Ceremony on hold for mourning

South Africa's president said seven people have died in ongoing attacks on immigrants in the country, and he has postponed an important ceremony because of the crisis.

The office of President Jacob Zuma said on Monday that the ceremony, scheduled for next week, must be postponed so the country can mourn the victims of anti-immigrant violence.

The annual event, to bestow the country's highest official honor on South Africans and foreigners who have contributed to South Africa, was to be held on April 27, a holiday commemorating the first all-race elections in 1994 that marked the end of apartheid.