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Johannesburg — The Electoral Commission of South Africa Sunday night announced official results that marked the start of a new era in the country’s politics.  Official results from Wednesday’s historic election showed the governing African National Congress, ANC, had lost its absolute majority for the first time. The ANC won 159 seats in the 400-member National Assembly -- about 40% of the vote -- a huge drop of 71 seats since winning 57% of the ballot in the last elections in 2019. The chairman of the Electoral Commission, Mosotho Moepya, acknowledged the election had been fiercely contested. "These elections were undoubtedly the most difficult and the most hotly contested," he said.However, he added that they were free and fair and represented “the collective voice of the nation.” While the ANC still received the largest number of seats by far, it will now have to enter a coalition with opposition parties. The business-friendly Democratic Alliance, or DA, took the second-largest share of the vote, with 87 seats. It was followed with 58 seats for uMkhonto we Sizwe, or MK, a newly formed party led by former President Jacob Zuma. The radical left, Economic Freedom Fighters party, overtaken by upstart MK, came in fourth, with 39 seats. Smaller parties took the remaining seats. Analysts say corruption, high unemployment and general failure to do more to improve the lives of poor Black South Africans was why many South Africans turned on the ANC, 30 years after it brought about the end of apartheid. After Sunday’s announcement, President Cyril Ramaphosa took to the podium to accept the results. “Our people have spoken whether we like it or not .... Through their votes they have demonstrated clearly and plainly that our democracy is strong, that our democracy is robust, and it is enduring." Zuma’s MK said the day before the results announcement that it doesn’t accept the results and wants a recount. Zuma intimated violence could ensue if it didn’t get its way. However, Defense Minister Thandi Modise told VOA at the results ceremony that she was not worried.\ “Well, we have not necessarily taken extra measures…. We have begged all political parties to be calm…. We hope that there will not be any necessity for any of us in the security sector to come in and interfere,” she said. The ANC now has 14 days in which to form a coalition government, so negotiations with the other parties will be getting underway.

New York — Marchers chanted for the release of hostages in Gaza on Sunday at a New York City parade for Israel that drew thousands of people under heightened security. The parade was held almost eight months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Dubbed “Celebrate Israel,” the annual parade's normally exuberant atmosphere was markedly toned down this year. People chanted “Bring them home now!” and waved Israeli flags as they marched up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for what this year was called “Israel Day on Fifth.” Crowds of spectators and hundreds of police officers lined the route, and steel barricades were installed along the sidewalk. One sign read: “From the river to the sea, Hamas will cease to be.” “Especially this year, after Oct. 7, it’s especially important to have this show of unity,” said Rena Orman, a Bronx native who took part in the parade as part of Mothers Against College Antisemitism. “Everybody wants [the] hostages back. Everyone wants this to end. No one is cheering for this. Everyone wants peace.” Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said earlier this week that the event would focus on solidarity, strength and resilience. “This is not a mood of confetti and music,” Treyger said. “This is more of a mood of unwavering, ironclad solidarity with hostages to bring them home, and also our unwavering love and pride in our Jewish identity.” The parade, in its 59th year, kicked off late Sunday morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams among the elected officials attending. “I think it’s important — especially with what’s going on in the Middle East, in Israel with the war going on — to show our support and to show that the hostages aren’t forgotten and the country itself is not forgotten,” said participant Michael Garber of New Jersey. New York Police Department officials employed measures typically used for high-profile events such as New Year's Eve and July 4. That included drones, K-9 units, bike patrols, fencing and barriers and designated entry points for spectators along the parade route. Backpacks, large bags and coolers were prohibited, and spectators had to pass through metal detectors. Police did not report any parade-related arrests by late Sunday afternoon. The parade represents the first large-scale Jewish event in the city since the war started, although there have been roughly 2,800 protests in the city, with about 1,300 of them related to the conflict, the Democrat said. Over 36,430 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s offensive, according to the Hamas-run, Gaza Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of operating from dense residential areas.

