South Africa

Pretoria - The newly renovated Johannesburg Forensic Services Laboratory is expected to be fully functional and hard at work soon.

Pretoria - The petrol price is to come down by 55 cents a litre, the Energy Department said on Friday.

Pretoria - The South African government has welcomed the reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas.

President Jacob Zuma says special remission of sentence to specific categories of sentenced offenders, probationers and parolees will be granted.

Pretoria - Former President Thabo Mbeki will not be able to attend the State of the Nation Address on Thursday.

Pretoria - The remains of South African Air Force (SAAF) members, who died in the Dakota C-47 accident on 5 December, will be handed over to their next-of-kin on Wednesday.

Cape Town - The Department of Trade and Industry wants to run a regular small business census to help improve its support and funding to the sector as part of a revised policy to boost support to small businesses.

Pretoria - The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) on Wednesday urged vehicle owners to be wary of a scam that promises to bail out vehicle owners who cannot pay their regular finance instalments.

Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, will on Saturday participate in a 240km Aspen Trans Karoo mountain bike challenge as part of an ambitious project to raise funds for under-privileged children who do not have access to quality healthcare services.

Pretoria - Before the end of the month, the ageing structure housing the City of Tshwane municipal headquarters will be cleared to pave way for the construction of a new state-of-the art building.

Cape Town - All eyes will be on President Jacob Zuma as he delivers the State of the Nation Address to a joint sitting of Parliament, this evening.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has reminded motorists and those who work in the city centre to take heed of the road closures around Parliament today.

Cape Town - Police have imposed restrictive security measures in and around Parliament ahead of the State of the Nation Address this evening.

Pretoria - Predictions are high that President Jacob Zuma will highlight government interventions to address the challenge of creating decent jobs when he delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) this evening.

Pretoria - Stakeholders in the health and education sectors are upbeat about what lies ahead in
2012.