Donald Trump

The administration of US President Donald Trump has granted refugee status to 49 white Afrikaners, echoing a debunked conspiracy theory about “white genocide” in South Africa. The move comes after Trump cut aid to the nation and threatened to boycott meetings with its government. What’s behind Trump’s fixation on South Africa?

Outlet is one of several media services whose funding was cut by the Trump administration amid an aggressive downsizing effort.

The European Union plans to step in to help save longtime media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after United States President Donald Trump’s administration abruptly stopped funding it.

The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday that 5.5 million euros ($6.2m) will be provided to “support the vital work of Radio Free Europe”.

“It’s short-term emergency funding designed as a safety net for the independent journalism,” she added.

Trump suspended all funding for RFE/RL in March along with other US broadcasters, including Voice of America, to slash government spending.

Critics of the administration said the cuts are also politically motivated and part of a push to control and curb news media that do not hew to its outlook.

Trump earlier this month signed an executive order slashing federal subsidies to two US public broadcasters, PBS and NPR , accusing them of biased reporting and spreading “left-wing” propaganda.

Lawyers for RFE/RL, which has been operating for 75 years, secured an order last month from a US federal judge for the Trump administration to restore $12m that was appropriated by Congress.

The money has not been sent so far as lawyers said the service will have to shut down in June without the funding.

Kallas said on Tuesday that the EU funding would not cover the work of the outlet across the globe but would focus on interests closer to the agenda of the bloc.

“So our focus should be really to help Radio Free Europe to work and function in those countries that are in our neighbourhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside,” she said.

The EU’s top diplomat said she hoped the 27 EU member countries would also provide more funds to help Radio Free Europe longer term. Kallas said the bloc has been looking for “strategic areas” where it can help as Washington cuts life-saving foreign aid.

The outlet’s corporate headquarters are in Washington, DC, and its journalistic headquarters are based in the Czech Republic. The service has aired programmes in 27 languages in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East and has more than 1,700 staff.

The outlet has been heavily criticised and banned by Russia for its coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Radio Free Europe began broadcasting in 1950 in the early years of the Cold War to several Eastern European nations that had become Soviet Union satellites. Radio Liberty began broadcasting to Russia a few years later. Both were initially funded by the US Congress through the Central Intelligence Agency.

May 20 (UPI) — The United States and United Arab Emirates are deepening their commercial and defensive ties following President Donald Trump‘s recent diplomatic trip to the Middle East.

Officials with the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and the UAE’s Tawazun Council signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen defense cooperation between the two nations, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday in a news release.

“We are building a global network by fostering collaboration to stay ahead of emerging threats,” DIU Director Doug Beck said.

“We are accelerating the integration of commercial technologies into the defense markets,” Beck added.

He said the accelerated integration of technologies will occur by working together to develop technologies with the help of national security and private sector experts and non-traditional companies.

The MOU includes using “non-traditional practices” to develop and access “cutting-edge technologies” to improve both nations’ defensive capabilities.

The collaborative effort expands defensive investments and industrial partnerships while building a “strong international community of defense innovation entities, according to the DOD.

The Defense Department “is enhancing best practices for harnessing and sharing the best commercially derived technologies for the warfighter in defense of the free and open international system through mission-driven collaboration among the many nations that rely on that system,” the DOD release said.

Trump on Thursday also announced $200 billion in commercial agreements between the United States and the UAE.

The agreement includes forming an artificial intelligence alliance and launching a 1-gigawatt and jointly run AI technology cluster that will be located in the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi.

Other elements of the $200 billion deal include the UAE’s Etihad Airways spending $14.5 billion to buy 28 U.S.-built Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines.

Emirates Global Aluminum will invest another $4 billion to develop an aluminum smelter in Oklahoma and double that nation’s annual aluminum production capability.

UAE entities also will collaborate with U.S.-based oil and natural gas producers to expand production of both inside the United States and to lower energy costs in both nations.

Many other deals were secured during Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week and total $2 trillion in investment agreements, according to White House officials.

May 20 (UPI) — President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday to move those House Republicans who have so far chosen not to approve his legislative agenda bill to cease their opposition and move the legislation forward.

Trump was blunt in his dealings with conservative GOP representatives who want the bill to cut deeper into Medicaid.

He further pushed that message as he spoke to reporters outside the meeting and said of Medicaid that the bill would only cut “waste, fraud and abuse.”

The other GOP House faction he came to beseech are those who hail from mostly blue states and seek a higher cap on the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction. Trump alleged that it’s the governors of blue states like New York, Illinois and California, who would benefit if they were to change the bill to up the SALT cap, “and those governors are the ones who blew it because they weren’t able to get it.”

In the closed-door session, Trump reportedly told those who held out for SALT should “leave it alone” and run with the bill as is.

However, so far Trump’s efforts have not encouraged the SALT faction to flip. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told the press Tuesday he still plans to vote no on the bill, but that Trump does understand that it’s “imperative to get a deal done and a bill passed.”

New York GOP Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino have also said they remain a no.

There are also Republicans who are hardline against a SALT cap raise.

“Republicans going to bat for tax deductions that will primarily benefit limousine liberals in blue states,” said Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in an X post Tuesday, “This carve out for affluent people in states like NY and California will increase the deficit substantially and is a reversal of Trump’s first term tax policy.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., remains steadfast that he wants the bill passed by the House by May 26, which is Memorial Day, but as of Tuesday those GOP House members with gripes have put the bill’s movement in neutral.

The press office for Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted to social media Tuesday that Roy has said “We all are here to advance the agenda that the President ran on and that we all ran on,” but added “I don’t think the bill is exactly where it needs to be, yet.”

