Johannesburg  - South Africans have been invited to mourn deceased singer Miriam Makeba at a public memorial service in her native Johannesburg at the weekend, The Star newspaper reported Friday.

Makeba, Africa's first Grammy award winning singer and a leading anti-apartheid activist, died on Sunday in Italy after performing at a concert.

On Wednesday President Kgalema Motlanthe declared national days of mourning leading up to the funeral of the woman, known to her legions of fans worldwide as Mama Africa.

Johannesburg - International environmental lobby group Greenpeace opened its first office in Africa on Thursday in Johannesburg.

In a statement Greenpeace said having an office in Africa was part of its commitment "to tackling the most urgent environmental problems facing the continent - climate change, deforestation and overfishing."

Greenpeace also said it would open a second office later this month in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and a third in Dakar, Senegal in 2009.

Johannesburg - When Zafar Wahid, a project manager with Liberty Life insurance company, was relieved of his car at gunpoint in Johannesburg recently, he knew exactly where to go to get a knock-down replacement.

On an unseasonably cold summer's evening, Wahid, still wearing his work trousers and tie, walks past a string of cars in Burchmore's showroom in northern Johannesburg, towards the auction room, where around 200 people are crammed into rows of tiered plastic seats.

Johannesburg - Twenty-five people were killed in South Africa's eastern Mpumalanga province Wednesday when two trucks, one of which was taking people to work, collided head-on and overturned, SAfm public radio reported.

The radio report said only two out of 27 people involved in the early-morning crash had survived. It was not clear whether they were injured.

Emergency workers were at the scene to try to remove victims trapped in the wreckage.

Mpumalanga is a busy transit corridor linking Gauteng province, Africa's wealthiest region where Johannesburg is located, with Maputo and Beira ports across the border in Mozambique.

Johannesburg - The body of South African singer and anti-apartheid icon, Miriam Makeba, arrived back in her native Johannesburg Wednesday, three days after her death in Italy.

Makeba, 76, who was known affectionately as Mama Africa, suffered a heart attack shortly after a performance on Sunday evening in southern Italy in support of a campaign against organized crime.

Family members, fellow musicians and Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan were at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to receive her remains.

Johannesburg  - South African artists are calling for the country's beloved songstress and anti-apartheid icon, Miriam Makeba, to be given a state funeral following her death in Italy on Sunday.

Makeba, 76, who was known affectionately as Mama Africa, suffered a heart attack shortly after a performance on Sunday evening in southern Italy in support of author Roberto Saviano's campaign against the Camorra, the local version of the Mafia.