CENTRAL AFRICA

Chinese minister in DRC to finalise deals
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, 8 January, to formalise a series of recent deals between the two countries, officials said.

A recycled laptop's journey, Part 2: Doing the job right
Precious, rare earth and base metals -- such as indium, lithium, bismuth, ruthenium, platinum, nickel and gold -- are essential to producing PCs, and prices for them have been rising dramatically in recent years.

Going digital is a lifestyle choice
[Atul Gupta] ‘Digital lifestyle' is a term to which many people can relate. Its prevalence in society as a way to describe the mass appeal and acquisition of next generation multi-media, multi-functional equipment reinforces the ubiquitous quality of the technology itself.


Zimbabweans stockpiling as people fear the 'Kenya syndrome'
Post-election violence in Kenya is creating pre-election nervousness among Zimbabwe's voters ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in March, and people are beginning to stockpile food in the event of any possible unrest.

Zambia: Mining companies accused of environmental negligence
Zambia's mines are coming under increasing and sustained criticism for repeatedly polluting drinking water sources in the Copperbelt mining region, the country's economic heartland.

Great race to State House proves costly for Kenya
[Carole Kimutai] It has cost hundreds of lives, and unrest following the disputed election has also cost the Kenyan government KSh2bn daily in revenues.

Zim advertising awards go ahead despite lack of new campaigns
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's Advertising Publicity Club is organising its annual competition for the advertising industry, despite a dearth of new campaigns due to an economic crisis that has stunted growth and limited new advertising campaigns in a once vibrant sector.

Arrive Alive campaign in Uganda drives the message home
The Arrive Alive road safety campaign in Uganda was initiated as a vehicle to emphasize safe driving practices and reduce the number of accidents on Uganda's roads over the festive season. The integrated media campaign included radio, press and outdoor.


Seychelles tourism campaign gets a boost
CNN will deliver the Seychelles Tourism Board's first pan-European advertising campaign to an international audience, promoting the group of islands as a leading holiday destination.

Call for design :output
For those design students who aren't satisfied to see their projects dumped in the back of a drawer once critiqued by lecturers, :output offers these works one last chance to see the light of day.

UGANDA

ICT sector registers double digit growth
[David Muwanga] Uganda's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has registered a double digit growth since 2000 and grew by 33% in 2006/2007, according to a report released by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA).

ALGERIA

Reshuffles in the Algerian Public ICT
[Laeed Zaghlami] Algeria's minister of ICT, Boujemaa Haichour has appointed Mouloud Djaziri as Algerie Telecom's (AT) new director general. This comes one week after he accepted the retirement of the director general of Mobilis Hachemi Belhamidi and the appointment of Belhamidi's replacement, Lounis Belharat.

US donates VSAT to AU Mission in Somalia
[Andualem Gessesse] The US Ambassador to the African Union (AU), Cindy Courville, has presented a vertical communication satellite equipped with Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) link to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Using offline marketing to grow your online business
[Michael Fleischner] Whether you are an Internet marketer or generalist, turning prospects into buyers is a top priority. Many marketers are continually testing the success of various media and integrated campaigns. One of the most frequently asked questions is the effectiveness of "off-line marketing" as it related to driving traffic and conversions on your website of landing page.

KENYA

Nairobi to host banking technology conference
[David Muwanga] Africa's banking sector will gather in Nairobi from 15 - 22 February 2008 to share knowledge on technological developments and best practices.

IBJ Awards to honour top business reporters
[Walter Wafula] Eleven top business reporters will on March 7, 2008 win various awards and prizes such as laptops, cameras, airtime, mobile phones and cash in the second version of the annual Image Business Journalism Awards, organized by Corporate Image Limited, a new business communications firm.

New members join MDDA board
The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is a statutory development agency for promoting, supporting and ensuring media development and diversity, set up as a partnership between the South African Government and major print and broadcasting media companies, in terms of the MDDA Act No. 14 of 2002.

UNESCO helps Malawi media on Access to Information Bill
[Gregory Gondwe] The Malawi National Commission for UNESCO has joined hands with several media bodies in the country in a final ditch attempt to impress on authorities to enact the Access to Information Bill.

EGYPT

Egypt's first SMS divorce?
An Egyptian woman is seeking clarification from a court on whether her husband's declaration of divorce by text message is legally valid, a state-run newspaper reported.

AFRICA

Econet cellphone lines on the SA market
Econet simcards have become the latest commodity not readily available in Zimbabwe but to flood markets in neighbouring countries.

UGANDA

Ugandans have new telecoms operator
[Walter Wafula] New telecommunications' player Warid Telecom, with roots in the United Arab Emirates officially started its operations in Uganda on January 9.

Steady growth in Nigerian telecommunications
The installed capacity of telecommunications operators in Nigeria has reached 70 million lines - this is according to figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Mobile reporters give a voice to Kenyan voters
With a media blackout in Kenya mobile phones played a vital role in covering the Kenya elections and now they are playing an even more important role in covering those elections bloody aftermath.

Zim newspapers cut subscription periods as economy continues to bite
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's privately owned newspapers have drastically reduced subscription periods due to ravaging inflation, which surpassed 8000% year on year in August.

Price reduction, anyone? - Right Stuff
With every New Year comes new challenges, opportunities, new jobs, perhaps a new school for the kids... as well as the inevitable (and usually dreaded) price increases. No matter what, you can always be assured that one or more services that you subscribe to will send you a letter or e-mail advising you that, despite their greatest efforts (hmmm...), they have no alternative but to increase their fees for the new year... just like last year, the year before that, and the year before that one.

Zim to produce elephant biltong
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe plans to produce biltong from elephant meat to sell in retail outlets throughout the country "as part of sustainable utilisation of the animals," the Herald online said recently.

Kenya: It's the economy, stupid (not “tribalism”)
The wave of violence that engulfed Kenya after the presidential election has been widely described as tribal or ethnic in nature. But analysts in the east African country point to basic economics as the true cause of the unrest.

AFRICA

Don't impose food price controls, warns World Bank
Food prices have risen nearly 75% within a decade and will continue to do so, hurting the poor, warned the World Bank's annual Global Economic Prospects 2008, which suggested that governments ease control over food prices and provide targeted safety nets.

After-effects of poll clashes hit northern Kenya
Post-election violence has affected northeastern Kenya's vital livestock trade and resulted in increased food prices and shortages, local traders said.

Kenya to be hit by food shortage after poor rains
The long-term implications of last year's poor rain seasons in the Greater Horn of Africa region, affecting mostly Kenya, will be bleak.

ZIMBABWE

Mugabe's nephew to get TV licence
The government is on the verge of granting President Robert Mugabe's nephew, Phillip Chiyangwa, an operating licence for the second terrestrial television network in Zimbabwe.


Kenyans to produce a new East African drama
[Carole Kimutai] M-Net has confirmed its partnership with Big Ideas Entertainment, a Kenyan TV company that has been commissioned to produce pay-channel's first ever East-African drama series. The news comes five months after M-Net first revealed its intention to create a regionalized drama series.