'No longer welcome': US expels South African ambassador
What's the story
The US has expelled South Africa's ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool.
Announcing the decision on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Rasool a "race-baiting politician" who has an aversion to President Donald Trump.
Rubio said Rasool is "no longer welcome" in America, and has been declared "persona non grata."
This move comes amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and South Africa, particularly over issues such as land reform and aid.
Reason
No immediate explanation provided for the decision
Rubio announced the expulsion on his way back to Washington from a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada.
Neither Rubio nor the State Department immediately responded to why he had decided so.
However, Rubio posted a Breitbart article on Rasool's comments on the webinar hosted by a South African think tank earlier in the day.
Rasool's talk addressed Trump's administration's policies on diversity, equity, and immigration, and he discussed these in the context of demographic changes in America.
Remarks
Rasool's comments on Trump's policies
In the webinar, Rasool talked about Trump's policies on diversity and equity programs as well as immigration.
He called the moves a "supremacist assault on incumbency," and connected them to the MAGA movement.
He further expressed concern over Elon Musk's engagement with far-right figures in Europe, calling it a "dog whistle" for an international movement trying to unite those who identify themselves as part of an "embattled white community."
Tensions rise
US-South Africa relations strained over land reform law
Rasool's expulsion comes after Trump's executive order stopping aid to South Africa's Black-led government.
Trump accused the South African government of targeting Afrikaners—descendants of mostly Dutch colonial settlers—with a new law allowing expropriation of private land.
The South African government denied these allegations, saying their new law isn't racially motivated and has been misrepresented by Trump.
Refuge offer
Trump offers refuge to Afrikaners amid land reform law
Despite the South African government's denial, Trump announced plans to grant Afrikaners refugee status in the US.
He said, "Any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship."
The move has further escalated tensions between Washington and Pretoria.