SOUTH AFRICA

Korean Pop (KPop) has been making headlines recently as the music phenomenon expands beyond Asia and attracts a Western fan base of screaming teenage boys and girls. Recently, the cable channel tvN conducted a poll, asking 150 foreign students from 20 countries which KPop idol they think is the sexiest.

Impala Platinum , the world's second-largest platinum producer, said on Tuesday the costs of an illegal strike at its key Rustenburg operation in South Africa have reached 100,000 ounces and a loss of income of 2 billion rand ($263.66 million).

The technology sector is slowly growing in Kenya, but this weekend a misplaced anchor near the port of Mombasa has damaged high-speed connectivity in East Africa.

Gold prices fell 1 percent on Monday, in line with the euro, stocks and other commodities, as worries over the euro zone debt crisis and the impact of high crude oil prices on the fledgling economic recovery fuelled risk aversion.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital on Sunday after a keyhole abdominal examination showed there was nothing seriously wrong with the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader, the government said.

The world's major emerging economies on Saturday rejected the tradition that an American automatically is selected to head the World Bank and they will look at putting forward their own candidate for the open job.

The world's major emerging economies on Saturday rejected the tradition that an American automatically is selected to head the World Bank and they will look at putting forward their own candidate for the open job.

A meeting of BRICS major emerging countries discussed the selection process of the next head of the World Bank and emphasized it should be open to all countries, rejecting the tradition that the job automatically goes to an American, a senior BRIC official said on Saturday.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital on Saturday for treatment for a long-standing abdominal complaint, the government said.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital on Saturday for treatment for a long-standing abdominal complaint, the government said.

The Supreme Court will weigh next week whether corporations can be sued in the United States for suspected complicity in human rights abuses abroad, in a case being closely watched by businesses concerned about long and costly litigation.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 rumor mill is taking a similar turn to that of the Galaxy Nexus that was released last year.

Heroin has been found in the hotel room where “Amazing Race” producer Jeff Rice was found dead, reported ABC News. Autopsy results revealed that large concentrations of cocaine were found in Rice’s body, resulting in an overdose.

The prestigious California-based Pacific Institute climate research group has launched an investigation of its president and founder, Peter Gleick, after he admitted fraudulently obtaining documents from global warming skeptics challenging his work.

One of the top paid actors of Bollywood and a role model to millions, Saif Ali Khan might have got himself into a big mess. Mumbai police Wednesday registered a case against the actor under section 325 of the IPC for allegedly assaulting a patron of the Taj Mahal Hotel in south Mumbai.

The BSE Sensex was headed for a second day of decline on Thursday as investors booked profits from recent rallies as concerns mounted over the state of the global economy, including rising oil prices.

Gold jumped to a three-month high on Wednesday, reversing early losses after bullish technical factors triggered fund buying, and platinum prices hit their highest in five months on supply worries.

Platinum prices shot up more than three percent Wednesday after Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world's second largest platinum producer, told buyers April deliveries would be slashed in half because of a strike in South Africa.

Rumors surrounding the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S3 signaled to a March release date, but new reports claim the phone will not be out until the summer of 2012.

Actor Brad Pitt may soon have a new role: real estate developer. Croatian paper Jutarnji List reported that Pitt has partnered with businessman Danko Koncar and actor Rade Serbedzija to build a luxury waterfront resort in the Brijuni Islands in the Adriatic Sea.

Jeff Rice, a production facilitator for The Amazing Race was found dead in his Uganda hotel room. Poisoning is suspected as the cause of death.