By Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press The photograph <https://www.enca.com/news/nw-probe-racism-allegations-after-black-learners-seated-separately> of a South African classroom appeared to show Black and White children separated by race, stirring allegations of racism against a school that says it has moved a long way toward integration since white minority rule. The uproar over the alleged segregation of 5-year-old children follows periodic disputes […]
Author Archives: Christopher Torchia
Associated Press
Posted inHealth, INTERNATIONAL, NEWS
South African Musician Plays Guitar During Brain Surgery
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated PressJOHANNESBURG (AP) — His skull still open, a South African musician with a brain tumor played several notes on his guitar during a successful operation to remove most of the growth. Musa Manzini’s guitar-playing helped guide the medical team in their delicate task while preserving neural pathways, said Dr. Rohen Harrichandparsad, […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL, National News, NEWS
Oprah Offers Rousing Tribute to Mandela in S. Africa Visit
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oprah Winfrey on Thursday delivered a rousing tribute to Nelson Mandela, a century after he was born, and urged the youth of South Africa and beyond to overcome failure and trauma on the road to accomplishing their goals. “Your day will come. I applaud your resilience,” Winfrey told […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL
Kenyan President is Declared Winner of Troubled Election
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday was declared the overwhelming winner of a rerun election boycotted by Kenya’s main opposition leader, collecting 98 percent of the vote but also exposing the divisions roiling this East African country. Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and William Ruto, right chat after they were announced the winners in […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mos Def Leaves South Africa on a US Passport
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Hip-hop star Yasiin Bey — also known as Mos Def — has left South Africa after making a deal with authorities who accused him of violating the country’s immigration laws. South Africa’s home affairs department on Wednesday confirmed that Bey had left the country on Tuesday after apologizing to the government. In […]
Posted inInstantArticles, INTERNATIONAL
Tanzanian Rats Will Train to Sniff out Trafficked Pangolins
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The pangolin, a scaly anteater coveted by poachers, might have a new champion: rats that will be trained to sniff out trafficked pangolin parts in shipments heading from Africa to Asia. A pilot project to turn African giant pouched rats into conservationist sleuths is literally in its infancy — the 10 to […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL
‘Hell Broke Out:’ South African Police, Students Clash
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — One of South Africa’s top universities descended into violence on Monday, with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon at stone-throwing students who are locked in a bitter national dispute with administrators and the government over demonstrators’ demands for free education. Police officers fire rubber bullets at protesting students at […]
Posted inHealth
In South Africa, Old Custom Becomes Health Crisis
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The young South African thought he was going to the hills to become a man. He came back with a horrifying injury that made him an outcast. In 2012, Asanda lost his penis to gangrene in a botched circumcision ritual performed by a traditional surgeon wielding the same spear on more than […]
Posted inNational News
Mandela Buried in Rolling Hills of Qunu, S. Africa
QUNU, South Africa (AP) — Anti-apartheid champion Nelson Mandela was buried in his home village on Sunday after a funeral that mixed ancient tribal rituals with a display of the might of the new, integrated South Africa. Military officers, both black and white, rolled Mandela’s flag-draped coffin to the family burial plot in the village […]
Posted inNational News
Mandela Makes Final Journey Home in Qunu, S. Africa
QUNU, South Africa (AP) — Nelson Mandela came home Saturday. A hearse carrying Mandela’s body drove into his hometown in rural South Africa ahead of burial Sunday, returning the country’s peacemaker to the place where he had always wanted to die. It was here in Qunu that Mandela roamed the hills and tended livestock as […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
S. Africa Investigates Sign Interpreter
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African government said Friday it is aware of reports that the bogus sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial once faced a murder charge, and said he is being investigated. Phumla Williams of the government communications office said the government is investigating Thamsanqa Jantjie and how he was selected to […]
Posted inNational News
South Africa: Nelson Mandela Deteriorating– in Critical Condition
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela’s health has deteriorated and he is now in critical condition, the South African government said Sunday. The office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that he had visited the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader at a hospital on Sunday evening and was informed by the medical team that Mandela’s condition […]