Work on an express train dubbed the "Gautrain", linking Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport is also due to begin this year with a view to having it fully operational for 2010.

BBC: CHOOSE A SPORT

Thousands of supporters crammed the airport in Johannesburg when she returned from Berlin last month.

CNN: IAAF urges caution over Semenya intersex claims

Chiefs cited political strife in Madagascar, which had caused the airport in Antananarivo to be temporarily closed and flight schedules from Johannesburg to be reduced.

BBC: Chiefs' appeal quashed

Major upgrades to airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Bloemfontein are complete, while Durban's new airport is set to open on 1 May.

BBC: South Africa ready for Cup, says Fifa's Sepp Blatter

Shoaib, speaking to reporters on Saturday after arriving at Lahore airport from South Africa, said the incident in the nets in Johannesburg had begun when the all-rounder Shahid Afridi had insulted his family.

BBC: Shamed Shoaib pleads for leniency

At East London airport, 1time, a low-cost South African airline, informed me that my ticket to Johannesburg had been cancelled.

ECONOMIST: Business travel