Two children’s rights organisations are calling on the government to extend the child support grant to all children under the age of 18. In a statement released to coincide with Child Protection Week, the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security said this is a constitutional requirement.
Two teams of United Nations disaster experts will leave for Haiti and the Dominican Republic by Friday to assess and coordinate emergency relief efforts following flash floods that have killed nearly 900 people. The team members, who are specially trained to cope with major catastrophes, will help UN and other aid agency officials.
The United States-led coalition agreed on Thursday to suspend offensive operations in Najaf after Shiite leaders struck a deal with radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end the bloody standoff in the city, which has threatened some of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=66967">Shiite radical offers Najaf deal to US</a>
More than 1Â 000 pharmacists and University of KwaZulu-Natal pharmacy students, chanting ”save our profession” and waving placards, gathered outside Durban City Hall on Thursday. The protesters said they were protesting against the ramifications of the government’s new medicine pricing laws and dispensing licences.
Twelve Department of Home Affairs officials and seven ”runners” were arrested this week for allegedly selling identity and birth registration documentation, Free State police said on Thursday. The arrests, mostly in Bloemfontein, come after a two-year investigation by the police and the department.
South Africa’s nine major cities have not fully recognised the importance of ”systematically” managing built-up areas and critical stresses have been placed on natural resources, the first State of the Cities report warns. The report brings together detailed empirical data about the country’s nine largest cities.
National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi may have been "grandstanding" when he told Parliament’s safety and security portfolio committee that several al-Qaeda operatives were arrested in South Africa ahead of the April 14 elections, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=66946">SA arrests lead to al-Qaeda: Selebi</a>
Human rights last year came under the most sustained attack for 50 years, according to the annual report of Amnesty International published on Wednesday. Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty, blamed a combination of groups such as al-Qaeda and the response of US and other governments as part of the war on terror.
The United States on Wednesday unveiled a plan to stop terrorists getting material for radioactive ”dirty bombs” and to stem the risk of nuclear proliferation, announcing a -million programme to repatriate nuclear fuel scattered around the globe.
In an attempt to save the true Neapolitan pizza from extinction, the Italian Parliament is to debate a bill that defines it for posterity. The proposed law, of eight clauses and six sub-clauses, was published in the official gazette on Tuesday. It represents the first step towards including the Neapolitan pizza among products recognised by the European Union as guaranteed traditional specialities.