International

SAfrican indigenous ‘king’ arrested for growing pot at presidency

AFP

South African police Wednesday uprooted cannabis plants grown by indigenous activists who have camped outside President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office for more than three years, AFP reporters saw.

Their leader, wearing a traditional loincloth, clung to a shoulder-height plant as police dragged it across the presidential lawn in Pretoria before arresting him.

“Police… you have declared war,” he shouted. “We have been here peacefully. We are coming for you,” warned the man, who calls himself King Khoisan South Africa.

The Khoisan were formerly known as Bushmen or Hottentots — a name coined by Dutch settlers in the 17h century, reflecting the clicks characteristic of their languages.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

During the raid, another activist yelled in Afrikaans at the police, asking them: “For plants? For plants? You are rubbish people in uniforms.”

The group’s tarpaulin tents have been a fixture on the emerald lawns of the South African president’s office since 2018, when they began a campaign for official recognition of their languages.

One of the tents is just metres (yards) away from a giant bronze statue of Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president.

Around two dozen police, some in riot gear, others mounted on horseback and some with sniffer dogs, raided the small group.

Police did not respond to AFP’s request for comment, but journalists heard officers on the scene saying the raid was over the cannabis planted some six months ago in the activists’ vegetable garden.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

In 2018, South Africa’s top court decriminalised the private and personal use of cannabis in a landmark case that pitted law enforcement agencies against advocates of the plant, known locally as dagga.

South Africa’s Khoisan community is thought to number in the hundreds of thousands.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.

International

Netanyahu vows to target Iran’s leadership after missile strikes in southern Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to target Iran’s leadership directly, escalating rhetoric amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Speaking during a visit to the southern city of Arad, which was struck by an Iranian missile a day earlier, Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its response against Tehran.

“We are going after the regime. We are going after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that gang of criminals,” he told reporters while standing among the debris left by the தாக்க.

He added that Israel intends to strike “personally” at Iran’s leadership, as well as its facilities and economic assets.

In addition to Arad, Iranian missiles also hit the city of Dimona on Saturday. The area is widely believed to host Israel’s undeclared nuclear facilities. The strike caused significant damage following a direct impact.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Netanyahu also visited Dimona, where he urged residents to strictly follow military instructions and seek shelter whenever warning sirens are activated.

“The entire nation is a front line, and the home front is also a front line. And when we are on the front line, we follow these instructions,” he said.

International

US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy

The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.

According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.

The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.

“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.

However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.

When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.