Alexandra Township, a stone’s throw from Johannesburg’s plush Sandton suburbs, will get its first early childhood development (ECD) centre that is aimed at empowering and educating children below the age of six from the township.

The validity of a learner's license has been extended from 18 to 24 months and driving licence tests may now also be taken on Sundays.

The world's largest passenger aircraft, Air France-KLM's A380, flight number AF995 successfully landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said this is the second time the A380 has landed at the airport. The first time was in November 2006, when its manufacturer, Airbus Industries, was testing it.

Air France-KLM is the first airline to use the aircraft at the Johannesburg airport.

“I wish to put it plainly that the government has taken a firm decision to release Mr Mandela unconditionally. I am serious about bringing this matter to finality without delay.”

With those words, uttered on 2 February 1990, then-state president FW de Klerk set a remarkable chain of events in motion. An electorate that, to a large extent, was enjoying the right to vote for the first time in their lives, led to a democratic South Africa with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.

South Africa will mark the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from more than 27 years of imprisonment at the opening of Parliament on 11 February.

South Africans should be proud of the progress made in overcoming the legacy of apartheid, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Tuesday.

Two southern African states - South Africa and Lesotho - have leapt into top 10 ranking of countries where women face the least discrimination, the World Economic Forum said Tuesday.

Development indicators have showed strides in reducing poverty but economists warned that advances relied heavily on social grants that may be rendered unsustainable by the recession.

Research from the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) released today revealed that black households in the highest income group (R750 thousand plus) grew dramatically during the past decade.

South Africans' living conditions are steadily improving, according to Statistics South Africa's latest General Household Survey, which registered increases in school attendance, satisfaction with health services, and ownership of houses, televisions and mobile phones.

South Africa was on the right track when it came to road safety, expert in the field Dr Pieter Venter said on Wednesday.

Former president Nelson Mandela visited Freedom Park in Pretoria on Thursday, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement.

Madiba's visit to the park, his first, came 10 years after he uttered these words: "The day should not be far off when we shall have a people's shrine... a freedom park, where we shall honour with all the dignity they deserve, those who endured pain so we should experience the joy of freedom".

The park's chief executive, Dr Wally Serote "showed Madiba around the park and expressed his gratitude that Madiba had made time to come and visit since he served as the pioneer of the concept of Freedom Park", the foundation said.

In 1959, when the gates of Orlando Stadium first opened and the grounds became the official home of the Johannesburg Bantu Football Association, few would have guessed that 50 years later the Brazilian national team would be training on that very same pitch.

The new IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings place South Africa's overall competitiveness ranking at 48 out of 57 countries in 2009, a rise from its rank of 53 in the previous year.

Women’s representation in the South African national assembly has jumped to 45% since the country’s recent elections, giving South Africa a third place spot in the global women in parliament rankings. 

The latest statistics, which are based on political party candidate lists submitted to the IEC, show an 11% increase in the number of women in parliament. South Africa now sits just behind Rwanda and Sweden in the global rankings, who have 56% and 47% women’s representation in their respective parliaments. 

Almost a decade into the Zimbabwean crisis, South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs is introducing a permit that could regulate the status of thousands of undocumented migrants.

Since its inception in 2004, over six million South Africans have opened Mzansi bank accounts which provide previously un-banked clients easy access to banking services countrywide.

South Africa’s Internet population is expected to grow as much in the next five years as it has in the 15 years since the Internet became commercially available in South Africa.

The increased growth rate is expected to continue for the next five years, taking the Internet user population to the 9-million mark by 2014.

Among the factors driving this growth will be the arrival of undersea telecommunications cables, from as early as June this year.

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) says that the number of women in the industry is on the rise, with the Council's female membership now exceeding the 2 000 mark. 

Buying insurance off-the-shelf, like prepaid cellphone starter-packs, has made it possible for South Africa's previously excluded, unbanked consumers to buy policies. 

The number of South Africans who have joined the black middle class has increased by 50% between 2001 and 2007, according to a study by the Bureau of Market Research at the University of South Africa.

The study estimates that the black middle class - defined as black South Africans aged 16 years and over and within Living Standards Measures 5-7  - totaled 9.3 million in 2007, up from 6.3 million in 2001.  

South Africa's independent, financially secure and ambitious black women's spending power has increased substantially, said Unilever and TNS Research Surveys on Friday. 

South African schools are making notable strides in fostering racial harmony. This is according to a study conducted by the Human Science Research Council and the University of Pretoria.

The study was aimed at exploring issues of best practice in desegregated schools by soliciting opinions and perceptions about diversity and equality and identifying best practices in these areas.

South Africa is the leading African country in this year's Legatum Prosperity Index, which analyses countries around the globe for their effectiveness in creating a climate conducive to prosperity.

South Africa's black middle class is still growing at a healthy rate and remains surprisingly recession-resilient, with an annual spending power estimated to be R250-billion.

For the first time in local marine history a woman has been tasked with command of a Safmarine ship in international waters, the company said on Thursday.