Headlines
MarketingZIMBABWE Zimbabwe: Call to suspend diamonds from the Kimberley ProcessCivil society is calling for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Kimberley Process, an international certification scheme to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the multibillion dollar market. SOUTH AFRICA Zimbabwe: Cholera crisis? What cholera crisis?In a move that has stunned Western observers, Mugabe has announced that that country's doctors have arrested the cholera epidemic. BOTSWANA Why Debswana tourism project was abandonedWhen Blackie Marole took over as Debswana managing director he made it clear that he wanted the mining giant to focus on its core business - mining. ZIMBABWE Botswana-Zimbabwe: Botswana to close its Harare embassyGABORONE: Botswana will close its embassy in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, within the next few weeks a senior diplomat told IRIN.
2010 FIFA World CupAFRICA New "event visa" to help process 2010 visitors faster[Michael Appel] The Department of Home Affairs is to issue "event visas" to allow soccer fans coming to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to use dedicated counters at airports and give them pre-clearance before they arrive.
CRMNIGERIA Skills shortage impacts on customer care in NigeriaNigeria has expressed concern over lack of manpower and expertise in the field of information and communication technology.
DigitalAFRICA Google announces 2008 year-end Zeitgeist Google, yesterday, Thursday, 10 December 2008 announced its annual Zeitgeist, a look at 2008 through the collective eyes of the world on the web. The 2008 Year-End Zeitgeist provides a perspective on the year's major events and trends based on global searches. AFRICA Online game increases awareness of victims of conflict[Shipra Prakash] Five years ago, 16-year-old Joseph lost both his father and sister in the 20-year violence that rocked his village in Northern Uganda. He could not find his mother in the chaos that followed, when hundreds of people in nearby towns and villages fled. Eventually, Joseph was able to locate a camp called ‘Hopetown' - after a long walk - where he found sanctuary. NIGERIA Nigeria takes technology to countrysideAs the world becomes a global village, Nigeria is taking information and communication technology (ICT) to the countryside in a bid to bring modern communication technology to rural people.
Education and TrainingSOUTHERN AFRICA SADC to launch science and technology desk[Nthambeleni Gabara] JOHANNESBURG: Science and technology ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will meet in Johannesburg on 9 December, 2008 to officially launch a science and technology desk. KENYA KZN, Kenya partner to develop co-operative college[Gabi Khumalo] NAIROBI: The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has partnered with the Co-operative College of Kenya to develop a training programme, which will culminate in the establishment of a provincial co-operative college. AFRICA Over 700 million illiterate adults in 2015, warns UNESCO[Adelia Saunders] PARIS: Millions of words circle the earth each day, many of them at lightening speed. They contain facts and ideas - planting instructions, bedtime stories, emergency alerts. But in this age of information, 776 million people - 16% of the world's population - cannot read them.
MediaAFRICA World's press condemns travel restrictions on journalistsAuthorities in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Syria have prevented four Arab journalists and human rights activists from attending the Arab Free Press Forum, an annual gathering in Beirut, Lebanon, that examines how independent media can be effective despite widepread repression in the region. AFRICA Deadline looms for 2008 IMAsThe Q4 entry deadline for the Interactive Media Awards is three weeks away; all nominations must be submitted online or postmarked by 31 December, 2008. The awards recognise the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honour individuals and organisations for their outstanding achievements. KENYA Kenya's Ushahidi wins We Media Game Changers AwardOnline media star ZeFrank, mobile texting service Twitter, David Plouffe, the Obama campaign mastermind, Japanese digital designer Yugo Nakamura and Kenyan mobile alert service Ushahidi are among nine winners of the We Media Game Changers Awards to be presented at the We Media Miami conference in February 2009. AFRICA Young reporters go mobile [Janine Erasmus] Afrigadget, the acclaimed website that showcases African ingenuity, has launched a new initiative known as the Grassroots Reporting Project, which will train young reporters across the continent and equip them with mobile technology, with the aim of getting more African stories out into the world. SOUTHERN AFRICA Exactmobile and NORM agree on music royaltiesExactmobile and NORM, the National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in Southern Africa, have announced a settlement deal which will conclude the dispute between the two parties. The two companies have reached a good faith agreement which covers their dispute on the payment of royalties, both past and future. MOZAMBIQUE Cardoso killer recapturedKiller of journalist Carlos Cardoso re-arrested after third prison escape.
MobileKENYA Vodafone, Safaricom and Western Union form partnershipVodafone, Safaricom and The Western Union Company announced on Monday, 8 December that they will partner to pilot a cross-border Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) service between the UK and Kenya. This service will enable customers to send cross-border remittances from select locations directly to Safaricom mobile subscribers in Kenya. EGYPT Egypt's MobiNil confident of further growthMobiNil, Egypt's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, said it would continue to experience robust growth despite the global economic crisis. AFRICA Messaging remains driver behind mobile dataMessaging will remain the driver behind mobile data revenues for years to come, yielding an anticipated US$224 billion by 2013, which amounts to 60% of combined non-voice revenues, according to a new forecast by market analysis firm Portio Research.
RecruitmentAFRICA HR organisations must adopt social networking - GartnerSTAMFORD: Despite the fact that social networks and software are significantly changing organisations' marketing and web strategies, relatively few human resources (HR) organisations have grasped the effect that they have on the employer brand. This is according to a recent report from Gartner.
ResearchAFRICA Gartner predicts multimedia-dominated content in futureSTAMFORD: The popularity of video among consumers will fuel a similar interest in video within enterprises, leading to the severe disruption of existing content strategies, according to Gartner Inc. SOUTHERN AFRICA SA, Finland partner to support biosciences initiatives in SADC[Nthambeleni Gabara] PRETORIA: South Africa and Finland have signed a co-operation agreement to support biosciences projects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
RetailUGANDA UBA introduces free banking[Walter Wafula] Uganda's United Bank of Africa (UBA) has introduced an account that requires no deposit or maintenance fees. ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe: Tracking the descentA power-sharing deal - brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki, appointed as negotiator by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - and signed on 15 September, was heralded as a new dawn for Zimbabwe. Instead, it has become a marker for Zimbabwe's rapid descent into collapse. Below is a timeline tracing the events in recent months. SOUTH AFRICA Repo rate down 0.5%The Reserve Bank has reduced the repurchase rate by 50 basis points to 11.5% per annum with effect from today, 12 December 2008. It's welcome news for homeowners and those paying off vehicles, credit cards and other debts. KENYA Retailer ventures into convenience stores market[Carole Kimutai] Kenya's Nakumatt Holdings will soon unveil its plans to launch convenience stores (c-stores) as part of its expansion plans following a viability study showing a gap in the Kenyan market. NIGERIA SA, Nigeria commit to fast track trade, economic relations[Luyanda Makapela] South Africa and Nigeria have committed to fast track trade and economic relations between both countries at the South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC), Tuesday, 9 December. ANGOLA BDA bank funds construction of rural shopsOver six million Angolan kwanzas (about R600,000) were made available by the Angola Development Bank (BDA), for the implementation of a project for the construction of five rural shops, in Andulo district, at 130km to the north of Kuito city, capital of the southern Bié Province. WEST AFRICA Burkina Faso: High rice prices despite tripled harvestDespite a 2008 rice harvest over three times that of 2007, local rice prices remain out of reach for many consumers.
TVAFRICA SABC3 to broadcast Miss World pageant Johannesburg is hosting the Miss World pageant for the first time and SABC3 will be there to cover all the glamour and excitement when the winner is crowned at the Sandton Convention Centre. | 
