South Africa

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address has been welcomed by political parties with some describing it as "fantastic".

Cape Town - Government has promised to give the country's health system a boost, with the revitalisation of nursing colleges, the hiring of qualified people and the country's HIV and Aids prevention campaigns.

Pretoria - Underperforming government officials have been given a stern warning to get their act together.

Cape Town - Labour federation Cosatu and the Democratic Alliance welcomed President Jacob Zuma's proposal in the State of the Nation address tonight to merge the government's small business finance institutions into a single funding body.

Pretoria - Unemployed Tembisa residents have been thrown a lifeline by the government's Community Works Programme (CWP), which aims to provide them with much needed work.

Pretoria - Truck drivers across South Africa have been encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle by making use of the 20 roadside wellness centres countrywide.

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma appears to have impressed his ministers during the third State of the Nation Address that was widely welcomed on Thursday.

Pretoria - The SA Police Service (Saps) Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) have made a significant dent in their backlog, which in turn has seen the early prosecution and conviction of criminals.

Cape Town - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has emphasised that the key driver for success is the "Triple T" - teachers, textbooks and time.

Mbombela - The Green Scorpions have descended on Mpumalanga's Eskom power stations to inspect the electricity provider's compliance with environmental laws.

Pretoria - Students interested in the law discipline now have an opportunity to enrol for a brand new programme in Occupational Risk Law at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Pretoria - Two underperforming provinces will lose R463 million in low-cost housing grants, which will be redistributed to provinces that met their targets, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale announced on Tuesday.

Prepared by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)

Durban - Commerce students and academics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal met with KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Finance, Ina Cronje, to talk about the 2011/12 provincial budget.

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a televised speech on Thursday night that he will hand over power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, but will not resign, in response to more than two weeks of mass protests against his 30-year rule.