Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya has been focussing on community projects that improve the living conditions and survival chances of vulnerable and orphaned children.

The South African government has ruled out any military support in the "medium or long term" to the US government to capture those responsible for the terror attacks in that country last week, but has pledged to help in other ways.

A long term collaboration between the governments of South Africa and Lesotho to protect the biodiversity of the Drakensberg and Maloti Mountains received a boost last week when the World Bank approved grant funding worth $15.24 million for the five year Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Project.

South Africa is attempting to act as a bridge between the United States and the developing world as Washington attempts to build a global coalition to fight international terrorism.

A confidential South African health ministry document has warned that President Thabo Mbeki's much-criticised Aids policies are "increasingly politically dangerous" and "unacceptable from a human rights perspective".

A conference, to be held in the Kruger National Park in October, will focus on international trends in agricultural research, modern methods of farming and available technologies, and the transformation and governance of higher education in South Africa.

Rising death rates in South Africa due to HIV/AIDS have led to the creation of a makeshift funeral industry, Newsweek reports. Many "fly-by-night undertakers," who are unlicensed and operate out of storefronts, compete to make funeral arrangements and leave bodies to decompose while they search for the cheapest means of disposal, creating a health hazard and raising costs to the government.

Discussions on migrants' rights in relation to racist, discriminative or xenophobic practices against them coming to good terms. A special spokeswoman on migrants' rights at the World Conference Against Racism assessed the substantial progress made in the realm of migrant rights before the migrant caucus, where representatives from organisations from all around the world were present.

Migrants from countries neighboring South Africa are being blamed for the slow improvement in the standard of living of Blacks since apartheid ended in 1994. Migrants have been harassed and attacked by South Africans, and police often do not intervene. Reports indicate that other African countries are taking steps to tighten migration controls.

The Computer Society of South Africa, in association with the Meta Group and ITWeb, is searching for candidates who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the local IT industry over the past year. If you know of someone who deserves the prestigious IT Personality of the Year accolade, please submit your nomination today. Nominations must be submitted by Wednesday, 12 September.

Host country South Africa tries to find a compromise amidst rumours that other governments may emulate the US walk-out.

The dates for these successful seminars for Directors, Board Members and senior staff have been confirmed as 1st - 3rd October 2001.

The HIV positive women can now use the IUD contraceptive.Research into the effects and merits of use of the contraception. Researchers at the Family Health International ran trials on 156 women in Kenya and observed them at specified intervals. The results indicated that there were very little difference in side effects if any between HIV positive and HIV negative women.

Love, in South Africa, can be a dangerous game for girls. Boys use violence in sexual relationships to assert their masculinity. The reliance by some boys, however, on excessive control of girlfriends belies their own vulnerability. How can the ‘normality’ of sexual violence be challenged?

Pebble Bed Molecular Reactors (PBMR) are nuclear power stations which embrace technology that has proved dangerous in other regions on the planet. Despite this, the South African government is supporting a plan to build PBMR reactors throughout the country. campaign against this plan is detailed on their website.

The Washington Post newspaper reported on Thursday that the United States had again threatened to boycott next month's United Nations conference on racism in Durban, South Africa.

In a country where almost 70 % of schools are still without computers, SchoolNet SA has carved out a niche not just by making technology more available, but by focusing on historically disadvantaged schools.

The black population of South Africa is still at a disadvantage in access to media, conclude the authors of this scholarly paper on the relationship between media and democracy.

Independent schools are not the exclusive enclave of the wealthy, but cater to many different communities, writes Jane Hofmeyer in a recent issue of Independent Education magazine.