Connect with us

Published

on

The debate around whether fluoride should be added to tap water is not new.

The practice, which is aimed at reducing tooth decay, has been ongoing for 60 years.

But since fluoride toothpaste became more widely available around the 1970s, more questions have been raised about whether adding it to the drinking supply is still necessary.

And with Donald Trump’s health secretary pick Robert F Kennedy Jr saying he would ban it, the issue has entered public debate yet again.

Despite RFK being well known for his outlandish views on public health, it seems the fluoridation issue isn’t one that can be totally dismissed.

One study in the US has linked fluoride to a lowering of children’s IQs, while another in the UK has questioned its overall effectiveness when added to water.

So what is fluoride, what do experts say – and what’s the story in the UK?

More on Health

What is fluoride and what does it do?

It’s a natural mineral found in rocks, which leaches into soil, rivers and lakes.

It helps dental health by strengthening the tooth enamel, making it more resistant to tooth decay, and also reduces the amount of acid the bacteria on your teeth produce, according to the Oral Health Foundation.

Fluoride is known to be particularly beneficial for children’s teeth, as past studies have suggested ingesting it during the period of tooth development makes the enamel more resistant to later acid attacks and subsequent development of tooth decay.

Dr Kunal Patel, who has been a private and NHS dentist for 15 years, told Sky News the benefit of fluoride is “drilled into” dental students, adding there are “scientifically proven benefits of having fluoride within your oral hygiene regime”.

Fluoride is essentially a passive way of protecting your teeth, he says.

“If you decide not to use fluoride then the technique of brushing your teeth, your flossing and other methods of cleaning have to be that much better,” he adds.

How do we get fluoride?

Almost all water contains some naturally occurring fluoride, but it’s normally not enough to prevent tooth decay.

Some areas do have water supplies where the amount of fluoride is naturally at a high level – a point that will be covered later.

We get trace amounts of fluoride from much of our food and drink, but brewed tea in particular proves a big source because tea plants take up fluoride from soil.

Most toothpastes now contain fluoride to give you extra protection from decay.

When did adding it to the water supply become a thing?

Many oral health experts believe adding fluoride to water – an act known as fluoridation – is the most effective way to widely reduce dental problems, particularly in underprivileged regions.

The practice began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after scientists noticed that people had less tooth decay in areas with naturally higher fluoride levels in the tap water.

It was first added to the water supply in England in 1964, when a pilot scheme was launched in Birmingham.

Over the years it’s been rolled out to about 75% of America’s population, compared to about 10% of England.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates some 400 million people in 25 countries are getting artificially fluoridated water, while about 50 million have naturally occurring fluoride at the same level as the artificial schemes.

What is the ideal amount of fluoride in water?

The WHO recommends a maximum level of 1.5mg per litre.

In its guidelines, it says the level is aimed at creating a middle ground where tooth decay is minimised, but the risk of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis is too.

Dental fluorosis is a common cosmetic condition caused by ingesting too much fluoride during tooth development, and can leave white flecks, spots or lines on teeth.

Skeletal fluorosis, a much rarer occurrence, is a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease caused by ingesting large amounts of fluoride.

The UK government aims for fluoride levels of 1mg per litre in drinking water, while the level of fluoride is kept at about 0.7mg per litre in the US.

Potential danger to children’s IQs

Fluoridation has been a contentious subject in the US, with more than 100 lawsuits over the years trying to get rid of it without success, according to the American Fluoridation Society, an advocacy group.

And the anti-fluoride group Fluoride Action Network says more than 150 towns and counties across the US have voted to keep fluoride out of public water systems or to stop adding it.

But the movement against it really gained momentum earlier this year when a US government report concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit was linked with lower IQ in children.

The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, said it reached its conclusion “with moderate confidence”.

It cited a 2019 study, published in the well-respected journal JAMA Pediatrics, which found that IQ levels were slightly lower in three and four-year-old children whose mothers had higher measures of fluoride in their urine when they were pregnant.

A federal judge in California used the report to order the nation’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen its regulations on fluoridation in September, saying the current levels were posing an unreasonable risk to children.

The judge stressed that he was not concluding with certainty that fluoridated water endangered public health, but rather that it poses a risk.

Questions over fluoride’s effectiveness

In the UK, while the government is reviewing plans to raise fluoride levels for millions and roll it out into more areas of England, a major review has suggested fluoridation may only have a “modest” benefit.

Academics at Manchester, Dundee and Aberdeen universities compared 157 studies looking at the effect of fluoridation on the dental health of communities.

