South Africa ordered Israel’s top diplomat to leave the country within 72 hours on Friday, citing a “series of violations” and prompting the Israeli government to expel Pretoria’s own diplomatic representative.

Several protests have taken place in South Africa against Israel’s actions in Gaza, with some calling for the embassy in Pretoria to be closed

Ties between the nations are already strained by South Africa’s case before the United Nations top court in 2023 to argue that Israel’s war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

The South African foreign ministry said it had informed Israel that its charge d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, was “persona non grata” and “required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours”.

“This decisive measure follows a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty,” it said.

Breaches included “the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks” on President Cyril Ramaphosa, the statement said.

The foreign ministry also accused the embassy of a “deliberate failure” to inform South Africa of visits by senior Israeli officials.

The Israeli foreign ministry swiftly responded that South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Byneveldt, “is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours”.

South Africa laid a case before the United Nations top court in 2023 to argue that Israel’s war on Gaza amounted to genocide, which it denies.

In a statement on X, it accused Pretoria of “false attacks against Israel in the international arena” and described Seidman’s expulsion as a “unilateral, baseless step”.

Seidman was Israel’s most senior representative in South Africa after Tel Aviv recalled its ambassador in 2023.

‘Abuse of privilege’

South African officials were angered by a tweet from the Israeli embassy in November that commented: “A rare moment of wisdom and diplomatic clarity from President Ramaphosa.”

The post was in reaction to a news story citing Ramaphosa as saying “boycott politics doesn’t work”, in reference to US President Donald Trump’s decision to not attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Source: France 24

The chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned enemies against any miscalculation, stressing that his forces have “their hands on the trigger” to implement the orders of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

“We warn the criminal, evil, and anti-human enemies, particularly the United States and the fake and racist Zionist regime, to learn from historical experience and what they sustained in the 12-day imposed war [in June] to avoid any miscalculation,” said Major General Mohammad Pakpour in a message on Thursday.

If they commit any miscalculation, they will face a “more painful and regret-inducing” fate, he added.

He emphasized that the IRGC forces have more firmly than ever beefed up the nation’s defensive power and the country’s security against the American-Zionist animosity and malicious acts.

In late December, Iran saw sporadic economic protests that were quickly hijacked by rioters incited by US and Israeli leaders and aided by their spy operatives on the ground.

US President Donald Trump openly and publicly encouraged violence by calling on armed rioters to take over state institutions and threatening military action against Iran if they were confronted.

In an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Trump’s threats against Iran served as a direct incentive for terrorist cells to pursue a strategy of “maximum bloodshed” to drag the US into another war on behalf of Israel.

Source: Presstv

Prosecutors have asked for South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol to be handed a death sentence if he is found guilty over his botched attempt to impose martial law.

A court in Seoul heard closing arguments in Yoon’s trial, in which he was accused of being the “ringleader of an insurrection”.

The charge stems from Yoon’s attempt in December 2024 to impose military rule in South Korea – an act that lasted just hours but plunged the country into political turmoil. He was later impeached by parliament and detained to face trial.

Yoon has denied the charges against him, arguing that martial law was a symbolic gesture to draw public attention to the wrongdoings of the opposition party.

Leading an insurrection – the most serious charge against Yoon – carries sentences of the death penalty, or life imprisonment. Under South Korean law, prosecutors had to ask the judge for either one sentence or the other.

South Korea has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years. In 1996, former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was given the death penalty for seizing power in a military coup in 1979, though his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

The prosecutors in Yoon’s case argue that although no one was killed in his martial law attempt, Yoon’s intent was no less violent.

Closing their arguments at Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said the former president had been motivated by a “lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule”.

“The greatest victims of the insurrection in this case are the people of this country,” they told the court.

“There are no mitigating circumstances to be considered in sentencing, and instead a severe punishment must be imposed,” they said.

Prosecutors had called to the stand the military commander who testified that Yoon had ordered the arrest of lawmakers during his abortive coup.

They also presented as evidence the memo made by one of the planners of the martial law, a former military officer, containing the suggestion of “disposing” of hundreds of people including journalists, labour activists and lawmakers.

Yoon’s insurrection trial has been merged with those of two other senior figures in his administration, former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and former police chief Cho Ji-ho.

Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Kim, and 20 years in jail for Cho for carrying out Yoon’s illegal orders. There are five other defendants.

Yoon was in court to hear the final legal arguments. He has argued that as president, he had the power to declare martial law. Yoon was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he had done so to fend off the “wickedness that would ruin the nation”.

