South Africa

Pretoria - Lonmin Platinum mine and union representatives on Tuesday signed a wage increase, bringing to an end the six-week strike that left 44 people dead.

Johannesburg - The Gauteng Legislature's Finance Portfolio Committee has urged the provincial Treasury to monitor the expenditure on conditional grants allocated to departments for planned projects.

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma said it was wrong and scientifically not true that the gap between the rich and poor had widened since 1994, and that this amounted to an attack on the democratic government.

Pretoria - Nice and fair with no surprises -- this is how most Grade 12 learners felt after writing Afrikaans Home Language and First and Second Additional Language Paper 1 on Thursday.

Cape Town - Travel and Tourism in South Africa is booming, with the country recording an increase of 10.5 percent in the number of arrivals during the first six months of 2012, compared to the same period last year.

Pretoria - South Africa's unemployment rate had increased from 24.9% to 25.5% in the third quarter of 2012, said Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday.

Rosebank - Statistics South Africa and the Statistics Council have defended the accuracy of the results of Census 2011, saying they were in line with universally accepted standards and were reached after much consideration.

Johannesburg - Human Resources practitioners should use the recent census results as a tool for planning ahead in order to be able to deliver efficient and effective public service.

Pretoria - The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) has expressed concern over the increase in murders and violent crime in the Muldersdrift area.

Johannesburg - The all-important Census 2011 results have reaffirmed the findings of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) Quality of Life Survey, reports the Gauteng Provincial Government.

Pretoria - Government is "delighted" with the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court sentencing of Mlulami Gagu to three life terms in prison.

Pretoria - Representatives of major retail banks, the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) and the National Treasury have signed an agreement aimed at improving responsible lending and preventing households from being caught in a debt spiral.

Pretoria - Bafana Bafana will face reigning African champions Zambia in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge at Soccer City stadium, Johannesburg, on 14 November.

Pretoria - Efforts aimed at addressing and eradicating the bottlenecks that hinder women from participating in the mainstream economy are underway, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe.

Pretoria - Government is designing a citizen-based monitoring system that will help boost partnerships with civil society to better deal with issues that affect people on a daily basis.