Libya on Sunday clarified that the review of contracts of Italian oil major ENI signed with the previous regime of Moammar Gadhafi will not involve its oil and gas deals.

Many countries in sub-Saharan African are less prepared to deal with an economic shock now than they were during the 2008 food and fuel crisis and the global financial turmoil that followed, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday, urging developing nations to build up their economic defenses.

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Egypt's government bond rating from B1 to B2 on Wednesday and placed it on review for further possible downgrade, concerned by political instability and economic woes.

Zimbabwe's finance minister said Thursday he will plow US$600 million in new revenue from diamonds into the nation's ailing health, water and power services.

It will still be several months before Libya can export as much oil as it did before it descended into civil war earlier this year. But the killing of Moammar Gadhafi reduces the chance that violence will get in the way as Libya cranks up production again.

Syria and the international economic crisis will be high on the agenda Tuesday of a summit between IBSA countries, major emerging economies India, Brazil and South Africa.

British pension reforms due to be phased in from 2012 could boost retirement savings by as much as 12.5 billion pounds (US$19.7 billion) a year, according to research by insurer Standard Life.

Countless lives have been saved by the ongoing famine relief efforts in the Horn of Africa, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said Wednesday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has crossed the frontline into Moammar Gadhafi's hometown to deliver baby milk, diapers and other humanitarian aid.

Zimbabwe has rejected Standard Chartered Bank's offer to cede 10 percent of its shares to indigenous people under a new law requiring foreign firms to sell majority stakes, a state daily reported Monday.