South Africa

Pretoria - Ordinary South Africans have high expectations for President Jacob Zuma's second State of the Nation Address to be delivered later today.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma is expected to host King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway in Pretoria today.

Johannesburg - The FIFA World Cup Trophy, the most coveted prize in sport, will arrive in South Africa on 1 December, at the end of the African leg of its global tour.

Johannesburg - The hunt is on for a gang of 15 armed men who broke into the Hyde Park Shopping Mall on Thursday morning.

Pretoria - The Ministry for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency says Minister Collins Chabane used a state credit card for personal use with a clear understanding that he would repay the expenses.

Pretoria - Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has welcomed the appointment of the BBBEE Advisory Council announced last week by President Jacob Zuma, describing the move as long overdue.

Pretoria - South Africa has emerged from its first recession in seventeen years.

Pretoria - While South Africa has technically ended its economic recession with an economic growth of 0.9 percent in the last quarter of 2009, business experts have cautioned that it was probably too early to celebrate.

Pretoria - Gauteng MEC for Local Government and Housing Kgaogelo Lekgoro has reiterated that ward councillors do not have the authority to register people for houses or allocate houses to any single member of the community.

Cape Town - Rivonia trialists Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada are among the dignitaries who arrived at a ceremony to mark former President Nelson Mandela's release from prison on Thursday.

Pretoria - A number of health facilities throughout the country have been identified for improvement.

Pretoria - Criminals will face the full might of the law this festive season, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa warned on Thursday.

Johannesburg - Home Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has begun consultations over the drafting of a new migration policy for the country.

Pretoria - Public Service and Administration Minister, Richard Baloyi has reiterated government's position that official vehicles "are and remain the property of the state provided to ministers as tools to execute their functions."

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma and Cabinet have called on the nation to warmly welcome the thousands of delegates set to attend the upcoming COP17 climate change conference in Durban.