South Africa

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.

Cape Town - Drug dealers should receive serious punishment and taverns should be removed from communities, said President Jacob Zuma.

Pretoria - Hundreds of thousands of youths countrywide have been up all night anxiously trying to get their hands on a copy of their local newspaper to find out how they faired in their final examinations.

Pretoria - South Africans have a reason to be proud of the Class of 2010, who have recorded a pass rate of 67.8 percent.

Pretoria - Correctional Services National Commissioner Tom Moyane says many correctional centres need to emulate the good example set by Zonderwater Correctional Centre in Gauteng.

Pretoria - Gauteng learners have come out tops in the country, leading as the province with the best National Senior Certificate results in 2010.