The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday defended plans to create a 100 billion dollar fund to help countries mitigate the effects of climate change.

Zimbabwe has cancelled a British firm's mining license, the company's lawyer said Tuesday, in the latest tussle over diamond fields plagued by human rights abuses.

African Development Bank (ADB) chief Donald Kaberuka late Monday said he expects the continent's economy to grow by between 4.5 and 5.0 percent this year and by some 6.0 percent in 2011.

Zimbabwe on Thursday began auctioning 300,000 carats of diamonds from its controversial eastern diamond fields where the army has been accused of rights abuses against civilians.

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"The auction has started after shortlisted companies were vetted and authorised to be part of the auction," a senior official in the diamond industry told AFP.

"The auctioning of the diamonds is expected to take three days."

In November, Zimbabwe escaped a Kimberley Process ban despite calls for the country to be suspended over abuses in Marange, with the global body giving Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its regulations.

The southern African country went into partnership with two South African-owned firms to extract diamonds last October.

The chairman of Mbada Diamonds, a subsidiary of one of the South African firms, said the auction will earn the government 80 percent of the total sales revenue and be followed by a similar sale next week.

"The entire process of mining, transportation to marketing is being done in compliance with the requirements of the Kimberley Process," Robert Mhlanga told the state-run Herald.

In November, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said the army and police had withdrawn from the fields and that Zimbabwe had complied with more than 90 percent of the reforms set by the "conflict diamond" watchdog.

Senators of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party have proposed 11 amendments to pending legislation to reform the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, drawing fire from the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, which introduced the bill.

The food giant Nestle said Wednesday that it had shut down its dairy plant in Zimbabwe temporarily after staff were forced by authorities to take milk from "non contracted suppliers."

Zimbabwe's stock market rose phoenix-like from the ashes of hyperinflation in 2009, but is unlikely to ascend further next year due to a continued chronic lack of capital to rebuild the economy, fund managers say.

Zimbabwe will see better-than-expected economic growth of 4.7 percent this year, ending a decade of financial ruin, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Wednesday in his first annual budget speech.

In line with its drive to grow its portfolio by venturing into the retail
sector, Pearl Properties has completed the building of TM North End in
Bulawayo at a cost of US$1,3 million.

Zimbabwe's economy may grow an average 15 percent a year for the next five years on a recovery in production and aggressive infrastructure development, Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma said on Monday.

Harare -The high salaries being demanded by employees and the low production capacity have forced companies to resort to employing casual workers.

THE Kimberley Process Certification Scheme should immediately suspend
Zimbabwe for continued human rights abuse during a meeting scheduled from
November 2 to 5, 2009 in Swakopmund, Namibia, the Human Rights Watch has
said. The Human Rights Watcher said the government of Zimbabwe had not
complied with any of the recommendations put forward in July by a review
mission of the group, an international body that governs the global diamond
industry.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged Zimbabwe's crisis-hit unity government to build policies to cement recent economic reforms and win donor aid to finance growth and reduce poverty.

Foreign businesses are holding back investment in Zimbabwe because of a split in the southern African country's powersharing government, the industry minister said Wednesday.

RETAIL counter Truworths, Econet Zimbabwe and NicozDiamond were the top risers on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange last week advancing 70 percent, 64 percent and 60 percent respectively.

BARCLAYS Bank has been awarded the ‘Best Global Bank in Africa’* *honour at the 2009 African Banker Awards, announced in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, 6 October during the IMF/World Bank Annual meetings.