Zimbabwean rough diamonds worth about US$160 million, which had been confiscated in the United Arab Emirates, have been released for sale, the minister for mines confirmed Monday.

Sudan is aggressively seeking to tap its abundant Nile waters with new dam projects as the oil-rich south's independence looms, but experts warn of the social and environmental costs, and the bearing on the Nile water sharing dispute.

Charitable giving by Americans rebounded slightly in 2010 after two years of sharp declines resulting from the recession, according to an annual survey being released Monday.

Weaker countries that fear being overwhelmed in a huge African free trade area will benefit from it in the long term, a development expert said Sunday as leaders of 26 governments launched negotiations to create the zone encompassing nearly 600 million people and a combined GDP of more than US$800 billion.

Mobile phone banking should be used to direct some of Africa's oil and mineral wealth straight to the population, reducing the role of corrupt governments and tackling poverty, according to a senior World Bank official.

International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators have evidence linking Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to a policy of raping opponents and may bring separate charges on the issue, the ICC prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Growth in African countries will slow to 3.7 percent this year owing to upheavals in northern Africa and increased food and fuel prices, the latest African Economic Outlook report said on Monday, pointing to a rally in 2012.

Finance Minister Samir Radwan said on Sunday Egypt was about to conclude a US$3 billion standby financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but was still working out some of the terms.

Egypt's oil minister says Egypt will not resume natural gas exports to Israel and Arab countries until it secures a pipeline that has been repeatedly bombed. Abdallah Ghorab told reporters after Thursday's meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries' Forum that the

Dozens of pregnant teenagers could face charges after being accused of planning to sell their babies into a growing child trafficking trade in Nigeria's southeast, officials said.