South Africa

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.

Durban - South Africans have been charged to think of novel ways to deal with water shortages not only in their own country, but beyond our borders.

Durban - India held their mettle in a nail-biting contest at Sahara Park Newlands to beat South Africa by two wickets in the third one-day international.

Pretoria - Judge Nathan Charles Erasmus has stepped down as chairperson of the South African Board of Sheriffs.

Pretoria - Political parties have cautiously welcomed last night's State of the Nation Address by President Jacob Zuma, saying it touched on key areas and that his plans can go a long way in addressing decades of socio-economic problems.

Durban - There is no place for experienced wicketkeeper Mark Boucher in the South African squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup on the Asian sub-continent starting next month.

Pretoria - While President Jacob Zuma's commitment to the fight against crime in the State of the Nation Address has been welcomed, some analysts believe the President did not give the issue the attention it deserves.