South Africa

Pretoria - The Eastern Cape Department of Education has launched a social support programme to help matriculants manage their stress levels during the examination period.

Johannesburg -The Constitutional Court has ruled that South African citizens abroad who are registered to vote will be allowed to vote in the 22 April general elections.

Pretoria - More than 100 motorists, mostly taxi operators, have been arrested in Johannesburg's Central Business District for reckless and negligent driving as a result of Operation Nomakanjani.

Harare - The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has reported that falling prices of basic commodities has resulted in the breadbasket for a family of six for the month of February dropping by 20 percent to $122 from $153 in January.

Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Health has confirmed four more cases of meningitis and restated that only one person has died from the disease in the province.

Pretoria - President Kgalema Motlanthe has assured the National House of Traditional Leaders that government, under a new administration, will remain committed to strengthening the House and its institutions.

Pretoria - With four consecutive months of negative growth in manufacturing data, the sector could be heading for a recession with production dropping 11.1 percent from January 2009 compared to January last year.

Pretoria - The South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) has urged all social workers and social auxiliary workers to renew their annual registration by 31 March.

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.