SOUTH AFRICA

The public memorial service of Michael Jackson began at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Staples Center Los Angeles after Jackson's family and closest friends attended a gathering at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills on Tuesday morning.

Is white-water rafting no longer a rush? Been there, done that with bungee jumping? If standard travel activities like hiking, surfing, diving and zip-lining are leaving you cold, check out these unique, crazy, and sometimes downright dangerous adventure sports around the world.

G8 leaders plus Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa will agree at a summit on Thursday to conclude the Doha round of world trade talks successfully in 2010, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters.

Michael Jackson went from being Gary, Ind.'s most talented kid to one of the most recognizable human beings on the planet.

The dollar's status as the top global reserve currency is unlikely to be mentioned explicitly in the final communique at next week's Group of Eight summit, a European G8 source involved in preparations for the meeting said on Friday.

The world's second-biggest brewer SABMiller is to sell 10 percent of its South African unit to black investors in a deal worth $750 million to meet the country's affirmative action rules.

Mobile operators seeking the

Anglo American is building its defenses against a 41 billion pound ($67.74 billion) merger approach from Xstrata by plotting talks about a major Chinese investment, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

In the semi final match of the Confederations Cup 2009, Brazil beat South Africa 1-0, scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute.

Being able to use a mobile phone for money transfers, bill payments and even savings would give some of the world's poorest people the chance to become part of the financial system, telecom providers and bankers have said.

Shares in Anglo American Plc, which rejected a $68 billion merger approach from rival Xstrata Plc, edged higher on Tuesday on market talk of a possible bid from Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), dealers said.

Anglo American rejected rival mining group Xstrata's merger of equals proposal on Monday, knocking a no-premium marriage and a combination with what it regards as Xstrata's inferior mines.

Top shareholders in Anglo American brushed off rival Xstrata's plan for a merger of equals on Monday and pressed for a big premium to create a giant to compete in a consolidating mining sector.

Shares in Anglo American Plc jumped as much as 12 percent on Monday after rival Xstrata Plc sought talks about a merger of equals to better compete in a consolidating mining sector.

An Iranian exiled professor, Afshin Ellian wrote an open letter to the Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei saying that 'your regime is finished'. Here is the full test of his letter digested from the internet.

At New York's Del Posto, diners can share a $130 entree of wild branzino fish with roasted fennel and peperonata concentrato and a $3,600 bottle of Dom Perignon. They cannot share a bottle of Perrier or San Pellegrino water.

South Africa financial and law enforcement agencies are investigating a suspected corporate fraud case, worth up to $1.2 billion, the Financial Intelligence Center, tax authorities and Reserve Bank said in a joint statement on Sunday.

GlaxoSmithKline took another step in building its business in emerging markets on Monday by signing an alliance with Indian generic drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

South Africa's National Union of Metal Workers (NUMSA) is taking the local arm of General Motors (GMSA) to court over job losses it says are linked to the parent company's financial woes, the union said on Thursday.

Nineteen leading agricultural exporting nations, including Australia, Brazil and South Africa, kicked off talks in Bali on Sunday aimed at pushing forward troubled world trade negotiations.

President Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims Thursday, in a speech delivered at Cairo University.