AFRICA

First global nation branding index
Singapore ranked number 1 on the first ever nation branding index to include all the countries and territories of the world, launched by East West Communications in Washington, DC on Wednesday, 3 September 2008.

3rd Africa in Motion film festival
The 3rd Africa in Motion film festival is set to take place 23 October - 2 November 2008 at the Edinburgh Filmhouse in Scotland. AiM 2008 will be a celebration of Africa's diverse cinematic output, with a greater focus on under-represented regions and a more adventurous programme than ever before.

Naspers buys into Afrigator
BREAKING NEWS: Local social media aggregator startup Afrigator.com has sold a majority stake to MIH Print Africa, a division of the Naspers group, it was announced today, Friday, 5 September 2008.

Gcwala-Ngamasiko workshops kick off
African cultural groups from 11 countries across the continent arrived yesterday for the five-day Gcwala-Ngamasiko African Cultural and Dance Festival in South Africa.

Visual artists converge on Abuja
More than 1,500 stakeholders in the creative arts from Africa are poised to converge on Abuja on Sunday, 7 September 2008, to promote visual arts on the continent.

ADF VI to focus on gender issues
The 6th African Development Forum (ADF VI) will be convened on the theme “Action on gender equality, empowerment and ending violence against women in Africa,” from 19-21 November 2008, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ambassadors Conference spotlights Africa
Berlin: Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be hosting the heads of Germany's diplomatic missions abroad at the 8th Ambassadors Conference, which will be held at the Federal Foreign Office from 8-11 September 2008. The theme of this year's conference is “Global Security and Development: Spotlight on Africa.”

ANGOLA

Angolan media monopoly threatens election fairness
With the 5 September Angolan elections just a few days away, campaigners are busy touring the country competing for voter support. The last election in 1992 pushed Angola back into a long and bloody civil war that killed over a million people, with many more displaced. It also ushered in an era of severe repression of dissent within political and media realms.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

NORM issues summons against Exactmobile
The National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in Southern Africa (NORM) has issued a multi-million rand summons against Exactmobile.


2009 Global Mobile Awards open for entries
LONDON: Entries have opened for 2009 Global Mobile Awards and the penultimate round of its Mobile Innovation Global Competition, the GSMA announced yesterday, Wednesday, 3 September 2008. The GSMA's Global Mobile Awards are a platform for companies in the mobile industry to gain truly independent recognition for their work.

Exactmobile denies allegations made by NORM
Exactmobile responded today to a press release issued by the National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in Southern Africa (NORM). Exactmobile emphatically denies the allegation made by NORM that the company is in any way infringing the rights of NORM's members.

UGANDA

Uganda: SMS marketing irks MTN subscribers
[Walter Wafula] Mobile phone communication is meant to ease life and add flavour to it, however it is also turning out to be a nuisance to Ugandans. In the past three weeks, fed up subscribers of MTN Uganda have continuously and publicly complained of unsolicited marketing messages from the company with threats to quite its network.

Using mobile phones to fight HIV
Kampala: Uganda's rising HIV prevalence is forcing policy-makers to look for inventive ways of educating people about the virus. Their latest tool is mobile phone technology, whose rapid growth has provided an avenue that could potentially reach millions with messages.

Barclays Bank continues to lead in African airport advertising - Alliance Media
Barclays Bank has launched a dominant airport advertising campaign in Uganda where Barclays have adopted area ownership of key sites and areas within the airport, targeting arriving and departing passengers as well as the busy meet-and-greet trade.

Quo Vadis to handle CAF Southern Africa's Conference on Sustainability - Quo Vadis Communications
CAF Southern Africa has appointed Quo Vadis Communications (QVC) to work on media liaison and public relations for its two-day conference titled Innovating for Sustainability - ‘Africans investing in Africa', to be held 17 - 18 September 2008.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe: Retailers hit hard by tough cash terms
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's retail outlets are facing a fresh crisis as manufacturers and other product providers demand cash for supplies.

Commonwealth discusses solutions to rising food, fuel prices
[Walter Wafula] Finance ministers of Commonwealth member countries are scheduled to meet in St Lucia to discuss solutions to the recent rise in fuel and food prices. The meeting will be held in Castries, the capital city of St Lucia, from 6-8 October, 2008.

Mozambique: Cheap rail travel boosts cross-border trade
Angelina Sidumo is one of the hundreds of traders that throng the busy train station in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, on most Wednesday afternoons to catch the once-weekly train south to Chicualacuala town in Gaza Province, an 18-hour journey covering nearly 500km.