JOHANNESBURG - President Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to cut off all foreign aid to South Africa because he claimed it is "confiscating" land "and treating certain classes of people very badly" in "a massive human rights violation" has provoked strong reaction from the South African presidency and commentators. 

"The South African government has not confiscated any land", South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded in a statement, adding "We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters". 

Last week, Ramaphosa signed a bill into law permitting national, provincial and local authorities to expropriate land – to take it -"for a public purpose or in the public interest," and, the government stated "subject to just and equitable compensation being paid". However, sources say no expropriation has happened yet.

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On his Truth Social Media platform, President Trump hit out at South Africa, posting "It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!" Trump later repeated his comments while speaking to the press on Sunday night at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Pieter du Toit, assistant editor of South African media group News 24, posted on X "The U.S. President, clearly advised by Elon Musk, really has no idea what he’s talking about." 

South African-born Musk is trying to expand his Starlink internet service into South Africa, but President Ramaphosa has reportedly told him he must sell off 30% of his company here to local broad-based so-called Black empowerment interests.

In response to the South African president’s statement, Musk fired back on X, asking Ramaphosa, "Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?"

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Analyst Frans Cronje told Fox News Digital that President Trump may be referring to the ongoing killing of farmers in South Africa when he posted that certain classes of people are being treated very badly.

"President Trump's recent comments on land seizures in South Africa cannot be divorced from his past comments on violent attacks directed at the country's farmers. Whilst these comments have often been dismissed as false, the latest South African data suggests that the country's commercial farmers are six times more likely to be violently attacked in their homes than is the case for the general population." 

Cronje said there may be agendas in play behind President Trump’s statements.

"Such seizures may also apply to the property of American investors in South Africa. Cronje is an adviser at the U.S. Yorktown Foundation for Freedom. He added "with regards to land specifically, the legislation could enable the mass seizure of land which has been an oft expressed objective of senior political figures in the country. To date, however, there have been no mass seizures, in part because there was no legislative means through which to achieve such seizures." 

Now, with the bill having been signed into law, Cronje says that has changed. 

"The comments around property rights in South Africa must be read against broader and bipartisan US concern at developments in South Africa. In 2024 the US/South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act was introduced (in Congress) amid concerns that the South African government's relationships with Iran, Russia, and China threatened US national security interests."

Cronje, who also advises corporations and government departments on economic and political trajectory, continued. "Last week, South Africa’s government, together with that of Cuba, Belize and four other countries supported the formation of the ‘Hague Group’ in an apparent move to shore up the standing of the International Criminal Court, amid the passage through Congress of the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act that prescribes sanctions against any country that is seen to use the court to threaten US national security interests. South Africa has in recent years been prominent in employing both that court and the International Court of Justice in the Hague to press for action against Israel and Israeli leaders."

South Africa’s Ramaphosa played down the importance of U.S. aid, stating "with the exception of PEPFAR (The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids program, there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa." President George W. Bush introduced PEPFAR in 2003.

Analyst Justice Malala, speaking on South African news channel, ENCA, said that, under the Trump administration, "the United States is going to upend South Africa in many ways."

An Ebola outbreak has been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

At least a dozen cases of the hemorrhagic fever have been reported in the Bolamba health zone, which is located in the Équateur Province in the DRC. Eight deaths have been reported.

Colomba Mampuya, president of the Red Cross/Ecuador committee, reportedly shared the information with media on Jan. 27.

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Meanwhile, the neighboring country of Tanzania has been grappling with an outbreak of Marburg fever.

"This is an unusually high death rate, even for Ebola," said Jacob Glanville, CEO and president of biotechnology company Centivax in San Francisco.

"This suggests either that more active cases have been identified, or that this strain is more lethal than average for prior strains, or that medical care was unusually poor for these subjects," he told Fox News Digital. 

The cases were identified in isolated villages, which improves the odds of outbreak isolation and increases the chance that medical care was substandard, Glanville noted. 

"However, biopsy samples should immediately be sequenced to rule out a new and potentially more lethal form of Ebola," he said.

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Samuel Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, reiterated that the ongoing situation in rural DRC is "quite serious."

"While the risk of widespread transmission is likely low, local impacts could still be substantial," he told Fox News Digital. 

"It is essential that the international community provides medical and public health support to DRC and that vaccines be made quickly available in both the affected and surrounding areas."

Both experts agreed that the U.S. is not at risk.

