South Africa’s ANC will seek to form government of national unity
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters South Africa’s African National Congress will invite other political parties to form a national unity government, its leader President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday, after it lost its majority for the first time in the democratic era. The former liberation movement once led by Nelson Mandela has run South Africa since […]
South Africa inquiry blames authorities for neglect leading to deadly fire
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters An inquiry into a fire that killed 77 people in Johannesburg last year blamed neglect by authorities for allowing a building to become a den for guns, murder, drugs and combustible trash, and failing to evacuate it once it was clear it was a hazard. South Africa opened the inquiry last […]
Witnesses give harrowing accounts of Johannesburg fire that killed 77
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters An inquiry opened on Thursday tasked with determining responsibility for a fire in Johannesburg that killed 77 people, exposing the living conditions of the victims and throwing a spotlight on gangs that seize abandoned buildings and rent them out. One of the worst disasters in living memory in South Africa’s economic […]
Essay: Johannesburg fire disaster – why eradicating hijacked buildings is not the answer
Researcher RICHARD BALLARD, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the response in the wake of last week’s devastating fire in Johannesburg…
Johannesburg fire: Life inside the ‘hijacked’ building where scores burned alive
TIM COCKS and CARIEN DU PLESSIS, of Reuters, report in the wake of last week’s devastating fire in Johannesburg…
South Africa’s recognition of sign language signals new hope for the deaf
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters Bongumusa Manana, a 19-year-old deaf student who studies in a township in Johannesburg, sees South Africa’s move to recognise sign as an official language as a huge breakthrough that will help him to get to university and make his “dreams come true”. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed legislation into law last month […]
South Africa gas leak kills 17 as officials suggest illegal mining link
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters The death toll from a leak of poisonous gas in a South African shantytown rose to 17 on Thursday, as officials suggested the accident was probably linked to illegal mining. Gauteng Province Premier Panyaza Lesufi, visiting the site of the disaster near Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, said investigations were under way […]
Driver charged after 15 killed in Johannesburg tanker explosion
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters The death toll from a gas tanker that exploded in Johannesburg on Saturday has nearly doubled to 15, authorities said, adding that they’d arrested the driver and charged him with culpable homicide. The blast, which tore the roof off the emergency department at the Tambo Memorial hospital, destroyed two houses, several […]
Flash flood kills nine at church gathering in South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa AP At least nine people died and eight others were missing in South Africa after a flash flood swept away members of a church congregation along the Jukskei River in Johannesburg, rescue officials said Sunday. The dead and missing were all part of the congregation, which was conducting religious rituals along the […]
Postcards: Accusing government of inaction, South Africans say apps step in
KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how apps are being used to alert users to rolling blackouts and provide spaces to vent their frustrations…