Donald Trump made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to try and convince Republican members of Congress to approve his “big, beautiful bill” that would cut programmes for the poor and lower taxes while raising the US’ national debt.

SEOUL, May 20 (UPI) — South Korea sent a delegation to Washington to hold a second round of technical discussions this week over the Trump administration’s proposed “reciprocal” tariffs, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Tuesday, with both sides aiming to reach an agreement by July.

A South Korean delegation led by senior ministry official Jang Sung-gil will visit Washington for talks slated to run from Tuesday through Thursday, the Trade Ministry said.

Discussions will be centered on the six areas of trade balance, non-tariff measures, economic security, digital trade, country of origin of products and commercial considerations, the ministry said. The agenda was set during a meeting held on the sidelines of last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers’ meeting, held on South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju.

“Through this technology consultation, we will respond from the perspective of prioritizing national interests in order to derive the direction of a mutually beneficial agreement centered on the areas that both sides have discussed so far,” Jang said.

This week’s discussions follow a first round of working-level talks held May 1 in Washington.

South Korea is facing 25% tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump as part of his sweeping package of “Liberation Day” trade measures. Trump announced the tariffs on April 2 but quickly put their implementation on hold for 90 days. Tariffs on steel and automobiles, two key South Korean industries, are already in place.

Seoul and Washington agreed to work toward a “package” deal on trade and other related issues before July 8, when the 90-day pause on tariffs is set to expire, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in April.

The uncertain trade environment has shaken the export-dependent Asian powerhouse, which saw its economy unexpectedly shrink in the first quarter of the year.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund sharply cut its forecast for South Korea’s 2025 economic growth as part of an overall global decline reflecting “effective tariff rates at levels not seen in a century and a highly unpredictable environment.”

The April edition of the IMF’s quarterly World Economic Outlook projected 1% growth for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, down from a 2% forecast in its previous edition.

South Korea is looking to get a reduction or exemption from the American tariffs, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Friday after he met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the APEC event in Jeju.

“In Friday’s meeting, we tried to raise awareness that South Korea has a bilateral free trade agreement with the United States, unlike some other countries, and has expanded trade and investment with the U.S. under the FTA,” Ahn told reporters at a press briefing.

“We are continuing to request exemption from all reciprocal tariffs and item tariffs against us,” Ahn added in a statement. “Our government will actively consult with the United States to establish a mutually beneficial solution by prioritizing national interests.”

Government says funding freeze is due to the university’s alleged failure to address anti-Semitism on campus.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said it is terminating $60m in federal grants to Harvard University, further escalating an ongoing feud between the Ivy Leave institute and President Donald Trump’s administration over alleged anti-Semitism, presidential control and the limits of academic freedom.

“Due to Harvard University’s continued failure to address anti-Semitic harassment and race discrimination, HHS is terminating multiple multi-year grant awards – totalling approximately $60 million over their full duration,” the department said on X on Monday.

It said discrimination will “not be tolerated” on campus, adding that “federal funds must support institutions that protect all students.”

HHS is taking decisive action to uphold civil rights in higher education. Due to Harvard University’s continued failure to address anti-Semitic harassment and race discrimination, HHS is terminating multiple multi-year grant awards—totaling approximately $60 million over their… pic.twitter.com/99aUd4ZVYF

— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) May 20, 2025

The Trump administration has already frozen more than $2.2bn in federal grants to Harvard.

Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon also announced earlier this month that the university would no longer be receiving public funding for research as it had made a “mockery” of higher education, in a letter addressed to Harvard.

“Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution, and can instead operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment, and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni,” McMahon wrote in the letter.

Harvard has sued the administration in response, alleging that the funding freeze violates the First Amendment and federal law, which bars the president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct or terminate an audit or investigation.

Harvard President Alan Garber announced last week that the university will use $250m of its own funds to support research.

The feud between the president and Harvard – a prestigious Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts – began in March, when Trump sought to impose new rules and regulations on top schools across the country that had played host to pro-Palestinian protests over the past year.

Trump has called such protests “illegal” and accused participants of anti-Semitism. But student protest leaders have described their actions as a peaceful response to Israel’s war in Gaza, which has elicited concerns about human rights abuses, including genocide.

The Trump administration announced the first funding freeze in April. Harvard had rejected the administration’s series of demands to tackle alleged anti-Semitism, saying they would subject it to undue government control. The demands had included revamping its disciplinary system, eliminating its diversity initiatives and agreeing to an external audit of programmes deemed anti-Semitic by the administration.

Trump and prominent conservatives in the US have also long accused Harvard and other universities of propagating extreme left-wing views and stifling right-wing perspectives.

May 20 (UPI) — The Trump administration is imposing visa restrictions on India-based travel agencies and their owners for facilitating illegal migration to the United States.

The State Department announced the punitive measure Monday amid a Trump administration crackdown on immigration, saying it was banning entry to owners, executives and senior officials of Indian travel agencies who knowingly facilitate illegal migration.

Specifics of who and what firms were targeted were not disclosed, but the State Department said its Consular Affairs and Diplomatic Security Services mission in India was working to identify those involved in human smuggling and trafficking operations.

“We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

“Our immigration policy aims not only to inform foreign nationals about the dangers of illegal immigration to the United States but also to hold accountable individuals who violate our laws, including facilitators of illegal immigration.”

Under the previous Biden administration, the State Department announced a policy in July that prohibited entry to executives of travel agencies and tour operators offering services to bring migrants into the United States illegally.

It was one of several actions the Biden administration took to curb illegal migration amid criticism during a surge in migrants entering the country following the end of pandemic-era restrictions.

The Biden administration in November 2023 first implemented a policy to target Nicaraguan charter flight companies, which was late superseded by another policy that included ground and maritime transportation firms.