Legal arguments were expected to end last Friday, but continued into Tuesday amid reports defence lawyers had delayed proceedings.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict in February. Sentences sought by prosecutors are not always upheld in courts in South Korea.

Yoon, 65, was removed from office in April, and is the country’s first sitting president to be taken into custody.

He has been detained for months while facing several criminal trials. Last month, prosecutors sought a 10-year prison term for Yoon for obstruction of justice and other charges related to his martial law attempt.

On 3 December 2024, Yoon shocked the country – and the world – by declaring martial law over South Korea. He said at the time it was to protect the country from North Korean communist forces, but some saw it as a ploy by Yoon to get a grip on power amid domestic political woes.

The short-lived martial law declaration sent South Korea into months of political turmoil, while Yoon became South Korea’s first sitting president to be arrested and charged.

South Korea’s incumbent president, Lee Jae Myung, was elected in June following a snap election after Yoon’s impeachment.

Despite his downfall, Yoon retains loyal supporters in right-wing circles who see him as a martyr who dared to rail against the liberal Democratic Party led by Lee.

Source: BBC

US President Donald Trump has introduced himself in a post on Truth Social as Venezuela’s acting president, days after a US attack that led to the abduction of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump on Sunday posted a picture of himself on his social media website as the “acting president of Venezuela,” portraying himself as the interim leader of the country as of January 2026.

On January 3, American forces staged an illegal military attack on Caracas, abducting Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and then transferring them to a prison facility in the United States.

The democratically-elected Venezuelan leader is now being tried in a kangaroo court in New York for fake charges allegedly related to trafficking guns and drugs.

Trump later announced that his administration would “run” Venezuela. He has especially emphasized that he is now in full control of all transactions linked to the country’s oil industry.

In an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, Trump pointed out that the United States could oversee Venezuela and control its oil revenue for years to come.

Trump has been pressing American oil companies reluctant to purchase oil from the leftist South American country to buy the country’s crude and resume their operations in Venezuela.

US oil majors, who lost their assets in Venezuela when the industry was nationalized by former President Hugo Chavez nearly two decades ago, insist that the laws in the Latin American country must be changed before they can start work.

Trump responded to their demand, telling them not to be “cute.”

Following Maduro’s abduction, his vice president, Delcy Rodrigues, was sworn in by the country’s top court as the interim president.

Since then, Rodrigues’ government has been engaged in diplomatic talks with the Trump administration, while a US team of diplomatic and security personnel arrived in Caracas to assess the possibility of reopening the US embassy in the Venezuelan capital.

At the same time, Maduro’s supporters have been marching in the streets of Caracas on a daily basis, calling for the immediate release of their popular leader and his wife, who remain in US custody.

Source: Presstv

At least seven explosions have shaken Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, as low-flying aircraft have been detected in the skies above the city, in what the Venezuelan government said were coordinated US strikes.

Explosions and smoke were reported across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, at around 2 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) with power outages near a key military base and reports of low-flying aircraft on Saturday.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

President Nicolas Maduro announced a nationwide state of emergency, ordered the full activation of national defense plans, and authorized the deployment of comprehensive defense commands across the country in response to the attacks.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said US forces carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states, describing the operation as a direct act of military aggression aimed at seizing the country’s oil and mineral wealth.

The government urged its supporters to mobilize nationwide in response to the attacks.

“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

Caracas said it retains the right to legitimate self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and called on regional governments and the international community to stand against what it described as imperialist aggression.

American news outlets reported that US President Donald Trump had greenlighted direct attacks on Venezuelan soil several days ago.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack, calling on the UN to convene immediately to discuss the issue.

“Caracas has been attacked by missiles, and the world must be aware; Venezuela is under attack. The Organization of American States and the United Nations must convene immediately,” Petro said in a post published on X.

Source: Presstv

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court for the 65th time to respond to corruption charges in cases that have haunted him throughout much of his premiership, according to Israeli media reports.

The Hebrew-language Maariv daily newspaper reported that the latest court session on Tuesday focused on Case 4000, which involves allegations of bribery in connection with Shaul Elovitch, the former controlling shareholder of Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications company.

Prosecutors say that Netanyahu is accused of granting regulatory benefits to Bezeq in exchange for favorable media coverage on the Walla news website, owned by Elovitch, though the Israeli premier denies all charges.

Prosecutors also say Netanyahu and members of his family submitted “various demands” to the Elovitch couple regarding the tone and content of Walla’s news coverage, the paper reported.

Source: Presstv