ZIMBABWE

Britain eases travel warning on Zim
[Dumisani Ndlela] The British foreign office has lowered its warning to citizens against traveling to Zimbabwe, relieving the hotel and leisure operators in the southern African country of its major marketing nightmare.

Kenyan filmmakers to miss Africa in Motion festival
When organisers of the Africa in Motion (AiM) film festival announced the eight shortlisted films to compete at the prestigious festival, no Kenyan film was on the list.

Tunisia internet users spend US$132,7m in B2C e-commere
A new Arab Advisors Group major survey of internet users in Tunisia revealed that 36.4% of internet users in Tunisia use e-commerce. Based on the survey results, the Arab Advisors Group estimates that Tunisia's internet users spent US$132,7m during the past 12 months in e-commerce transactions.

AFRICA

Partnership to promote leadership, scholarship in Africa
[Professor Ndawonde] The Mandela Rhodes Foundation (MRF) and the United Kingdom-owned Oxford University Press (OUP) have signed an innovative partnership which will seek to promote leadership and scholarship in Africa.

East Africa varsities join up on research
In a bid to improve their ranking in East Africa, Makerere and Kyambogo universities are taking steps to improve their research work.

Ethiopian wins the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award
Ethiopian Airlines has been awarded Corporate Achievement Award for its excellence in the airline industry by Aviation and Allied Business Publication. It has been recognised for its contribution in setting the pace in the airline industry in Africa thereby contributing significantly to socio-economic integration and development.

CENTRAL AFRICA

Absence of self-regulation undermining Malawi media
[Gregory Gondwe] The absence of self-regulation in the Malawi media is said to be undermining the media industry in the country where editorial freedom is compromised under state interference.

MTL rolls out mobile fixed phones
[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi Telecoms Limited (MTL), the country's only fixed-line operator, has launched a wireless fixed telephone, expected to give users flexibility of mobility within a coverage zone.

AFRICA

UN and GuideStar International put African charities online
GuideStar International (GSI) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) announced in August a joint venture to develop a free web portal for African civil society organisations, which will showcase the work of all NGOs, charities, non-profit organisations and community-based organisations from the smallest to the largest.

SOUTH AFRICA

Shoprite pushes its expansion harder in Africa
[Thabang Mokopanele] Food and furniture retailer Shoprite has vowed to push ahead with its expansion into Africa.

Africa must continue seeking new financial partners
African countries should continue courting new financial partners to ensure the region can implement developmental projects, says the World Bank's vice-president for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili.

Alvaro to grace Ugandan shelves before 2008 ends
[Walter Wafula] After successfully testing the Kenyan market, Alvaro a new non-alcoholic drink will be launched in Uganda as its second market, an official at East African Breweries Limited (EABL) said.

Shoprite African operations deliver strong results
[Tiisetso Motsoeneng] South African-based retailer Shoprite is confident that its African operations will maintain their strong growth rate.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Changing4ever with the Southern Africa Trust
The Change4ever campaign targets a newer generation of South Africans who believe that we need to address the causes of poverty, rather than just the symptoms - to give to a solution rather than the problem.

Vote of confidence for GTV in large investments
An additional $35m of external funding has been secured, bringing the total capital invested into the GTV business so far to almost $200m. With further investment over the coming months this makes GTV one of the biggest investments in the history of African media.