Fire burns South Africa’s Parliament building in Cape Town

By ANDREW MELDRUM and GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Firefighters are battling a blaze at South Africa’s national Parliament complex. The country’s minister of public works and infrastructure said Sunday’s fire started on the third floor of a building that houses offices and spread to the National Assembly building, where South Africa’s Parliament sits. She said the flames had reached the National Assembly chambers” and called it “a very sad day for democracy.” Security guards first reported the fire at around 6 a.m. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and many high-ranking politicians were in Cape Town for the funeral service of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The funeral took place Saturday at the city’s St. George’s Cathedral, about a block away from the Parliament precinct.