South Africa

Pretoria - A total of 42 political parties will contest the 2009 General Elections if their candidates' lists are approved by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Midrand - President Kgalema Motlanthe has expressed hope that the National Climate Change Conference will through its deliberations draft a national framework which will lead South Africa in becoming a low carbon economy.

Pretoria - The Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has confirmed that it has closed down the Klerksoord site situated north of Pretoria, where victims of xenophobic violence were placed last year.

Midrand - A Johannesburg-based company is harnessing the power of the sun giving communities and families the ability to cook, boil and even fry food at no expense to the environment

Durban – All eyes will be on Durban this morning as South Africa hosts the much-anticipated fifth Brics summit at the city’s International Convention Centre.

Bloemfontein - Two employees of the Free State Department of Health have been arrested along with another person on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering amounting to R9.2 million.

Johannesburg - Joburg Water has drawn up a six month-long water infrastructure upgrade project in Ennerdale Extension 5 in a bid to get rid of obsolete systems in the southern suburb.

Gaza - Senior United Nations officials on Thursday began their assessment of the humanitarian needs in Gaza, getting a first-hand look at the damage and destruction inflicted on the Strip's 1.5 million residents during three weeks of Israeli military operations.

Johannesburg - More than 3 000 minibus taxis and 450 buses, branded with a GauRide logo, will be made available to transport soccer fans to stadia across Gauteng during the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Cape Town - More work needs to be done to ensure the judiciary serves the less privileged members of society, says President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Pretoria - An African solution must be found to the economic, political and social crisis in Zimbabwe, says Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller.

Johannesburg - Although the sale of tickets for the FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup is strong worldwide, the response from South Africans to purchase tickets is slow.

Pretoria - Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Fatima Hajaig will this weekend depart for Japan ahead of next week's Japan-South Africa Partnership Forum.

Cape Town - The Department of Higher Education and Training has accepted a proposal for the establishment of a monitoring and oversight body to deal with challenges of transformation in higher institutions.

East London - Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, has vowed to leave no stone unturned in fighting corruption in local government over the next five years.