Latest South Africa News

Pedestrians pass a street crossing Friday, May 22, 2020, in Tokyo. Tokyo is still under a coronavirus state of emergency until the end of May though there have been no hard lockdowns. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The Latest: Japan set to end Tokyo's state of emergency

May. 25, 2020 1:09 AM EDT

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. TOP OF THE HOUR: — Japan set to remove state of emergency from Tokyo, 4 other...

In this Friday May 1, 2020 photo, 34-year-old entrepreneur Fino Dlamini poses for a photograph inside her office in the Soweto township outside Johannesburg, South Africa. Business was good in January and February, and projections for the rest of 2020 were excellent. Then the coronavirus brought everything to an abrupt halt. Dlamini was confined to her small home under a strict lockdown, with few options for earning money. South Africa is struggling to balance its fight against the coronavirus with its dire need to resume economic activity. The country with the Africa’s most developed economy also has its highest number of infections — more than 19,000. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In fight against virus, South Africa expects a long wait

May. 24, 2020 1:46 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — With her winning smile and outgoing nature, Fino Dlamini was a natural to succeed in South Africa’s booming tourism industry. Her bicycle tours of Soweto took visitors to historic sites, including the homes of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and to restaurants where...

FILE - In this Sunday, April 12, 2020 file photo, relatives grieve for Benedict Somi Vilakasi, a Soweto coffee shop manager who died of a COVID-19 infection in a Johannesburg hospital, at his burial ceremony at the Nasrec Memorial Park outside Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, April 16, 2020. Africa's coronavirus cases have surpassed 100,000, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, May 22, 2020 as the continent with many fragile health systems has not yet seen the high numbers of other parts of the world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Africa virus cases surpass 100,000; lockdowns slowed growth

May. 22, 2020 2:22 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Africa's coronavirus cases have surpassed 100,000, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, as the youthful continent with many fragile health systems has not seen the high numbers devastating other parts of the world. The pandemic “appears to be taking...

South African National Defense Forces check people's temperature near the Pan Africa taxi rank in Johannesburg's Alexandra township, Wednesday May 20, 2020. South Africa has the continent's highest number of confirmed cases and has eased its restrictions to allow an estimated 1.6 million people to return to work in selected mines, factories and businesses. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

AP PHOTOS: South Africa faces division again, from virus

May. 22, 2020 3:13 AM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown has brought a unique kind of discomfort to a country where memories of physical separation are yet to fade. Stand there. Step back. Don’t touch. More than a quarter-century has passed since the end of the racist system of apartheid, or...

FILE - In this March 18, 2020, file photo, thousands of Afghan refugees walk as they enter Afghanistan at the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, in the western Herat Province. An international aid group says Friday, May 22, 2020 that some 661,000 people in 19 countries have been displaced by armed conflict in the two months since the U.N. secretary general called for a global cease-fire to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. The Norwegian Refugee Council says in a report Friday that the bulk of the newly displaced were in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but that large numbers were also uprooted in Yemen, Afghanistan, Chad and Niger. (AP Photo/Hamed Sarfarazi)

The Latest: UN again urges global cease-fire to fight virus

May. 22, 2020 1:28 AM EDT

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. TOP OF THE HOUR: — U.N. again urges global cease-fire to help tackle COVID-19...

Hundreds killed in new violence in South Sudan, ICRC says

May. 21, 2020 2:13 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Hundreds of people have been killed in a new burst of intercommunal violence in South Sudan, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday, with “many more” injured and thousands displaced. Among those killed in Jonglei state were a local Red Cross volunteer...

Empty graves are seen at the Durbanville Memorial Park in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, May 21, 2020. With dramatically increased community transmissions, Cape Town has become the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa and the entire continent. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Cape Town is virus hot spot for South Africa and continent

May. 21, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Cape Town has become the center of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa and one of Africa's hot spots. The popular tourist destination at the southern tip of Africa had more than 12,000 confirmed cases as of Thursday, representing 63% of South Africa's 19,000 cases and about 10% of...

South African National Defense Forces check the temperature near the Pan Africa taxi rank in Johannesburg's Alexandra township Wednesday May 20, 2020, where a massive sanitization effort as well as Cover-19 screening and testing campaign was taking place. South Africa has the continent's highest number of confirmed cases and has eased its restrictions to allow an estimated 1.6 million people to return to work in selected mines, factories and businesses. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Nearly 2 dozen escape from virus quarantine in Zimbabwe

May. 20, 2020 9:43 AM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Close to two dozen people have escaped from coronavirus quarantine centers in Zimbabwe, state-run media reported Wednesday, adding that others are illegally crossing the border from South Africa and not reporting to the centers. The Herald newspaper, citing officials, reported that...

A healthcare worker walks past people waiting to be tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, Calif. Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Bay Area hospitals has dropped by more than half since the peak of 471 reported on April 7. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

States accused of fudging or bungling COVID-19 testing data

May. 19, 2020 10:34 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Public health officials in some states are accused of bungling coronavirus infection statistics or even using a little sleight of hand to deliberately make things look better than they are. The risk is that politicians, business owners and ordinary Americans who are making...

In this May 2, 2020, photo, Danny, a senior member of the Hard Livings gang, helps distribute food with rival gang members in Manenberg neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa. The gangs are working together, under the direction of a preacher, to deliver bread, flour and vegetables to poor families who are struggling during South Africa's coronavirus lockdown. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Gangs deliver food in poor Cape Town area amid lockdown

May. 18, 2020 9:32 AM EDT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Preston’s new face mask is emblazoned with the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag. While protecting him from the coronavirus, it would normally also put him in danger in Manenberg, one of a number of violent and poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of Cape Town known as...

LOADING MORE STORIES