SOUTH AFRICA

Here's a surprising 'free gift' from the sky above, ahead of Christmas - Comet Lovejoy was unexpectedly spotted falling into the horizon vertically. NASA Commander Dan Burbank, who was photographing lightning storm over the Pacific Ocean had captured this surprising and fantastic scene at the International Space Station on Wednesday.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will look into a mysterious space ball, which dropped onto an African village in Namibia in mid-November. The hollow ball is reportedly made of a metal alloy known to man.

India, even if you won't hear them say it, have never had a better chance of clinching their first test series triumph in Australia than over the next month against a host nation in the turmoil of transition.

Man-made assets in space have oft proven their worth, over a number of situations and through difficult times. Now, however, it seems there could be yet another use for them. The European Space Agency (ESA) and its satellites can apparently help decide how much irrigation vineyards require and at what times.

Think of wine critic Robert Parker as the E.F. Hutton of fermented grapes. When he talks, oenophiles listen.

No bid has been mentioned for the player thus far.

European aircraft-maker, Airbus has refunded €321 million to Armscor, a state arms procurement agency following years of negotiations over a contractual dispute. This was due to the cancellation of an order for eight A400M military transporters in 2009 by South Africa.

Julius Malema elected to high-ranking ANC position despite his troubled political status.

Germany attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller is geared up for his second visit to India with Bayern Munich.

Nigeria's bourse is to list its first exchange traded fund (ETF) on Monday, a South African gold-backed fund that will broaden the exchange's range of products beyond equities and bonds, the stock exchange said on Friday.

The unique cockroaches have legs built to jump and antennae that stablize the insects after their giant leaps.

South African scientists have discovered a new breed of cockroaches that hop through the air. Unlike other roaches that scuttle from place to place, these so-called leaproaches jump much like grasshoppers.

South African media reported that the cameras have been watching Mandela for as long as six years.

The occasional sheep seeks respite from a sun that has scorched rocks black in this semi-desert region that South Africa hopes will host the world's most powerful radio telescope.

South Africa's trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday it has reached a two-year wage agreement with platinum miner Lonmin that will see its members get pay rises of up to 8 percent.

Canada is the first nation to exit the Kyoto treaty, which was adopted in 1997 as a coordinated international effort to battle global warming.

Linden, who hailed from KwaZulu-Natal, reportedly asserted her innocence and claimed the drugs were planted in her suitcase.

Countries from around the globe agreed on Sunday to forge a new deal forcing all the biggest polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but critics said the plan was too timid to slow global warming.

United Nations Climate Change Conference participants agreed on a pact Sunday that for the first time would force all the biggest polluters to take action to slow the pace of global changing.

Despite the cold and many other potential hazards, naked from the ankle down is the way Anna Toombs likes it, and she gets plenty of catcalls in the street as a result.

CAlmost 80,000 years before humans began using chemical sprays to control insect pests, Africans were using mattresses made from bug-repelling plants to ensure a good night's sleep.