Peter Magubane, a South African photographer who captured 40 years of apartheid, dies at age 91
Peter Magubane, a fearless photographer who captured the violence and horror of South Africaโs brutal apartheid era of racial oppression, and was entrusted with documenting Nelson Mandelaโs first years of freedom after his release from prison, has died.
South African ex-President Jacob Zuma has denounced the ANC and pledged to vote for a new party
Former South African President Jacob Zuma has denounced the governing African National Congress party and announced that he will vote for a newly-formed political formation in the countryโs general election next year.
The 2023 Soros Arts Fellows plan to fight climate change and other global issues with public art
Palestinian artist Nida Sinnokrot, one of 18 artists receiving the 2023 Soros Arts Fellowships from the Open Society Foundations on Tuesday, says that art provides hope and resilience, even in the midst of war.
EXPLAINER: The scandal engulfing South Africa's president
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa could face criminal charges and is already facing calls to step down over claims that he tried to cover up the theft of millions of dollars in U.S. currency that was hidden inside furniture at his game farm.
Hope that South Africa's COVID-19 corruption inspires action
(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, file)CAPE TOWN โ There's some hope in South Africa that this time the outrage against corruption inspires effective action. The new charges of the misuse of public money earmarked to fight the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to be a turning point, say those experts. AdIt would be shocking, corruption experts say, if graft hadn't already been deeply entrenched in South Africa. โI get the outrage but not the surprise," said David Lewis, executive director of Corruption Watch in South Africa. South Africa was in recession even before the devastating effects of the virus.
Mexico's last island penal colony may now host cruise ships
Visitors will be able to tour the remote island jail, but not stay overnight. AdโVisitors will have their first contact with the former island prison which for 100 years sheltered numerous criminals,โ Torruco said. When Panama closed its Isla Coiba penal colony in 2004, Isla Marias became the last one remaining in the Americas. But in the end, the Islas Marias wound up costing Mexico far more per prisoner than did mainland jails. Chile closed its Santa Maria prison island in the late 1980s, Costa Ricaโs Isla San Lucas penal colony closed in 1991 and Brazilโs Isla Grande in 1994.
Malala takes her passions to the small screen with Apple
FILE - Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner, appears at the Cricket World Cup opening party along The Mall in London, on May 29, 2019. In her home country, Pakistan, she was outspoken in insisting that girls have a right to an education. You know, Iโm still at the stage where Iโm exploring ideas. We are often told that you have to grow older and get a PhD or something, and then once you are 50 or 40, then you can change things. Follow that path if you want, but you can change things now as well.
South Africa's president fights own party over corruption
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at a hospital in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, to receive a Johnson and Johnson vaccine. It's in defiance of Ramaphosa and ANC policy that officials facing corruption charges should step aside until their criminal cases are finalized. Iโll prove (it) in court," Magashule said outside the courthouse, where people wearing green and yellow ANC T-shirts gathered in support of him. Both Zuma and Magashule have challenged Ramaphosa since he replaced Zuma as ANC leader in 2017 and became South Africa's president in 2018. AdThat scandal further angered South Africans who have been inundated with allegations of high-level corruption during the state corruption commission, which is probing Zuma's time as president from 2009-18.
South Africans swap firecrackers for candles amid pandemic
Many South Africans will swap firecrackers for candles to mark New Year's Eve amid COVID-19 restrictions including a nighttime curfew responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa's call to light a candle to honor those who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic and the health workers who are on the frontline of battling the disease. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)JOHANNESBURG โ Many South Africans swapped firecrackers for candles to mark New Yearโs Eve amid COVID-19 restrictions including a nighttime curfew. Urging all South Africans to battle the virus, Ramaphosa called on the nation to celebrate New Yearโs Eve in a different way. Instead, the mayor of South Africa's largest city will light a candle on the landmark Nelson Mandela Bridge. At midnight he will light a candle with his family and pray for everybody who has suffered from the pandemic.
NYC cathedral gunman's note says he planned to take hostages
New York police officers move in on the scene of a shooting at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in New York. A man was shot by police after shots rang out at the end of a Christmas choral concert on the steps of the Manhattan cathedral Sunday afternoon. The shooting happened just before 4 p.m. at the church which is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and seat of its bishop. The note was first reported by NBC New York. In the note, the law enforcement official said, Vasquez wrote he did not expect to make it home.
South Africa closes beaches to fight resurgence of COVID-19
JOHANNESBURG โ South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the closure of many of the country's beaches throughout the festive season to fight a resurgence of new COVID-19 infections. All beaches will be closed from Dec. 16 until January in the Eastern Cape province and the Garden Route tourist area in the Western Cape province. In Kwazulu-Natal province, beaches will be closed on public holidays including Christmas and New Yearโs Day. In neighboring Eswatini, Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who had tested positive for COVID-19, has died, the kingdom's government has announced. Eswatini, a small mountain kingdom northeast of South Africa, has recorded almost 7,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 127 deaths.
EXPLAINER: How do other democratic nations select leaders?