When the government began adding fluoride to tap water, it reduced the number of decayed, missing or filled teeth by two whole teeth on average among children with their baby teeth, researchers said.

However, once fluoride toothpaste became widely available, that number declined.

Now, it is equivalent to a reduction of a “quarter of a tooth” that is decayed, missing or filled, on average.

“Water fluoridation is only having a modest benefit on dental caries, and those benefits may take years to be realised,” said Professor Anne-Marie Glenny, of the University of Manchester, who co-authored the paper.

Could it actually be scrapped in the US?

Mr Kennedy Jr has claimed Mr Trump will push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office, referring to it as “industrial waste” in a statement on X.

He also claimed fluoride was associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.

While there have been studies regarding some of those claims, none of them have been conclusive.

After the comments, Mr Trump told Sky News’ US partner NBC News that while he had not spoken to his health secretary pick about trying to scrap fluoride yet, “it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible”.

The decision on whether or not add fluoride to water is ultimately made by state and local health authorities, so Mr Trump’s government can only advise them to stop it.

‘It’s about risk vs benefit’

Stephen Peckham, professor of health policy at the University of Kent, previously led a study on fluoridation’s potential links to hypothyroidism – an underactive thyroid – and is now part of a research team investigating whether it could be causing IQ issues within the UK’s population.

He tells Sky News he accepts fluoride can be beneficial, but adds it is not a necessity, especially in water.

“We know that ingested fluoride is not an effective way of preventing tooth decay,” he says. “If you want to have fluoride, put it on your toothbrush and clean your teeth with it. It needs to be applied to the tooth and not swallowed.”

He says that while the benefit is limited, the children’s IQ study carried out in the US highlights a need for caution.

“What we do know is that ingesting fluoride does have a neurologic, neurotoxic effect. What’s less certain is at what level of fluoride that begins.

“The judge is saying, well, in that case, shouldn’t we be more careful? And limit in particular pregnant women’s access to fluoridated water or consumption of fluoridated water.

“And your maximum of fluoride depends on how much you drink. So if you drink more, you get more.”

It’s about the “balance of risk and benefit”, he says.

“But if there’s not much benefit, should you have any risk? The answer is no, you shouldn’t.”

‘Stick to the most deprived regions’

Dr Kunal Patel, who owns six private dental clinics in Surrey, including one for children only, says fluoridation was “great in a time where there was less education and less access to fluoride in toothpaste”.

He adds that before the IQ study came out, he would have been happy to see fluoride being added to any area in the UK because he’d have thought “anyone could benefit” without there being any negative effects.

Now, he says, he thinks it’s best to be “selective” and limit fluoridating water “to the areas that are suffering, where it’s more rural or more deprived”.

Read more:
Unhealthy food costing UK more than £260bn a year, report says
Cocoa or green tea can help you destress more than high-fat foods

He gives the North West as an example, saying he recently did a charity event there to promote dental health among young people, and it was “shocking” to see how many of them did not even own a toothbrush.

He says it’s a “good idea” to expand to similar areas of the UK where dental health is low – but thinks it would be an even better idea to provide toothpaste to schools in such areas and increase their education regarding how best to look after their teeth.

“I think education is the way forward more so than fluoridated water.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told Sky News: “The number one reason children aged six to 10 end up in hospital is to have their rotting teeth pulled out.

“Water fluoridation at levels permitted in this country is a safe and effective public health measure that reduces tooth decay.

“Prevention is always better than cure, and this government is committed to helping people stay healthy and keeping kids out of hospital.”

Is your water being fluoridated?

About 330,000 people live in areas of England with naturally occurring fluoride in drinking water, while around 5.8 million people get an artificial supply put in theirs.

It means some 10% of people in England live in areas where fluoride is added to the water, mainly in the West Midlands and the North East.

There is no fluoridation in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Here is the full list of areas receiving artificial fluoridation in England, according to the British Fluoridation Society:

  • Cumbria – 120,000
  • Cheshire – 137,000
  • Tyneside – 643,000
  • Northumbria – 101,000
  • County Durham – 85,000
  • Humberside – 136,000
  • Lincolnshire – 250,000
  • Nottinghamshire – 287,000
  • Derbyshire – 43,000
  • Birmingham – 1,000,000
  • Solihull – 200,000
  • Coventry – 300,000
  • Sandwell – 300,000
  • Dudley – 305,000
  • Walsall – 253,000
  • Wolverhampton – 236,000
  • Staffordshire – 497,000
  • Shropshire – 22,000
  • Warwickshire – 431,000
  • Worcestershire – 253,000
  • Bedfordshire – 198,000

And here is the list of areas getting the “optimal” amount of fluoride naturally:

  • Hartlepool, County Durham – 89,000
  • Easington, County Durham – 47,000
  • Uttoxeter, Staffordshire – 13,000
  • Redbridge, London Borough – 180,000

Where else could fluoride be added to water?