"Because Ebola only spreads from symptomatic individuals, the risk that a traveler could spark a small cluster of cases outside of DRC is very low," Scarpino said.

"We will be watching the situation closely, but currently, the risk to the U.S. is incredibly low."

Ebola occurs when someone is infected with orthoebolavirus zairense, which is a virus mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The virus was first discovered in 1976 in the DRC.

The resulting disease is life-threatening, causing death in up to 90% of cases.

Initial symptoms of Ebola disease include "dry" symptoms like fever, aches, pains and fatigue, the CDC stated.

As the disease progresses, the person may experience "wet" symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.

Symptoms usually begin within eight to 10 days of exposure, according to the same source.

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The sickness is spread through contact with bodily fluids from someone who has been infected. 

In rare cases, it may spread from contact with an infected animal.

The best ways to prevent infection are to avoid contact with bodily fluids of infected people, to wear the proper protective equipment in high-risk environments, and to monitor for symptoms to ensure timely medical attention.

There are two FDA-approved medications (monoclonal antibodies) available to treat Ebola disease: mAb114 (Ansuvimab, also known as Ebanga) and REGN-EB3 (Inmazeb).

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Patients should also receive supportive care, including fluids and electrolytes, medicine to treat symptoms and any necessary treatment for infections, according to the CDC.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill that will allow the government to seize land without having to pay compensation, which some in the government say is a threat to private ownership.

The law, which replaces the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975, "outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis" by the state, the government says, according to the BBC. 

Ramaphosa's party, the African National Congress, or ANC, hailed the law as a "significant milestone." However, some members of the government have signaled they will challenge the legality of the law. 

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The country's majority Black citizens own just a small fraction of farmland more than 30 years after the end of apartheid. Most landowners are part of the White minority, according to the news report. 

The new law allows for the expropriation of land without compensation only in circumstances where it is "just and equitable and in the public interest."

That includes when the property is not being used and there's no intention to either develop it or if it poses a public safety risk. 

"In terms of this law, an expropriating authority may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest," Vincent Magwenya, the president's spokesperson, said in a news release. 

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"Expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has without success attempted to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right in property for the acquisition thereof on reasonable terms," he added. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the government, said it "strongly opposes" the law and was consulting with its lawyers.

It says that while it supports legislation addressing land restitution, it takes issue with the process followed by the country's parliament to enact the law, the BBC report states. 

The Freedom Front Plus party, which defends the rights of South Africa's White minority, vowed to challenge the law and do "everything in its power" to have it amended if it is found to be unconstitutional.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The Biden Administration has been blasted by the incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., for "waiting" until the outgoing President had only 13 days left in office before declaring rebel actions in Sudan, a country torn apart by 21 months of bitter war, to be "genocide."

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that members of the Sudanese rebel group, the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, "have committed genocide in Sudan." 

In a statement, Blinken said, "The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities. We are sanctioning RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people."

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Blinken made his rulings, he stated, because "the RSF and RSF-aligned militias have continued to direct attacks against civilians, have systematically murdered men and boys—even infants—on an ethnic basis, and (have) deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence."

The Secretary continued, "Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies."

Blinken added that the African nation is suffering through "a conflict of unmitigated brutality that has resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe, leaving 638,000 Sudanese experiencing the worst famine in Sudan’s recent history, over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands dead."

Risch has held out that the situation in Sudan has been catastrophic for well over a year, and called into question the timing of Blinken’s declaration. In a statement earlier this week, he wrote, "It has been nearly a year since I introduced a resolution calling the atrocities in Sudan what they are: a genocide. Additionally, I first called for Global Magnitsky sanctions to be imposed against the RSF and Hemedti 263 days ago – and yet these sanctions still have not been leveraged."

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Risch spoke to Fox News Digital, declaring, "The Biden Administration waited until it has less than two weeks in office to sanction RSF-affiliated companies and Hemedti for their crimes and to call atrocities in Sudan a genocide."

Risch said, "This neglect to address the crisis in Sudan weakened America’s influence in the region and the world years ago. If the Biden Administration backed its rhetoric with action, Sudan would be in a better position today, more lives would be saved, and the foreign proxies exacerbating this conflict would be kept at bay."

Risch added, "This war must end. Further instability in Sudan will only breed terrorism and regional turmoil, threatening global security. The U.S. and our allies must seek to end the killing and atrocities, end the malign actions by proxies, manage migration pressures from mass displacement and protect strategic interests like the Red Sea corridor."