SPAINIn Spain, the Congress of Deputies elects the prime minister. In 1996, this led to an awkward situation for the would-be prime minister. As votes were being counted, Jose Maria Aznar's conservative Popular Party thought it won enough seats to make him prime minister. Then, the party that wins the largest number of the 650 constituencies generally takes power, with the party leader becoming prime minister. That means the prime minister must officially be approved by the Queenโs representative in New Zealand, the governor-general.
South Africa sees sharp rise in virus, part of African wave
A freshly-dug grave sits at the Motherwell Cemetery in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Theo Jeftha)JOHANNESBURG โ South Africa is seeing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases and bracing for increased hospitalizations and deaths, said the countryโs health minister Zweli Mkhize. South Africa recorded 6,700 new cases on Wednesday night, the countryโs highest number of new cases since August. South Africa accounts for more than 35% of all reported cases in Africa, a continent of 54 countries and 1.3 billion people. South Africa has reopened to international travel and lifted restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
Houston Newsmakers: Holocaust Museum Houston offers free admission Thursday for International Human Rights Day
Holocaust Museum Houston hosts free admission dayโWhen the Holocaust ended there was a outcry for the world to realize that this should never happen again,โ said Kelly Zuniga, CEO of Holocaust Museum Houston. โAnd that was the beginning of the human rights movement.โ That movement continues today and on December 10th International Human Rights day will be observed around the world. The Holocaust Museum Houston is hosting a free admission day to help focus on the past, the present and what more needs to be done. John Walker, President, Business Operations, Houston Dynamo/Dash FCยท Website: https://www.houstondynamofc.com/ยท Twitter: @HoustonDynamoWhy is Congress taking so long to reach stimulus agreement? Congressional members have said the best way for constituents to make a difference is to contact them.
New York City's first Black mayor, David Dinkins, dies at 93
FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 2, 1990, file photo, David Dinkins delivers his first speech as mayor of New York, in New York. Dinkins, New York Citys first African-American mayor, died Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Frankie Ziths, File)NEW YORK โ Few American leaders have faced the battery of urban ills that confronted David Dinkins when he became New York City's first Black mayor in 1990. De Blasio, who worked in Dinkinsโ administration, named Manhattanโs Municipal Building after his mentor in October 2015. Newly freed Nelson Mandela made New York City his first stop in the U.S. in 1990.
Holocaust Museum Houston to show โInvictusโ during drive-in movie night
HOUSTON โ The Holocaust Museum Houston is hosting a drive-in movie night for the film, โInvictus.โThe movie night is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. The museum is located at 5401 Caroline St.โWeโre so excited that our first drive-in movie hosted on our campus will be about Nelson Mandelaโs incredible leadership,โ said HMH CEO Dr. Kelly Zรบรฑiga. โInvictusโ tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africaโs rugby team to help unite their country. In the film, newly-elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. During the movie night, guests can also enjoy local food trucks Smokโd It Up!
Opposition activist leaves embassy haven to flee Venezuela
FILE - In this May 2, 2019 file photo, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez smiles during a press conference at the gate of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Venezuela. Lopez left the residence where he had been a guest since April 30, 2019 and is leaving Venezuela people close to the opposition leader said on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)
Opposition activist leaves embassy haven to flee Venezuela
FILE - In this May 2, 2019 file photo, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez smiles during a press conference at the gate of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)MEDELLIN โ Prominent opposition activist Leopoldo Lรณpez has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nation's socialist president, his party said Saturday. It is unclear how Lรณpez left the ambassador's residence, given the heavy state security presence permanently stationed outside the property. The putsch was easily quashed and Lรณpez took refuge in the ambassadorโs residence. Even as his whereabouts remained unknown, some opposition leaders were praising Lรณpezโs decision to flee.
Resorts to RV parks: Parents take school year on the road
This photo shows the Brown family of Atlanta, from left, Jayde Brown, JayElle Brown, Jayson R. Brown, Tammy Brown and Jayson E. Brown at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Dec. 27, 2019. Since the start of the pandemic, families of means have decamped to second homes or taken long-term rentals in vacation spots around the world. For Jayson and Tammy Brown, schoolcations for their three kids have been both ongoing and life-affirming over the past five years. They're stuck on screens all day or sitting there at home, with their parents over their shoulders, doing work sheets." Logging in to school and homework is mandatory, the parents said.
U.S. premiere of Mandela exhibition on view now at Holocaust Museum Houston
The premiere of โMandela: Struggle for Freedom,โ at Holocaust Museum Houston is finally here. Born 102 years ago, he was one of the most famous human rights defenders of the 20th century, and the face of a movement against racial injustice that inspired the world. As a member of the Houston Museum District Association, the museum waives admission from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Thursday. Entry includes access to the Mandela exhibition, along with all galleries, including the Holocaust, human rights, young diarists and Samuel Bak galleries. โMandela: Struggle for Freedomโ was developed by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) (Winnipeg, Canada) in partnership with the Apartheid Museum (Johannesburg, South Africa).
