MALAWI

Mutharika defends repressive law

[Gregory Gondwe: @Kalipochi] President Bingu wa Mutharika has defended the amendment of Section 46 of the Penal Code which gives the information minister power to ban any publication or its importation should the minister deem it harmful to the public. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Nando's ad standing down from TV

Nando's South Africa, in a statement issued this afternoon, Thursday, 1 December 2011, has said that it will no longer air its ad "Last Dictator Standing" as part of its festive season campaign on television: "We feel strongly that this is the prudent step to take in a volatile climate and believe that no TV commercial is worth risking the safety of Nando's staff and customers." Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Creative vertigo: the spin of the ICANN branding revolution

[Naseem Javed] The word gTLD has been added to the hard-core lexicon of global branding. Why is this new spin causing vertigo to some? Before you say anything else like "what?", just hold on. It makes no difference whether you already are an expert on gTLD or not. It's in your face and we will all have to cope with it for a long time, so deal with it. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Africa: Using ICT to communicate climate change to women

[Ticha Tsedu] [16 Days of Activism] As decision-makers continue to deliberate on the future of the planet, the people most vulnerable to global warming remain largely voiceless in the public domain. While mainstream media may sometimes be missing the boat when it comes to giving these voices the spotlight, new media is proving to be an important avenue to promote awareness and give women a voice on climate change issues. Read more >>

AFRICA

Sexual harassment a well-known office secret

[Perpetual Sichikwenkwe] [16 Days of Activism] Sarah Banda* is a female journalist who has been working in the media for three years. She experienced sexual harassment at work, and as a journalist has the desire to speak out. Read more >>

AFRICA

Blogging to be heard: Zimbabwe's women take back the tech

[Fungai Machirori] [16 Days of Activism] It was when one of my news articles - on male circumcision - returned with track changes substituting the word "penis" with "male organ" that I decided that I would have to rethink my strategy and stop writing for newspapers stuck in archaic and conservative ideology. Read more >>

TANZANIA

YoungAfricaLive launches in Tanzania

YoungAfricaLive, a mobile community that entertains and educates young people on topics of love, sexual health, gender and relationships affecting the youth, launched yesterday, 1 December 2011 in Tanzania. Read more >>

AFRICA

Standard Bank wins Bank of the Year in Africa

The Banker, a leading journal of the global banking industry, has named Standard Bank as the 2011 Bank of the Year in Africa and Best Bank in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Read more >>

MALAWI

Central Bank governor clash with investor

[Gregory Gondwe: @Kalipochi] Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) governor, Dr Perks Ligoya clashed with Paladin Africa Limited, a company that mines Uranium at Kayelekera in the country's northern district of Karonga. Read more >>

AFRICA

Comedy Central to launch in sub-Saharan Africa

MTV Networks Africa, a division of Viacom Inc. will expand its portfolio of brands in sub-Saharan Africa with the launch of Comedy Central, via MultiChoice's DStv platform. The deal was announced today by Alex Okosi, senior vice president and managing director of MTV Networks Africa and Aletta Alberts, general manager content for MultiChoice. Read more >>

AUSTRALIA

Marry me Microsoft campaign a hit Down Under

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Back in 2010, Microsoft in Australia had been hit disproportionately hard by the success of Apple. Not only was Microsoft seen as less cool, it was also perceived as less functional. Previously, it had been standard for Microsoft products to be marketed individually, but as a result, the bigger Microsoft story was getting lost. Read more >>

CHINA

Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival entries open

SHANGHAI, CHINA: The 2012 Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival (AME Awards) will take place 26 and 27 April 2012 at the Pudong Shangri-La hotel in Shanghai, China. Entries can now be submitted to The Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards at www.ame.asia. Read more >>

NIGER

Niger's president endorses Table Mountain Declaration

NIAMEY, NIGER: The president of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, has become the first African head of state to endorse the Declaration of Table Mountain, which calls for repeal of criminal defamation and 'insult' laws and for putting press freedom higher on the agenda in Africa. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Leading telecoms operators outperform broader economy 2011

LONDON, UK: The 40 leading telecoms operating groups out-performed the global economy by 5.0 ppt (percentage points), according to the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media. Based on data taken from the recently published World Telecoms Financial Benchmarks (WTFB) service, the largest operators, as measured by consolidated total revenues, increased revenues for the second quarter of 2011 by 6.8% year-on-year to reach US$327.6 billion*. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Bizcommunity and WeCanChangeOurWorld join forces to making a sustainable difference

WeCanChangeOurWorld is an online platform to showcase, connect and communicate all social and environmental development in South Africa and the world, with a view to optimising and facilitating collaboration between NGOs, government and business. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Presidency studying Simelane judgment

The Presidency says it will study the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court of Appeal on the appointment of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Menzi Simelane. The judgment was handed down yesterday. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Setas 'need to focus on their developmental roles'

[Karl Gernetzky] Major weaknesses continue to exist in the sector education and training authorities (Setas) and they still needed to prioritise their developmental responsibilities, including targeted interventions, higher education minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday this week. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA still not producing employable graduates

Apart from producing more science and maths graduates, SA needs to make another giant leap if it is to better respond to the growing demands from business for graduates that can "walk into" jobs. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Icasa publishes LLU findings

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) published its findings of an inquiry into Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) on Wednesday, 30 November 2011. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

New Denel CEO announced

South Africa's arms manufacturer, Denel, has appointed Riaz Saloojee as its new group chief executive. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

ANC ordered to hand over Rasool report

The Western Cape High Court has ordered the ANC to hand a report to the Independent media group that could contain information about a potentially corrupt relationship between former premier Ebrahim Rasool and certain journalists, Beeld newspaper reported on Wednesday, 30 November 2011. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Almost five million returns filed in 2011

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has collected 4.86 million income tax returns in the 2011 tax season. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

COP17 can still save Kyoto Protocol

[Chris Bathembu] The dust is beginning to settle at the COP17 talks after two days of drama surrounding the future of the Kyoto Protocol and Canada announcing its imminent breakaway from the climate treaty. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

New vehicle sales growth continues

[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] The year is heading for a good finish with November new vehicle sales showing an improvement of 11.7% over that of the same month last year. According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) 49 499 sales were recorded this November - a year to year increase of 5181 units. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Arrive alive in 2012... Road safety tips for the festive season

The roads are crowded, it's the end of the year, it's the festive season and the thought on the minds of many of us are happy thoughts... of spending time with family and friends, exchanging gifts, and ending 2011 on a happy and positive note. Some of us will not make it, however... Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Etihad Airways flags schedule improvements to Joburg

Etihad Airways today announced significant changes to its daily Johannesburg service from 24 January 2012. Improvements to the Johannesburg flight timings will provide new morning and evening departure options from both Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Taking a chance in Moneyball

[Eugene Yiga] You've got to feel for Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). The man loves baseball. And as general manager of the Oakland Athletics, he clearly knows a thing or two about the sport. But then his team loses a crucial game and three of his top players are poached by richer teams. How is he meant to compete in the Major League if his limited budget can't give him what he wants? Read more >>