A former South African government minister, whose name was synonymous with terror in the apartheid era, pleaded guilty to attempted murder today in a plot to kill a prominent church leader by lacing his clothes with poison.

A fire and explosions at Mozambique’s national weapons depot today killed at least nine people.

Gay people in South Africa can be joined in matrimony under new legislation passed by parliament in an unprecedented move on a continent where homosexuality is taboo.

South Africans marked former president Nelson Mandela’s 88th birthday today with tributes and praise, but the man who led his country out of apartheid celebrated privately with his children and grandchildren at his Johannesburg home.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was due to arrive in South Africa today for a three-day state visit that will include a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki and an address to parliament.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in South Africa today at the start of a two-week tour of five African nations.

Dismissed Deputy President Jacob Zuma, cheered on by hundreds of supporters and shielded by a massive security operation, appeared in court today on corruption charges involving his financial adviser and two French arms companies.

South Africa was due to unveil the largest single telescope in the southern hemisphere today at a ceremony attended by President Thabo Mbeki and scientists from around the world.

FIVE MPs from the governing African National Congress resigned yesterday after admitting they defrauded Parliament in a multi-million pound travel scam.

Nelson Mandela’s grandson followed the former president’s example today by telling thousands of mourners at his father’s funeral that his mother had also died of Aids a year earlier.

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness ended a two-and-a-half-day visit to South Africa by paying tribute to the role of the African National Congress government in encouraging parties in Northern Ireland.

President Thabo Mbeki was sworn in for a second term today as South Africa celebrated its first decade of multi-racial rule with a military air display and a massive open-air concert in Pretoria.

President Thabo Mbeki’s African National Congress is poised to retain – or even increase – its sweeping majority in tomorrow’s national election in South Africa.

South Africa will be the permanent home of asylum for Haiti’s ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Jamaican officials said today.

PRESIDENT Charles Taylor, the former warlord blamed for nearly 14 years of bloodshed in Liberia and indicted for war crimes, finally surrendered power to his deputy yesterday.

Zimbabwe has lodged a complaint with President Thabo Mbeki’s government over what it called “the relentless demonisation” of President Robert Mugabe by the South African press.

THE leaders of South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi held talks with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe yesterday, launching a new regional push to resolve the political and economic crisis engulfing the country.

WINNIE Madikizela-Mandela has long been South Africa’s larger-than-life apartheid heroine, dubbed the “Mother of the Nation.”

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, was due in court today to face dozens of fraud charges.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the controversial ex-wife of the former South African President, was today found guilty of violating finance rules as an MP.

AFRICA'S new political union was launched yesterday with the continent's economic powerhouse, South Africa, firmly in the driving seat.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has pleaded not guilty to 85 counts of fraud and theft charges amounting to nearly £65,000 (€101.30).

WINNIE MANDELA, the former wife of South Africa's Nelson Mandela, appeared in a Pretoria court yesterday to face fraud and theft charges.

South Africa’s top law enforcement official has accused three of the countries most powerful businessmen of plotting to oust President Thabo Mbeki.