AFRICA

African showcase at Africa Investment Forum
12 African nations will showcase their major investment projects at the Africa Investment Forum, 18 - 19 November 2008, to an international audience of business and public sector leaders.

Summit ends with no agreement reached on Zimbabwe
[Michael Appel] JOHANNESURG: Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction leader and Prime Minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai told media early Monday morning, 10 November 2008, he rejected SADC's proposal of co-managing the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Elias Mugari, "Obama has had a profound effect on many Zimbabweans"
Businessman Elias Mugari squeezed into a crowded hotel lobby in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 5 November to watch a TV tuned to a satellite broadcast of the victory speech of US President-elect Barack Obama. With tears in his eyes, he told IRIN what he hoped an Obama presidency would mean for his crisis-ridden country.

AFRICA

Digitisation imperative in Africa - AFRICAST 2008
The 7th Biennial Conference of Africa Broadcasters, AFRICAST, was held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, Nigeria, in mid-October 2008. The theme of the conference was Digitisation and the Challenges of Broadcasting featuring the presentation of erudite papers by eminent scholars, professionals, veterans and captains of the industry from Africa and beyond.

Nigeria, Uganda to dominate AfricaCom Awards
Nigerian and Ugandan mobile, telecommunications and internet service providers are set to dominate the forthcoming AfricaCom Awards to be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, set for November 18, 2008.

AFRICA

Media leaders call for media development in Africa
DAKAR: Over 32 CEOs of African media organisations met in Dakar, Senegal from 3 - 4 November 2008 and called for a stronger push for media development in Africa, and agreed to collaborate so that media can play a more proactive role in Africa's development.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Summer academy for SADC journalists
The Institute for Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) and the German-based International Institute for Journalism (IIJ), in conjunction with the Durban University of Technology (DUT), are hosting a 'Summer Academy' entitled "Freedom and Responsibility in the Media: Towards Sustainable Quality Journalism in the SADC Region".

Eastern African Media - more focus on gender issues
ETHIOPIA: Media will not grow unless they give serious attention to gender issues, said secretary general of Eastern African Journalists Association, Omar Faruk on the first regional conference on gender held late last month at the Sudanese Journalist's Union (SJU) in Khartoum.

Tanzania: Media march for press freedom
Tanzania's journalists took to the streets of Dar es Salaam last week to protest against the three-month banning of a newspaper that exposed official corruption. According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), it was the first time in Tanzania's history that journalists marched against the government, accusing it of trying to stifle media freedom.

Zain wants a bigger slice of Africa
Even with the economic recession clouding the global economy, Kuwait-based mobile telecommunications company, Zain is eyeing acquisitions in Africa and the Middle East worth US$4 billion by 2010, said chief executive Saal al-Barrak last week.

Vision Africa - 100% Namibian - Vision Africa
“We are proudly Namibian," says new MD of Vision Africa, Cornelius D'Alton. "There has been a change of ownership at Vision Africa and we are now 100% Namibian-owned.” Not only is the company completely local, but the new majority shareholder is a Black Economic Empowerment company.