South Africans took to the streets in Johannesburg this morning to protest against poor housing conditions.

Angelique Kidjo is not just another African legend. She is one with a difference, and her illustrious music career has shown that music is not just for recreation, but also an instrument of emancipation for both artists and the people around them. With A Song for Everyone, Angelique and Buffet drive home this message while enjoying their passion.

Ethiopia and Lebanon are locked in a dispute over circumstances surrounding the death of 90 people after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea a few moments after leaving Beirut International Airport last month.

A former UN official claims his warnings of a coming calamity were stifled by a UN bureaucracy intent on keeping good relations with Zimbabwe’s dictator, Robert Mugabe. In the 11 months between August 2008 and July of last year, nearly 100,000 Zimbabweans came down with cholera in the first countrywide epidemic of the disease in modern history. Previous outbreaks in Zimbabwe, which have occurred annually since 2003, had affected only pockets of the country. This time, cholera was everywhere. Corpses filled the streets and hospital beds. In some districts early in the crisis, half of those infected died. It was a tragedy in every way – not least because the worst might have been prevented. Months before the initial outbreak exploded into a full-blown epidemic, Georges Tadonki, who headed the United Nations’ humanitarian office in Zimbabwe at the time, says he warned his superiors of the severe risk, suggesting to the UN country director, Agostinho Zacarias, that 30,000 cases or more were possible. But Zacarias stifled that warning, Tadonki claims.

The tide is turning against Japanese car-maker Toyota after confidential company correspondence submitted to the U.S. government revealed that the company had cut corners and saved $100 million by avoiding vehicle recalls.

RUSSIAN world champion figure skaters Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin will do a virtually unchanged version of the “Aboriginal dance” that has offended Australian indigenous groups in today’s original dance section of the ice dancing competition in Vancouver.

Marion, Illinois – Until recently, people here had little reason to know the name John A. Bredenkamp or anything about his past, a tale worthy of a James Bond villain, filled with allegations of international arms deals, blood diamond trades and ties to despotic regimes in his native Africa. Bredenkamp had visited Marion just once, nine years ago, to look over the Bermuda grass fairways and 96 sand bunkers at the Kokopelli Golf Club he was about to buy. He flew out the same day. A low-profile owner, he sold the course to a Florida group in 2006. He kept only a right to split future profits if the course sold again, his one tenuous tie to this Southern Illinois city. His name might have been forgotten, except for what took place two years later. “It’s just so absurd,” said Fritz Archerd of Gainesville, Fla., head of the group that bought the course from Bredenkamp. “And it’s all because of him.”Marion, Illinois – Until recently, people here had little reason to know the name John A. Bredenkamp or anything about his past, a tale worthy of a James Bond villain, filled with allegations of international arms deals, blood diamond trades and ties to despotic regimes in his native Africa. Bredenkamp had visited Marion just once, nine years ago, to look over the Bermuda grass fairways and 96 sand bunkers at the Kokopelli Golf Club he was about to buy. He flew out the same day. A low-profile owner, he sold the course to a Florida group in 2006. He kept only a right to split future profits if the course sold again, his one tenuous tie to this Southern Illinois city. His name might have been forgotten, except for what took place two years later. “It’s just so absurd,” said Fritz Archerd of Gainesville, Fla., head of the group that bought the course from Bredenkamp. “And it’s all because of him.”

“Good morning and thank you for joining me. Many of you in this room are my friends, many in this room know me, may have cheered for me, worked with me or supported me, now everyone of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you simply and directly i am deeply sorry for my selfish and irresponsible behavior I have been engaged in. People want to know how i could have been so stupid and selfish.

VIENNA: Austrian government officials are up in arms over the issue of housing Nigerian and other African asylum seekers, with the government saying no village or city can be found to build a third asylum center for refugees.

GOOGLE’s latest feature, Google Buzz, is a social networking coup d’etat, and looks set to snatch the cheese right out of Facebook’s mouth. Launched on February 9, 2010, Buzz is designed to integrate with Gmail and provide a platform for Gmail users to share media content, links and make status updates.