Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai calls for urgent assistance
Morgan Tsvangirai, invested as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe as part of a power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe, called for international support to help raise the country off its economic haunches at the signing of the agreement in the capital, Harare.


BUSA welcomes Zimbabwe's MoU
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has welcomed the signing of the political deal in Zimbabwe yesterday morning, 15 September 2008, in Harare, Zimbabwe. It congratulated the three principal players in the deal, namely President Robert Mugabe, ZANU PF and the leaders of the two MDC formations, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara respectively.

UGANDA

New magazine to bridge sports gap in Uganda
[Walter Wafula] Sports Replay, a new home-grown glossy magazine has hit Kampala's streets, designed with diverse content for Ugandan sports fans. The publication was launched this September and is retailing at UGX2,000, ($1,2) in Uganda, the lowest price of a magazine of its quality on the market.

ZIMBABWE

MISA appeals for transformation of ZBC into independent PSB
MISA-Zimbabwe believes the media and most critically radio and television, because of their wider reach, play a critical role in creating the required platform for national dialogue that will input into the envisaged era of national healing, stability, harmony, reconciliation and economic development.

Eastern African media institutions collaborate for journalistic freedoms
The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), in collaboration with the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), organised a regional conference on "Challenges and Obstacles of Practicing Journalism in Eastern Africa" in Djibouti, in August 2008.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe: Abnormal phone usage stunts cellular network growth
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's largest cellular network operator, Econet Wireless says its network expansion had been stunted by abnormal phone usage on its network, with the subscriber base growing by a mere 3% during the 2008 financial year.

Telkom Kenya to shake up mobile industry
Telkom Kenya is finalising preparations for the rollout of its GSM network later this week. Kenya's mobile market is the largest in East Africa and has experienced exponential growth in recent years with the number of mobile phone subscribers growing from 900,000 in June 2002 to 11,5 million in May 2008.

ZAMBIA

Zambia media welcome online Watchdog
[Gregory Gondwe] The newly launched Zambian online newspaper, The Watchdog is expected to change the media terrain in the country, according to the paper's editor Lloyd Himaambo.

8 Image & Brand Consultancy signs with MBP
8 Image & Brand Consultancy, a strategic brand and design agency in Africa, has appointed Marcus Brewster Publicity (MBP) as its PR agency. The profile-driven public relations strategy will be handled out of MBP's Johannesburg office. 8 Image & Brand specialises in brand marketing, strategy and design from offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Lagos and representation in Dubai and London.

SOUTH AFRICA

Capacity constraints hinder Africa's export performance
[Michael Appel] Capacity constraints are the main obstacle in improving Africa's export performance.

Solutions for a new energy future in Africa
An Energy Solutions for Africa Conference and Exhibition will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 28 - 29 January 2009. The conference aims to provide a unique platform for ambassadors from Africa in both public and private sectors to debate, develop solutions and collaborate in order to share best practices for Africa.

BANKSERV confirms FIN-X acquisition
Johannesburg: Automated clearing house, BANKSERV has confirmed the acquisition of FIN-X, a company providing SWIFT bureau services and OFAC security filtering to commercial banks and financial institutions throughout Africa and the Middle East.