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The Latest Breaking News from Soweto

Ma Vesta Smith: why this unsung activist matters 50 years after the Soweto uprising

While many men are remembered as heroes of political struggles, women seldom get enough attention. Vesta Smith is a good example. She fought for South Africa’s liberation from white minority rule, called apartheid.

The Conversation

Want to learn a South African language? Your options are limited – here’s why

It’s 50 years since the Soweto uprising in South Africa. On 16 June 1976, tens of thousands of young black South Africans protested against being taught in the Afrikaans language (alongside English) at school.

The Conversation

The story behind Soweto Blues, Miriam Makeba’s famous song about the June 16 uprising

Miriam Makeba sang a famous song about the 16 June 1976 uprising in her birthplace, South Africa. The protest was a pivotal point in the fight against apartheid and white minority rule in the country. The song was called Soweto Blues and its opening lines go:

The Conversation

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‘You can do hard things!’ The young cycling enthusiasts reclaiming the streets of Johannesburg

Bike culture, once seen as an elite hobby or a last resort for the poor, is flourishing in the post-apartheid City of Gold

The Guardian - UK

Outrage in South Africa After Teen is NOT Arrested for Drugging and Delivering 8 Young Boys to Pedophile

A Soweto teen allegedly drugged eight boys and delivered them to a rapist, sparking outrage as police arrested only the adult suspect, not the minor.

International Business Times UK

Why you should visit – and stay in – Johannesburg’s Soweto

TRAVEL FOCUS: Travelling through South Africa, Annabel Grossman finds that Soweto – a township often associated with crime and poverty – is worth far more than just a cursory glance, with a wealth of music, culture, history and food to be discovered

The Independent UK

How US funding cuts are threatening South African families living with HIV

Critical community initiatives that provide testing, food and support and HIV vaccine research have been dismantled.

Al Jazeera

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In South Africa, patriarchal law cuts some women off from owning their home

How a land law seeking to fix the racial injustices of apartheid created gender barriers for Black women instead.

Al Jazeera

‘Vote for change’: South Africa elects government as ANC legacy on trial

Thirty years after Nelson Mandela took over as country’s first Black president, the party faces a credibility crisis.

Al Jazeera

South Africa: Gold mine pollution is poisoning Soweto’s water and soil – study finds food gardens are at risk

For 140 years, gold mines in Johannesburg, South Africa have been leaking wastewater contaminated with heavy metals. The acid mine drainage from Johannesburg’s estimated 278 abandoned mines and 200 mine dumps includes uranium (a radioactive metal), toxic arsenic, copper, cobalt, nickel, lead and zinc. Acid mine drainage can pollute land…

The Conversation

Johannesburg's water crisis is the latest blow to South Africa's 'world-class city'

It bills itself as a "world-class African city" but these days residents say it's anything but — with the collapse of the water system and frequent power outages.

WEKU

Letter: Lady Kinnock of Holyhead obituary

Helen O’Connell writes: Her zeal for tackling poverty and injustice in developing countries was such that she came to be known as ‘the MEP for Soweto’

The Guardian - UK

South Africa’s Operation Dudula vigilantes usher in new wave of xenophobia

The vigilante group turned political party increases its xenophobic rhetoric amid rising unemployment in South Africa.

Al Jazeera

How to spend the perfect weekend in Johannesburg

Art, culture, and deep-rooted history, Radhika Aligh explores the sprawling South African city of culture

Evening Standard

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The Guardian - UK

Kissinger at 100: How his ‘sordid’ diplomacy in Africa fuelled war in Angola and prolonged apartheid

Historians say the involvement in Africa of the former US secretary of state, who is 100 this week, drew the US into Angola’s war and aided apartheid after the Soweto uprising

Daily Mirror

Two boys butchered and mutilated for body parts for witchdoctor's black magic

WARNING UPSETTING CONTENT: Nqobile Zulu, 5, and his pal Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, bled out after they had their noses, lips and genitals cut off before having their throats slit in a horrific black magic ritual in Soweto, South Africa

The Conversation

Vaccine hesitancy in South Africa: COVID experience highlights conspiracies, mistrust and the role of the media

In recent weeks, China has reported a spike in new cases of COVID and related deaths. Some countries have imposed travel restrictions as a result. But most – including South Africa – have not.

The Guardian - UK

‘He has many enemies’: is time running out for Cyril Ramaphosa?

South Africa’s president is local hero in Soweto but misconduct claims threaten re-election as ANC leader at congress this week

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The Conversation

Apartheid ‘town planning’ created Orlando 90 years ago. It became a hotbed of black resistance

Orlando East, a working class community on the periphery of Johannesburg in South Africa, has turned 90 years old. Orlando was one of the first municipal locations – called townships under apartheid – established in 1932 for Africans under the 1923 Native Urban Areas Act. It was renamed Orlando East…

The Conversation

Marikana massacre: South Africa needs to build a society that's decent and doesn't humiliate people

On 16 August mine workers, activists and no doubt a few politicians will gather on the now infamous rock outcrop near the former Lonmin Platinum mine in Marikana, North West province, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Marikana massacre. This was the most lethal use of force by the…

The Conversation

Mass shootings in South Africa are often over group turf: how to stop the cycle of reprisals

In just two days in early July, 25 people were shot dead in four separate incidents at taverns across South Africa. In one of these shootings, in Soweto, 16 people lost their lives.

The Independent UK

Boxing champion belt given to Mandela stolen in South Africa

A World Boxing Council championship belt belonging to former South African President Nelson Mandela has been stolen from a museum in Soweto

The Independent UK

South Africa's many illegal guns a factor in bar shootings

South African police are patrolling the streets of Johannesburg’s Soweto township, following a spate of bar shootings that have rocked the nation

France 24

Police hunt gunmen who killed at least 15 in Soweto bar shooting

In tonight's edition: People in Soweto accuse authorities of not doing enough to protect them after 15 people are gunned down in an attack on a bar in the South African township. In Nigeria, the presidential candidate for the ruling party picks a Muslim senator as his running mate. Lastly,…

The Guardian - UK

Calls for crackdown on gangs in South Africa after spate of gun attacks

Attack on tavern near Johannesburg in which 15 were killed was one of several similar incidents over the weekend

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