norway

The South African government spent R21-billion on research and development (R&D) in 2008/09 - R2.4-billion more than the previous year, but still short of its target of at least one percent of the country's gross domestic product.

South Africa's national football team, Bafana Bafana ("The Boys"), has a relatively short international history, only playing its first match in 1992 – two years before the country's first democratic elections.
• Football in South Africa

An unprecedented joint statement by 31 Nobel Peace Laureates, among them Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and former South African president FW de Klerk, calls for assistance for children trapped in war zones around the world who are unable to go to school.

South Africa's Paralympians continue to excel in Beijing, with swimmer Natalie du Toit's haul up to three golds and equestrian star Phillipa Johnson claiming a second win. Swimmer Kevin Paul, athletes David Roos and Fanie Lombard, and cyclists Gavin Kilpatrick and Michael Thomson also picked up medals on Wednesday and Thursday.

Visitors to Southern Africa will soon be able to apply for a single visa for entry to all member states of the Southern African Development Community.

Tragedy told by puppets ... That's what's on offer at Johannesburg's Market Theatre as the award-winning and well-travelled Woyzeck on the Highveld , designed by William Kentridge, makes a nostalgic return to the space it premiered 15 years ago.

Award-winning South African chef Diane Kay is on her way to the prestigious 2009 Bocuse d’Or international culinary competition, the highlight of the global cuisine calendar, where winners find themselves instant celebrities.

A Norwegian journalist arrived in Johannesburg, was mugged, experienced the vibrancy and of the city - and fell in love with it. He is now preparing to trumpet the virtues of the City of Gold to his fellow Norwegians to encourage them to visit.