AFRICA

Global economic turmoil should not affect 2010
[Bathandwa Mbola] MOSSEL BAY: The current global financial turmoil should not affect government's guarantees towards hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, says South African Trade and Industry Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa.

Gambian cinema on the African Movie Channel
The African Movie Channel features its first ever Gambian film this October, "Arrou" (Prevention), an award-winning film from the stables of Vinasha Productions of The Gambia.

Directed by Segun Oguntola, and starring Modou Musa Ceesay, Awa Gassama, Alagie Saihou Saar, Habibatou Jallow, "Arrou" won Best Contribution to African Film and TV Development at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMA Awards) in 2006, and screened at the 2007 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

2009 D&AD design entry fee cut, juries announced
Announced by D&AD on Friday, 17 October 2008, was a price cut across design categories in order to encourage a diverse range of entries, as well as the members of the design juries for the D&AD Awards 2009.

AFRICA

Bridging the digital divide in Lyon
LYON: The international Lyon Conference for Digital Solidarity will be hosted on 24 November, 2008 at the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a proposal made by the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, and under the French presidency of the European Union.

The global village is slowly going digital
Computers are increasingly ubiquitous in the developing world as software and internet companies create operating systems, computing programmes, and web-based portals in hundreds of indigenous languages.

ZIMBABWE: School's really out
HARARE: The collapse of Zimbabwe's education system, once heralded as sub-Saharan Africa's finest, is being compared to a situation usually experienced by countries at war.

AFRICA

IFRC promoting 'good news' on Africa
JOHANNESBURG: "Believe in Africa" is an initiative launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on the occasion of the 7th Pan African Conference that will gather representatives of the 53 African Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Africa in Johannesburg from 19 - 22 October, 2008.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe: Newsprint shortage hits newspaper industry
An unprecedented shortage of newsprint has hit the newspaper industry after the local paper producer shut down its plants over “technical problems.”

MACRA shuts down Joy Radio
[Gregory Gondwe] The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has shut down Joy Radio Station with immediate effect after revoking its license for "breaching its license conditions."

Lack of HR development hampers telecom industry in Africa
African nations are pushing for human resource development in the telecom sector to enhance growth, according to speakers at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) workshop in Zambia this week.

So what are savvy shoppers doing?
A new study released in the US reveals which consumer groups are most likely to spend during challenging economic times, and how behaviour-based segmentation helps retailers improve strategies to connect with consumers. The study applies to US consumers but South African and African marketers and retailers will find parallels with the local market.

IMF predicts major global slowdown amid financial crisis
According to the International Monetary Fund, the present economic crisis is on such a scale that even advanced economies are expected to go through a period of extremely sluggish growth or contraction in 2008 and the first half of 2009, and experience only a modest upturn in the latter part of the year.