Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from October 2001

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from October 2001

Women to March Against Nurses Who Wear Civvies.
October 31, 2001... (From African Eye News Service (South-East Africa) - AAGM) Byline: Zenzele Kuhlase Women living near Mpumalanga's second biggest hospital, Themba Hospital, will stage a march on Friday in protest against nurses who refuse to wear...

Crystal ball for startups.
October 30, 2001... (From Israel Business Arena) Byline: Michael Neuvirth Image how wildly successful your startup would be if you could only predict the future. You would know exactly what your customers will buy, what your competition will do and...

Lockheed Martin Acquiring OAO Corp.
October 26, 2001... (From Newsbytes) Byline: Kyle Balluck With federal IT spending on the rise, defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. announced this morning it plans to acquire the outstanding stock of OAO Corp., a government IT contractor in Greenbelt....

Winners never quit.
October 23, 2001... (From Israel Business Arena) Byline: Michael Neuvirth If at first you don't succeed - try, try, again. If you are a true entrepreneur you should not know the meaning of the word failure. Real entrepreneurs look at failure as just...

AU advocates general health systems improvement.
October 16, 2001... (From Panafrican News Agency (PANA) Daily Newswire) Byline: Peter Masebu, PANA Staff Correspondent Sal, Cape Verde (PANA) - The African Union's interim chairman, Amara Essy, warned Wednesday that controlling the spiral of HIV/AIDS in...

Make a lasting impression.
October 16, 2001... (From Israel Business Arena) Byline: Michael Neuvirth The ability to make effective presentations can make or break the success of any company. I'm not talking about slick PowerPoint[R] presentations - I mean substance and delivery...

AMS Settles Lawsuit with Insurance Co.
October 15, 2001... (From Newsbytes) Byline: Kyle Balluck American Management Systems Inc., a Fairfax IT consulting firm, today said it has resolved its dispute with an insurance company related to AMS' litigation with the State of Mississippi. AMS...

NIST Awards $5M to Boost Infrastructure Security.
October 2, 2001... (From Newsbytes) Byline: Kyle Balluck The Gaithersburg-based National Institute of Standards and Technology today said it has awarded $5 million in funding for research to enhance the security of electrical grids, air traffic control...

Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA adopts more active role in seeking solution to Great Lakes conflagration.
October 1, 2001... South Africa has decided finally and uncharacteristically to take a public and active role in seeking to stabilise the region. It is hosting round two of the 'inter-Congolese dialogue' which, after the abortive Addis Ababa meeting, signals a...

Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): UK and SA favours sought amid Uganda and Rwanda tension.
October 1, 2001... As relations between Uganda and Rwanda deteriorate Britain is seeking to bring the two presidents together next week in London to avoid a new outbreak of hostilities. Ugandan troops have fought fierce battles with soldiers from Rwanda on...

Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA steps in as most delegates stay away from Addis 'dialogue'.
October 1, 2001... The inter-Congolese dialogue, which according to the Lusaka peace agreement must lead to "a new political dispensation and national reconciliation in the DRC", is deadlocked. None of the Congolese leaders were at the inauguration ceremony in...

Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): 'Negative forces' threaten peace.
October 1, 2001... The capture early last month of the DR Congo town of Fizi in Southern Kivu by Burundian and Rwandan Hutu fighters supported by Mai-Mai militia threatens to jeopardise the entire Congolese peace process. This capture, admitted by the...

Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA military to be increased.
October 1, 2001... About 50 military police are to join the 98 South African troops already deployed in the DR Congo, according to Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota. They will take on the military police function for the UN's peacekeeping operation, MONUC. It is...

Botswana (MRB Oct 01 2001): Concern for economy after terror attacks hit diamonds and tourism.
October 1, 2001... The two key sectors on which Botswana's economy depends face massive downturns after the terror attacks in the US. Diamonds and tourism are both likely to be severely hit. A predicted growth rate of 10% for the year 2000 - 2001 will now come...

Mozambique (MRB Oct 01 2001): Probe into terror links.
October 1, 2001... Mozambican and US authorities were probing possible Mozambican links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, according to the independent Metical newssheet and the pro-government weekly Domingo. Mozambique President Joaquim...

Zimbabwe (MRB Oct 01 2001): Tactics and good fortune may get Mugabe off the hook.
October 1, 2001... President Robert Mugabe's tactics and good fortune appear for now to be standing him in good stead. He has slid out of the constraints of the Abuja agreement on land resettlement by packing a court and reversing a crucial decision judging...

