South Africa

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A curious South African sea snail is a prized dish in Asia. That has meant a trail of destruction

HAWSTON, South Africa (AP) — Nearly every house in Hawston has a boat in its yard, sometimes two.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-abalone-hong-kong-poaching-3f63be4b5527178908c6013d5413f1e7?

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A ship carrying 19,000 cattle caused a big stink in the South African city of Cape Town

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — What stinks?

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-cape-town-ship-smell-cattle-f72c017b48d330372fb22f50d341f8fa?

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South Africa election

 

Millions of South Africans will cast their votes today in what is expected to be the most pivotal general election since the end of apartheid. For months, polls have shown the ruling African National Congress party could lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994. If support for the ANC drops below 50%, the party will be forced to enter into a coalition government. Almost 28 million people are registered to vote — the highest number to date, according to the Independent Electoral Commission.

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South Africa votes in an election that could bring its biggest political shift since apartheid ended At stake is the three-decade dominance of the African National Congress party, which led South Africa out of apartheid’s brutal white minority rule in 1994. Memories of that era, and the defining vote that ended it, still frame much of everyday South Africa. But fewer remember it as time goes on. Read more.

Why this matters: After winning six successive national elections, several polls have the ANC’s support at less than 50% ahead of this one, an unprecedented drop. It might lose its majority in Parliament for the first time, although it’s widely expected to hold the most seats. The party is now the target of a new generation of discontent in a country of 62 million people — half of whom are estimated to be living in poverty.   Any change in the ANC’s hold on power could be monumental. If it does lose its majority, the ANC will likely face the prospect of having to form a coalition to stay in government — something that has never happened before. The two biggest opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters, are not predicted to increase their vote by anything near enough to overtake the ANC.   The election is being held on one day across the country’s nine provinces. Nearly 28 million people are registered to vote at more than 23,000 polling stations. Final results are expected by Sunday.

Related coverage ➤ This election might be a defining moment. Here's what to know  Ramaphosa faces ANC’s worst election ever. He’ll still likely be reelected  A surprise election challenger is evoking the anti-apartheid struggle

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When South Africa’s election results are expected and why the president will be chosen later

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa held a national election Wednesday that could be the country’s most hotly contested in 30 years, with the long-ruling African National Congress party facing a stern test to hold onto its majority.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-election-president-vote-bb5529f8ec76f40f0bebdff67bfd2320?

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Partial count in South Africa election puts ruling ANC below 50% as country senses momentous change

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Partial results in South Africa’s national election put the long-ruling African National Congress party at well below 50% of the vote as counting continued Thursday, and it could be on the brink of losing its majority for the first time since sweeping to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-election-change-vote-anc-25a03780bec29503ab3d9f6e9f96dc4c?

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South Africa’s president urges parties to find common ground in talks after election deadlock

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — President Cyril Ramaphosa called Sunday for South Africa’s political parties to overcome their differences and find “common ground” to form the first national coalition government in its young democracy.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-election-anc-vote-68a64d6bb5f0655233c7d6d4aa7bb0e8?

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South Africa’s government won’t help the illegal miners inside a closed mine

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s government says it won’t help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-illegal-miners-arrests-4d376ae6f6afca6170220f88fe859f90?

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Why hundreds of miners are still trapped and feared starving in an abandoned South Africa mine

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African authorities have come under intense scrutiny for their response after civic groups said hundreds of miners have been trapped deep in an abandoned gold mine for months, with more than 100 of them believed to have died of starvation or dehydration.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-miners-trapped-explainer-53fb1226e9b5151a0a4ce2064168f84a?

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Standoff in South Africa ends with 87 miners dead and anger over police’s ‘smoke them out’ tactics

STILFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in a monthslong standoff between police and miners trapped while working illegally in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87, police said Thursday. Authorities faced growing anger and a possible investigation over their initial refusal to help the miners and instead “smoke them out” by cutting off their food supplies.

https://apnews.com/article/miners-mine-south-africa-dead-80a1a4809371269b592bf3e2695540ba?