The Biden administration also imposed a policy to bar visa issuance to Colombian transportation companies executives and owners.

Then in March, the Trump administration announced a further expansion to the policy to ban entry to foreign government officials facilitating irregular migration by failing to enforce immigration laws or policies.

UPI has contacted the State Department for comment.

Since President Donald Trump‘s inauguration in January, the White House has conducted a crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration that includes mass deportation efforts, which have been challenged in court.

On Sunday, a key congressional committee in the United States approved President Donald Trump’s new tax cut bill, which could pass in the House of Representatives later this week.

The bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and may add up to $5 trillion to the national debt, deepening worries after a recent US credit ratings downgrade by Moody’s on Friday, which cited concerns about the nation’s growing $36 trillion debt.

The US has the highest amount of national debt in the world and is facing growing concerns about its long-term fiscal stability.

What is US debt?

Debt is simply the total amount of money the US government owes to its lenders, currently amounting to $36.2 trillion. This represents 122 percent of the country’s annual economic output or gross domestic product (GDP), and it is growing by about $1 trillion every three months.

The highest debt-to-GDP ratio was during the pandemic in 2020, when the ratio hit 133 percent. The US is among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest debt-to-GDP ratio.

What is the debt ceiling, and why does it keep increasing?

When the government spends more money than it collects, it creates a deficit.

To cover this deficit, the government borrows more money. To ensure that borrowing is subject to legislative approval, the US Congress sets a limit to how much the government can borrow to fund existing obligations like Social Security, healthcare and defence. This limit is known as the debt ceiling.

Once the ceiling is reached, the government cannot borrow more unless Congress raises or suspends the limit. Since 1960, Congress has raised, suspended or changed the terms of the debt ceiling 78 times, allowing the US to borrow more money.

The federal deficit under different presidents

The federal deficit is how much more money the government spends than it brings in during a single year. A federal surplus would mean the US is bringing in more money than it is spending.

The deficit grew sharply during Trump’s first term, especially in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government spent heavily while tax revenues dropped due to job losses. That year, the deficit reached nearly 15 percent of the entire economy (GDP).

Under former President Bill Clinton, there was a federal surplus – the result of favourable economic conditions such as the dot-com boom, as well as tax increases which raised more revenues.

What are Treasury bills, notes and bonds?

When the US wants to borrow money, it turns to the Treasury – the finance department of the federal government.

To borrow money, the Treasury sells various types of debt securities, such as Treasury bills, Treasury notes and Treasury bonds to investors.

These securities are essentially loans made by investors to the US government, with a promise to repay them with interest.

US Treasuries have long been considered a safe asset because the risk of the US failing to repay its investors has been very low.

Different debt securities mature over different times – this is when the debt is repaid to the investor.

• Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term and mature within one year
• Treasury notes (T-notes) are medium-term and mature between 2 and 10 years
• Treasury bonds (T-bonds) are long-term and mature in 20 to 30 years.

Who holds US debt?

Three-quarters of the $36.2 trillion US debt, approximately $27.2 trillion, is held domestically, of which:

• $15.16 trillion (42 percent) is held by US private investors and entities, mostly in the form of savings bonds, mutual funds and pension funds.
• $7.36 trillion (20 percent) is held by intra-governmental US agencies and trusts.
• $4.63 trillion (13 percent) is held by the Federal Reserve.

Among individuals, Warren Buffett, through his company Berkshire Hathaway, is the single largest non-government holder of US Treasury bills, valued at $314bn.

Foreign investors hold the remaining quarter, valued at $9.05 trillion (25 percent).

Over the past 50 years, the share of US debt held by foreign entities has increased fivefold. In 1970, only 5 percent was owned by overseas investors; today, that figure has risen to 25 percent.

Which countries hold the most foreign debt?

Countries buy US debt because it offers a safe, stable investment for their foreign currency reserves, helps manage exchange rates and provides reliable interest income.

Foreign investors hold $9.05 trillion of debt, of which:

• Japan holds $1.13 trillion
• The United Kingdom holds $779.3bn, overtaking China in March as the second-largest non-US holder of treasuries
• China holds $765.4bn
• The Cayman Islands ($455.3bn) holds a large amount of US debt because it is a tax haven
• Canada ($426.2bn)

In response to Trump’s tariffs, both Japan and China have indicated they will use their substantial holdings of US treasuries as leverage in trade negotiations with the Trump administration.

Earlier this month, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Japan’s massive holding of US treasuries could be a “card on the table” in trade negotiations.

Similarly, China has been gradually selling US treasuries for years. In February, China’s US treasury holdings dropped to their lowest level since 2009, reflecting efforts to diversify reserves and ongoing trade tensions.

What does high US debt mean for the average American?

If the US government is spending more on debt interest repayments, it can affect budgets and public spending as it becomes more costly for the government to sustain itself.

The government may raise taxes to generate more revenue to pay down its national debt, increasing costs for average people. Increasing debt could also lead to higher interest rates, making mortgages, car loans and credit card debt more expensive.

Former United States President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis has rekindled questions about whether he deceived the public about his health while in office, with his successor, Donald Trump, adding his voice to those suggesting a coverup.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, President Trump cast doubt on the timing of Biden’s advanced cancer diagnosis amid renewed scrutiny of the former president’s physical and mental fitness during his tenure.

“I’m surprised that the public wasn’t notified a long time ago,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“Why did it take so long? This takes a long time, it can take years to get this level of danger,” Trump added.

“So, look, it’s a very sad situation, I feel very badly about it. And I think people should try and find out what happened.”

Trump also said that the doctors who had examined Biden while in office were “not telling the facts”.

