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Catch up on the day’s headlines and go deep on where we’re at.
What sparked violence in South Africa this week? Test your knowledge
It’s the worst violence South Africa has seen since liberation hero Nelson Mandela walked free from prison and laid the foundations for the “Rainbow Nation” three decades ago. More than 70 people are dead, shopping malls have been burned to the ground, cargo trucks torched, highways blocked, and there have been running street battles and stampedes in which fleeing looters were crushed to death. Banks’ ATMs have been blown up and essential services like health clinics ransacked, while more than 1,000 people have been arrested. Google Maps has introduced a riot tracker so people can avoid unrest. Among the extraordinary scenes, as seen below, a baby was thrown to safety from a building looters had set on fire. The country, already struggling amid a COVID-19 surge, is now teetering on the brink, forcing President Cyril Ramaphosa to send the army into the streets and prompting calls for calm from the United Nations.
Pioneering civilian space tourists are blasting off. Who will come next?
