Johannesburg - Former South African president Nelson Mandela said Wednesday Barack Obama's election to the White House was a triumph for hope.

In a letter of congratulation to the president-elect, Mandela, 90, said: "Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place."

Johannesburg - South African Tourism gave world football body FIFA the red card over accommodation for the 2010 World Cup, accusing the FIFA-appointed booking agency of bullying small hotels and Bed and breakfasts on pricing, the Business Day newspaper reported.

SA Tourism on Monday resigned in protest from the advisory committe of Match, the FIFA-appointed agency that is organizing ticketing and accommodation for the tournament.

Johannesburg - The new party of breakaway African National Congress members that is generating huge excitement in South Africa in the run-up to elections has finally been given a name.

One of the party's founders, the former premier of the richest province, Gauteng, Mbhazima Shilowa, confirmed Monday that supporters of the new party attending a weekend convention had decided on South African Democratic Congress (SADC).

Johannesburg - A breakaway group of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said Saturday evening that it aims to launch a new political party in Bloemfontein in December.

Former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa made the announcement at the conclusion of the ANC breakaway congress in Johannesburg, during which speakers accused the former liberation movement of reviving the "terrible legacy" of apartheid.

Washington  - Addressing a 4,500-strong convention in Johannesburg, the leader of a group of breakaway members of South Africa's ruling African National Congress accused the former liberation movement of reviving the "terrible legacy" of apartheid.

Johannesburg - South Africa was gearing up Friday for a radical shake-up in the country's political landscape as a split in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), the party of liberation from apartheid, came within days of fruition.

ANC members and former members who disagree with the direction the party is taking under current leader Jacob Zuma began arriving in Johannesburg Friday from across the country for a weekend convention that will lay the foundations for a new party.