“That’s a big problem,” he said.

Biden’s office said in a statement on Sunday that the former president was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

The statement said Biden was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing “increasing urinary symptoms” and that he and his family were reviewing treatment options.

Doctors graded Biden’s cancer with a score of 9 under the Gleason classification system, according to the statement, indicating it is among the most aggressive kinds.

Late-stage prostate cancer has an average five-year survival rate of 28 percent, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Biden earlier on Monday expressed gratitude to well-wishers for their words of support and encouragement.

“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on social media.

“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support. pic.twitter.com/oSS1vGIiwU

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 19, 2025

The news of Biden’s cancer diagnosis came as the former president’s health was already under renewed scrutiny ahead of the publication of a new book detailing the alleged coverup of his physical and mental deterioration by his inner circle.

Original Sin, written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, contains various damning accounts of Biden’s alleged decline, including an incident in which the then-president was reportedly unable to recognise Hollywood actor George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser.

In his comments on Biden’s diagnosis on Monday, Trump drew a link between the former president’s cancer and the alleged concealment of his mental acuity.

“If you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said Joe was cognitively fine, there was nothing wrong with him,” Trump said.

“There are things going on that the public wasn’t informed of, and I think somebody is going to have to speak to his doctor,” he added.

Some doctors have publicly questioned the account of Biden’s cancer diagnosis provided by his office, pointing out that such advanced cancer would have had to progress over a period of years.

“For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic,” Steven Quay, a pathologist who is the chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Atossa Therapeutics, said in a post on X.

“Meaning, it would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025. It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.”

Howard P Forman, a professor of radiology at Yale University, said it was “inconceivable” that Biden’s cancer was not detected before he left office, as it would have been picked up by a blood test known as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.

“Gleason grade 9 would have had an elevated PSA level for some time before this diagnosis. And he must have had a PSA test numerous times before. This is odd,” Forman said in a post on X.

However, Daniel W Lin, a prostate cancer expert at UW Medicine in Washington state, said that while Biden has “very likely” had cancer for years, it is possible he was not given a PSA test.

“There are screening controversies with the use of PSA, and many medical groups do not recommend PSA testing after 70 or 75 years of age, although others recommend based on life expectancy or state of health rather than age cut-points,” Lin told Al Jazeera.

Lin said it was also possible that Biden has a rarer form of cancer that is not detectable by the test.

“This situation is less common, but not considered overly rare. Additionally, when this situation occurs, it is more common in high-grade cancers, such as former President Biden’s case,” he said.

“Playing the odds, he does not fall into this category, however, it can definitely occur.”

JOE Biden is facing fresh scrutiny over his health while in office amid his “aggressive” prostate cancer diagnosis.

The former president, 82, claimed to have had cancer in a speech he gave three years ago – which sparked fears for his health at the time.

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Biden’s comments came during a speech about “cancer-causing” emissions from oil refineries near his childhood home in Delaware.

He said: “That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.”

Biden’s use of the present tense led to speculations that the president was suffering from cancer.

But these were dismissed after it was suggested that the comments were a reference to “non-melanoma skin cancers”.

Before assuming the presidency, Biden had a number of “localized, non-melanoma skin cancers” removed by surgery.

In November 2021, Biden had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

And in February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

Non-melanoma skin cancer typically develops in the areas of the body most exposed to the sun such as the face, ears, hands, shoulders, upper chest, and back.

But Biden is now facing fresh scrutiny over his cancer comments following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis on Sunday.

This comes as Donald Trump took a swipe at his predecessor and said he was “surprised” the public wasn’t told long ago about Biden’s cancer.

The US President cast doubt on the timeline of Biden’s diagnosis on Monday as he said it usually takes a “long time” to reach such an aggressive stage of cancer.

Trump was backed up by a leading oncologist who claimed that the former president likely had cancer when he took office in 2021.

Dr Zeke Emanuel said: “He had it while he was President.

“He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021.”

Biden announced his cancer diagnosis in an official statement from his personal office on Sunday.

The statement said that he was seen by doctors last week after suffering urinary symptoms, with a prostate nodule then being found.

He was then diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

The statement read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.

“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.

“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

A Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and that the disease is “likely to grow quickly”, according to Cancer Research UK.

Biden served as US president from 2021 to 2025, with his term ending on January 20 when Donald Trump took office.

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US Supreme Court lets Trump terminate Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela.

Washington, DC – The United States Supreme Court has enabled the administration of President Donald Trump to revoke the protected immigration status of about 350,000 Venezuelans.

The top court’s justices issued a brief order on Monday, granting the administration’s request for lifting the suspension that had been placed by a lower court in March.

In February, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated a 2023 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuelans that had been issued by the administration of former President Joe Biden.

TPS is a programme that shields noncitizens already in the US on a temporary basis from deportation and allows them to seek a work permit if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deems their home country to be unsafe to return to.

Millions of people have fled Venezuela in recent years due to political repression and a crippling economic crisis spurred in part by US sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The Supreme Court did not elaborate on why it sided with the Trump administration on Monday. The ruling simply added that liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “would deny” the government’s request.

The DHS had argued that TPS designations are not subject to judicial review.

Noem had declared the 2023 designation for Venezuela “contrary to the national interest”, citing gang membership and “adverse effects on US workers”. However, she kept a previous TPS issued for Venezuelans in place.

DHS welcomed the ruling on Monday, saying without evidence that the Biden administration granted TPS to “gang members” and “known terrorists and murderers”.

“The Trump Administration is reinstituting integrity into our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe,” the agency said in a social media post.

