The Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan gave the Budget Speech for 2013 in Parliament late last month. Problems such as sluggish economic growth, a widening budget deficit, declining tax revenues and higher debt levels all weighed heavily on the choices the Treasury had to make in the R1.06-trillion budget.

Hunger will be a thing of the past for around 70 orphaned, vulnerable and some HIV/AIDS infected and affected children at the Mangwana Day Care Centre.

The United Nations has signed an agreement with the East African Development Bank to increase participation in clean development projects in the region.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele on Monday declared her intention to form a party political platform for all South Africans “that will focus on rekindling hope that building the country of our dreams is possible in our lifetime."

Hours after a meteor exploded over Russia and injured more than 1,000 people and an asteroid passed relatively close to Earth, residents in California reported seeing an unusual flash of light over the San Francisco Bay area that left many startled and thrilled.

North Korea has conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of UN resolutions, angering the US and Japan and prompting China to call for calm.

"We have come here to tell the government and companies that these lands are not for sale."

Imagine not being able to smile, or even eat, drink or speak normally. One in about every 1000 babies are born with either a cleft lip or palate - which can easily be repaired by a one hour operation that will help these children lead normal and happy lives.

The SANDF and the charity, Gift of the Givers, will deliver over 150 tons of food to flood-stricken Mozambique.

A survey has revealed that four out of 10 households in Cape Town's poor areas go without food at least once a week, it was reported on Wednesday.

Samantha Paul was supposed to be planning her daughter Rachel's birthday party. Instead, she was in Tigray, Ethiopia, pumping water from the wells built in Rachel’s memory. It was the dream her little girl never got the chance to see come true.

The "Africa Ecological Footprint Report" takes stock of the health of Africa’s ecosystems, as well as trends in resources use patterns. It also lays out recommendations on implementing green development pathways for Africa.

A top-level crisis management team should be assigned in Mindanao to address challenges in areas badly hit by typhoon “Pablo.” The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) cited the “rising death toll, the extent of damages, and the looming humanitarian crisis” as a result of the powerful storm.

The current talks at the World Congress on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12), in Dubai, could harm Africa’s poor, as proposals would push up the cost of accessing content on the Internet.

For those still unfamiliar with the odd sounding acronym EWSC, it stands for Energy and Water Secure Communities, which is a programme that (of course) focuses on water and energy security, particularly for poor communities.

Farmworkers’ dissatisfaction with their low pay is warranted, Stellenbosch Deputy Executive Mayor Martin Smuts said last week at a book launch outside the Winelands town.

A new innovative solar cooker bike had been launched, with hopes of introducing a sustainable energy cooking method to communities in Soweto.