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The rescue of hundreds of miners in a South African gold mine began with a camera and a note Late last year, a specialized camera was lowered into an almost 1.6-mile-deep shaft in South Africa where hundreds of miners were reported to be trapped and starving. Rescuers got their first visuals when the camera reached 4,200 feet underground: A large group of miners standing, waiting for help to arrive. The camera was next lowered with a notepad, and the miners replied that 480 of them were underground and those still alive were desperate to leave. Read more.

Key points: The miners had been working illegally in the abandoned Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, and authorities have faced growing anger and a possible investigation over their initial refusal to help and cutting off their food. At least 87 miners died in the monthslong standoff.   South African authorities have been fiercely criticized for cutting off the miners. That tactic to “smoke them out,” as described by a prominent Cabinet minister, was condemned by one of South Africa’s biggest trade unions.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Illegal mining ringleader escaped during South Africa disaster with help from officers, police say   South African miner describes horrors for those who spent months underground

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Daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma arrested on terrorism charges over riots

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma was arrested Thursday and appeared in a court on terrorism charges for allegedly inciting violence through social media posts before and during riots that shook the country four years ago and left more than 350 people dead.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-zuma-daughter-arrest-riots-d720daff431bb6c7b2b8c60f7c0de399?

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Fear at isolated Antarctica base as a man is accused of attacking a colleague and making threats

A member of a South African research team that is confined for more than a year at an isolated Antarctica base was put under psychological evaluation there after he allegedly assaulted and sexually harassed colleagues, government officials said. Read More.

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Expelled South African ambassador returns home and says he will wear US sanction as a ‘badge of dignity’ The South African ambassador who was expelled from the United States and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration was welcomed home at an airport Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him. Read more.

What to know: Ebrahim Rasool was expelled for comments he made on a webinar that included him saying that the Make America Great Again movement was partly a response to “a supremacist instinct.” It is highly unusual for the U.S. to expel a foreign ambassador.   Rasool was declared persona non grata by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on X on March 14. Rubio said Rasool was a “race-baiting politician” who hates the U.S. and Trump. Although Rubio didn’t directly cite a reason, his post linked to a story by the conservative Breitbart news site that reported on a talk Rasool gave on a webinar organized by a South African think tank.   The U.S. president issued an executive order last month cutting all funding to South Africa, alleging its government is supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran, and pursuing anti-white policies at home.

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A South African woman is sentenced to life in prison for selling her young daughter

A South African woman was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for selling her 6-year-old daughter. Kelly Smith was sentenced by a judge alongside two others, her boyfriend and another man, who also received life sentences. Smith’s daughter, Joshlin, went missing in February 2024. She has still not been found. Read More.

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Cutting off rhinos’ horns is a contentious last resort to stop poaching. A new study found it works

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Cutting off the horns of sedated rhinos with a chainsaw has been viewed by wildlife conservationists in Africa for more than 30 years as a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching.

https://apnews.com/article/rhinos-dehorning-conservation-wildlife-poaching-africa-kruger-01d20eac07ba8b0024d465832b031e66?

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Africa has the worst road safety record in the world. Here’s what to know

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A deadly car crash in Nigeria involving former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and two minibus accidents in South Africa days apart that killed at least 25 people have underlined Africa’s poor road safety record.

https://apnews.com/article/africa-road-safety-cars-crashes-d4e243d9807bbb60f9804d575094310e?

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A South African politician goes snorkeling in a giant pothole to highlight city management failures

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A 75-year-old woman running for mayor of South Africa’s biggest city went snorkeling in a large, water-filled trench in a suburban road in a stunt to draw attention to what she describes as years of mismanagement by the city’s authorities.

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-snorkel-johannesburg-zille-mayor-management-395daaa4e5e9254771ba06abb393d419?