Several Democrats described the push to deport Venezuelans – part of a border immigration crackdown – as cruel, rejecting the Trump administration’s allegation that people under the TPS designation are criminals and “terrorists”.

“Venezuelans face extreme oppression, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings and torture,” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said in a statement.

“Poverty levels are surging, and essentials like electricity, water and medical care are scarce. The dire circumstances in Venezuela make it clear that this is exactly the type of situation that requires the government to provide TPS.”

WASHINGTON — The revelation that former President Biden has advanced prostate cancer generated more questions than answers on Monday, prompting debate among experts in the oncology community over the likely progression of his disease and resurfacing concerns in Washington over his decision last year to run for reelection.

Biden’s private office said Sunday afternoon that he had been diagnosed earlier in the week with an “aggressive form” of the cancer that had already spread to his bones, after urinary symptoms led to the discovery of a nodule on his prostate.

But it was not made clear whether Biden, 82, had been testing his prostate-specific antigens, known as PSA levels, during his presidency — and if so whether those results had indicated an elevated risk of cancer while he was still in office or during his campaign for reelection.

Biden’s diagnosis comes at a difficult time for the former president, as scrutiny grows over his decision to run for a second term last year — and whether it cost the Democrats the White House. Biden ultimately dropped out of the race after a devastating debate performance with Donald Trump laid bare widespread concerns over his age and health, leaving his successor on the Democratic ticket — Vice President Kamala Harris — little time to run her own campaign.

A book set to publish this week titled “Original Sin,” by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, details efforts by Biden’s aides to shield the effects of his aging from the public and the press. The cancer diagnosis only intensified scrutiny over Biden’s health and questions as to whether he and his team were honest about it with the public.

“I think those conversations are going to happen,” said David Axelrod, a former senior advisor to President Obama.

President Trump, asked about Biden’s diagnosis during an Oval Office event Monday, said it was “a very, very sad situation” and that he felt “badly about it.”

But he also questioned why the cancer wasn’t caught earlier, and why the public wasn’t notified earlier, tying the situation to questions he has long raised about Biden’s mental fitness to serve as president.

PSA tests are not typically recommended for men over 70 due to the risk of false positive results or of associated treatments causing more harm than good to older patients, who are more likely to die of other causes first.

But annual physicals for sitting presidents — especially of Biden’s age — are more comprehensive than those for private citizens. And a failure to test for elevated PSA levels could have missed the progression of the disease.

A letter from Biden’s White House physician from February of last year made no mention of PSA testing, unlike the most recent letter detailing the results of Trump’s latest physical, which references a normal measurement. Biden’s current aides did not respond to requests for comment on whether his office would further detail his diagnostic testing history.

Even if his doctors had tested for PSA levels at the time, results may not have picked up an aggressive form of the cancer, experts said.

Some specialists in the field said it was possible, if rare, for Biden’s cancer to emerge and spread since his last physical in the White House. Roughly 10% of patients who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer are found with an advanced form of the disease that has metastasized to other parts of the body.

Dr. Mark Litwin, the chair of UCLA Urology, said it is in the nature of aggressive prostate cancers to grow quickly. “So it is likely that this tumor began more recently,” he said.

Litwin said he does not doubt that Biden would have been screened for elevated PSA levels. But, he said, he could be among those patients whose cancers do not produce elevated PSA levels or whose more aggressive cancers rapidly grow and metastasize within a matter of months.

“The fact that he has metastatic disease at diagnosis, to me, as an expert in the area and as a clinician taking care of guys with prostate cancer all the time, just says that he is unfortunate,” Litwin said.

Litwin and other experts in prostate cancer from USC, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute all told The Times that Biden’s diagnosis — at least based on publicly available information — was not incredibly unusual, and similar to diagnoses received by older American men all the time.

They said he and his doctors absolutely would have discussed testing his PSA levels, given his high level of care as president. But they also said it would have been well within medical best practices for him to decide with those doctors to stop getting tested given his age.

Dr. Howard Sandler, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai, said he sees three potential explanations for Biden’s diagnosis.

One is that Biden and his doctors made a decision “to not screen any longer, which would be well within the standard of care” given Biden’s age, he said.

A second is that Biden’s was tested, and his PSA level “was elevated, maybe not dramatically but a little bit elevated, but they said, ‘Well, we’re not gonna really investigate it,’” again because of Biden’s age, Sandler said.

The third, which Sandler said was “less likely,” is that Biden’s PSA was checked “and was fine, but he ended up with an aggressive prostate cancer that doesn’t produce much PSA” and so wasn’t captured.

Zeke Emanuel, an oncologist serving as vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and a former health policy official in the Biden administration, told MSNBC that Biden has likely had cancer for “more than several years.”

“He did not develop it in the last 100, 200 days. He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021,” Emanuel said.

But Litwin, who said he is a friend of Emanuel’s, said most men in their 70s or 80s have some kind of prostate cancer, even if it is just “smoldering along” — there but not particularly aggressive or quickly spreading — and unlikely to be the cause of their death.

He said Biden may well have had some similar form of cancer in his prostate for a long time, but that he did not believe that the aggressive form that has metastasized would have been around for as long as Emanuel seemed to suggest.

Departing Rome aboard Air Force Two, Vice President JD Vance told reporters he was sending his best wishes to the former president, but expressed concern that his recent diagnosis underscored concerns over Biden’s condition that dogged his presidency.

“Whether the right time to have this conversation is now or in the future, we really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job,” Vance said. “I don’t think that he was in good enough health. In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him.”

Trump’s medical team has also faced questions of transparency.

When Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 during his first term, at the height of the pandemic, he was closer to death than his White House acknowledged at the time. And his doctors and aides regularly use superlatives to describe the health of the 78-year-old president, with Karoline Leavitt, his White House press secretary, referring to him as “perfect” on Monday.

