday, Ramaphosa did not pass the gavel to anyone.
Trump confirmed reports on Wednesday that he had offered to send a member of the US Embassy to accept the gavel, but that the offer had been rejected by Ramaphosa’s administration as a slight.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20.”
Heightened tensions
Ramaphosa largely avoided addressing the US absence during the G20 conference, instead underscoring his push for global unity and efforts to combat inequality.
“Our G20 Presidency has been rooted in the conviction that the world needs more solidarity, equality and sustainability,” Ramaphosa wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“While some have sought to create division and polarisation between nations, we have reinforced our shared humanity. We have fostered collaboration and goodwill. Above all, we have affirmed that our shared goals outweigh our differences.”
The increasingly hostile relations between South Africa and the US began early in Trump’s second term as president.
On February 7, Trump issued an executive action denouncing South Africa for alleged human rights abuses against white Afrikaners and saying that all aid and assistance to the country would stop.
As of fiscal year 2023, US assistance to South Africa totalled approximately $441.3m, according to government statistics. In fiscal year 2024, which is only partially reported at present, the total rose to approximately $581m.
In February’s order, Trump also directed US government agencies to assist in the resettlement of Afrikaners as “refugees” in the US.
He doubled down on that call in late October, when he set the lowest cap on refugee admissions in US history.
Of the 7,500 available refugee slots, the Trump administration called for the majority to be “allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa” and other “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination”.
In May, Trump also hosted Ramaphosa at the White House, where he attempted to confront the South African leader with accusations of genocide in his country. Some critics have compared the meeting to an “ambush”.
Ramaphosa, for his part, has repeatedly denied the accusations. When asked by reporters about the US boycotting the G20 this year, he said bluntly, “Their absence is their loss.”
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The United Kingdom on Monday blamed an Iran-linked proxy group for a string of antisemitic arson attacks targeting British Jewish sites, prompting the government to ban Tehran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and impose sweeping new powers to crack down on foreign-backed sabotage.
British officials said the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year targeting Jewish and Israeli-linked locations, as well as a Persian-language media outlet critical of Iran’s government. According to the U.K. government, members of the IRGC’s elite Qods Force were “almost certainly” directing the group’s operations across Europe.
The attacks included fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and other Jewish community sites in London. No injuries were reported.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO USE NEW STATE LAW TO TARGET DOZENS OF ALLEGED TERRORIST GROUPS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a reception with the Jewish community to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street, in London, July 13, 2026. (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new measures send a clear message to foreign adversaries seeking to sow violence.
“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer discusses efforts to tackle antisemitism at Downing Street in London, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)
If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf of the IRGC, IMCR or Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.
The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operations inside the United Kingdom.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said. “I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.”
ISRAEL FORTIFIES BORDER WITH JORDAN AS IRAN SEEKS NEW TERROR PATH
The government said IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. British intelligence officials say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly recruited members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage, intimidation and physical attacks across Europe, often targeting Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents.
Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in London, March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
According to the U.K., MI5 identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots against individuals in Britain over the past year. The government has already sanctioned more than 550 Iranian-linked individuals and entities and has pledged £250 million ($334,662,500) over three years to strengthen security for Jewish communities, including increased protection for synagogues, schools and community centers.
Britain also designated Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, saying the group acts as a proxy for Russian military intelligence by recruiting individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson and other hostile operations.
The crackdown comes just weeks after two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television station in London, an attack a British judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.
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Iran did not immediately comment on Monday’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The European Union has sanctioned VK Company, which dominates Russia’s online sphere, for colluding with the Kremlin to identify critics of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and curtail access to independent sources of information.
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VK Company runs VKontakte, the country’s most popular social media site. Often described as “the Russian Facebook”, it has an estimated 70 million users.
The decision, taken on Monday by foreign ministers, points the finger at VK Company and an associated firm for developing and managing Max App, which is state-backed and comes pre-installed on all phones and tablets sold in Russia.
Citing experts, Brussels argues that Max App has “extensive surveillance features” that Russian authorities use to track online communications, gather data, monitor address books, identify user location and install autonomous updates.
The imposition of Max App has helped the state crack down on competitors, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, and on VPNs, the private networks that Russians employ to bypass increasingly stringent state restrictions on the Internet.
“VK has cooperated with Russian authorities in their repressive actions, including by providing them with data concerning users of its services who posted content criticising Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, or other content banned by the authorities,” the legal text says.
“VK has also participated in the government-ordered ban on the use of VPNs, through which Russian internet users could previously access independent content.”
Monday’s decision introduces an asset freeze and prohibits EU companies from making funds available to VK Company. In a statement to Russian state-owned media outlet TASS, the firm said that its applications and services remained “available to users as normal”.
Besides VK Company, the EU also sanctioned Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans, three companies that provide hardware and software for the so-called System of Operative Investigative Measures that Russian authorities use to track online communication and target journalists, opposition figures, minority groups and ordinary citizens.
The restrictions were adopted under a special regime dedicated to punishing human rights violations.
Separately, the EU sanctionednine individuals and four entities accused of carrying out “malicious” cyber attacks against several member states.
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