Formula E, the FIA’s new global electric racing series, has today (23, January) announced that its new headquarters and team facilities will be based within the grounds of the Donington Park Racing Circuit in the UK. Construction work on the 44,000 ft² bespoke premises began on 2 January and when complete will provide state-of-the-art facilities [...]Formula E Headquarters At Donington Park is a post from: Auto n Spire


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South Africa’s infrastructure development programme will expand the black industrial class, with the Strategic Integrated Project II (SIP2),...

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The number of young people in South Africa over the age of 15 who suffer fromÂ*illiteracy has been reduced from 4.7 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2011, says Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Minister Motshekga made the announcement on Wednesday, in London, at the Education World Forum, which was attended by Education Ministers [...]
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In a bid to curb water wastage, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has launched a programme to repair water leaks in several properties.

According to the Water Demand Management Analysis, about 43 000 residential areas in Tsakane, Langaville and Geluksdal have high volumes of water wastage.

The leak repair project takes place in partnership with the Water Affairs and Public Works Departments, and Rand Water.

Metro’s spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the municipality’s water Conservation Leak Repair Project, which is currently underway in these areas, is expected to run until January 2016.

“The repairing work involves conducting leak free tests in each property, fixing or replacing leaking plumbing items such as toilet cisterns and associated pipework.

“This includes refurbishment of underground pipes and yard connections, fixing sink taps, baths, showers, outdoor taps, condition rating of underground pipes, and installation of meters on properties,” Gadebe said.

He added that about 27 schools in Tsakane, Langaville and Geluksdal will also have their leaks repaired.

Gadebe also highlighted that the project is community based and labour intensive in line with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) principles, which means locals will receive employment opportunities.

“The project will result in the creation of 377 jobs in the fields of plumbing, general work, Community Liaison Officers, Community Facilitator Supervisors, Community Facilitators and Quality Controllers.”

He urged residents to be at ease as the workers will be clearly identifiable by their EPWP orange working suits with some wearing reflecting vests bearing the Ekurhuleni logo. – SAnews.gov.za

The Department of Basic Education is calling on members of the public to submit comments on the Proposed Amended Policy for Determining School Calendars.Over the past few years, various stakeholders and the general public have made recommendations which have made it necessary to amend the policy...

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Business comes together for climate change, Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau says new partnerships are needed across various sectors to address the ever-present challenge of climate change. Speaking at a follow-up business dialogue, in association with the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the South African Cities Network (SACN), Tau underscored the importance of taking measurable action [...]Business comes together for climate change is a post from: GlobalBuzz SA

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The Ministry of Police says the Human Rights Watch 2014 World Report was “generalising and subjective” in its assessment of the country’s police.

The report issued a "warning" to the South African government, that human rights in the country were taking a turn for the worse.

Human Rights Watch cited escalating police violence as the main reasons for the regression and raised serious concerns with the police's use of excessive force, especially in an election year, during which the organisation expects to see more community protests.

Police ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi on Tuesday, however, said that “each public protest takes a different dynamic, whether peaceful or violent”.

“This Human Rights Watch [report] unfortunately somehow depicts an impression that the South African Police Service (SAPS) responds to all public protests with the same approach and operational plan, thus creating a false assertion that all members of the SAPS are brutal.”

Mnisi said as the ministry, they also get concerned when they hear about reports of police who abuse their powers.

“We are equally concerned when we hear about police officers who are killed while responding to crime callouts,” said Mnisi.

These concerns, he said, have prompted the system to make fundamental changes, such as improving training so that all new entry level police members undergo basic crowd management training as part of their curriculum.

Since this process was initiated in April 2012, 1 761 Public Order Policing (POP) operational members have successfully undergone refresher training, while 2 340 operational members will still undergo this training.

This is primarily to establish an understanding of crowd management in all SAPS members, which will facilitate joint operations with other SAPS components and POP members.

Mnisi said during the last financial year, 12 399 crowd-related incidents were responded to and successfully stabilised, including 10 517 peaceful incidents such as assemblies, gatherings and meetings.

