South Africa

Pretoria - Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, has reiterated the call for an emphasis to be placed on educating girl children.

Pretoria - The process of dismissing Gautrain bus drivers, who have embarked on an illegal strike, has begun, Bombela Concession spokesperson Errol Braithwaite announced on Monday.

Pretoria - Fifteen staff members and students at the University of Zululand are facing criminal cases and disciplinary action after a forensic investigation into the university's affairs has been concluded.

Pretoria - PetroSA is to fund an eco-schools programme aimed at encouraging environmental responsibility among the youth to the tune of R4.5 million.

Port Elizabeth - Children from child-headed households in Port Elizabeth were given the opportunity to tell Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe their hopes and dreams earlier today.

Pretoria - The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is calling on learners in Grades 4 to 11 to enter a competition aimed at raising awareness of South Africa's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.

South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R5.5 billion in March, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Monday.

Pretoria - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa wants to see police management adopt a more hands-on approach and to be held accountable as part of SAPS efforts to strengthen command and control within its structures.

Pretoria - Three universities which were placed under administration last year are steadily improving their administrations, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) announced on Monday.

Pretoria - South Africa's under-23 squad, Amaglug-glug, minimised their chances of proceeding to the next stage of the 2012 London qualifiers after they played a one-all draw against Gabon on Wednesday night.

Pretoria - Several streets will be closed to traffic in the Cape Town city centre ahead of the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday, authorities have warned.

Durban - South Africa's Oscar Pistorius was on Monday presented with the Laureus Award for the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

Pretoria - The Department of Environmental Affairs says a new REDISA Integrated Waste Tyre Management Plan (IIWTMP) has been published for immediate implementation.

Port Elizabeth - More access to female condoms, protection of commercial sex workers and access to HIV information for rural women were some of the requests given to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe as the country marks World Aids Day.

Durban - Popular South African actress Leleti Khumalo has joined forces with the KwaZulu-Natal government to help improve the standard of living for many youths.