In a statement, Rubio alleged that US nationals had also been briefly detained in the imbroglio, a move Washington condemns in the strongest terms. He added that officials' passport information had been leaked, in what he called an unacceptable form of harassment that risked putting the individuals in harm's way. Failure by the South African Government to hold those responsible accountable will result in severe consequences, he said.
France has summoned the US ambassador, Charles Kushner, after he wrote a letter to President Emmanuel Macron alleging that Paris had failed to do enough to stem anti-Semitic violence, a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson says. Kushner published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, in which he focused on France's criticism of Israel which has been accused by leading rights groups of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and its plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