“Cancer touches us all,” Biden posted on social media alongside a photo with his wife, Jill Biden, in his first remarks on his diagnosis.

“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” he added. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

Washington, DC – A measure known as the “nonprofit killer” has been removed from an enormous tax bill being advanced in the United States Congress, according to the bill posted online by the House of Representatives.

The provision, which no longer appeared on the President Donald Trump-backed “One Big, Beautiful Bill” on Monday, would have given the executive branch the authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that it deems supportive of “terrorism”.

Advocates have warned that the legislative effort – which failed to pass as a stand-alone bill last year – could be abused to crack down on groups that the administration does not agree with, particularly nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that support Palestinian rights.

Israel has given little indication that it is relenting after more than 19 months into its war on Gaza. The past week has seen an intensification of violence across the besieged Palestinian territory, which has killed hundreds of people.

The reason for the disappearance of the NGO provision remains unclear, and experts warned it may yet reappear in the bill before the final vote in the House, expected later in the week.

The office of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

With a razor-thin majority in the House, Republicans need every vote to pass the tax bill, which Trump has put at the top of his agenda in Congress.

Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the section may have been removed to avoid putting the must-pass bill at risk, especially because the House parliamentarian, a nonpartisan office that oversees procedures, may have rejected it for violating the rules.

“It’s possible that this is a hiccup that they didn’t want, given that it wasn’t even likely to go through,” Hamadanchy told Al Jazeera.

“I can’t tell you that is the reason for sure. What I can tell you is that we continue to be very vigilant in case it comes back, either later this week or in the future.”

For weeks, Trump has been calling on Congress to pass the bill, which extends his 2017 tax cuts, a key component of his economic plans.

But the proposal has faced some opposition from conservative budget hawks, who have argued it does not cut spending enough and would add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. So Republicans can ill-afford unnecessary issues that could derail the passage of the legislation.

‘Chill free speech’

Rights groups have been rallying against the “nonprofit killer”, saying it violates free speech and the right to due process.

The proposal would have granted the secretary of state power to unilaterally declare an NGO “terrorist supporting” and make it ineligible for tax exemptions.

It also said the government would not have to reveal the reason behind the designation if “disclosure of such description would be inconsistent with national security or law enforcement interests”.

Under the current rules, organisations certified to be nonprofits by the government get breaks on their federal income taxes. The status also makes donations to such groups tax deductible for donors.

While the withdrawn measure would have allowed a targeted NGO to challenge the secretary of state’s decision in court, losing the tax exempt status, even if temporarily, could have proven costly for nonprofits, especially smaller organisations.

Hamadanchy said being accused of supporting terrorism could also have prompted banks to close down the accounts of the groups.

“And then you have legal costs fighting off the designation because even if you might win in court, it’s going to take time to get there, and it’s going to cause a lot of damage to your organisation through that process,” he said.

“And that’s sort of the point because they want to chill speech.”

Hamadanchy noted that existing laws already make material support for a designated “terrorist” group a criminal offence with severe penalties.

The legislative push coincided with the Trump administration’s crackdown on Palestinian rights supporters, especially on college campuses.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the student visas of several Palestine advocates – who have not been charged with a criminal offence – over allegations of “support for terrorism”.

Some advocacy groups have portrayed the “nonprofit killer” as part of a broader push to muzzle voices critical of Israel.

“This bill is designed to silence dissent, especially from Muslim, Palestinian and civil rights organizations that speak out against injustice and genocide,” the Council on American Islamic Relations said in a statement last week.

“It threatens every nonprofit that engages in advocacy, educates the public, or challenges government policy.”

The apparent setback for the nonprofit provision came nearly two weeks after House leaders cancelled a vote on a bill to restrict boycotts of Israel after a backlash from right-wing legislators who voiced opposition to the measure on free speech grounds.

Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, said it would be “interesting” to see how Republican leaders would deal with staunchly pro-Israel measures like the “nonprofit killer” going forward.

“They on the one hand likely see this as a fun opportunity to embarrass Democrats – whose opposition will be framed as anti-Israel or enabling terror and antisemitism – and on the other hand they have to worry about principled opposition from within their own ranks,” Friedman told Al Jazeera in a statement.

Pope Leo XIV met with US Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican, a day after his inaugural Mass. Vance, whose hardline immigration stance has drawn past criticism from Leo, invited the US-born pontiff to visit the US.

May 19 (UPI) — Former President Joe Biden sent out a thank you Monday to those who have shown concern since it was announced that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“Cancer touches us all,” Biden posted to his social media outlets Monday, “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

A Biden spokesperson confirmed Sunday that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that was discovered Friday after he had experienced urination issues. It was also found that the disease has metastasized to his bones and was considered to have a Gleason score of nine, which is seen as a “high-grade” level of cancer that can spread quickly.

However, the cancer appears to be a hormone-sensitive type, which allows for efficient management.

Several current and former holders of public office have since sent well wishes to Biden, from both sides of the American political landscape.

“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” wrote President Donald Trump to Truth Social Sunday. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

“Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family,” posted former President Barack Obama to his social media Sunday. “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery.”

Then-Vice President Biden was the lead advocate of the “Cancer Moonshot” cancer cure initiative launched by the White House during the Obama administration and then re-launched it in 2022 as President.

“Doug and I are saddened to learn of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis,” wrote former Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday. “We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time. Joe is a fighter, and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership.”

“We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.”

Cancer has directly impacted the Biden family before, as the former President’s son Beau Biden died at age 46 in 2015 from an aggressive form of brain cancer.

May 18 (UPI) — The federal government will allow the sale of devices that enable standard rifles to operate like machine guns, a move that angered gun control groups.

