ACCRA, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac has named a 22-strong squad for a 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup Group 5 qualifier against Lesotho in Sekondi on October 11:

Goalkeepers: Isaac Amamoo (Etasellat/EGY), Richard Kingson (Wigan/ENG), George Owu (Al-Masry/EGY)

LONDON, Sept 21, 2008 (AFP) - Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho: the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.

The discovery of the gem, which the company said had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world, was made on September 8 at the Letseng mine in Lesotho.

BLOEMFONTEIN, September 7, 2008 (AFP) - Result of a 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup Group 5 qualifying match played in South Africa on Sunday:

Libya 1 (Ahmed Saad 84) Ghana 0

Standings (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points)

Libya 5 4 0 1 7 3 12

Gabon 5 3 0 2 7 3 9

MASERU, July 29, 2008 (AFP) - A decision by Lesotho's broadcasting authority to order the country's only private radio station off the air was slammed on Tuesday as an assault on freedom of expression by media rights activists.

MASERU, July 25, 2008 (AFP) - Britain's Prince Harry, briefly dumped by his girlfriend last year over compromising text messages, was breathing a sigh of relief on Friday after being reunited with a cell phone stolen in Lesotho.

MASERU, July 9, 2008 (AFP) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe received a show of support from the tiny kingdom of Lesotho when its prime minister told foreign powers Wednesday to respect the sovereignty of states in the region.

MASERU, July 8, 2008 (AFP) - Britain's Prince Harry was donning his work overalls on Tuesday as he joined in a project to revamp a centre for the disabled in the tiny African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, organisers said.

MASERU, April 15, 2008 (AFP) - England coach Fabio Capello gave Michael Owen a vote of confidence on Tuesday, singling out the in-form Newcastle United marksman as a key player in his qualification plans for the 2010 World Cup.

LONDON, April 14, 2008 (AFP) - England coach Fabio Capello is to make a flying visit to Lesotho as part of a FIFA initiative to help improve the standard of African grassroots football coaching ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The trip could also have the benefit for England of helping them gain support in their bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

RUSTENBURG, South Africa, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) - Platinum Stars of South Africa scored three times in six minutes en route to a 4-0 victory over Correctional Services of Lesotho Saturday in the African Champions League.

RUSTENBURG, South Africa, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) - Result of an African Champions League first round, first leg match on Saturday:

Platinum Stars (South Africa) 4 (Solomon Mathe 15, Daniel Tshabalala 16, Koketso Mmotong 20, Collen Makgopela 90+2) Correctional Services (Lesotho) 0

Second leg: Feb 29-Mar 2

MASERU, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) - Botswana's former president Sir Ketumile Masire delivered a downbeat assessment Friday of the prospects of breaking an impasse between government and opposition in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.

MASERU, Jan 31, 2008 (AFP) - Lesotho opposition leader Tom Thabane gave his backing Thursday to a bid by ex-Botswana premier Ketimule Masire to mediate an end to a standoff with the government in the troubled African mountain kingdom.

VIENNA, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) - The International Press Institute urged Lesotho to drop all charges against a local journalist arrested last year for allegedly making contact with violent government opponents, in a statement Tuesday.

MASERU, Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) - Veteran British pop star Elton John has donated 120 motorbikes to help doctors and nurses do their rounds in the mountainous southern African kingdom of Lesotho.

John, accompanied by his partner David Furnish, took time out on Saturday from a tour of South Africa to visit Lesotho for the handover ceremony just outside the capital Maseru.

MASERU, Jan 17, 2008 (AFP) - Former Malawi coach Kim Splidsboel heads the names on a four-man shortlist of foreigners drawn up by football chiefs in Lesotho to take charge of the national team.

Splidsboel, a Danish national, told AFP that he would be willing to be interviewed for the post as long as his bill for the trip to the mountain kingdom in southern Africa was picked up.

MASERU, Dec 11, 2007 (AFP) - Lesotho's capital Maseru was brought to a standstill on Tuesday as thousands of workers heeded a stay-away call by the opposition as part of long-running dispute over election results.

MASERU, Nov 2, 2007 (AFP) - Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, met Friday with AIDS orphans being cared for by a charity in Lesotho launched in memory of his late mother Princess Diana, royal sources said.

MASERU, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Lesotho's opposition leader vowed Thursday to lead a campaign of mass protests to force new elections if the government fails to agree to talks to settle a dispute over the allocation of parliamentary seats.

'We will take to the streets and exert more pressure on the government to hold fresh elections if they continue to fail to cooperate,' Tom Thabane, leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, told AFP.

MASERU, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili is to appear as a prosecution witness in the trial of a prominent journalist who has been charged with inciting political unrest, court officials said Wednesday.

A spokesman at the high court in the capital Maseru said the prime minister's office had informed them he would available from December 12 when the case against radio presenter Thabo Thakalekoala is due to resume.

LAGOS, Aug 29, 2007 (AFP) - Nigeria have picked a strong squad that includes Sunderland midfielder Dickson Etuhu and Everton forward Victor Anichebe for their final African Cup of Nations qualifier even though they have already qualified for the tournament.

Nigeria top their qualifying group with 12 points from five matches. Closest rivals Uganda are four points adrift and play Niger in the other group fixture.

Etuhu has yet to be capped by Nigeria even though he was first called up to the national team in the build-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

GABORONE, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - Angola took longer than expected to seal a 2-0 victory over Lesotho in a Castle Cup Group C semi-final Saturday.

The 2006 World Cup qualifiers snatched a 40th-minute lead through a 'Manucho' header, but had to wait until seven minutes from full-time for substitute Santana to claim the crucial second goal.

Angola were overwhelming favourites to reach the final against hosts Botswana or Namibia Sunday because of greater experience and success at international level.

MAHLASELA VALLEY, Lesotho, July 26, 2007 (AFP) - The tiny kingdom of Lesotho is the unlikely venue for ambitious plans to create the number one destination for skiers in Africa.

'This is going to be the biggest ski resort in Africa,' says Ollie Esplin, manager of the Afri-Ski resort, as he tries to explain how to minimise the risks of meltdown in Lesotho's picturesque Mahlasela Valley.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2007 (AFP) - The United States on Monday signed an aid pact with Lesotho in which the impoverished African country battling an HIV/AIDS epidemic would receive 363 million dollars to stem poverty.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili witnessed the signing of the agreement between officials of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation and the African nation.