ZIMBABWE

Mwana Africa reported a narrower first-half loss, driven mainly by a jump in production at its Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe, and said it continued to be in talks with the government there about the issue of turning over a 51 percent stake to locals.

After calling for elections to be held in Zimbabwe next year, the country's long-time ruler, President Robert Mugabe, expressed confidence Thursday that his party can win because voters support his party's progressive economic ideas.

Chinese and Indian appetite for diamonds will fuel demand growth of more than 6 percent a year over the next decade and almost double the size of the market, far outpacing supply increases limited by a lack of new mines, Bain & Company said in a report.

Chinese and Indian appetite for diamonds will fuel demand growth by more than 6 percent a year over the next decade and almost double the size of the market, far outpacing supply increases limited by a lack of new mines.

Outraged by the Kimberly Process' inability to prevent illegal trade in conflict diamonds (also called blood diamonds) in Africa, a key founding member quit the regulatory body on Monday.

Two pastors in Nigeria claimed they were raped by prostitutes when on a mission to a popular brothel.

Same-sex marriages and homosexual activities were officially banned by the senate in Nigeria on Tuesday, placing criminal penalties of up to 14 years in prison on same-sex relationships.

Malaysian Bar Council President Lim Chee Wee said the ban on street demonstrations was outrageous.

The women collected semen from the brutalized men for some mysterious reasons.

Zimbabwe's economy is likely to continue its strong recovery next year from a decade of decline to expand by 9.4 percent, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday, but a hike in mining royalties could impede growth.

Mozambique has no plans to impose local ownership requirements on its mining industry and it will not seek overly high government stakes in mining ventures that could deter investors, its national director of mines said.

Anglo American Platinum, the world's top miner of the precious metal, will hand over a 10 percent stake in its Unki project in Zimbabwe to locals, the first step towards an empowerment law, state radio said on Wednesday.

Anglo American Platinum, the world's top miner of the precious metal, will hand over a 10 percent stake in its Unki project in Zimbabwe to locals, the first step towards an empowerment law, state radio said on Wednesday.

More than a million people in Zimbabwe will require food aid between now and March 2012, a United Nations agency said on Monday, despite recent improvements in the country's grain production.

Prince Harry's raucous romp through the United States continued this week in Las Vegas.

Charles Dickens will be feted around the world next year in literature, film, theater, music and art, underlining his international cultural impact 200 years after his birth.

Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping praised Mugabe as an old friend of China.

A budget crunch in Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, has reached a critical stage with the government struggling to maintain spending on HIV/AIDS, education and the elderly, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe won praise on Wednesday as a great African figure and old friend of Beijing, underscoring China's commitment to boosting business ties to a leader shunned by Western governments.

Rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai together on Friday condemned political violence in Zimbabwe and said parties should freely hold meetings at a time when tensions are rising ahead of possible elections in 2012.

SABMiller's Zimbabwe unit registered a 46 percent increase in earnings in the half-year to September, driven by strong beverage sales growth as the country's economy continues to recover.