South Africa

Pretoria - South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 25.2% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 23.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011, says Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).

Johannesburg - All functions related to the regulation of state subsidised independent schools in Gauteng will from now on be centralised at the Provincial Education Head Office instead of being managed by district offices.

Pretoria - North West Health MEC Dr Magome Masike has urged the public to use emergency services responsibly and refrain from attacking Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS) personnel.

Pretoria - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe opened the 7th South Africa - Germany Bi-National Commission in Berlin on Tuesday by extending an invitation to the European nation to invest in South Africa's massive state-led infrastructure drive.

Pretoria - Government has welcomed the ruling handed down by the North Gauteng High Court on the implementation of the Gauteng e-tolling system.

Cape Town - Arrests of several government officials suspected of defrauding the state of millions of rands through the signing of irregular leases were imminent, the Minister of Public Works Thulas Nxesi said on Tuesday.

Pretoria - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has opened the Mangaung 10111 Command Centre in a bid to bridge the gap between victims of crime and the police.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called on provinces and municipalities to work tirelessly to ensure a safe, reliable and efficient public transport system.

Johannesburg - Gauteng's MEC for Infrastructure Development, Qedani Mahlangu, has lambasted the behaviour of some National Youth Service (NYS) recruits who this week held employees at the department's headquarters hostage for several hours.

Pretoria - Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo has reassured staff at George Mukhari Academic Hospital that the institution has not fallen off the department's radar, and that officials were committed to giving the hospital the necessary attention it needed in order to keep serving the public.

Pretoria - Duduza police have nabbed eight suspects during an anti-crime awareness campaign aimed at mobilising the community against crime over the festive season period.

Pretoria - The Department of Basic Education says it acknowledges and welcomes the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) reports by the Human Sciences Research Council.

Pretoria - The KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet has approached National Government in a bid to declare parts of the province worst hit by the recent flash floods and thunderstorms disaster areas.

Pretoria - Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo has urged communities in the province to donate blood and save a life this festive season.

Washington - The euro area should take more steps to check the debt crisis, as the global recovery continued to be threatened by strains in the region and fragility elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday.