SOUTH AFRICA

South African retailer Massmart's shareholders have accepted a takeover by U.S. group Wal-Mart , setting up the world's largest retailer for a potential battle with local unions.

Rights groups on Monday demanded Haiti arrest former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier for crimes against humanity after his surprise return from 25 years in exile, which strained an edgy political atmosphere in the volatile Caribbean state.

The music service was supposed to rival iTunes. It didn't.

Ratings agency Fitch raised South Africa's outlook to stable from negative on Monday, saying its recovery in 2010 after a recession the year before had outpaced expectations.

Rough diamond prices are expected to rise further this year, but will not match last year's sharp double-digit percentage rebound, which was boosted by restocking from jewellers, the head of De Beers sales division said on Monday.

Floods have killed or left missing at least 40 people in South Africa and wrecked thousands of homes in neighbouring Mozambique, officials said on Monday.

Developing countries and economies in transition together attracted more foreign investment than developed countries in 2010 for the first time, a United Nations study showed on Monday.

The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, is ending its bundling of free music downloads with cellphones in 27 countries, where it has gained little traction since its 2008 launch.

The CIA persuaded Switzerland to destroy millions of pages of evidence showing how a Pakistani scientist helped Iran, Libya and North Korea acquire sensitive nuclear technology, according to a new book.

South Africa's rand was steady against the dollar in early Friday trade, with healthy flows to the stock market balancing out central bank dollar-buying, dealers said.

Telkom, Africa's biggest fixed-line phone operator, said on Friday its acting chief executive officer will not renew his contract when it expires at the end of March, sending its shares lower.

Australia's third-largest city started cleaning up stinking mud and debris on Friday after some of the country's worst floods on record, but in a sign of the task ahead, it could take six months to pump flood waters out of Queensland's coal mines.

Floods left parts of Australia's third-biggest city on Thursday looking like a war zone in need of years of reconstruction, the state premier said, while fresh threats loomed with a cyclone forecast offshore.

Anglo Platinum, the world's top producer of platinum, said on Thursday full-year profit likely rose as much as seven-fold, helped by higher metal prices.

The stockbroking arm of South Africa's Standard Bank is looking to boost its headcount, including equity analysts, following the end of a joint venture with Credit Suisse, senior executives said on Thursday.

In a development that may underscore a growing resentment of Asian business acumen on the African continent, authorities in Tanzania recently ordered foreign traders doing business in a key market in the capital city of Dar es Salaam to close up shop and depart the country within thirty days or risk arrest and prosecution.

Flood water in Australia's third-biggest city peaked below feared catastrophic levels on Thursday but Brisbane and other devastated regions faced years of rebuilding as a fresh flood threat loomed with a cyclonic storm building off the coast.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe received the man of the match award after his four wickets led South Africa to a crushing 135-run win over India in the first one-day international at Kingsmead on Wednesday.

Nigeria's fast-moving consumer goods sector is attracting foreign investors as parent companies pump cash into local units to offset slowing growth at home.

Despite winning three matches by an innings to take the Ashes series 3-1, England skipper Andrew Strauss claims his side are yet to peak.

India grinded through the final day of the third test against South Africa making 166-3 at Cape Town to level the three-match series at 1-1.