MMP rebrands to Media Monitoring Africa
The Media Monitoring Project has rebranded to become Media Monitoring Africa and relaunched their website, all this coinciding with its 15-year anniversary. The name change represents a realignment of their corporate identity to be more in-line with the work they do.

Microsoft to provide ICTs to 45 million Africans by 2010
Microsoft Africa chairman, Dr. Cheik Diarra, has vowed to empower as many as 45 million people on the continent with ICTs by 2010. He said it is his wish is to leave a legacy of having provided technology to the most remote areas of the continent.

SOUTH AFRICA

Hundreds of SADC media houses launch HIV/AIDS policies
[Arthur Okwemba & Dumisani Gandhi] Today, Monday, 1 December 2008, over 130 media houses in 11 countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have publicly launched HIV and AIDS policies as part of commemorations to mark World AIDS Day. The climax of a three-year Media Action Plan (MAP) on HIV and AIDS and Gender, simultaneous launches will take place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia.

GHANA

Ghanaian reporter wins FPA Media Award
Ghanaian reporter Ibrahim Sannie Daara, a BBC journalist, along with his two colleagues Gavin Lee and Edward Main, won the Best Sports Story of the Year award at the Foreign Press Association Media Awards (FPA Media Awards) in Britain.

Yu launches in Kenya
[Titus Kaloki] Kenya has made a giant step in it's telecommunications market with the launch of Essar-powered Yu. The licence awarded to Africa's telecom heavy-weight, Econet in September 2007 has seen legal battles with a Kenyan consortium that claimed a share and culminated in Essar, an Indian investment giant with also big interests in Kenya's petroleum industy, buying Econets stake.

Hellas Sat provides Gateway with Ku-band capacity
LONDON: Gateway Communications, a leading provider of African telecommunications services, has signed a deal with Hellas Sat which will provide an additional 36 meg of capacity over Southern Africa. Hellas Sat, the owner and operator of the Hellas-Sat 2 satellite, located at 39° East, will provide Gateway with Ku-band capacity.

EAST AFRICA

2008 EAPRA Conference rescheduled
The planned 2008 EAPRA conference that was due to take place on December 4-5, 2008 has been rescheduled. A new date will be communicated by the end of December.

AFRICA

AU and NEPAD structures to integrate
The NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) hosted an Ambassador and Executive Dinner on 3 November, 2008 to discuss the integration of NEPAD into the African Union structures, as well as to provide an update on the developments of the NBF over the past 18 months.

Engen invests extra $10 million in Zambia
Engen has invested an extra US$10 million in Engen Petroleum Zambia Limited (EPZL). The South African company made the announcement at a red carpet event on Thursday, 27 November, attended by dignitaries including Zambia's Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry; the Malaysian Ambassador to Zambia and Zimbabwe; and the South African High Commissioner to Zambia.

Cote d'Ivoire: Farmers return to land in west after deadly clashes
DAKAR: Some 70 long-displaced farmers returned this week to a cocoa plantation in western Côte d'Ivoire, despite deadly clashes triggered when armed youths tried to block their return.