South Africa

Pretoria - Northern Cape Social Development MEC Alvin Botes has called on parents of learners who did not succeed in the 2011 matric examinations to support and encourage them.

Durban - Soft-spoken Sabelo Zungu was overwhelmed with people wanting to take his picture and ask him questions about his success in the 2011 matric exams.

Pretoria - Matriculants in Pretoria who wrote the National Senior Certificate exams last year are upbeat about their results.

Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs aims to speed up visa applications for the 2012 academic year to make life a little easier for foreign academics and students.

Johannesburg - Gauteng's improved matric performance could not have happened without the hard work and cooperation of parents, caregivers, teachers and learners, says Premier Nomvula Mokonyane.

Polokwane - Despite being the second worst performing province in the country, Limpopo has improved its results from a 57.9% pass rate in 2010 to 63.9% in 2011.

Pretoria - Road deaths dropped by 75 percent during the festive season on the N3 highway between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has appealed to community healthcare interns, who are to be deployed in the province, to give their patients the respect and dignity they deserve.

Pretoria - The Department of Higher Education and Training has encouraged matrics who were unsuccessful in the 2011 exams not to lose hope as there were many options available to them in the post school system.

Johannesburg - With six distinctions to his credit, 17-year-old aspirant actuarial scientist, Abiedo Shanduka, is looking forward to taking calculated risks at the University of Witwatersrand.

Pretoria - All the files of registered foreign doctors, who have been practising in the country for the past 10 years, are to be re-audited, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) announced today.

Polokwane - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has vowed to get to the bottom of the problems experienced in various government hospitals in Limpopo, including reports of shortage in food supplies for patients.

Malalane - Mpumalanga police divers helped rescue a farmworker who spent five hours clinging to the branch of a tree on Thursday morning following floods in the Nkomazi area.

Polokwane - Public Works Minister Thembelani Nxesi says an extensive investigation will reveal whether there has been an inappropriate use of funds by the department's Limpopo provincial office.

East London - Relief is in sight for indigent East London ratepayers as the Buffalo City Metro prepares to write off nearly R63 million in unpaid rates.