Atlanta, Georgia — Hilbert Margol says he didn't look on himself as a hero when his U.S. Army artillery unit fought its way across Europe during World War II. But he will be feted in France as one of 60 American veterans of that conflict traveling to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. “I know my brother and I never looked at it as we were any kind of heroes, nothing like that,” Margol said recently of himself and his twin brother Howard, who served with him. “It was just our time. That we were asked to serve. And we did.” The 100-year-old Margol, who lives in suburban Atlanta, is among the dwindling band of veterans of the conflict leaving Atlanta on Sunday on a chartered flight for Deauville, Normandy. The veterans will take part in parades, school visits and ceremonies — including the official June 6 commemoration of the landings by soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations on five beaches. Margol didn't land at D-Day, but the Jacksonville, Florida, native was among those that liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp on April 29, 1945. The trip also includes high school and college students selected to escort the veterans and learn about their experiences. Charter flights also took veterans from Atlanta to France in 2022 and 2023. Andy Negra of Helen, Georgia, came ashore with the 6th Armored Division at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944, about six weeks after D-Day. It’s his second trip back to France after also taking part in last year's flight. “Well to me, we fought for freedom, and we fought for peace, and we fought for a good life,” Negra, a native of Avella, Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview. The trip is being organized by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the Best Defense Foundation and the North American branch of French tire maker Michelin. “It is our privilege to celebrate and honor these heroes by flying them directly to Normandy and recognizing their incredible sacrifices and contributions to the world,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.

Guatemala City, Guatemala — Guatemalan police on Sunday transferred more than 200 gang members from a prison where they operated a call center for criminal purposes, raised chickens and looked out on a crocodile-filled lake.   Some 400 police were involved in the operation to move 225 members of the Barrio 18 gang out of the prison nicknamed "El Infiernito" or Little Hell, where they enjoyed access to such luxuries as TV sets and fridges, even raising chickens, officials said.  "The prison once again belongs to the country," Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez announced on X.  He vowed the facility would be stripped down and rebuilt as a "real maximum-security prison," vowing: "These are prisons, NOT holidays."  Images of the facility released by officials showed the inmates even had air conditioning at the prison in Escuintla, some 70 kilometers south of the capital.  In a previous search, police had disabled a makeshift "call center" from where the gangsters had committed extortion and ordered crimes to be committed.  The minister blamed "previous governments" for "handing over control of prisons to criminals."  The operation came just days after new President Bernardo Arevalo said some areas of Guatemala City were being held "prisoner" by gangs, as the UN called for a stop to the recruitment of minors by criminal groups.  The Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs are fighting in Guatemala over control for territory where they extort money from companies and individuals -- killing those who refuse, according to authorities.  Criminal violence claimed 4,361 lives in the country in 2023 -- a rate of 25 per 100,000 inhabitants -- half of them attributed to gang fighting and drug trafficking.

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San Francisco — California firefighters expected to gain ground Sunday on a wind-driven wildfire that scorched thousands of acres some 97 kilometers east of San Francisco, burned down a home and forced residents to flee the area near the central California city of Tracy. The fire erupted Saturday afternoon in the grassy hills managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the country's key centers for nuclear weapons science and technology. The cause was under investigation. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the research center was not under immediate threat from the blaze, dubbed the Corral Fire, which had devoured some 52 square kilometers by Sunday afternoon and was 30% contained. Thousands of people in the area, including parts of the city of Tracy with a population of 100,000, were ordered to leave for evacuation centers. CalFire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday afternoon the fire “burned right up the homes” in the area and destroyed one house. With calmer winds and milder weather Sunday, Silveira said he didn't expect the fire to grow. Two firefighters suffered minor to moderate burns Saturday and were expected to make a full recovery, Silveira said. The wildfire presented no threat to any laboratory facilities or operations and had moved away from the site, Lawrence Livermore spokesperson Paul Rhien said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday. “As a precaution, we have activated our emergency operations center to monitor the situation through the weekend,” Rhien said. Photos showed a wall of flames moving over the parched landscape as dark smoke billowed into the sky. The wildfire also forced the closure of two major highways, including an interstate that connects the San Francisco Bay Area to San Joaquin County in central California, but they had reopened by Sunday afternoon. The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order for areas west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Creek, west to Alameda County and south to Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point was established at Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. The order was still in place as of early Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s high temperature for Tracy was expected to reach 29 degrees Celsius, with no rain in the forecast, but hotter conditions are on their way. The National Weather Service said “dangerously hot conditions” with highs of 39.4 C to 42.2 C were expected later in the week for the San Joaquin Valley, an area that encompasses Tracy. Wind gusts of up to 72 kph lashed the region Saturday night, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker of the weather service in Sacramento.

Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Maldives government will ban Israelis from the Indian Ocean archipelago, known for luxury resorts, as public anger in the predominantly Muslim nation rises over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The president's office said Sunday that the Cabinet decided to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country and to establish a subcommittee to oversee the process. It said President Mohamed Muizu will appoint a special envoy to assess the Palestinian needs and to launch a fundraising campaign. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in response that the Foreign Ministry recommends Israelis avoid any travel to the Maldives, including those with foreign passports, and those currently there to consider leaving. The recommendation, the Israeli ministry said, includes Israelis with dual citizenship. The ministry said in a statement, "For Israeli citizens already in the country, it is recommended to consider leaving, because if they find themselves in distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to assist." Nearly 11,000 Israelis visited Maldives last year, which was 0.6% of the total tourist arrivals.

Tbilisi, Georgia — Thousands of Georgians gathered Sunday in the capital Tbilisi for a charity concert aimed at raising funds for those arrested during weeks of protests against a controversial "foreign influence" law.  On Tuesday, Georgia's parliament adopted the divisive law, overcoming a presidential veto on the bill which critics say mirrors Russian legislation used by Moscow to silence dissent.  Brussels and Washington have warned the move will derail the Black Sea nation from its path to European Union membership.  It has sparked nearly two months of daily protests that saw police use tear gas and water cannon to disperse rallies, beating and arresting demonstrators.  On Sunday evening, thousands of people gathered in Tbilisi's central Republic square for an outdoor concert by Georgian bands and singers.  Organizers said it was aimed at "collecting donations for demonstrators arrested during the protests."  Many at the concert voiced anger at the ruling Georgian Dream party, which faces mounting accusations of leading Georgia away from its Western trajectory and back to Russia's orbit.  "They have locked up some of us, but we will prevail -- Georgian Dream is counting its last months in power," said 38-year-old graphic engineer Nico Ladaria.  "They have passed the Russian-style law against the will of the Georgian people and despite clear warnings that it kills Georgia's EU membership prospects," he told AFP. The law forces NGOs and media organizations receiving at least a fifth of their funding from abroad to register as "organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power."  Georgian Dream insists it is committed to Georgia's European aspirations and says the law will ensure "transparency" concerning Western-funded groups which it says undermine the country's sovereignty.  Georgian activists, independent journalists and opposition politicians accuse the government of a concerted campaign of violence and threats.  Tensions have risen ahead of October's parliamentary elections, seen as a key democratic test.  Georgia's EU bid is enshrined in the country's constitution and supported -- according to opinion polls -- by more than 80% of population.

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Tehran, Iran — Tehran summoned Sweden's temporary charge d'affaires over "baseless & spiteful accusations," the foreign ministry said Sunday, after Stockholm's intelligence agency said Iran was "using criminal networks" inside the Scandinavian country to attack Israel and its interests.    The Swedish diplomat was summoned by the assistant of the foreign ministry's general directorate for Western Europe, the ministry posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.   Iran's embassy in Stockholm had already denied accusations Friday that Tehran was recruiting criminal gang members as proxies to commit "acts of violence" against Israeli interests in Sweden.    That came in reply to Sweden's intelligence agency saying the day prior that Iran was "using criminal networks in Sweden to carry out acts of violence against other states, groups or people in Sweden that it considers a threat."   The service, commonly known as SAPO, said these were particularly aimed at "Israeli and Jewish interests, targets and operations in Sweden."   Shortly before SAPO's announcement, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter cited documents from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency as saying the heads of two Swedish gangs had been recruited by the Iranian regime.   “Iran has previously used violence in other countries in Europe in a bid to silence critical voices and perceived threats against its regime," SAPO said.   The diplomatic spat comes two weeks after nighttime gunfire was reported outside the Israel Embassy in Stockholm, and three months after police found a live grenade lying on the grounds of the Israeli compound.   "Sweden will not be a platform where state actors use criminal networks to promote their own interests," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Thursday in remarks emailed to AFP. The Iranian Embassy on Friday rejected the accusations. "Unfortunately, some Swedish media have quoted the false and baseless claims of media and institutions affiliated with this brutal regime (Israel) and published false and fabricated reports against the Islamic Republic of Iran," the embassy said in a statement. The embassy said it "expects the Swedish media not to trust the claims and reports published by the Israeli regime" and to work for "an end to the crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine." Tensions have flared between Israel and Iran since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7.

