South Africa

Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana and Iraq played a goalless draw in the thrilling opening match for the FIFA Confederations Cup at Ellis Park on Sunday.

Cape Town - President Kgalema Motlanthe has approved the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill, 2008 and the South African Police Service Amendment Bill, 2008.

Pretoria - Google has announced a R8.6 million grant to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory that will help to preserve and give unprecedented digital access to thousands of archival documents, photographs and audio-visual materials about the life and times of Madiba.

Addis Ababa - The African Union has asked former South African leader Thabo Mbeki to head a peace panel which aims to reconcile the need for accountability in Darfur with opposition calls for Sudan's president to be prosecuted.

Pretoria - In just less than two hours, the second match of the FIFA Confederations Cup will take place in Rustenburg with New Zealand and Spain battling it out on the pitch.

Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has declared the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup officially open at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg.

Pretoria - An independent firm has been roped in to investigate the dismissal of Nomonde Mapetla, the CEO of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB).

Pretoria - More than 180 000 pupils from 300 schools are set to receive better access to opportunities in sport through the School Sport Mass Participation Programme launched by the Gauteng Provincial Government on Friday.

Pretoria - The Department of Correctional Services says solving the delays in the implementation of new salary packages for correctional services officials is a priority.

North West - The North West Provincial Disaster Management Centre has issued a flood warning and appealed to residents to be careful when crossing rivers and bridges.

Pretoria - Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela has welcomed the decision of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development to engage with her following the recent visit by two counter intelligence officials from the South African Police Service to her office.

Pretoria - South African business women currently hold 27 percent of senior management positions, beating the global average of 20 percent, the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) has revealed.

Pretoria - The South African National Blood Services (SANBS) has enlisted the help of local celebrities to get more South Africans to donate blood.

Pretoria - The country's water is safe for consumption and there is no crisis in the security of its water supply, says Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks.

Pretoria - Thousands of South Africans will on Tuesday commemorate Youth Day in recognition of the brave youths who on 16 June 1976 stood up against the apartheid government's Bantu Education laws.