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.”
Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.
Published On 2 Mar 2026
Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.
At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.
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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.
Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.
Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.
“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.
In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.
Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.
Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.
The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.
Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
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