South Africa

Pretoria - The Reserve Bank has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5% per annum, it said on Thursday.

Pretoria - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa says the police will step up their fight against alcohol and drug abuse, as it has been identified as an underlying factor that increases the violent nature of crime in South Africa.

Kimberley – Matrics in the Northern Cape are excited about the much anticipated Sol Plaatje University -- the country’s first new university since 1994 -- that was unveiled in Kimberley today.

Pretoria – Eight clinics and two hospitals in the OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape will be demolished and rebuilt from scratch, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced on Thursday.

Pretoria – International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has arrived in Venezuela where she will hold talks with her counterpart Minister Elias Jaua Milano on issues related to energy, mining, agriculture and education among others.

Pretoria - Police have managed over 12 300 public protest during the 2012/13 financial year.

Pretoria - Members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training have been urged to intervene and help find solutions to the challenges facing several Further Education and Training (FET) colleges across the country.

Pretoria – Home Affairs officials have urged all South Africans with duplicate IDs or ID numbers to come forward and correct this before the end of October.

Mbombela - A provincial task team has been formed to sort out the illegal occupation of houses in Tekwane South, outside Mpumalanga's capital city.

Pretoria – The non-availability of basic equipment for patient care, the lack of quality leadership and management, and unacceptable staff attitude towards patients are some of the findings by an investigation team dispatched at Holy Cross Hospital in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape.

Pretoria - The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will from Friday, 20 September, suspend new applications for its Manufacturing Investment Programme (MIP).

Pretoria – Robbery of cash-in-transit and bank robberies have decreased over the past financial year, the National Crime Statistics revealed on Thursday.

Pretoria - The so-called Malamulele municipal demarcation protests seem to have been influenced by deep-seated, longstanding societal matters, which require sensitive leadership, says the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

Pretoria – National Crime Statistics released today show that more people were murdered in the country in the 2012/13 financial year compared to 2011/12.

Pretoria - The country's sexual offences rate has decreased but Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa says it still remains too high.