South Africa

Pretoria - February's Business Confidence Index (BCI) showed signs of improvement, said the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) on Wednesday.

Durban - The Moses Mabhida Stadium was reminiscent of scenes from the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup when South Africa beat New Zealand in a nail biting final. South African Airforce helicopters trailed the skies leaving a sea of green, black, red, yellow, blue and white behind them. From the townships to the suburbs, South Africans lined the streets with their vuvuzelas which could be heard from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the very top of Table Mountain.

Pretoria - South Africa has made significant progress in implementing the Beijing Declaration on the status of women, says the women and children's department.

Nelspruit - R6.4-billion has been allocated to the Mpumalanga Department of Health to fight TB and HIV/AIDS.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday kicked off his first state visit to the United Kingdom where he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Pretoria - World Cup host, Bafana Bafana, played an entertaining 1-1 draw against Namibia, during an international friendly encounter at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, on Wednesday night.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to rally around the World Cup as a catalyst for unity.

Pretoria - All eyes will be on Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan today when he delivers his maiden Budget Speech amid circumstances dictated to by an unfavourable economic climate.

Pretoria - Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) head, Mike Louw, will be remembered for his contribution to building the new democratic state, says President Jacob Zuma.

Pretoria - Ekurhuleni Metro has set up a number of interventions to advance efficiency and speed up turnaround times at the licensing department.

Pretoria - The Health Department has dismissed rumours that there is a condom shortage in the country.

Pretoria - Law enforcement representatives of the 32 teams participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup are gathering at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich today, to discuss security plans for the tournament.

We learnt with great sadness of the passing on of Mr Mike Louw, former head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and later of the South African Secret Service (SASS).

Pretoria - With hours to go before Pravin Gordhan delivers his maiden Budget Speech, South Africans have urged the Finance Minister to put more money towards achieving the five priorities identified by government.

Pretoria - Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, will later today meet with examination quality assurance body, Umalusi, to discuss the expected delays in the release of Mpumalanga's matric results.