US president’s xenophobic rant comes amid reports of ramped-up deportation efforts in Ilhan Omar’s district

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Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants “garbage” and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota.

In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia “stinks” and is “no good for a reason”.

Suspects arrested after tipoff over accusation that 17 South Africans were tricked on to frontlines of the conflict

Five South Africans have appeared in court on charges relating to recruitment and fighting for Russia in its war with Ukraine, amid allegations that 17 South Africans had been tricked on to the frontlines of the conflict.

A female suspect was arrested on Thursday on her return to South Africa at OR Tambo international airport outside Johannesburg, police said. Three suspects were arrested at the airport on Friday and another on Saturday.

Reports highlight devastating impact of slashed funding, especially in parts of Africa, that could lead to 3.3m new HIV infections by 2030

In Mozambique, a teenage rape victim sought care at a health clinic only to find it closed. In Zimbabwe, Aids-related deaths have risen for the first time in five years. In Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), patients with suspected HIV went undiagnosed due to test-kit stocks running out.

Stories of the devastating impact of US, British and wider European aid cuts on the fight against HIV – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – continue to mount as 2025 comes to an end, and are set out in a series of reports released in the past week.

Algerian foreign minister says African countries and peoples continue to pay a heavy price for colonialism

African leaders are pushing to have colonial-era crimes recognised, criminalised and addressed through reparations.

At a conference in the Algerian capital, Algiers, diplomats and leaders convened to advance an African Union resolution passed at a meeting earlier this year calling for justice and reparations for victims of colonialism.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla quits as MP after being accused of recruiting 17 men who are trapped in war-torn Ukraine

A daughter of the former South African president Jacob Zuma has resigned as an MP, after being accused of tricking 17 South African men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine by telling them they were travelling to Russia to train as bodyguards for the Zumas’ uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 43, the most visible and active in politics of her siblings, volunteered to resign and step back from public roles while cooperating with a police investigation and working to bring the men home, the MK chair, Nkosinathi Nhleko, said at a press conference in Durban.

Defense secretary says he ‘moved on to my next meeting’ as sensitive military operation was under way; top Democrat calls Hegseth ‘spineless’ and ‘a national embarrassment’

• White House ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over strikes, officials say

• Trump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US

Joseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in Washington

The FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts.