Eleven miners who were rescued after being trapped by debris in an abandoned mine shaft face charges of illegal mining, South African police said today.

Rescue workers in South Africa are trying to reach dozens of miners who were trapped while working illegally in an abandoned mine.

South African authorities say 27 people have died in a road collision in the eastern part of the country.

South Africa has been celebrating Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday, a milestone capped by news that the former president's health was improving after fears that he was close to death during ongoing hospital treatment.

South Africans have said their thoughts are with former president Nelson Mandela, who remains in a “serious but stable” condition after being taken to hospital to be treated for a recurring lung infection.

A South African police officer charged with murdering a taxi driver who was dragged from a police vehicle has testified that the man insulted him and grabbed a fellow officer’s gun.

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has said he shot his model girlfriend because he thought she was a robber.

Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius is due to appear in court today after being arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend after she was shot dead at his home.

The “vibrant” girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, who was shot dead at his home, was a top model and “child of God” who was looking forward to Valentine’s Day.

Oscar Pistorius’ first appearance before a Pretoria court on a murder charge has been delayed until 7am Irish time tomorrow, local police have said.

Three people were killed and 4,000 were displaced when fires swept through shacks in poor settlements in the Cape Town area today, South African media said.

More than 30 people have been killed after South Africa’s police officers opened fire on striking workers at a Lonmin PLC mine.

A British man has lost one leg and part of another and is fighting for his life after he was attacked by a shark while swimming in South Africa.

Mobs rampaged through poor suburbs of Johannesburg in a frenzy of anti-foreigner hatred over the weekend, killing at least seven people, injuring dozens and forcing hundreds to seek refuge at police stations.

Fires that have swept through parts of South Africa in recent days have killed at least 18 people and damaged power lines, crops, forests and grazing areas.

At least 14 people, nine of them schoolchildren, were killed in a six-vehicle accident on a major road in South Africa, the South African Press Association reported.

South African president Thabo Mbeki was regularly informed of the progress of an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea which was also sanctioned by the United States, Britain and Spain, a state witness testified today.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela joined the nation today in mourning his long-time friend and fellow veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, Adelaide Tambo.

A train collided with a truck packed with farm workers at a South Africa railway crossing near Cape Town this morning, killing at least 20 people and injuring eight, paramedics said.

Former Deputy President Jacob Zuma plans to sue South African media for millions of pounds over coverage of his rape trial, news reports said today.

South Africa’s former deputy president Jacob Zuma faces a judge’s ruling today in a rape case that has sent mixed messages on Aids and sexual violence and tested political loyalties.

A senior policeman went on the rampage in South Africa, killing four colleagues, three women and a baby before being shot dead himself.

South Africa’s highest court today ruled it is unconstitutional to prevent gay people from marrying, paving the way for the country to become the first to legalise same-sex unions on a continent where homosexuality remains largely taboo.

South Africa’s Constitutional Court today waived the death sentence for 62 prisoners condemned before capital punishment was abolished in 1995, saying it should be replaced by an alternative sentence to end 10 years of legal limbo.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s eldest son is in critical condition at a Johannesburg hospital, his foundation said today.

Health officials in South Africa reacting to the deaths of two boys after illegal traditional circumcisions called on the public today to arrest those responsible for the dangerous operations.

Three miners were killed and one injured after a shaft collapsed in a gold mine in South Africa today.

Eight school children have been killed and at least 50 injured and taken to hospitals in South Africa after a bus overturned when the driver lost control in a curve, the Eastern Cape provincial transport department said today.

Mark Thatcher is likely to be questioned within days over his alleged involvement in an attempt coup in Equatorial Guinea.

African political and business leaders reiterated their support for a plan to renew investment and economic growth on the continent at the close of a continent-wide economic summit.

England footballing star David Beckham was taken to hospital in South Africa tonight with a suspected broken wrist.

Anti-apartheid campaigners were paying tribute today to Walter Sisulu, one of the top leaders of the African National Congress, who died at the age of 90.

Baton-wielding Zimbabwe police charged women demonstrators marking United Nations’ International Women’s Day in the city of Bulawayo, injuring six and arresting 19, witnesses said.

Shouting “Zionism is Racism” students pelted rocks, bricks and bottles at people leaving a Johannesburg college after a speech by Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

Part of the roof of a South African shopping centre collapsed onto an ice rink crowded with children today.

Former first lady Marike de Klerk was buried in a private ceremony today, five days after she was strangled to death in her Cape Town apartment.