South Africa

Polokwane - Limpopo's education department is optimistic that it achieved at least a 60% matric pass rate in 2010.

Pretoria - South Africa created 157 000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2010, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday.

Musina - School leavers have until Wednesday to apply for study bursaries at the Musina local municipality in Limpopo.

Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs believes that the Immigration Amendment Bill will help weed out those foreigners who attempt to abuse the country's immigration system.

Pretoria - Learners who wrote their 2010 final exams under the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) had reason to smile on Tuesday, with more than 98 percent passing their exams.

Mbombela - Smallscale sugarcane farmers in Mpumalanga's Nkomazi area are singing a sweet tune following good rains over the festive season.

Pretoria - The South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC) says it does not it condone any form of collusion in procurement procedures and practices in the industry.

Pretoria - The new draft of the Financial Services Charter (FSC), gazetted by Department of Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, has been welcomed by Keith Levenstein, CEO of EconoBEE.

Johannesburg - Grade 12 learners will be waiting with their fingers crossed for matric results, which will be released on Thursday.

Cape Town - Parliament today ordered the Department of Defence and Military Veterans to do its homework and calculate the costs and number of military veterans that would be affected if benefits mooted under a new bill came into effect.

Pretoria - The heavy rains over the past few weeks have been a welcomed development in water-strapped parts of the country, however, the Free State Agriculture Department has warned of an imminent outbreak of Rift Valley fever.

Pretoria - The extradition case for Shrien Dewani, the man wanted for allegedly masterminding a hit on his wife Anni Dewani, has been set for May 3 at Woolwich Crown Court in London.

Wellington - New Zealand has sent a Civil Defence emergency response team to Queensland to help Australia in its response to some of its worst flooding in decades.

Pretoria - With just one day left for the release of the 2010 matric results - Basic Education Minister, Angie Motsekga, is confident the results will reflect stability in the education system.

Pretoria - South Africa intends using its position as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to elevate the African agenda and bring peace to the continent.