The legislation targeting Moscow’s alleged malign operations on the continent should be scrapped, senior diplomat has said
The US should scrap its “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa” bill because the legislation is at odds with international law, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.
In an interview with news outlet Sputnik, Pandor stated that Washington's bill “should really be killed” because “it’s totally unwarranted.” “I think it’s an intrusion that goes against international law,” she noted, adding that South African officials have made this clear to their US counterparts.
“We even met with the drafter of the initial legislation and indicated the offense which we view with this particular proposed piece of legislation,” she said.
Pandor also vowed that South Africa would continue “to advocate for that bill to be torn up and not to proceed in any form or state.”
She also noted that the legislation had not been approved yet and is scheduled for debate in the US Senate. The bill was first introduced to the House of Representatives in late March and was passed a month later by a huge bipartisan majority.
Should the bill be signed into law, the US would have to “regularly assess the scale and scope” of Russia’s activities in Africa that undermine Washington’s objectives and interests. It would also require the US “to hold accountable” through sanctions or other restrictions, Russian and African governments and officials “who are complicit in aiding such malign influence and activities.”
South Africa has already voiced concerns about the proposed legislation. In September, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that Africans should not be “punished” for their historic non-aligned position amid the Ukraine conflict. “I think it will harm Africa and marginalize the continent,” he said at the time.
The bill has created ripples not only in South Africa but also through neighboring nations. In August, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which incorporates 16 regional countries, said that the law would make the continent “the target of unilateral and punitive measures.”
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict last February, South Africa has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia, with Ramaphosa arguing in late May that the restrictions would hurt "bystander countries.”
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
