South Africa

Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan unveiled the roster of a fresh Japanese Cabinet early Friday afternoon, naming Seiji Maehara as new foreign minister.

Pretoria - Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has conveyed his condolences to the families of 22 people who were killed in a head-on collision between a mini-bus taxi and a truck in the Western Cape.

Pretoria - Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has urged South Africans to vote in the final round of the New7Wonders of Nature contest to ensure that Table Mountain makes it onto the final list of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Pretoria - Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor says science centres have a crucial role to play in strengthening grass-roots science awareness campaigns.

Pretoria - Hundreds of Metrorail commuters on KwaZulu-Natal's South Coast, who were left stranded this morning after train services were suspended, can breathe a sigh of relief because they are now running as normal and on schedule.

Pretoria - Twenty-two countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections by more than 25 percent, according to new UNAIDS data on the progress made towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6.

Pretoria - Government has responded to President Jacob Zuma's directive to hold urgent talks with union leaders to find a solution that will bring an end to the public service strike.

Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has appealed to Zimbabweans living in South Africa to get their documentation in order as of Monday 20 September.

Pretoria - A long night of talks between the Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi and union leaders to find a settlement in the public sector wage negotiations and bring an end to the strike has produced a draft settlement offer.

Pretoria - The City of Johannesburg has called on commuters to find alternative transport after staff at Rea Vaya stations embarked on an apparent illegal strike this morning.

Durban - The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has launched a publication that notes the progress South Africa has made around conserving its natural resources.

Pretoria - A high-level South African delegation will today leave for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly and plenary meeting on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

Pretoria - The Gauteng Department of Education has been granted an urgent interdict by the Labour Court in an attempt to protect provincial preliminary exam centres and prevent mass meetings during school time.

Washington - Direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders have moved into "very sensitive and important areas".

Addis Ababa - Africa will mark International Day of Peace (Peace Day) with the rest of the world on Tuesday, says the Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Jean Ping.