SOUTH AFRICA

When the first Fastjet flight took off Thursday from its base in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, it ushered in a new age of budget travel for Sub-Saharan Africa. But can it last?

Infoblox Inc, Gold Fields, Rio Tinto, Nokia Corp, Transocean Ltd, BHP Billiton, ASML Holding, Frontline and Retalix Ltd. are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Thursday.

The highly anticipated showdown on the status of the Palestinian Territories takes place Thursday at the U.N.

South Africa is gearing up for an African National Congress (ANC) conference in Mangaung that may not amount to many changes -- for now.

Prospects for global economic growth are diminishing, the OECD said Tuesday.

Australian author Bryce Courtenay, who took up writing relatively late in his life and had his first book acquired for $1 million, died Thursday of stomach cancer. He was 79.

Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya became the first female Anglican bishop in Africa.

Scientists have discovered stone-tipped spears used 500,000 years ago, indicating that man had mastered the technology of hafting 200,000 years earlier than previously believed.

The blue diamond sold for a record breaking $1.04 million per carat in a Sotheby's action Wednesday.

Last week, Name It. Change It., a project of the Women's Media Center, called out the Huffington Post for sexist media coverage. The criticism was dismissed by Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards.

South Africa's mining labor problems endure as negotiations drag. One forecast says strikes will contribute greatly to global platinum deficit for 2012.

The Pentagon released Friday a timeline of the events that transpired on the night of Sept. 11 in Benghazi which stated that top U.S. defense officials were notified of the attack within an hour of the initial assault on the consulate but assistance could be mobilized only after another hour.

The cabinet of French President Hollande has approved a draft bill that would legalize gay marriage throughout France, while the US goes state by state.

Evidence shows that South African police may have placed weapons next to the corpses of miners killed while on strike at Marikana.

The Chinese government's financial investment arm has bought a ten percent stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings. It's a big step, and China isn't nearly done buying in Europe.

White South African households earned six times as much as their black counterparts as of 2011.

Killing rats has emerged as a popular sport, especially among children.

AngloGold and Gold Fields are the latest companies to resort to mass firings after weeks of crippling labor unrest.

The Allied armies lost 13,500 in casualties at El Alamein, about one-third Axis casualties.

Zimbabwe plans to turn President Robert Mugabe's old home in Harare's Highfield neighborhood into a tourist attraction.

Labor strife in South Africa entered a dangerous phase this week after negotiations between strikers and mining companies broke down.