Holocaust Museum Houston debuts โMandela: Struggle For Freedomโ exhibition
HOUSTON โ Holocaust Museum Houston aims to educate future generations, by teaching them about the past. The museum is home to four permanent powerful galleries, and two changing exhibits, including the U.S. premiere of the โMandela: Struggle For Freedomโ exhibit on view now through January 3rd. People can visit the exhibit for free during the museumโs Human Rights Expo, featuring 9 localhuman rights organizations. You will need to register for a time slot to see the Mandela Exhibit that day, and you can do so at HMH.ORG, or by calling 713-942-8000. Watch as Houston Life reporters Lauren Kelly and Joe Sam speak to Holocaust Museum Houston CEO, Kelly Zรบรฑiga about all the museum has to offer.
Holocaust Museum Houston hosts U.S. premiere of Mandela: Struggle for Freedom
HOUSTON โ The Holocaust Museum Houston is hosting the U.S. premiere of Mandela: Struggle for Freedom. โWeโve waited nearly two years to hose this extraordinary exhibit,โ said Dr. Kelly J Zuniga, CEO of Holocaust Museum Houston. โIt is an honor, and weโre very, very proud, and it is integral to our mission here at the Holocaust Museum Houston,โ Zuniga said. Free admissionHMH will be hosting a Human Rights Expo on Sept. 26, inviting more than eight human rights organizations to the museum. Guests will need to reserve a timeslot to view the newly opened exhibition, Mandela: Struggle for Freedom.
Mandela's lawyer, anti-apartheid activist George Bizos dies
FILE In this Wednesday Nov. 12, 2008 file photo George Bizos, left, anti-apartheid activist, and life-long friend and lawyer of Nelson Mandela, right, arrives for his 80th birthday party in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bizos has died Wednesday Sept. Sept. 9, 2020, aged 92. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)JOHANNESBURG Anti-apartheid crusader and Nelson Mandela's personal lawyer George Bizos has died at 92, his family said Wednesday. Bizos represented Mandela from his treason trial in 1964 until the former South African president's death in 2013. Bizos remained active in human rights work in South Africa well into his 80s, working for the Legal Resources Center, a South African human rights group.
South Africa's ruling party rejects Trump comment on Mandela
JOHANNESBURG The report that U.S. President Donald Trump made crude, disparaging remarks about Nelson Mandela, South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize-winning former leader, has drawn an angry response from South Africa's ruling party and others. South Africa's ruling African National Congress party said Tuesday that Trump is not fit to comment on Mandela's accomplishments. You dont have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.The U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Lana Marks, responded to the controversy with a diplomatically worded statement. I have discussed South Africa with President Trump many times, and he has only ever spoken positively about the country," said Marks. "The U.S. remains committed to working together with South Africa to realize the promise of a more peaceful, more productive, more prosperous 21st century Africa.
Clippers hold off Doncic, Mavs after Porzingis is tossed
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points adn Porzingis finished with 14, along with Seth Curry. The Clippers knocked around Doncic, the 21-year-old superstar who led the NBA in triple-doubles, whenever they could. The Clippers swarmed Doncic from the outset, forcing him into three turnovers in the first two minutes while racing to a 10-0 lead. Morris was eager to grab the ball and ended up grabbing Doncic, who sought to push his way free. Clippers: Reserve Montrezl Harrell returned after leaving the team for his grandmother's death and had six points in 15 minutes.
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen released from prison again
FILE- In this May 21, 2020 file photo, Michael Cohen arrives at his Manhattan apartment in New York after being furloughed from prison because of concerns over the coronavirus. A judge ordered the release from prison, Thursday, July 23 of President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, saying he believes the government retaliated against him for writing a book about Trump. Cohen sued federal prison officials including Attorney General William Barr on Monday, July 20 saying he was returned to an Otisville, New York, prison to stop him from publishing a tell-all book about his experiences with Trump. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, among other crimes. He said he worked openly on his manuscript until May at Otisvilles prison library and discussed his book with prison officials.
First responders, active-duty members and veterans can score a 67 cent meal at this Houston restaurant
For more than 10 years, Peli Peli has been a Houston-based South African fusion restaurant, serving authentic cuisine, just one step below fine dining. With four locations across the Houston Greater area, the restaurant offers unique flavors inspired by its South African cuisine. For co-owners Thomas Nguyen and Ryan Stewart, Peli Peli was ready to adapt. Related: Peli Peli owner makes Vietnamese dish with his momWithin the last few months, Peli Peli has rebranded and rebuilt its restaurant to Peli Peli South African Kitchen. Giving Back with a delicious mealPart of Peli Peli South African Kitchens DNA is giving back to the community.
Far-right activists protest in London despite warnings
British police officers, left, scuffle with members of far-right groups protesting against a Black Lives Matter demonstration, in central London, Saturday, June 13, 2020. British police have imposed strict restrictions on groups planning to protest in London Saturday in a bid to avoid violent clashes between protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as far-right groups. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)LONDON Hundreds of far-right activists gathered to demonstrate in central London's Parliament Square Saturday, despite strict police restrictions and warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus. Officials put protective panels around the monuments amid fears that far-right activists would seek confrontations with anti-racism protesters under the guise of protecting statues. In London, Churchills statue was daubed with the words was a racist.Police have imposed strict restrictions on Saturdays protests in a bid to avoid violent clashes.