The Conservative government introduced proposals to expand fluoridation schemes across the North East “because of the significant and long-standing inequalities in the region” when it comes to dental health.

A public consultation on the plans was launched in June and closed in July. Since Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government won the election, it has not been clear whether the plans are still being pursued.

These are the areas the government proposed extending the fluoride supply to:

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle
  • Northumberland
  • North Tyneside
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • South Tyneside
  • Stockton
  • Sunderland

Continue Reading

US

Washington shooting suspect accused Israel of ‘atrocities’ in social media post, Sky News finds

Published

on

By

Washington shooting suspect accused Israel of 'atrocities' in social media post, Sky News finds

A social media post believed to have been published by the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC accuses Israel of “atrocities” against Palestinians.

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, chanted “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested, footage shows.

The victims, who were attacked as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum, have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were about to be engaged.

Israel accuses Starmer over killings – read latest updates

Elias Rodriguez has been named by police as the only suspect.
Pic: Katie Kalisher
Image:
Rodriguez shouted ‘free Palestine’ as he was arrested.
Pic: Katie Kalisher

Sky News has uncovered what is believed to be a statement by the shooting suspect posted at 10pm local time, around an hour after the shooting – suggesting it was scheduled.

The letter, signed with Rodriguez’s name, was dated 20 May 2025.

In the lengthy essay, Rodriguez criticises Israel’s actions in Gaza and attacks the US government’s position.

“The atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification,” it says.

“Instead of reading descriptions mostly we watch them unfold on video, sometimes live. After a few months of rapidly mounting death tolls Israel had obliterated the capacity to even continue counting the dead.”

Israel's embassy in the US has shared an image of the two victims of the Washington shooting, naming them as Yaron and Sarah.
@IsraelinUSA
Image:
Victims Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. Pic: @yaron_li/X

The statement adds: “Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they’ll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they’re doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.”

Rodriguez concludes the statement: “I love you Mom, Dad, baby sis, the rest of my familia, including you, O***** . Free Palestine.”

Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a UN report accusing Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against the Palestinians as biased and antisemitic.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence secretary Yoav Gallant – as well as a senior Hamas commander – for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu has decried what he said were the “false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body”.

Analysis: Trump team will worry about Washington attacker being glorified

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

DC shooting: What we know so far

The attack

The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and began shooting, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

She said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting.

“After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Ms Smith said.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence.”

When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Police Chief Smith said.

Suspect believed to have been member of revolutionary socialist group

Rodriguez is believed to have been a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.

An article in the group’s Liberation paper about a protest outside the home of Chicago’s then mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2017 features a picture of Rodriguez at the demonstration as well as quotes from him. The protest was not linked to Israel or Gaza. The article was taken down from the paper’s website on Thursday.

Since 2024, Rodriguez has worked as an administrative specialist for the American Osteopathic Association, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Elias Rodriguez
Image:
The picture on Rodriguez’s LinkedIn

Before that he was an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, an online archive developed by Carnegie Mellon University to tell the stories of African Americans.

A profile for Rodriguez on the website says he was born and raised in Chicago and has a BA degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago.

“He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places,” the profile says.

Rodriguez is also believed to have donated $500 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in March 2020, when he was running in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group stormed across the border on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people, taking 250 hostages.

Since then Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 53,000 people, mostly children, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.

The war has displaced 90% of Gaza’s population of roughly two million people and left much of the territory in ruins.

Reporting by Samuel Osborne, news reporter, and Sam Doak, OSINT producer

Continue Reading

US

Small plane crashes into San Diego neighbourhood in ‘direct hit to multiple homes’

Published

on

By

Small plane crashes into San Diego neighbourhood in 'direct hit to multiple homes'

A small plane has crashed into a San Diego neighbourhood in what authorities are calling a “direct hit to multiple homes”.

About 15 homes have caught fire as well as vehicles, and people living in several blocks are being evacuated.

“We have jet fuel all over the place,” assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy told reporters. “Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now.”

The fire chief said there had been a “direct hit to multiple homes” as he described it as a “a gigantic debris field”.

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Image:
Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Image:
Pic: AP

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

It is currently unknown if there have been any deaths or injuries.

