SOUTH AFRICA

Gold prices steadied near $1,640 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday as a softer tone to the dollar arrested the previous session's slide, but traders largely stuck to the sidelines ahead of a key monetary policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Swiss food group Nestle is to buy drugmaker Pfizer's baby food business for $11.85 billion, beating out French rival Danone in the battle for dominance of fast-growing emerging markets.

Global brewer SABMiller said its European chief Alan Clark will succeed long-standing Chief Executive Graham Mackay in July 2013 in series of top management changes that will see the 62-year old Mackay take over as chairman.

China produces 97 percent of the world's rare earths, minerals that are critical for the production of everything from cell phones to missiles -- and now it wants to keep more of them for itself. The world is worried, but there may be little it can do.

The Group of 20 nations on Friday pledged more than $430 billion to better than double the International Monetary Fund's lending capacity and protect the global economy from the euro zone's debt crisis.

The Group of 20 nations on Friday were poised to commit at least $400 billion to bulk up the International Monetary Fund's war chest to fight any widening of Europe's debt crisis.

South African championship bodyboarder David Lilienfeld was killed by a great white shark measuring anymore between 13-feet and 16-feet long Thursday in Kogel Bay near Cape Town.

The International Monetary Fund is eyeing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc of countries commonly known as BRICS, to meet its goal, set by the institution's managing director Christine Lagarde, to raise at least $400 billion of additional funds to safeguard the global financial system against the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

Major emerging powers stood ready on Friday to pledge money to bolster the International Monetary Fund's crisis-fighting war chest, though Brazil was holding out for promises that their voting power at the global lender would increase.

Major emerging powers stood ready on Friday to pledge money to bolster the International Monetary Fund's crisis-fighting war chest, though Brazil was holding out for promises that their voting power at the global lender would increase.

Major emerging powers stood ready on Friday to pledge money to bolster the International Monetary Fund's crisis-fighting war chest, though Brazil was holding out for promises that their voting power at the global lender would increase.

The International Monetary Fund's bid to win a big boost in funding to handle the euro-zone debt crisis hit a speed bump on Thursday when Brazil demanded more power at the IMF for emerging economies as a condition for lending it extra cash.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Thursday she expects to win a big boost in funding to help the lender contain damage from the euro-zone debt crisis now that Europe has taken significant steps on its own.

One in four adult men in the country admitted they have committed a rape at least once in their life.

Chinese workers who are exposed to silica dust in mines, and pottery and gemstone factories suffer not only from respiratory illnesses, but are at higher risk of contracting heart and infectious diseases and cancer, researchers in China have found.

Eurosclerosis may finally have hit the technology sector.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its projection of growth in the U.S. gross domestic product to 2.1 percent this year and 2.4 percent next year, from 1.7 percent in 2011.

A month after Apple started selling its 4G-ready third generation iPad in 10 countries, including the US, 12 new countries have been added to the list, with 9 more to follow next week.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer maker, has scheduled its first-quarter earnings announcement for after Tuesday’s market close.

Apple’s new iPad has been available in the United States and Europe for over a month now, but the device has yet to expand globally. The Cupertino-based company is looking to change that, announcing that the next generation tablet will make its debut in 21 additional countries starting on April 20th.

A federal court on Friday sentenced Tarek Mehanna to 17 years in prison, prompting an impassioned speech from the American Muslim charged with disseminating jihadist propaganda on the Internet.