South Africa

Joblessness, illiteracy, lack of skills, poverty and lack of access to water and electricity: These are just some of the grim realities facing young rural people today.

Pretoria – As the consumption of the dangerous concoction known on the streets as nyaope, continues to wreak havoc in communities, authorities in South Africa’s most populous province are turning their collective attention towards getting the newcomer on the dealer’s block officially classified as an illegal drug.

Pretoria - Cabinet has extended the contract of the Government Spokesperson Themba Maseko for a further three years.

Polokwane - A Limpopo MEC is taking a week out of his schedule to visit employees around the province to find out how service delivery can be improved.

Polokwane - Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk will on Friday launch a 2010 Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Polokwane that will ensure tourists arriving in the city for the 2010 FIFA World Cup get the best advice and information.

Dar-es-Salaam - Africa's population has reached 1 billion as the continent's population grows by about 24 million a year, says a report.

Pretoria - Learners and teachers at Ingqayizivele Secondary School in Tembisa have made a commitment to promote and protect the lives of other human beings as prescribed in the Bill of Responsibilities.

Pretoria - Transformation in the workplace remains slow and still has a long way to go before it reflects South Africa's demographics, says Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana.

Pretoria - The Auditor General (AG) has given the Department of Water Affairs its first unqualified audit report in four years.

Johannesburg - India has emphasised its commitment to further expand and diversify trade with South Africa.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma is expected to meet the country's World Athletics Championships medalists on Tuesday, the Presidency has announced.

Tshwane - The City of Tshwane stands ready to welcome the three triumphant South African athletes - Caster Semenya, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, and Tshepo Mokwena - as they return from Berlin, Germany.

Mafikeng - Eight municipalities in the North West will as a matter of urgency, receive intensive support from the provincial government during the current and next financial years.

Pretoria - Minister in the Presidency Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has condemned the practice of forcing young girls into early marriages, saying it undermined the rights of children.

Pretoria - The significant drop in the number of fatalities this past Easter weekend is an indication that law enforcement authorities were winning in their efforts to curb road deaths.