Johannesburg

South Africa's illegal gold miners are locked in an underground standoff with police

6:00am November 23, 2024

Surviving on a diet of toothpaste and toilet paper, South Africa's notorious "zama-zama" illegal miners continue a weeks-long standoff with police in the darkness of a disused gold mine.

South Africans have had to line up for water as the country's largest city, Johannesburg, confronts a collapse of its water system affecting millions of people.

World News

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

5:00am April 01, 2024

by Kate Bartlett

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.

Squatters stand on a rooftop overlooking the scene of one of South Africa's deadliest inner-city fires in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday.

World News

With Johannesburg's building fire, the misery of gang-hijacked towers comes into focus

2:03pm September 01, 2023

by Kate Bartlett

People desperate for housing in a country with sky-high unemployment have taken to squatting in squalid conditions in former office buildings that are rented out by criminal gangs.

Queue Listen Now

Firefighters work on the scene of a deadly blaze in downtown Johannesburg on Thursday.

World News

A building fire in Johannesburg kills at least 74, many homeless, authorities say

1:41pm August 31, 2023

by The Associated Press

At least 12 of those killed were children. Some people threw babies out of third-story windows to others waiting below in the desperate scramble to evacuate, witnesses said.

People gather at the scene of an overnight bar shooting in Soweto, South Africa, on Sunday. At least 15 people were killed.

World News

A group of people opened fire at a bar in South Africa, killing 15

12:41pm July 10, 2022

by The Associated Press

A mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg's Soweto township has killed at least 15 people and left others in critical condition.

A pastor leads people in prayer Friday at the site of a walkway collapse at the Driehoek high school in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

At Least 3 Students Killed After School Walkway Collapses In South Africa

2:14pm February 01, 2019

by Daniella Cheslow

"It is painful to see those tiny bodies in that state," says Panyaza Lesufi, an education official in Gauteng province, where the high school is located.

A scene from MTV Shuga: Down South, the new season of the soap opera that's filming in South Africa this year.

Health & Safety

Watch The MTV Soap Opera That Is Secretly Teaching Sex Ed

5:45pm April 18, 2017

by Maanvi Singh

It's got drama and romance. It's where Lupita Nyong'o got her start. And a new study shows it's not just entertainment.

Amine Bendriouich, a fashion designer in Casablanca, Morocco.

Health & Safety

See What The 'Cool People' Are Wearing In Four Cities In Africa

7:00am June 11, 2016

by Winona Dimeo-Ediger

They're wearing the diverse fashions of Africa — but they're not wearing African fashion. A new book explains the difference.