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Thomas Perriello, said "Making an atrocity determination is an immense responsibility that the Secretary takes seriously.  Such determinations are based on a careful review of the facts and the law. It requires information not only of certain acts but also that those acts were done with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a racial, ethnic, national, or religious group. Information demonstrating intent is often difficult to find and assess."
 
"Since the start of the conflict the United States has taken repeated action to promote accountability of the RSF for its atrocities conduct. The U.S. already had sanctioned five RSF leaders, including two of Hemedti’s brothers. We also determined in December 2023 that members of the RSF committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. So the designation of Hemedti and the genocide determination reflect a consistent effort to document and call out atrocities, acknowledge the suffering of victims and survivors, and pursue justice and accountability."

In his declaration, Blinken announced new sanctions stating, "We are also sanctioning seven RSF-owned companies located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one individual for their roles in procuring weapons for the RSF."

The Treasury Department also sent out a statement, virtually simultaneously to the one from State, saying "the RSF's ability to acquire military equipment and generate finances continue to fuel the conflict in Sudan." Treasury stated one particular company in the UAE, owned by a Sudanese national  "has provided money and weapons to the RSF."  

Other UAE companies sanctioned this past week have been accused by the Treasury Department of handling financial transactions, of being "an essential part of the RSF’s efforts to finance its operations", and of importing IT and security equipment .

One gold company in the UAE has been sanctioned because it has allegedly "purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF, and subsequently transported it to Dubai." Additionally, Treasury claimed "the RSF’s procurement director and brother of RSF leader Hemedti maintained access to (the gold company’s) bank account in the UAE, which held millions of dollars."

"The United States continues to call for an end to this conflict that is putting innocent civilian lives in jeopardy," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo stated. "The Treasury Department remains committed to using every tool available to hold accountable those responsible for violating the human rights of the Sudanese people."

In response to Fox News Digital questions involving UAE registered companies an official from its foreign ministry fired back, stating. "The UAE’s primary focus in Sudan remains on addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. We continue to call for an immediate cease-fire and a peaceful resolution to this man-made conflict. In this regard, the UAE has already made absolutely clear that it is not providing any support or supplies to either of two belligerent warring parties in Sudan."

The official continued, "the UAE takes its role in protecting the integrity of the international financial system extremely seriously. We remain committed to combating financial crime globally, enhancing international cooperation and developing strategies to address emerging risks."

ICE officials in Washington, D.C., deported a former high-ranking Somalian military officer who they say carried out torture, terror and other human rights abuses on civilians.

The officer, 71-year-old Yusuf Abdi Ali – also known as "Tukeh" – was removed from the U.S. by ICE officials on Dec. 20. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Somali National Army and commander of the Fifth Brigade in northwest Somalia during the dictatorship of Siad Barre from 1987 to 1989.

As a high-ranking officer in the Somali National Army, Ali allegedly oversaw terror activities against the Isaaq clan in northwestern Somalia. He is believed to have carried out an array of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention.

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According to a Dec. 23 statement by ICE, the Somali National Army committed numerous human rights violations against civilians in those years, including the execution of suspected political opponents, the burning of entire towns, the unlawful use of landmines and the destruction of water reservoirs to target civilian populations.

In February 2024, a Department of Justice immigration judge issued a 65-page decision determining that Ali personally engaged in torture while in leadership in the Somali National Army. According to the decision, Ali ordered soldiers under his command to detain, torture and assist in extrajudicial killings. The judge ordered him removed to Somalia.

The U.S.-based law firm the Center for Justice & Accountability, which has represented one of Ali’s alleged victims, Farhan Warfaa, calls him "one of the most ruthless commanders" of the Barre Somalian dictatorship. Warfaa was abducted as a teenager by soldiers under Ali’s command, held for months, repeatedly beaten and eventually shot and left for dead.

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Warfaa ended up surviving, and in 2019 a federal civil court in Alexandria, Virginia, found Ali liable for his torture.  

Ali was living as a permanent resident in Springfield, Virginia, until Homeland Security Investigations arrested him in November 2022.

"The United States will not be a safe haven for those who commit human rights violations, and we will persist in our efforts to pursue justice for the victims of these crimes," said Russell Hott, acting executive associate director for Washington, D.C., ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Hott said that "though justice was delayed in this case, it ultimately prevailed."