The Justice Department said Friday it reached a settlement with Rare Breed Triggers. This is in accordance with President Donald Trump‘s Feb. 17 executive order Protecting Second Amendment Rights and the attorney general’s Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force announced on April 8.

“This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.”

There are two ways to speed the firing of bullets. Bump stocks use the recoil of the weapon to repeatedly bump the trigger, while trigger devices are aftermarket items that directly engage the trigger.

During the first Trump administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned bump stocks, which mimic rapid trigger pulls to fire rapidly in a way similar to a machine gun. In 2017, the gunman in a mass shooting killed 58 people in Las Vegas while firing from his hotel room window using bump stocks.

In 2022, ATF included specific trigger devices under the National Firearms Act of 1934. The ATF determined that the devices allow a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle to fire as fast as a military M-16 in automatic mode.

In 2023, the Justice Department, as part of the Biden administration, brought a lawsuit in New York against Rare Breed Triggers.

The National Association of Gun Rights filed a separate lawsuit in Texas challenging the ban and a judge there ruled the ban was unlawful.

In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote in Cargill v. Garland, ruled ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a rule classifying a bump stock as a “machine gun.”

The Court’s majority found that bump stocks do not meet the definition of a machine gun because they didn’t allow for automatic fire with the single pull of a trigger.

The next month, the Northern District of Texas applied the case to a device called a “forced-reset trigger” and concluded that they also cannot be classified as a “machine gun.”

DOJ is avoiding additional legal action against Rare Breed Triggers in appeals and related cases concerning the similar issue, Bondi said.

The settlement with Rare Breed Triggers includes agreed-upon conditions that significantly advance public safety with respect to FRTs, including that Rare Breed will not develop or design them for use in any pistol and will enforce its patents to prevent infringement that could threaten public safety.

Rare Breed also agreed promote the safe and responsible use of its products.

“The cuffs are off. As of May 16, 2025, we’re free! Expect the website to be updated on Monday, May 19,” the company posted on its website.

The decision was condemned by Vanessa Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Giffords, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 while meeting with constituents in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.

“The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions,” Gonzalez said. “This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them, everyone else will suffer the consequences.”

The national gun control advocacy group Brady United said in a press release that “highly dangerous weapons of war can now be purchased anonymously” and without a background check.

“The Trump Administration’s secret settlement with the gun lobby to permit the sale of Forced Reset Triggers will turn already deadly firearms into weapons of mass destruction,” Kris Brown, president of Brady United, said in the release.

“Machine guns are weapons of war that have absolutely no place in our communities. This dangerous backroom deal is not only an astonishing abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible government gun safety policy and puts whole communities at immediate serious risk,” he said.

Brady previous was called the National Council to Control Handguns and founded in 1974 by Dr. Mark Borinsky, whose son was shot and killed in 1974.

In 1981, White House Press Secretary Jim “the Bear” Brady suffered a bullet to the head, and the organization now bears his name.

May 18 (UPI) — Against the backdrop of Pope Leo XIV’s first papal mass Sunday, Vice President JD Vance met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about achieving a stand down in the war that has waged since Russia’s 2023 invasion of Ukraine.

It’s the first face to face meeting between the two leaders since the infamous February meeting in the Oval Office that erupted into verbal attacks, finger pointing and taunts by President Donald Trump.

The meeting between Vance and Zelenksy was overshadowed by Moscow’s large scale drone attack on Ukraine just hours prior. There are also reports that Russia may be planning a nuclear attack as it ramps up efforts to intimidate Kyiv and its allies.

Zelensky called the meeting “good,” and posted photos of smiling Ukrainian and U.S. officials gathered around an outside table.

“I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelensky said.

Trump is scheduled to talk with Zelensky Monday, and Trump has also said he plans to have a similar conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Leaders of Britain, Germany, France and Poland planned to speak with Trump before the U.S. president’s Monday phone call with Putin, German chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Rome on Sunday.

“I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow,” Merz said, referring to the U.S. Secretary of State. “We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the US president in preparation for this conversation.”

The latest efforts at achieving a ceasefire come as the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow failed to make any headway in ending the war, which started with Russia’s full scale invasion of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol in February, 2022.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will begin a state visit to the United States on Monday in what his government describes as an attempt to “reset” the relationship between the two countries, which many experts say has become the frostiest in decades.

The visit comes just days after the US welcomed a group of 59 white South African “refugees” who President Donald Trump claims are being persecuted in South Africa because of their race, and are facing a “genocide”. They flew to the US on a special relocation plan and will be allowed to settle there.

Ramaphosa’s government denies those allegations and says whites, who own more than 70 percent of the land despite making up just 7 percent of the population, are not discriminated against.

In a statement, Ramaphosa’s office said the two leaders would discuss “bilateral” and “global issues of interest”. The White House has not yet made a statement regarding the meeting.

This is the first time Trump will host an African leader at the White House since he took office in January. South Africa, which currently presides over the G20, will hand over leadership to the US in November.

Here’s the timeline of the anticipated meeting, as well as a breakdown of the main issues which have caused tension and are most likely to be tabled:

When is the meeting?

Ramaphosa will travel on Monday, May 19, and will meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, May 21.

His office did not share an agenda for the talks, but said that “the president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries”.

The agenda is expected to include the treatment of white South Africans, aid cuts and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

What will Trump and Ramaphosa discuss?

The agenda is expected to include the following subjects:

Treatment of white South Africans

The issue of relations between South Africa’s historically advantaged white minority population and Ramaphosa’s Black-led government has been the most touchy one between the two governments.