Belgrade, Serbia — Tensions soared during Serbia's municipal elections Sunday in key cities and towns as ruling populists sought to cement their already vast hold on power in the Balkan country that is a candidate nation for European Union membership. Incidents and irregularities were reported in the capital Belgrade and in the northern city of Novi Sad where opposition groups said the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, organized election centers during Sunday's balloting. Election observers from the nongovernment Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability filed several criminal complaints over suspected organized voting, vote-buying and violations of vote secrecy, as well as the presence of unauthorized persons at polling stations. The election in Belgrade was a rerun vote following reports of widespread irregularities last December that triggered political tensions and accusations that President Aleksandar Vucic's SNS rigged the vote. Populists have denied the accusations. Also up for grabs Sunday were more than 80 municipal councils and city halls in two other key cities — the northern Novi Sad and Nis in the south. Skirmishes were reported at a Novi Sad fair complex when opposition members tried to enter the hall packed with SNS activists and police moved in to stop them. The N1 regional television station reported that ruling party activists later brought out boxes with unidentified content through a back exit and left. Police said in a statement they were attacked in Novi Sad but "there have been no serious incidents" so far on the election day. Opposition officials said "call centers" were involved in bribing voters to cast their ballots in favor of the ruling party. The existence of a similar SNS-run center was reported in a Belgrade sports hall while in a downtown area in the capital city opposition activists tried to enter a restaurant where they said ruling party activists were camped. The SNS party said their activists' activities were in accordance with the law. Senior official Ana Brnabic, who is a former prime minister and current parliament speaker, said on the X social media platform that the party organized "call centers" to contact supporters and urge them to turn out to vote. "So what," said Brnabic. "We have a party with strong infrastructure and well-organized. What is the problem." The ruling populists in December were accused by the opposition and foreign observers of busing in voters from other areas in Serbia and from neighboring Bosnia, which they have denied. Similar reports were published by the opposition supporters on social media Sunday. Vucic is formally seeking to have his troubled nation join the EU but has steadily drifted away from pro-EU democracy values while nurturing close ties with Russia and China. The populists have presented themselves as the only political force capable of running the country and keeping it safe at a time of global turmoil. Pro-Western opposition groups have accused Vucic of crime links, rampant corruption and a crackdown on democracy. But a wide alliance that was behind big anti-government street protests last year has splintered and turned against each other, fueling apathy among Serbia's 6.5 million voters. Vucic's governing party is seen as the favorite on Sunday. It has for more than a decade controlled all levels of power in Serbia, so if the opposition manages to wrestle away at least some of the local councils, not to mention in big cities, it would be a significant shift. The opposition groups split over whether to take part in the ballot or press on with demands for free and fair elections. Those running in Belgrade campaign under the slogan: "We choose to fight!" International election observers have said that the December election, which also included a parliamentary vote, was held in "unjust conditions," in part because of the president's involvement and systemic advantages for the ruling party. A report by an office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the ballot was "marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources." Local election observers have said that not much has changed for the Sunday vote despite a set of recommendations listed by international observers after the December balloting.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Minibus taxis are everywhere in South Africa, and all of them run on gasoline. But engineers at one university are hoping to change that as they are getting better-than-expected results from their all-electric minibus taxi. Vicky Stark has the story from Cape Town, South Africa.

The island city state of Singapore has a majority-ethnic Chinese population. So why would the Southeast Asian nation have a Chinatown? Adam Hancock went to this historic district to find out. Camera: Lee Beng Seng.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Former President Donald Trump weighed in Sunday on the possibility of being sentenced to jail next month after his conviction for falsifying business records. The ‘guilty’ verdict is already being used by both the Trump and Biden campaigns to fire up their respective supporters. But swaying undecided voters will be trickier, analysts say. Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

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Jerusalem — Former Israeli foreign minister David Levy, whose rise from manual laborer to the international stage inspired fellow Mizrahi Jews of Middle Eastern descent, died on Sunday aged 86. Born in Rabat, Levy was among a wave of Moroccan Jews who moved to Israel in its early years. Many felt sidelined by the mainly Ashkenazi, or European Jewish, leadership - an ethnic resentment that resurfaced in a recent constitutional crisis. A construction worker with a high-school education, Levy clambered from municipal to trade union to national politics, mainly as part of the conservative Likud party, which mobilized Mizrahi support to sweep to power in a 1977 general election. As housing minister in the 1980s, he led projects to improve the infrastructure for poor Israelis. Appointed foreign minister in 1990, he was mocked by rivals for his poor English - though his French was fluent. He served three terms in that role. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, paying tribute to Levy, recounted how he paved his own way and served the public for decades. "On the national level he left his personal mark on political life, while looking after weaker populations who were familiar with hardship," Netanyahu said. "We didn't always agree on everything, but I always appreciated his sense of mission."