Zimbabwe (MRB Oct 01 2001): Power struggle inside opposition.
October 1, 2001... With the world's attention turned away to focus on the US and its war against terrorism, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is claiming that President Robert Mugabe has increased harassment of opposition members in the run-up to...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA gets R12bn in final settlement before new SACU pact.
October 1, 2001... The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is expected to generate R20.2-billion in customs and excise revenue in the 2001/2002 financial year, of which South Africa will get R12-billion, according to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. The...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA retailers spread into rest of Africa.
October 1, 2001... For a number of years SA retailers have reported a reduction in turnover, with the slowdown even affecting previously peak periods like Christmas. Interpreting this as the 'saturation' of the SA market, retailers are now entering markets in...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Angola (MRB Oct 01 2001): Three-figure inflation in last year.
October 1, 2001... Inflation in Angola reached a level of 126 percent for the period September 2000 to September 2001, the Council of Ministers in Luanda has announced. Predicted inflation for this year was 75 percent, in the light of 2000's rate of 268...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Malawi (MRB Oct 01 2001): IMF seeks shut-down of loss-making parastatals.
October 1, 2001... The International Monetary Fund, often critical of Malawi's poor fiscal management, has told the government to shut down loss-making parastatals, saying they were a drain on government resources. "Trimming the public sector and reducing...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): Kinshasa government goes on spending against IMF advice.
October 1, 2001... The International Monetary Fund is concerned that the Kinshasa government is not implementing its Staff Monitored Programme. In a document dated September 16 and leaked to local press, the IMF noted that contrary to the state's commitment to...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Zambia (MRB Oct 01 2001): Poverty worst in 10 years.
October 1, 2001... The Zambian economy is now in a more desperate state than ever before with the local currency at its lowest. Human development indicators continue to deteriorate, reflecting a serious social crisis in this southern African country of 10...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Zimbabwe (MRB Oct 01 2001): Mugabe ditches reform plan, imposes price controls.
October 1, 2001... Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has announced that his government has dumped economic reforms and will return to 'socialism', state control of prices and the threatened take-over of some businesses, in what analysts say is a bid to woo...

REGIONAL ECONOMY: Zimbabwe (MRB Oct 01 2001): Mugabe seeks to boost SE Asian trade.
October 1, 2001... Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe this month met with Thai officials in an effort to boost his country's trade in Southeast Asia. Thailand imports US$42.11 million worth of its products, mainly minerals, gems, leather and yarn, while...

HEALTH: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): Lessons of anthrax drugs case ahead of WTO summit battle on patents.
October 1, 2001... Canada's rapid ditching of its copyright agreement on pharmaceuticals in the first few days of the anthrax scare has given new hope to African countries that they will secure a change in the World Trade Organisation rules. The US...

HEALTH: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): Hopes fade that big companies will provide AIDS treatment.
October 1, 2001... Anglo American, the London-based resources group, cannot afford to supply anti-retroviral drugs to all its HIV-AIDS infected workers in South Africa, the company medical department has announced. Brian Brink, Anglo American's senior...

HEALTH: South Africa (MRB Oct 01 2001): Coal-based drug causes controversy.
October 1, 2001... The state-run Central Energy Fund subsidiary, Enerkom's coal-based drug, oxihumate-K, had a rough ride this month. The Johannesburg-based Mail & Guardian called it "a loony new AIDS drug" - memories of the Virodene debacle are still fresh. A...

HEALTH: Mozambique (MRB Oct 01 2001): Partners pledge $722m, warn on AIDS.
October 1, 2001... Mozambique's main international partners have pledged a total of 722 million dollars in aid in the fiscal year 2002. But a World Bank statement said not enough has been done to control HIV/AIDS, which continues to be the greatest single...

AID: Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): Central African code on refugees.
October 1, 2001... Delegates from six nations at a conference on refugees in central Africa agreed this month to set up national commissions for refugees where they do already not exist and on legislation to help them. The announcement came in a statement...

AID: Angola (MRB Oct 01 2001): Award for anti-corruption work.
October 1, 2001... Eva Joly, the French magistrate who headed corruption investigations in the Angolagate scandal has received Transparency International's Integrity Award 2001 for her work. Eva Joly "was propelled into he limelight by her seven-year...

AID: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): SADC chief backs NGOs.
October 1, 2001... The Executive Secretary of SADC (the Southern African Development Community), Prega Ramsamy, has reiterated the importance the regional organisation attaches to the role of NGOs. He was officially launching the Botswana NGO Week in...

INFRASTRUCTURE: Tanzania (MRB Oct 01 2001): Songo Songo project finance agreed.
October 1, 2001... Agreement has been reached for the financing of the Songo Songo project in Tanzania. According to the World Bank the soft financing deal through the International Development Association will catalyse foreign private investment. The...

INFRASTRUCTURE: Region (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA seeks finance and transport inroads in Uganda.
October 1, 2001... South Africa's Stanbic bank is hoping to make a significant entry into the Ugandan financial system by its planned US$11m purchase of a 49% equity stake in the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB). But this month the Ugandan parliament rejected...

INFRASTRUCTURE: Malawi (MRB Oct 01 2001): Road maintenance may become easier.
October 1, 2001... Poor road networks around the Southern African region has been one of the impediments to investment, but newly introduced technology may ease the problems in cross-border trade. The Con-Aid chemical soil stabiliser, manufactured by a...

COMMODITIES: Zimbabwe (MRB Oct 01 2001): Zimbabwe's tobacco production drops sharply.
October 1, 2001... Zimbabwe's tobacco production dropped 35.3 million kilos in 2001, to 201.7 million kilos, after last year's record-high crop. With an average price of 175 Zimbabwe dollars (3.18 US dollars) per kilo, tobacco sales totalled 35 billion...

COMMODITIES: Malawi (MRB Oct 01 2001): Tobacco growing countries fight WHO.
October 1, 2001... The countries that rely heavily on tobacco for their revenues have repeated their antagonism to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is spearheading an anti-smoking lobby. This month the International Tobacco Growers Association...