White Afrikaners are descendants of mainly Dutch colonisers who, until 1990, controlled the country under an apartheid system that segregated and excluded the Black majority. Many of the most successful business leaders and farm owners in the country are still white. More than half of the Black population is categorised as poor.

Trump and his billionaire ally, South African-born Elon Musk, have severely criticised the Ramaphosa administration’s alleged poor treatment of these white people in the country, following Ramaphosa’s signing into law of an Expropriation Bill which allows the government to confiscate land, in some instances, without compensation. The law, signed in January, allows expropriation from any land owner for redistribution to marginalised groups such as women and people with disabilities.

Some Afrikaner groups say the law could allow their land to be redistributed to some of the country’s Black majority.

Trump has highlighted allegations by a group of white South Africans who fear that their land will be seized. This group also says white farmers face a disproportionate number of violent assaults, which have led to several deaths and amount to a “genocide”.

The South African government has denied that there is a genocide and says the attacks are part of a wider crime problem. Speaking at the Africa CEO forum in Abidjan in Ivory Coast on May 13, Ramaphosa said the US government “has got the wrong end of the stick”, as South Africa suffers overall from high rates of violent crime, regardless of the race of victims. Both white and Black farmers have been targeted in farm attacks, in which armed criminals have assaulted, robbed and sometimes murdered farm workers in usually remote locations.

Meanwhile, Musk, who is the founder of internet company Starlink, also blames the government for the company’s failure to launch in South Africa because of its Black empowerment laws which require that large corporations and businesses seeking government contracts be owned in part by marginalised groups such as Black people.

In a March post on his X social media platform, Musk said Starlink was not allowed to launch “because I am not black”. Officials have denied these allegations and say the country’s business laws are meant to right historical wrongs.

Tariffs and aid cuts to South Africa

Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has implemented a triple whammy of economic policies that have hit South Africa hard.

First were the sweeping aid cuts the US announced after Trump signed an executive order pausing foreign aid to all countries for at least 90 days.

That disrupted funding for treatment and research in South Africa for deadly communicable diseases like HIV. South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV in the world, and until then, the US provided about 18 percent of the government’s HIV budget. In 2023, the US provided $462m in HIV aid. Since January, some HIV treatment programmes have remained cut, while others have had their funding reinstated, although it’s unclear how many.

In February, Trump ordered that additional financial aid be cut specifically to South Africa over what he said was “unjust racial discrimination”, citing the alleged confiscation of white-owned land. He also cited South Africa’s filing of its genocide case against Israel over its war on Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023. Details of the further aid cuts were not made public.

Finally, South Africa has also been hit by Trump’s tariff war. The country was slapped with a 30 percent tariff on all goods in April. An additional 25 percent tariff was placed on South African-made vehicles entering the US, putting vehicle surcharges at 55 percent.

Ramaphosa described Trump’s actions as “punitive” and said the tariffs would “serve as a barrier to trade and shared prosperity”.

Although Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for most countries (including South Africa) for 90 days on April 9, South Africa’s government wants tariffs to be permanently dropped. South Africa also still faces the baseline 10 percent tariff on goods that Trump has imposed on all countries.

The US is South Africa’s second-largest bilateral trading partner after China. Under the duty-free Africa Growth Opportunity Act introduced in 2000, South Africa sells precious stones, steel products and cars to the US, and buys crude oil, electrical goods and aircraft in return.

The AGOA framework, which includes 32 African countries, is up for renewal this year, but it’s unclear if Trump’s White House will follow through with it.

Israel-Gaza ICJ case and Gaza War

The South African government filed its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29, 2023, accusing it of “genocidal acts” during its assaults on Gaza, to the anger of Israel’s ally and major weapons supplier, the US.

The landmark case highlighted the African country’s vocal and visible support for the Palestinian cause and was the first court case against Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza. Hearings began in January 2024. In March 2024, the ICJ issued an emergency order that Israel ensure food aid deliveries into Gaza and cease its offensive in Rafah.

Both Joe Biden’s and Trump’s administrations in the US have opposed South Africa’s move, with Trump denouncing Pretoria’s “aggressiveness”. On February 7, Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing aid to the country. The order cited the ICJ case, the Afrikaner issue and South Africa’s alleged collaboration with Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

South Africa, meanwhile, has promised not to withdraw its case despite this backlash. Foreign minister Ronald Lamola told The Financial Times in February that there was “no chance” the country would back down.

“Standing by our principles sometimes has consequences, but we remain firm that this is important for the world and the rule of law,” he said.

Ukraine-Russia War

Trump and Ramaphosa are also expected to discuss peace and mediation efforts in the Ukraine-Russia war as representatives of the two countries hold talks for the first time since the war began in February 2022.

The Trump administration has taken a lead role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine. During his election campaign, Trump promised to negotiate an end to the war “within 24 hours” if elected. Much of that effort, seen by some as aggressive, has fallen flat, however. A state visit to the US by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended with Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, shouting at their guest in February this year.

South Africa, meanwhile, has opted to stay neutral in the conflict and has called for dialogue between the sides. The country is a historical ally of Russia because of the former Soviet Union’s support during apartheid. Both are also founding members of the growing BRICS alliance of economies, alongside India, Brazil and China, which some see as a rival to the G5 group of richest countries.

South Africa has not condemned Russia or Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, and has abstained from a United Nations resolution that did so.

At the same time, Pretoria has remained friendly with Ukraine. In April, Ramaphosa hosted Zelenskyy during a state visit during which they discussed increasing trade and the ongoing war, with the Ukrainian leader calling for more pressure on Moscow.

Hours before Zelenskyy met with Ramaphosa, the South African leader said he spoke over the phone with Trump, and they both agreed that the war needed to stop.