Thousands Protest African Mine Killings

Protesters filled the area outside Lonmin mine in South Africa, where 34 strikers were killed and 78 were injured when police opened fire on the mine workers on Thursday. Julius Malema, a controversial politician who was thrown out of Congress this year, addressed the crowd of thousands and blamed the government for the “Marikana Massacre,” the deadliest protest since the apartheid era. South Africa’s police chief said the officers were acting in self-defense, but President Jacob Zuma has promised an investigation. “We have to uncover the truth about what happened here,” he said. But disgruntled strikers complained that the president hadn’t paid them a visit when he flew in to make the rounds at local hospitals.