South Africa

Pretoria - Telkom is to appeal against a ruling by the Competition Tribunal in the case between the telecommunications parastatal and the South African Value Added Networks.

Bushbuckridge - Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba will on Monday plant trees in Mpumalanga and also hand over a house to a needy pastor as part of Arbor Week celebrations.

Pretoria - The Presidency says it has presented its Annual Report for 2011/ 2012 financial year with an unqualified audit opinion.

Johannesburg - Despite a downward trend globally, South Africa's tourism sector remained strong and resilient, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Friday.

Mbombela - More than half a million pupils in Mpumalanga will be tested to determine their literacy and numeracy levels.

Polokwane - Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant says much still needs to be done to restore the dignity of those that are unemployed.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has on Sunday called on communities to report people who abuse the elderly, saying such behaviour cannot be tolerated.

Pretoria - The Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe has requested the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, to give him a report explaining the rationale behind the decision to charge the Lonmin miners with 44 counts of murder relating to the Marikana shooting incident.

Pretoria - South Africa has taken a number of legislative and policy steps towards ensuring that military operations take place in an environment where both human rights and humanitarian legal principles are present, says Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

Pretoria - Chief of the South African Air Force, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, has retired after serving the Air Force for 44 years and handed over the reigns to Lieutenant General Fabian Zimpande Msimang.

Cape Town - The government's programme that prevents the transmission of HIV from mother to child, helped save the lives of more than a hundred thousand babies.

Polokwane - Hundreds of unemployed youth in Limpopo on Friday turned out in large numbers to register for employment during the Department of Labour's Job Summit and Job Fair held in Polokwane.

Pretoria - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has welcomed the report of the Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, on the investigation into allegations of improper involvement by himself in a business transaction with Iran.

Pretoria - The Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Marikana tragedy, led by Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration, Collins Chabane, will this weekend attend the funerals of the victims of the tragedy.

Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will undertake a visit to Thailand this weekend to attend the UN Climate Change Conference.