Describing the scene “like something from a movie”, Mr Eddy told reporters: “This is a worst-case scenario, right, a plane into homes off of a runway.

“So, as of now though, the best thing that I have for you is that no one has been transported from the scene so far.

More on San Diego

“We’ll continue to search to find out where the plane came from, and continue to work on that and give you updates.”

It was said to be foggy at the time the private plane crashed. Mr Eddy said: “You could barely see in front of you.”

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Pic:Forrest Gallagher/NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: Forrest Gallagher/NBC San Diego

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they peered out the window.

As they fled the neighbourhood with their two young children, they spotted a car engulfed in flames.

Mr Moore said: “It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety.”

Police help rescue dogs from a home after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood earlier, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Image:
Pic: AP

Police help rescue dogs from a home after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood earlier, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Image:
Pic: AP

Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes, while evacuated families were spotted standing in their pyjamas in a parking lot a few blocks away.

Many military service members live in the neighbourhood, which is made up of single family homes and townhomes. It also is heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby.

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed the force is responding to the crash in the neighbourhood of Tierrasanta.

Posting on X, a SDPS spokesperson warned people to avoid the area while emergency crews get to work and urged all those who smell jet fuel or find debris to alert the authorities.

Evacuations are taking place in Salmon Street, Sample Street and Sculpin Street. The southbound Santo Road has also been closed at Aero Drive.

An evacuation site has been set up at Miller Elementary School.

Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego


Pic: NBC San Diego
Image:
Pic: NBC San Diego

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Cessna 550 crashed near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

In a statement, the agency said: “The number of people on board is unknown at this time.

“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates.”

The plane can carry six to eight people.

Continue Reading

US

Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’

Published

on

By

Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging 'genocide'

Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white farmers in the African country.

The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.

After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.

Donald Trump meets Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
Image:
Donald Trump met Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the clips were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.

The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.

And he told a news conference: “There is just no genocide in South Africa.”

The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.

South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.

The clips included one of communist politician Julius Malema playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Watch the full video

Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers.

“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many… locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,” the US president said, referring specifically to white farmers.

He added: “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”

Alluding to people in the clips, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”

The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.

He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”

President Donald Trump meets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
Image:
Mr Trump held up news articles. Pic: AP

South African leader rejects allegations

Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.

“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.

“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”

Read more from Sky News:
Ex-Ukrainian politician living abroad shot dead on school run
The soldiers faced with ‘raining bullets’ from violent gangs

An uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion

The screens, the visuals and President Trump’s foreshadowing mentions of a “bloodbath” all point to one thing – this ambush was planned.

As the yells of anguish and violent rhetoric echoed in the Oval Office, President Ramaphosa craned his neck with a stern expression to watch the “evidence” of a repeatedly disproven “white genocide” in his country.

He interjected only to question the location of the videos – to which Mr Trump replied, almost with a “duh” tone of voice, “South Africa” – and then pushed on to direct his team to verify them.

That was the singular point of outright defiance from South Africa’s leader in an uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion and outdated videos were played as breaking news.

For the rest of the meeting, Nelson Mandela’s former chief negotiator kept calm and played the charm offensive – appealing to Mr Trump’s ego at every sharp turn while maintaining that black South Africans are disproportionately impacted by the country’s harrowing murder rate.

The charm and calm may seem like dull knives in this sword fight but are necessary for peacekeeping in a meeting where £6bn in trade hangs in the balance.

South Africa has the most to lose in the deteriorating bilateral relations.

In just five months, the Trump administration has cut off vital humanitarian aid, including HIV assistance of which South Africa is the biggest beneficiary; expelled South Africa’s ambassador; and offered white South Africans refugee status as millions of black Africans suffer across the continent.

The potential futility of Mr Ramaphosa’s strategy came into vision as cameras panned to the back of the Oval Office at the end of the meeting to show a stony-faced Elon Musk.

The false claims of white genocide Musk has championed on X are now a powder keg in US-South African relations, as he works to get Starlink licensed in his home country. A business strategy that even South Africa’s iconic negotiator may not be able to contend with.

Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”

The South African leader said there was crime in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”

President Trump and President Ramaphosa look towards a screen where videos were played. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Mr Trump and Mr Ramaphosa looked towards a screen where a video was played. Pic: Reuters

A video was played during the White House meeting. Pic: AP
Image:
The video was shown during the White House meeting. Pic: AP

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

In February, Mr Trump issued an executive order which cut all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. He also expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.

Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.

Continue Reading

Trending