The death toll from recent riots in South Africa has risen to 276, and police are investigating 168 cases for murder, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.
The unrest started as protests over former president Jacob Zuma's jailing two weeks ago in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. But it quickly escalated into arson and looting, and spread to Gauteng province where the biggest city Johannesburg is located.The scale of the destruction and loss of life, which was fuelled by poverty and inequality that persist almost three decades after the end of apartheid in 1994, is still becoming clear. The death toll had stood at 215 on Monday.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister in the presidency, told a news conference there were now 234 deaths linked to the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and 42 in Gauteng. Authorities have managed to bring the violence under control. But the economic cost is estimated at 20 billion rand in KwaZulu-Natal alone, as 161 shopping malls, 11 warehouses and eight factories were extensively damaged. The extent of the damage in Gauteng is still being collated.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africa’s Biovac to manufacture Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for AfricaThe South African firm will begin producing the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in 2022 and all will be marked for distribution for countries under the African Union.
Read more »
Pfizer-BioNTech to start producing Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa in 2022Pfizer and BioNTech will start to manufacture their Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa, they announced jointly on Wednesday, in a move that could significantly increase the availability of doses across the continent next year.
Read more »
Editorial: South L.A. residents shouldn't suffer because of the LAPD's fireworks screw-upEditorial: South L.A. residents shouldn't suffer because of the LAPD's fireworks screw-up (via latimesopinion)
Read more »
South Korean gov't apologizes over virus-stricken destroyerSouth Korea’s prime minister has offered a public apology over a large-scale coronavirus outbreak on a destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa. A total of 247 of the destroyer’s 301 crew members have been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.
Read more »
Single-family house rents are skyrocketing, especially in the SouthThe price of renting a house is exploding for everyone who can't afford to buy, and Southern cities are getting especially expensive
Read more »
A Perspective From A South African Human Rights Activist And Economist–Masana Ndinga-KangaSouth Africa is living through the worst of violence since the 1990s, sparked by the supporters of the 79-year-old former president, Jacob Zuma, over his 15-month prison sentence for being in contempt of court by refusing to testify before the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Captu...
Read more »