South Africa

Durban - South African writer Mandla Langa has scooped the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award in the Africa Region 2009 for "The Lost Colours of the Chameleon".

Pretoria - Police are closely monitoring two service delivery hotspots in Sakhile, outside Standerton, and in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, as service delivery protests intensify.

Johannesburg - Education Minister Naledi Pandor visited the University of Witwatersrand on Thursday to check on whether the investments made by the department for infrastructure development were being properly utilised.

Pretoria - The Department of Public Works has launched a dedicated hotline aimed at ensuring that payments are processed much faster

Pretoria - The Department of Health has urged the public not to panic over the reported cases of meningitis, especially in Gauteng.

Johannesburg - Business and government must partner together to mitigate the effects of the current global financial down-turn, especially in countries like South Africa.

While only a handful of those that were forcibly removed from the once vibrant town of Sophiatown are alive today, the pain of being uprooted during forced removals is still all too real for those who experienced it, writes Nthambeleni Gabara.

Pretoria - All registered South Africans living abroad and wishing to vote in the 2009 general elections must notify the Chief Electoral Officer of their intention to vote within 15 days.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will on Tuesday meet with more than 283 executive mayors and mayors to discuss the state of local government and service delivery improvement.

Johannesburg - Training for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup volunteers has officially kicked off, marking another significant milestone for the 2010 FIFA World Cup appetizer.

Pretoria - The economic turmoil sweeping the globe has lead to a sharp spike in hunger affecting the world's poorest, uncovering a fragile global food system requiring urgent reform.

Horsham, Britain - G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have pledged to take further action to find solutions to the current global financial crisis.

Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will today release the candidates' lists of political parties that will be contesting the 2009 General Elections.

Zimbabwe - South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is currently in Zimbabwe to discuss the humanitarian situation in that country and how the two countries can strengthen cooperation.

Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Health has confirmed that a second person has died of meningococcal meningitis in the province.