South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday called the more than 70 deaths in an apartment block fire in Johannesburg "a tragedy." Johannesburg officials initially suggested the building had been occupied by squatters, but Ramaphosa said that criminal gangs were exploiting vulnerable families by levy rents on buildings like the one that burnt.

Pakistani citizens accounted for the largest number of victims in the recent migrant boat disaster. DW spoke with victims' families about why so many are choosing to risk their lives for an uncertain future in Europe.

The deaths of hundreds of refugees off the coast of Greece have shocked the nation. Even anti-immigrant politicians have expressed sympathy, but others are asking whether the authorities are to blame.

On October 29, a night when the streets of South Korea's capital Seoul were packed with Halloween revellers, 158 people were crushed to death in a narrow alley and nearly 200 others were injured. Most of the victims were in their twenties and thirties and had come to the popular nightlife district of Itaewon to enjoy the first Covid curbs-free Halloween festivities in three years.