1.   Five carriages on the Zulfiqar skidded off the trackd outside the rural station of Mirshah, near the Punjab province city.

2.   Foreign residents contacted in the Guangdong province city said they had seen several strike planes carrying out sorties.

3.   The Sindh province cities of Sukkur and Nawabshah were also affected.

4.   Twenty-five people have been charged over a Christmas Day massacre in the rural village of Shobashobane south of this KwaZulu-Natal province coastal city, police said Wednesday.

5.   Malan and the officers appeared in court in this KwaZulu-Natal province port city on Thursday shortly after being formally arrested on murder charges.

6.   Seven people were shot dead Tuesday in clashes between rival groups in the flashpoint black township of Bhambayi outside this KwaZulu-Natal province port city, police said.

7.   The campus, on the outskirts of this KwaZulu-Natal province port city, is the fourth educational institution to be hit by violent student unrest this month.