The bombing in a crowded market, which monitors called a likely war crime, was a grim reminder of the brutal toll caused by both sides in the two-year civil war.

L. Brent Bozell III, who must be confirmed by the Senate, would be stepping into the role at a time when relations between South Africa and the United States are at a low point.

On a trip from Cape Town to Pretoria, a reporter grapples with the whiplash of traveling through South Africa’s two worlds, from majestic mountains to struggling shantytowns.