KENYA

Crazy about Kenya
Art and happening hip hop - putting a positive vibe back into Kenya.

AFRICA

TFF launches bid for tourism recovery
The Tourism Trust Fund (TTF) is launching a series of e-tourism seminars on 3-6 June 2008 as part of their efforts to get the damaged tourism sector back on track and to look at how technology can be used in recovery initiatives.


Chinese investors visit Malawi
[Gregory Gondwe] A 46-strong Chinese delegation is visiting Malawi from May 13, 2008 to May 16 to explore investment opportunities in the southern African state.

Interactive 2010 website to update stakeholders
[Michael Appel] As part of an initiative to get 2010 FIFA World Cup stakeholders in touch and keep them as up-to-date with preparations and events as possible, South African Tourism (SAT) has launched the SAT Events Portal.

BOTSWANA

SA brand agency embroiled in Botswana plagiarism row
NEWSWATCH: A South African branding company is under fire in Botswana, having been accused of plagiarising the US$7 billion brand owned by the Russian Beeline Mobile.

Malawi bank rolls out internet banking
[Gregory Gondwe] Standard Bank of Malawi has rolled out an internet banking facility becoming the country's second bank where customers can access banking services from any corner of the world.

AFRICA

Yahsat to provide satellite coverage of Africa
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) is planning to build two satellites including one in 2010 and the second in 2011 allowing it to provide complete interconnectivity on C Band to Africa from the Middle East and Europe. A statement issued by the company's account executive Ursula Mabope said that they have signed an agreement with Arianespace to launch the Yahsat 1A satellite in the second half of 2010.

Nokia Siemens Networks celebrates first anniversary
[David Muwanga] Nokia Siemens Networks has celebrated its first year of operation and target meeting rural connectivity and energy efficiency challenges in future. According to a statement issued recently, the Nokia Siemens Networks has in the last one year seen an eventful and strong first year as part of its rapid transformation to support the growth of the connected world in the Middle East and Africa region.

A new, improved Afrigator
African social media aggregator Afrigator yesterday, Wednesday, 14 May 2008, went live with version two of its public beta. Improvements concentrate on layout and usability, functionality, relevance, personalisation and stats. “We spent a lot of time simply thinking about what would make us want to use Afrigator more, and discovered some pretty basic flaws that needed changing. The site is not 100% yet but we definitely believe it's moving in the right direction. These are truly exciting times for us at Afrigator,” comments Mike Stopforth, one of the co-founders. For more, go to the Afrigator blog.

Jo'burg prepares for Africa Day
[Lesego Madumo] The City of Johannesburg is gearing for this year's Africa Day, on 25 May, which will see workshops and exhibitions exploring complex questions and concerns, while music, dance, poetry and arts and crafts will add a lighter note.

AFRICA

CNN Multichoice African Journalist 2008 finalists
Finalists in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2008 Competition were announced yesterday, Thursday, 15 May 2008, by Azubuike Ishiekwene, chair of the independent judging panel. This year the competition, now in its 13th year, received a record 1912 entries from 44 countries throughout the African continent, including French- and Portuguese-speaking Africa.

Thumbs up for SA's first Mega Media Expo 2008! - CADEK Media
The first Mega Media Expo was successfully staged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week and more than 2000 people attended this trade show. Both visitor and exhibitor gave very positive feedback.

KENYA

Telkom Kenya signs $148 million agreement with Ericsson
[Zachary Ochieng] The stage is set for stiff competition in the mobile telephony sector as Telkom Kenya Limited, the former sole fixed line operator, prepares to roll out its Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network by September this year. As part of the preparations for the roll-out, Telkom Kenya last week signed an agreement with Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant as the sole equipment supplier for its ambitious network.

Orange to peddle iPhone in Africa
[Rachelle Crum] Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, has signed a new deal with Apple to offer the iPhone to its customers in several parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The company already has an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the phone in France.

Glo-ing new expansion contract
Alcatel-Lucent announced yesterday, 15 May, that it has signed a contract with Globacom (Glo), Nigeria's second largest national operator to extend the network capacity and performance of Globacom's mobile and fixed networks.

ZIMBABWE

SA newspapers face distribution veto in Zim
[Dumisani Ndlela] The distribution of South African and other international newspapers could be banned or restricted under measures meant to limit their import into Zimbabwe.

Gov't puts pressure on newsprint producer ahead of run off
[Dumisani Ndlela] The Zimbabwe government is exerting pressure on Mutare Board and Paper Mills (MBPM) to increase newsprint supplies to the state-controlled newspaper group, Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers), whose publications it hailed for “standing firm in defence of national institutions” during the March 29 elections.

Opposition website blocked as Egypt hosts African telecoms conference
On 12 May 2008, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information reported that the website of the Egyptian Movement for Change, or Kefaya, has been blocked for those who have Internet access through the T-Data Company. T-Data, the country's largest Internet service provider, has been under direct government oversight since 4 May.

Hackers target Herald website
The website of Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper was hacked over the weekend - an apparent backlash by Zimbabweans who have been openly plotting to “jam Zanu PF communications” on internet chatrooms.

A global statement - Global Outdoor Systems
After many months of preparation, planning and high level negotiations with the government in Cameroon, Global Outdoor Systems found itself in a position to present MTN with a landmark branding opportunity in Yaoundé.


Micro Dart Ad revolutionises point-of-purchase - Right Stuff
The Micro Dart Ad is the latest addition to Right Stuff's ever-growing, ever-popular Dart Ad range. Standing at around 50cm in height, the Micro Dart Ad enters the point-of-purchase sector with an impact far greater than its diminutive size suggests.

NIGERIA

Emergency rice import for Nigeria cancelled
A decision by the Nigerian government to reverse an earlier decision to import 50,000 metric tonnes of rice from Thailand to ease supply pressures on rice in Africa's most populous country was met with mixed reactions.

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe lifts tax on food imports
Zimbabwe's government has suspended duty on basic commodity imports for 90 days, after heavy rains and the failure to supply agricultural inputs led to a maize shortfall predicted by government at about one million tonnes.

Zimbabwe suspends duty on flour, cooking oil
Zimbabwe on Tuesday, 13 May, suspended import duty on some basic commodities, including cooking oil and flour, in response to a sharp spike in prices following the flotation of the local currency by the central bank last month.

RBZ launches new Z$500 million bank note
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, grappling with record-breaking inflation, has introduced a new Z$500 million bank note barely two weeks after issuing Z$250 million and Z$100 million denominations.

Toxic grain threatens Nigerian food security
The hospitalisation of 116 girls after consuming beans sprayed with harmful pesticides at a secondary school in northern Nigeria's Gombe State on 18 April has raised concerns about how dry foods are stored all around the country.

Angola reports economic growth of 15% per year
The annual average rate of growth of Angola's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached 15% over the last eight years, the Angolan Deputy Minister of Planning Carlos Alberto Lopes has said.

ZIMBABWE

Advertisers desert Zim state broadcaster
[Dumisani Ndlela] The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings board chairman Justin Mutasa says advertisers have deserted its broadcasting operations, admitting that poor programming has crippled operations - but he blamed the crisis on sacked CEO Henry Muradzikwa, whom he accused of running down operations by not consulting the board and government.