COTE D'IVOIRE

Cote d'Ivoire: Opposition press resumes publishing

ABIDJAN: Notre Voie, a daily that supports former President Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), was on sale yesterday, 24 May 2011, in Abidjan for the first time since Gbagbo's ouster on 11 April. The newspaper's premises had been ransacked and occupied by soldiers loyal to the new president, Alassane Ouattara, which prevented its journalists from working. Read more >>

AFRICA

SA, Africa's most valuable nation brand

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] South Africa has emerged as the most valuable nation brand on the African continent in 2011, scoring a value of US$149.7 billion, distantly followed by Egypt (US$79.2 billion) and Nigeria (US$56 billion) in third place, while MTN is voted Africa's most valuable corporate brand, according to a UK-based Brand Finance study's findings released today, Wednesday 25 May 2011, in Johannesburg by the Brand Leadership Academy. Read more >>

KENYA

AccessKenya automates its customer service

The AccessKenya group announced this week that it has completed full automation of its customer service through the acquisition and integration of the Internet Protocol Contact Manager (IPCM) and HEAT system from the US-based Frontrange Systems. The two systems have further been integrated with the new AVAYA PBX. Read more >>

AFRICA

Google doodle commemorates Africa Day

click to enlarge

Today, 25 May 2011, marks Africa Day; the day in 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union, was founded. Google, as it does with other significant days in the year, has dedicated it's doodle to Africa. View the Africa Day Google Doodle.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwean faces trial for Facebook protest posts

A Zimbabwean will go on trial next month over a Facebook post that pro-democracy protests in Egypt had sent shockwaves to the world's dictators and were worth imitating, a report said Tuesday (24 May 2011). Read more >>

AFRICA

AU prepares for Africa Day celebrations

The African Union (AU) will join the rest of the continent in observing Africa Day today, 25 May 2011. Several activities to mark the day have been organised at the headquarters of the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme, "Accelerating youth empowerment for sustainable development". Read more >>

AFRICA

Africa Day focuses on Youth and Development in 2011

Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent; it is rich in diversity, abundant in ethnicity and bursting with languages. Africa Day (25 May), which marks the founding in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union, provides an annual opportunity to reflect on the challenges and achievements of the governments and peoples of Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

Expo to mark Africa Day

The Africa Institute of South Africa (Aisa) will host an Africa Expo and an international conference as part of its Africa Week programme. Aisa is a science council whose mission is to conduct socio-economic and political research on the continent. Although it first came into being as an NGO, today it's a statutory body under the Africa Institute of South Africa Act of 2001, and is supported by the Department of Science and Technology. Read more >>

AFRICA

New Africa appointments for Nokia

Delia Sieff, head of Nokia communications for sub-Saharan Africa has been appointed head of communications for the Middle East and Africa. Sieff joined Nokia in February 2008 and now takes over responsibility for nine key sub-regions comprising around 25 countries across MEA. Tania Steenkamp, who previously headed up communications in South Africa, now moves to the role of social media communications manager for the Middle East and Africa. In her new role, she will oversee the progress of social media integration in Nokia's operations across Africa and the Middle East

MALAWI

Malawi: Mutharika announces zero-deficit 2011 budget

[Gregory Gondwe] The pulling out of donors in Malawi forced President Bingu wa Mutharika to announce on Monday, 23 May 2011 that, for the first time ever, Malawi will run a zero-deficit national budget. The announcement was made during his state of the nation address for 2011 which signaled the opening of the 2011/2012 budget meeting in Lilongwe. Read more >>

AFRICA

Western Union, USAID to launch second African Diaspora Marketplace

WASHINGTON, DC: Global payment services company Western Union, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), early last week announced their plan to launch a second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) in the fourth quarter of 2011. The ADM aims to encourage sustainable economic growth and employment by supporting US-based African Diaspora entrepreneurs with innovating and high-impact ideas for start-up and established businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Business Day's 'Keep Up' campaign wins global marketing award

NEW YORK, US: Keep Up was a deceptively simple, yet innovative marketing campaign for Business Day - and it has won a global award for BDFM, publishers of one of South Africa's leading business newspapers. Other SA winners included the Cape Argus, Cape Town, Daily News, Durban, and The Times, Johannesburg. Read more >>

FRANCE

Cannes Lions awards Sir John Hegarty with first Lion of St Mark

CANNES, FRANCE: The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, claimed to be one of the world's largest international annual awards, will inaugurate a new accolade at this year's event - the Lion of St Mark. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Tourism celebrates Kirstenbosch win

Kirstenbosch has done it again - winning yet another gold medal, its 31st - at the Chelsea Flower Show in the UK. Let's celebrate. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA goes fishing in Africa for more tourism arrivals, revenue

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] In its quest to become one of the world's top tourism destinations and take its tourism sector to another level, South Africa has embarked on an ambitious continental marketing adventure, investing over R60 million to market itself 'aggressively' in Africa, and identifying Kenya, DRC, Nigeria and Angola as four key markets to serve as the continent's tourism launchpads. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SAMA 2011 winners

The SAMA organisers have congratulated the winners at the 17th MTN South African Music Awards, held recently at Montecasino. Over 5000 guests and members of the public attended the ceremony and the performances were broadcast live on SABC1, as well as by a live webcast backstage show. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

What a drag it is getting old

[Johann Smith] I once had the privilege of having a tête-à-tête with Hannes Smith, Namibian journalist, muckraker, animal lover and enigma, in his late stages of Alzheimer's. Of the many colourful stories and anecdotes of Hitler and the first tarred road he recalled in his 50 years of reporting, he told me of a bitter-sweet affair of his first love. Midway through, he stopped. Waiting with an insatiable urge, I implored him to carry on. He replied with those tear-filled glassy eyes that only elderly folks have and muttered to the ceiling: "Do you want me to cry?" Read more >>