Tanzania buys back shares in national airline for US$1

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -The government has bought back for US$1 a 49 percent stake in national carrier Air Tanzania Co. Ltd. from a South African airline it sold the stake to almost three years ago as part of its privatization program, a senior Air Tanzania executive said on Monday.

Venture Capital: Melodeo offers free podcasts on cell phones

Seattle’s Melodeo Inc. is joining the podcasting revolution. The 2-year-old startup plans to introduce software today that will allow some mobile phone users to search through thousands of podcasts and then download the audio programs directly to their phones — a service that two analysts said no other company has offered before. Newly appointed Chief Executive Jim Billmaier, who joined Melodeo last month after 10 years at Digeo and Asymetrix, said podcasting is a natural extension of the company’s mobile music software. Up until now, Melodeo has focused on

Pope, Citing Islam, Criticizes Holy Wars and Fanaticism

REGENSBURG, Germany — Pope Benedict XVI stepped into the volatile realm of religious violence Tuesday, warning that fanaticism was “contrary to God’s nature” and quoting a historical criticism of Islam likely to inflame tensions in the Muslim world. Speaking to academics at the University of Regensburg, where he taught theology in the 1970s, the pope traversed centuries of Islamic, Greek and Christian philosophy to decry holy wars and forced conversions, and to hold up Christianity as the “profound encounter of faith and reason.” ADVERTISEMENT The pontiff’s lecture

Nigeria oil unions begin strike

The two oil workers’ unions have called on the government to improve security after a wave of attacks and abductions by gunmen in the Delta this year. Industry sources say that on Tuesday a Nigerian oil worker was killed in an attack by gunmen on a supply ship. Oil analysts do not expect the strike to substantially affect oil production. Nigeria is the world’s eighth largest producer of crude oil. The unions said they called the strike to protest at the lack of security in the oil-producing Niger Delta. They have told thousands of their workers not to work for three days as a warning to the government to do more to stop attacks on the oil industry by armed groups. This year there have been a string of raids on oil installations and kidnappings of oil workers. As if to underline their concern, on Tuesday a Nigerian oil worker was reportedly killed in an attack by pirates on the ship operated by an American oil services company. The unions say their strike is targeted against the government rather than the oil companies working in the Delta. There have been talks among the parties about limiting the strike’s impact on oil production.

Zimbabwe reports dramatic rise in wheat price

Johannesburg – Zimbabwe has pushed up the producer price of wheat more than 24 times to ensure farmers make a reasonable profit, Harare’s Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday. Its website said the price for the 2006/2007 marketing season has been increased from ZIM$9 000 to $217 913 a ton. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said on