ELECTIONS

Egyptians counted the economic cost of more than two weeks of turmoil on Wednesday as protesters on Cairo's Tahrir Square looked ahead to their next big push to oust President Hosni Mubarak later in the week.

South African President Jacob Zuma will use a major policy speech on Thursday to lay out his plans to create jobs in the regional economic power where unemployment has lingered at about 25 percent for years.

Resource-rich African governments risk unrest if they hold back the benefits of soaring global commodity prices from their own people, delegates to a major mining conference were told on Wednesday.

The government of Syria has agreed to life a five-year bank on Facebook in what is most likely a concession to its people amidst growing discontent across the Arab world over state repression.

Thai and Cambodian troops stood on high alert on Tuesday after clashing in disputed jungle around a 11th-century Hindu temple as foreign governments urged them to lay down arms.

One of the many ironies of American politics is that while top Republican politicians are eager to show their support for the state of Israel, Jewish voters in the U.S. remain overwhelmingly in the camp of the Democratic Party.

As dust settles down after a 12-day uprising from citizens of Egypt, leaving scores of people dead and many injured, citizens have come up with a novel idea to remember the martyrs of the uprising.

Randgold Resources sees a surge in production for 2011 as it reported a 43 percent rise in full-year profit in spite of operational and political setbacks. The company, which boosted its annual dividend by 18 percent to 20 cents, forecasts production to be between 750,000 and 790,000 ounces for 2011.

Astonished by the uprising in Egypt, Western countries anxious to be on the right side of history have started to reassess ties to army-backed Arab strongmen stubbornly opposed to democracy.

The United Nations on Sunday drove home the warning from Western nations that a transition to democracy in Egypt should not be rushed to avoid worsening the crisis and destabilising the entire Middle East.

Egypt's new vice president, Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonize the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical U.S. officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country's political crisis.

Ugandan police said they believe terrorists are targeting Kampala before national elections this month, the latest in a series of threats since twin bombs killed 79 people in the capital last year.

Egypt tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday with banks reopening, and the vice president held unprecedented talks with a banned Islamist group and other opponents about their demand that President Hosni Mubarak quit.

The dissolution of Egypt's ruling party on Saturday was a strong attempt by the country's National Democratic Party to placate the thousands of protestors demanding an end to the current Mubarak regime.

The civil unrest roiling the Middle East may have spilled over into Europe as tens of thousands of Serbian nationalists staged a massive anti-government rally in the capital, Belgrade.

Egypt's ruling VP, Omar Suleiman, has recently survived an assassination attempt although it left two of his bodyguards dead, a media report said.

A war of words between Uganda's main presidential candidates escalated on Friday, sparking fears of Egypt-style street violence should the opposition say the poll was rigged.

U.S. employment rose far less than expected in January, partly the result of severe snow storms that slammed large parts of the nation, but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2009.

Palm oil output and stocks, already lagging robust demand due to rains in top Southeast Asia producers, could be made worse should the cooking ingredient become the next target for emerging markets seeking to buy big and dampen adverse effects of booming world food prices.

Among the issues raised by the recent outbreak of civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is the rapidly growing population in some of these countries. This subject has particularly stark implications for Israel.

With protesters set for a tenth day of demonstrations in Cairo on Friday, Egyptian leaders were seeking for opportunities - without success - for talks with opposition members.