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Bus crash in South Africa leaves 4 dead, 31 hurt as rescue efforts continue

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A bus crash in South Africa’s Limpopo province on Thursday has left at least four people dead and 31 injured, authorities said.

The bus was traveling from the Gauteng province in South Africa to Zimbabwe when it lost control and swerved into a ditch on the N1 highway close to the border with Zimbabwe, according to the provincial minister for transport, Violet Mathye.

“So far we have confirmation of four fatalities, while some other people have been transported to hospital. We will give other numbers as we get them,” Mathye told public broadcaster SABC. The bus was still trapped in the ditch with passengers inside.

The Limpopo transport department said in a statement that the cause of the accident was initially unknown.

The accident occurred around the same area where 42 people were killed during another bus crash in October.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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