S. Africa's Desmond Tutu wins $1.7-mn Templeton Prize
Anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town, was on Thursday awarded the $1.7-million Templeton Prize for his lifelong work to promote "love and forgiveness".
The Central African Republic's new post-coup government was due to hold its first meeting as soon as Tuesday, its spokesman said, as anger rose in South Africa over its military mission in the restive country.
Nelson Mandela's condition has improved and he continues to receive treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, as the anti-apartheid icon spent a fifth night in hospital.
French and South African biologists will dive to deep-sea caves in the Indian Ocean next month in a bid to locate the coelacanth, the "living fossil" fish whose history predates the dinosaurs.
Doctors said Nelson Mandela was responding positively to treatment Thursday after being readmitted to hospital with a lung infection, the latest health scare for the revered anti-apartheid icon.
Leaders from the BRICS group of emerging powers on Wednesday failed to launch a much-anticipated new development bank to rival Western-dominated institutions like the World Bank.
Food prices have dropped since peaking six months ago but remain near record levels, pushing the world's poorest people toward "undernutrition" and obesity.
BRICS emerging powers on Tuesday sought a deal on setting up a development bank that would rival Western-backed institutions, trying to iron out significant differences ahead of a leaders' summit in Durban.
Mandela's ex-wife 'shocked' over possible death probe
Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie was shocked to learn that South African prosecutors may probe her over the deaths of two anti-apartheid youths who went missing almost 25 years ago.
Diverse underground ecosystems buried deep beneath the Earth's crust may offer clues to the origins of life on Earth, several recent studies have revealed.
Daily-dose HIV prevention fails for African women: study
Daily doses of drugs or vaginal gels have proven ineffective at preventing HIV infections in southern Africa, a study out Monday revealed, saying most of the women failed to use them as directed.
Britain's Prince Harry attended a fundraising gala dinner organised in neighbouring South Africa for his Lesotho charity projects as he wrapped up his three-day visit to southern Africa.
South African sporting hero Oscar Pistorius is due to appear in court for the second time on Tuesday charged with the Valentine's Day murder of his model girlfriend.
When a middle-aged South African engineer recently set out to write a novel in his native Zulu, he found himself hamstrung by a lack of words to describe modern life.
Silicosis suit could crush S.Africa's gold mining sector
Thousands of ex-gold miners suffering from silicosis have launched a class action suit in South Africa, in what could prove the final nail in the coffin of the country's battered but vital mining sector.
African diva aims for 'Marilyn moment' at Obama inauguration
South Africa's Lira will be one among many performers at Barack Obama's inaugural celebrations Monday, but she is determined to be remembered for a performance to rival Marilyn Monroe's wooing of John F. Kennedy.
A South African minister called for a legal ban on insulting a sitting president to counter what he said was a lack of respect from white South Africans.
