SOUTH AFRICA

So, you've made the critical decision and settled on a holiday in South Africa. It's going to be

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is launching a new version of its touchscreen Storm smartphone, marking its latest move in the fight with Apple's iPhone.

A picture book about a giraffe on safari in South Africa is set to go digital next month, betting that the next generation will embrace electronic media from the word go.

The role of Porgy, the crippled beggar in Porgy and Bess, has always been hard to pull off as he changes from grump to lover, but a Cape Town Opera version opening in Britain this month sets him a Herculean challenge:

U.S. auto parts maker Delphi ended four years in bankruptcy on Tuesday, emerging from Chapter 11 as a private company and removing a major uncertainty for former parent General Motors Co [GM.UL].

Soccer's global governing body FIFA, gaming software-maker Electronic Arts and Sony Corp's PlayStation announced the start of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2010 (FIWC10) season on Tuesday.

German carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) plans to invest 2.2 billion rand ($288 million) at its Rosslyn plant in South Africa to boost production capacity by 45 percent, boosting capacity to 87,000 units.

British author Hilary Mantel is favorite to scoop the Man Booker Prize later on Tuesday, while South African-born J.M. Coetzee is in the running to become the first writer to win the coveted award three times.

South African-born J.M. Coetzee could become the first writer to claim the coveted Man Booker Prize three times when the winner is announced on Tuesday, but bookmakers are predicting a different outcome.

BAE Systems turned down the chance to pay 300 million pounds ($477 million) to settle a bribery investigation and is seeking to review evidence against it before trying to agree a deal, newspapers reported on Sunday.

Britain's fraud office said on Thursday it aimed to prosecute Europe's biggest defense contractor, BAE Systems, for bribery, but lawyers said an out-of-court settlement remained the most likely outcome.

Prosecutors will unveil the result of its long running investigation into allegations of corruption and bribery at defense giant BAE Systems later on Thursday.

Talks between Bharti Airtel and MTN Group to create the world's third-largest mobile operator collapsed for the second time in just over a year on Wednesday.

Miss Singapore World, Ris Low, announced her resignation on Tuesday coming five days after news broke out that she was involved in credit card fraud.

Beauty queen Miss Singapore World has given up her crown after it emerged that she had stolen credit cards to go on a shopping spree for lingerie.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged police officials from across the country to crack down harder on one of the world's highest rates of violent crime, and shoot to kill if needed.

A blockbuster sci-fi movie which caricatures Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals and a Sony PlayStation advert which implies they are fraudsters have infuriated a government battling to improve the country's image.

The United States will keep its embassy and other American government offices in South Africa closed on Wednesday after an undisclosed security threat, the embassy said on its website on Tuesday.

South Africa's Treasury and banking officials are to meet government officials in India to discuss foreign exchange control implications of the planned tie-up between MTN and India's Bharti Airtel.

South Africa's labor federation COSATU is trying to halt a planned multi-billion tie-up between MTN and India's Bharti Airtel but the Treasury wants a deal, sources close to the matter said.

Technology firm Allied Technologies Ltd on Thursday announced plans for a major boost to internet connections in east Africa and said it expects to double profit in the region by early next year.