SOUTH AFRICA

[Biz Takeouts Lineup] 33: Agency focus - Native

Tonight's agency focused episode of the Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media radio show, streamed live 5pm-6pm via 2oceansVibe Radio, will feature full service digital agency, Native. The studio guest this Wednesday evening, 8 August 2012, will be Ben Wagner, head of Native Cape Town and chief marketing warrior. [twitterfall] Read more >>

AFRICA

Branding lessons from the Olympics

[Donna Rachelson] The world has caught Olympic fever and South Africans are glued to their TV screens thanks to the likes of Chad Le Clos, Cameron van der Burgh and the lightweight men's four rowing team, who have bagged three gold medals at the London 2012 Games. Read more >>

TANZANIA

Telecom revolution positions Tanzania as a powerhouse

The arrival of new submarine telecommunications cables starting in 2009, paired with government investment in the national telecommunications backbone, has spurred a revolution in Tanzania that has seen the cost of internet connectivity drop to as little as US$0.15 a day on a prepaid service. Read more >>

AFRICA

Data journalism is the future

The first Coding For Democracy Hackathon, under the umbrella of ODADI (Open Data & Democracy Initiative), was held in Cape Town, South Africa from 4-5 August 2012, with over 100 geeks, journalists and activists joining hands for a collaborative weekend of building useful apps. Read more >>

AFRICA

IT News Africa launches African Innovator magazine

The publishers of IT News Africa have launched African Innovator magazine, a quarterly magazine dedicated to the coverage of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its impact on Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

15th IACC calls for young journos from sub-Saharan Africa

Transparency International and the hosts of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference (15th IACC) invite young journalists working in the sub-Saharan Africa region to be part of the anti-corruption conference to be held in Brasilia, Brazil from 7-10 November 2012. Read more >>

COTE D'IVOIRE

Newspaper, journalist suspended

The National Press Council (CNP), the statutory regulatory body, on 3 August 2012 suspended Simplice Allard, editor-in-chief of privately-owned pro-Gbagbo newspaper Le Temps from writing for a one month period. Read more >>

UGANDA

New Vision regains top spot in Uganda's cyberspace

[Walter Wafula] New Vision has displaced Monitor Online as the most visited local website in Uganda following its redesign. The website which is the online version of The New Vision print newspaper in Uganda regained the top spot last week after the revamped version was uploaded. Read more >>

AFRICA

CDM African Radio Contest extends deadline

African journalists now have an extended two weeks to create and submit a compelling radio story on the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Read more >>

NIGERIA

Airtel sponsors Africa Business Leaders' Awards

Telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria in partnership with CNBC Africa and business news and financial information source, Forbes, have announced that they will stage this year's edition of the All Africa Business Leaders' Awards (AABLA). Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Fearless females

With so many strong, passionate women role models in the history of &Beyond, and what with it being Women's Day and Women's Day weekend, we thought a couple of tales of fearless females would be a good idea... It is no wonder that we have achieved so many firsts when it comes to women rangers. Dee Adams, who came from Londolozi with her husband Tony to help build up &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, was &Beyond's first female ranger. Read more >>

AFRICA

CNBC Africa screens Philips 'The African Dialogues'

CNBC Africa will be screening the first episode of a new series called 'The African Dialogues', a discussion of issues and topics impacting society and business in Africa. The first dialogue touches on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, which targets the reduction of the rate of child mortality rates and improving maternal health. Read more >>

CHINA

Digital Asia Festival: Matias Palm-Jensen is jury president

BEIJING, CHINA: Digital Asia Festival, the two-day event for learning, networking and celebrating Asia's best digital marketing communications, has appointed Matias Palm-Jensen, European chief innovation officer of McCann Erickson, to lead the judging process of this year's Digital Media Awards, which are central to the festival. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SABLE Accelerator launched to tap SA brainpower

PALO ALTO, US: South Africa's untapped brains trust and knowledge network of expatriate assets around the world will soon be activated to help the country be more competitive in realising a better return on innovation and entrepreneurship across both the private and public sectors. Read more >>

AUSTRALIA

The online pamperer

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Reckitt Benckiser wanted to push its Lemsip and Strepsils products for the winter season in Australia. Cold and flu medicine is not necessarily the most exciting of topics so the challenge for Holler Sydney was to inject some fun into the subject to drive sales for Lemsip and Strepsils in Australia. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Why buy a tablet?

RESTON, US: comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, has announced the launch of comScore TabLens, its monthly syndicated service providing insights into US tablet ownership and usage. Read more >>

UNITED KINGDOM

P&G's strategy delivering results on MediaCom's Olympic Twitter Tracker

LONDON, UK: Analysis: week ending 5 August 2012... With the Games in full swing, two of the sponsors who have traditionally been at the top of the rankings have seen a drop in their levels of Twitter activity. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Picture the Change finalists highlight worthy causes

Photos depicting the ravages of drug abuse contrast sharply with those of happy learners with story books; a caged leopard with lifeless eyes throws into stark relief wild horses enjoying their freedom on the beach at daybreak. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA, US sign energy deal

The Export-Import Bank of the United States and South Africa have signed a US$2bn Declaration of Intent (DoI) to help advance the country's green energy schemes. The DoI between the Export-Import Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) will to help advance the South African government's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and the South African Renewable Initiative (SARi). Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA eyes stronger relations with Jamaica

President Jacob Zuma says he would like to see increased volumes of trade and investment between South Africa and Jamaica. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Not so fine at Telkom

NEWSWATCH: It had to happen... Telkom has been fined R449m for abusing its dominance in the telecoms market, reports Mail & Guardian, which also reports that Communications Minister Dina Pule has been accused on nepotism. The M&G report says it's alleged that "Pule, alongside her alleged "romantic" interest, businessperson Phosane Mngqibisa, has connived to fill key positions in the department, the Post Office and the SABC through nepotism and the promotion of close colleagues". Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Local government warns unqualified staff cannot be fired

While the Cabinet has instructed Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi to ensure municipalities employ suitably qualified financial officers, organised local government has said councils cannot simply fire unqualified staff. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

MSC Divina to homeport from Miami for 2013-2014 winter season

For the first time ever, MSC Cruises is sending one of its acclaimed Fantasia-class ships to homeport from North America, offering guests embarking in Miami the opportunity to discover Caribbean itineraries from its largest and most celebrated class of ship. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

[Daniel Dercksen] Whether you think you are vampire savvy, or suffering from vampire overkill, Russian visionary Timur Bekmambetov's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is out of this world. It's a refreshing reboot of the genre that gives you a film that humanises vampires and turns humans into scrounging monsters who feed off greediness and supremacy. Read more >>