South Africa

Nelspruit - Deputy President Baleka Mbete is confident that the Mbombela Local Municipality will deliver on its 2010 FIFA World Cup commitments within the set deadline.

Cape Town -The Southern African Development Community (SADC) believes regional integration needs to be achieved before the formation of a single African Union (AU) government can be realised.

Johannesburg - South Africans could soon be paying an additional 45 percent on their electricity bill every year over the course of the next three years, power utility Eskom said on Tuesday.

Pretoria - Residents living in Hammanskraal will no longer have to travel long distances to receive government services, thanks to the opening of the second phase of the Thusong Service Centre in their area.

Johannesburg - Joburg has received an unqualified report from the Auditor-General, Terence Nombembe, for the second consecutive year.

Harare - Business operations in Zimbabwe are once again showing signs of a recovery after a decade of political deadlock in that country as a result of the establishment of a government of national unity, writes Mugove Chigada.

Johannesburg - Poor South Africans could receive 70 kilowatts worth of free electricity if Eskom is granted a 45 percent "smoothed" tariff increase, says it's Chief Executive Jacob Maroga.

Johannesburg - Johannesburg Emergency Services are still searching for the 20-day-old baby and taxi driver who were washed away in the heavy storms which hit Gauteng on Thursday.

Pretoria - South Africa's trade deficit has dropped from R88 billion to R64.5 billion, according to the revised South African Revenue Service (SARS) statistics for trade for 2008 released on Wednesday.

Cape Town - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fatima Hajaig has apologised to President Kgalema Motlanthe for the anti-Semitic statements she made at a Palestinian solidarity rally in Lenasia on 14 January.

Pretoria - The South African Navy will next week host the 3rd Sea Power for Africa Symposium which will focus on the challenges facing navies throughout the continent.

Pretoria - Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, says the police will cooperate fully with the investigators of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) probing the circumstances that led to the death of Olga Kekana.

Johannesburg - An incentive-based regulation programme which aims to acknowledge municipalities which have excellent drinking water quality management was launched by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on Monday.

Parliament - The City of Cape Town has warned motorists to steer clear of certain roads in the city centre due to road closures between 09:00 and 14:00 on Friday, when Parliament opens.

Pretoria - The fourth quarter of 2008 witnessed an uptake in job creation resulting in a decline of 1.3 percent in unemployment in the country, Statistics South Africa reported, Monday.