They were speaking in Cape Town at a media briefing on the recent wave of violence against foreign nationals.

"We would not encourage anybody to leave South Africa," Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad said.

He said that where displaced people want to return to their countries of origin, South African authorities will not do anything to stop them, and will help international organisations involved in this process.

However, every effort will be made to reintegrate them into the communities from which they come, and this should be "our principal objective".

This will be pursued humanely, sensitively and with vigour.

A case of assault was opened with Buffalo Flats police by Grade 11 teacher Jacky Scharneck-Mohamed against the 15-year-old boy on Monday - five days after the incident at Greenpoint High School.

"International conservation experts found that the global community dumps over 50 million tons of unused food each year to landfills," said Mabudafhasi during the launch of National Environmental Month in the Free State.

"This appalling statistic of disposed food is caused by over-shopping."

In the days of the whalebone corsets, women could actually damage their internal organs by forcing their waists into these garments. But are those crazy days over?

Are there modern fashions that are actually detrimental to your physical health? Basically, the decision to spend good money on certain of the fashions that have done the rounds in the last few decades has not been wise.

Stepping high. High heels can permanently damage your feet. The court shoes with the 3cm heel will not land you at the chiropodist five years from now, but those 6cm stilettos could. Really high heels cause your body weight to be shifted from your heels to your front metatarsals (say the podiatrists) – and they can take only so much. Some women have spent so much time on high heels, their foot muscles have shortened and they can no longer walk barefoot or in flat shoes – hence the appearance on the market of slippers with high heels. In short, if really high heels were a good idea, men would be wearing them.

Below the radar. Hipsters can be tight-fitting garments and it could be extremely uncomfortable to wear them when you sit down for lengthy periods of time. One of the main reasons for this is that they do not catch you in a natural 'bend' of your body. Adequate blood circulation to and from your lower body can be hampered, leaving you feeling tired and sluggish.

Clawing your way to the top. Many women spend fortunes on having false nails put on. The problem is that they get stuck onto your real nails, cutting off air supply to them. Underneath the false nail there is now a hot and humid space that cannot dry out – fungal infections thrive in these spaces. And these can take months to go away.

Thin, thinner, anorexia. In the media, successful women are portrayed as being reed thin. Many young girls equate success with being as thin as possible, and set about achieving this in the most unhealthy ways. Lack of essential nutrients can lead to long-term complications and this obsession with weight loss, could result in anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

The last cut. Not only will consistent bleaching or perming damage your hair severely, but there are studies that periodically appear, indicating that constant exposure to certain hair dyes could lead to bladder cancer.

Plastic coated skin. Synthetic fabrics may be fashionable, but your skin cannot breathe through them. It's a bit like wrapping your skin in a plastic bag. In heat, your skin will become distressed and skin rashes and heat rashes become a distinct possibility. Wearing nylon underwear could also lead to or exacerbate infections.

Goggle-eyed. You don't have to spend thousands on sunglasses, but do check what their UV protection factor (A and B) is. If the glasses have no UV protection, you could damage your eyes, as your pupils dilate in the darkness, giving the UV rays a chance to damage your unprotected eye. It is better to squint in the bright sunlight than to wear sunglasses that don't protect your eyes.

Jamiat Comment: Fashion is ridiculous - not only is it harmful for one's health, but imagine the absurdity - clothes are used to cover the body but for fashion clothes people spend more to cover less!