SOUTH AFRICA

Nearly one in three children and adolescents with

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will push South Africa to use its influence with neighbor Zimbabwe, while also seeking closer ties with Pretoria after strained relations with the Bush administration.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she would press South Africa to use more of its influence to counter the negative effects of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN Group extended talks to combine their operations to create the world's third-largest mobile operator and analysts said Bharti might need to sweeten its offer to clinch the deal.

South Africa's Communications Workers Union said scores of its members will strike for two days next week, in the latest industrial action to hit the country and pile pressure on President Jacob Zuma.

Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, who ousted one of the 20th Century's most corrupt dictators to become a global icon of democracy, died on Saturday after a 16-month battle against colon cancer. She was 76.

The Philippines's former President Corazon Aquino, whose people power revolution swept dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power in the Philippines, died on Saturday after a 16-month battle against colon cancer, her family said. She was 76.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to meet the president of Somalia's transitional government during a seven-nation trip to Africa next week, the State Department said on Monday.

Violent riots and threats of a fresh wave of crippling labor strikes may force South African President Jacob Zuma to deliver quickly on election promises and risk scaring investors in Africa's biggest economy.

South African President Jacob Zuma said police will move swiftly to crack down on rioters after violent protests erupted this week over poor services and jobs.

India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN are expected to extend exclusive talks by at least two to three weeks for a proposed merger, four sources familiar with the deal said on Friday.

De Beers, the world's top diamond producer, said demand should pick up in the second half meaning it will not need more shareholder loans, when reporting tough markets had all but wiped out first-half profit.

Vodafone , the world's largest mobile phone firm by revenues, reported a slight decline in quarterly organic sales in line with muted expectations and reiterated its full-year outlook, lifting its shares on Friday.

Vodafone , the world's largest mobile phone firm by revenues, reported a slight decline in organic sales, in line with muted market expectations, as strength in India and Africa compensated for European weakness.

South Africa's government on Thursday threatened to crack down on violent protests which erupted this week over jobs and living conditions, posing an early challenge to President Jacob Zuma.

Mobile broadband in the Middle East and Africa will expand to $6 billion in the next two years from the current $1 billion, spurred by an expanding network and falling prices, a telecoms advisory firm has said.

Ford Motor (F.N) launched a new $500 million passenger car plant in southeast Thailand on Monday, a move aimed at raising its share of a lucrative small car segment in Asia dominated by Japanese firms.

The following is the full prepared statement of President Obama's speech in Accra, Ghana on July 11, 2009 as presented by the White House, according to the Associated Press.

The world's most powerful countries have injected momentum into long-running negotiations over a new global free trade pact by setting a 2010 deadline.

G8 leaders pledged $20 billion (12.3 billion pounds) in farm aid to help poor nations feed themselves, surpassing expectations on the final day of a summit that has yielded little progress on climate change and trade.

U.S. President Barack Obama said at the G8 summit on Thursday there is still time to close the gap with developing powers on climate change, after the U.N. chief criticised the G8 for not going hard enough.