SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa continues as a valuable brand

Brand Finance and Brand Africa have named South Africa as the leading country brand on the continent in the top ten Most Valuable African Nation Brand list for the second successive year. Read more >>

NIGERIA

SEPLAT celebrates World Environment Day

Nigerian indigenous petroleum exploration and development firm, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Limited has unveiled its plans to celebrate this year's World Environment Day, which takes place annually on 5 June. Read more >>

AFRICA

PennWell appoints sales director for Africa

PennWell Corporation, a global information and conference and exhibition company, has announced the appointment of Andrew Evans as the sales director for its Africa operations, effective 1 June 2012. Read more >>

NIGERIA

Nigerian lifestyle app re-released on BlackBerry App World

One Number, earlier this week announced the re-release of Nigeria's lifestyle app, Essential App. The free-to-download app is now a featured item on Blackberry App World and provides useful information such as cinema times, foreign exchange rates, flight schedules and business directories. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

A2P SMS messaging continues to grow

[Dr Pieter Streicher] Companies should be careful of buying into the doomsday predictions around the demise of SMS. If they do, they will risk missing out on the excellent business opportunities that the SMS channel offers them. Read more >>

LIBERIA

Court grants Lonestar Cell MTN 'stay order'

Lonestar Cell MTN has welcomed a court decision granting the mobile operator a "stay order" against the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA)'s resolution to suspend its operating licence. The regulator recently advised Lonestar Cell MTN that it would suspend its operating licence for two weeks after it disconnected its competitor, Comium, for unpaid interconnection fees spanning more than a year. Lonestar Cell MTN remains committed to engage with the LTA to establish the meaning and terms of the suspension with a view to resolving the impasse.

SUDAN

Sudan blocks distribution of largest daily

KHARTOUM: Sudan's state security agency on Monday [4 June 2012] blocked distribution of the country's largest-circulation newspaper, which has criticised talks between Sudan and South Sudan, the newspaper's boss said. Read more >>

AFRICA

E-commerce in Africa: Not quite ready for take-off

Lack of bandwidth is not the only factor hampering the development of e-commerce and online business in Africa, says Peter Harvey, founder and managing director of PayGate, an online payments solution provider. Harvey add that the continent also needs a much more sophisticated financial infrastructure. Read more >>

KENYA

AVU and iHub Research partner for mobile learning research

African Virtual University (AVU) and the iHub Research yesterday, 4 June 2012, signed an agreement to strengthen research on mobile learning in Africa. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr. Bakary Diallo, rector of AVU and Jessica Colaco, research lead and manager at the iHub Research. Read more >>

KENYA

Kenya's retail sector seeks development policy

[Carole Kimutai: @CaroleKimutai] For the fifth year running, the National Economic Survey has identified the retail and wholesale trade sectors as key growth drivers of Kenya's economy. In 2011, the wholesale and retail trade sector showed a growth 7.3%, beating the manufacturing, building and construction, agriculture, transport and communication sectors. Read more >>

AFRICA

Skills transfer best for productivity

[Rufaz Marufu Mavure] In today's business world there is cut throat competition and playing fields have changed. Gone are the days when people would stick to their systems and process for years. The only constant we face in business is change itself. Read more >>

AFRICA

VIMN Africa announces pay-tv deal for BET

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) has announced that the general entertainment network BET is set to expand its African TV footprint following the signing of a new distribution deal that will see BET distributed on the My TV pay-TV platform. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Advertisers, agencies, media buyers: Surviving the Upfronts in a Cross-Media World

RESTON, US: comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, has released a report entitled Surviving the Upfronts in a Cross-Media World, an actionable guide for success in navigating the cross-media landscape during this year's TV and digital upfronts. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

NASDAQ readies payouts for Facebook IPO glitch

NEW YORK, US: NASDAQ is taking steps toward compensating investor losses due to computer glitches that fouled trading on the first day of Facebook's US$16 billion IPO, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday. Read more >>

FRANCE

AFP to launch iPad app in Arabic

PARIS, FRANCE: The new offering is a free app from the App Store allowing access to a selection of news stories, photographs, video and graphics produced by the agency's Arabic editorial desk backed by a global network of AFP journalists. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Microsoft links Xbox with smartphones, tablets

LOS ANGELES, US: Microsoft on Monday, 4 June 2012, stepped up its quest to be at the heart of home entertainment by synching Xbox 360 videogame consoles to smartphones and tablets while adding more blockbuster content. Read more >>

GERMANY

World Publishing Expo (IFRA Expo) makes a move

PARIS, FRANCE AND DARMSTADT, GERMANY: The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), is moving its World Publishing Expo from Madrid to Frankfurt in October 2012 in response to exhibitors' requests for a more central European location for their customers. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

World Environment Week: We can all contribute to a greener economy

In keeping with the spirit of World Environment Week, encompassing World Environment Day on 5 June 2012, the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) supports all endeavours, both personal and commercial, to observe this year's theme titled 'Green Economy: does it include you?' Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Govt committed to working with mining industry

Government remains committed to working with the mining industry to enable it to achieve optimal returns on investment in a manner that will serve the best medium and long term interests of all South Africans. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Rail chief slaps down 'arrogant' BBC attack

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA's (Prasa's) R123bn fleet renewal programme will not be held to ransom by the political interests of a black business interest group, says Prasa CEO Lucky Montana. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA seeks debt clarity under Basel 3 terms

The Reserve Bank's registrar of banks, Rene van Wyk, is scheduled to meet the Basel committee in the next two weeks to iron out issues that could help ease the liquidity concerns facing South African banks. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Police who don't report abuse must be charged

Police members that fail to report police abuse or fail to report abuse within 24 hours, should be criminally charged, Francois Beukman, the Executive Director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said on Monday. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Ballooning costs hit Eskom

Delays in road infrastructure spending and poor coal volume and quality at some mines, resulting in the purchase of more expensive coal, are the main challenges influencing primary energy costs at Eskom. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Gizmos and glitter for VW's flagship

[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] Volkswagen has prettied up and added more glitter to its already good-looking four-door coupé range and this time round the CC might just rattle the comfort zone cages of the Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series in key departments such as ride quality, comfort, performance and looks. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

13 Protea Hospitality Group hotels in SA achieve TripAdvisor Excellence Awards

Establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews. That's the criterion for TripAdvisor's annual Excellence Awards and 13 Protea Hospitality Group properties within South Africa have been named as recipients. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Le Franschhoek tops with Tripadvisor

Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa, managed by Three Cities, has been awarded TripAdvisor's 2012 Certificate of Excellence. The award, based on scoring by TripAdvisor's numerous international travellers, is an on-going acknowledgement of Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa as a five star property with outstanding facilities including the acclaimed Dish and Le Verger restaurants and destination Camelot Spa, earning the hotel the exceptional achievement of a 4 out of 5 rating. Read more >>