Of these incidents, 1 882 were violent incidents and 3 680 arrests were effected.

“As we have seen on many occasions, many protests have been accompanied by serious provocations, intimidations, public violence and even elements of criminality,” Mnisi said.

According to Mnisi, when police arrest perpetrators at the scene, usually no one claims responsibility for the actions, making the investigations very difficult -- particularly in securing convictions in courts.

Another challenge, Mnisi said, was that policing of public protests draws the police away from their normal policing activities and forces the police to redirect resources, which can lead to gaps in normal policing.

He added that the organisers must face criminal charges if the protests were not orderly and peaceful.

“There is no prevalent culture of impunity within the police service. We are a caring government and therefore, there is no carte blanche that we give to our officers to kill innocent people who protest,” he said.

Mnisi acknowledged that the force had rotten apples and South Africa was not an exception.

“However, the rotten apples are dealt with in terms of the relevant prescripts and applicable legislation.”

He urged stakeholders such as Human Rights Watch to provide an objective analysis of policing and further engage in ensuring that people in South Africa, are and feel safe. - SAnews.gov.za

South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, is in Switzerland for a peace conference which hopes to break the stalemate in the three-year Syrian civil war.

Nkoana-Mashabane was invited by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to attend the High Level International Meeting, which starts today in Montreux.

The meeting will be attended by dozens of countries that had agreed to the 2012 Geneva Communiqué, which calls for an end to fighting and the installation of a transitional government with full executive powers.

South Africa has remained steadfast in its belief that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Syria and this conference is a welcome step in the right direction towards bringing an end to the suffering of the Syrian people, International Relations spokesperson Clayson Monyela said.

Monyela said South Africa believed that democracy was an unassailable right of the Syrian people.

“The South African government is thus committed to encouraging all parties involved in the current conflict in Syria to engage in a process of all-inclusive national dialogue, free of any form of violence, intimidation or outside interference aimed at government change, in order to satisfy the legitimate democratic aspirations of the Syrian people,” said Monyela.

Participants will seek to make arrangements for humanitarian aid to flow into that country, where well over 100 000 people have been killed and more than eight million others driven from their homes since the conflict erupted between the government and various groups seeking the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

Monyela said South Africa was deeply disappointed by the fact that the Syrian conflict had been raging for nearly three years, with devastating humanitarian consequences.

“The situation in Syria is evolving into one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent times with severe political and economic consequences for the entire region.”

The Montreux meeting is designed to give international support to the efforts to resolve the deadly conflict that has torn Syria apart, while the Geneva talks - scheduled for Friday - will be restricted to the two Syrian delegations and the UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is organising the conference.

Ban has rescinded his invitation to Iran to participate in the Syrian peace conference, his spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters on Monday.

Nesirky said the secretary-general was "dismayed (and) deeply disappointed" after Iran released public statements conflicting with what was reportedly discussed in private, resulting in their invitation to participate being withdrawn.

Iran, whose invitation was seen as controversial due to its backing of al-Assad, refused to support a process to form a transitional government -- one of the stated goals of the conference, as laid out in the Geneva Communiqué. – SAnews.gov.za

The prize money for the 2014 Orange African Nations Championship (CHAN) would total, $3.2 million, about R34 million, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) said on Wednesday.

The winning team of the tournament will walk away with $750 000 (about R8.1 million), while the runners-up will walk away with $400 000 (about R4.3 million).

The third and fourth placed teams will take home $250 000 (about R2.7 million) each, while the losing quarter finalists would take home $175 000 (about R1.9 million) each.

Meanwhile, the teams placed third in the group stage, will take home $125 000 each, and those placed fourth in the group stage, $100 000 each.

The tournament, which is currently underway in the country, will end on 1 February. – SAnews.gov.za

They say it is a man’s world, once upon a time they made all the decisions, they played the sports they wanted to they went drinking when they wanted and they even gambled when they wanted to. Well, times have changed, women are more independent these days, we can go where we want, we can [...]Make 2014 your year is a post from: All4Data


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