2012 Archives - Page 10 of 14 - AfricaBusiness.com

21Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

New Fair Trade Shop Empowers South African Artisans

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Paradigm Shift, a Colorado-based non-profit, recently launched an online shop. The Paradigm Shift Shop sells Fair Trade South African crafts handmade by microentrepreneurs who have participated in Paradigm Shift's holistic entrepreneurship training program. Around the globe millions work in sweatshop-like conditions, earning barely enough to feed their families. Unfortunately, many consumers are unaware of the exploitation that is often involved in the process of making their goods. Former U.S. president Benjamin Harrison once said, "I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process." To counter the exploitation of workers around the world, a social movement has e...

21Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Sonic Foundry for its Continued Dominance in the Lecture Capture Solutions Market

With its flagship platform, Mediasite, the company has sustained highest market share for past six years MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the lecture capture solutions market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Sonic Foundry with the 2012 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership. For six consecutive years, the company has remained the market share leader and continues to consistently enhance the features and functionality of its flagship solution, Mediasite. In 2011, the lecture capture market measured nearly $70 million in revenue. By 2016, Frost & Sullivan anticipates the total market to more than double, growing at a compound annual growth rate in excess of 20 percent. Heightened deployments are ...

26Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Kenya News, Malawi News, Science, Tanzania News

New CDC studies point to better practices in timing, testing, and retention of patients in HIV anti-retroviral drug treatment (ART) in Africa

ATLANTA, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New collaborative studies being presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the XIX International AIDS Conference confirm early treatment of HIV patients results in better outcomes, suggest use of viral load testing to detect treatment failure, and highlight factors associated with low rate of ART enrollment. CDC plays an essential role in implementing the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through its scientific and technical expertise, and long-standing partnerships with Ministries of Health and other key global partners such as the World Health Organization. Presentations at the conference reflect CDC's commitment to fighting global HIV/AIDS and to achieving President Obama and Sec...

26Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Science, South Africa News

Life Technologies and SATuRN Collaborate to Increase Access to HIV Testing in Africa

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE ) today announced a collaboration with the Southern African Treatment and Resistance Network (SATuRN – http://www.bioafrica.net/saturn) on sequencing-based diagnostics for HIV-infected individuals in Africa. Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are becoming increasingly available in the developing world, due to facilitation by both governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as reductions in price and international trade restrictions by pharmaceutical companies. Resistance to these drugs develops in many HIV-infected individuals, however, and resistance is therefore coming to the forefront of the global health agenda. Resistance can be monitored by genetic sequencing of two viral gen...

26Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Science

Element Six Synthetic Diamond Protects CERN Particle Detectors in Recently Announced Higgs boson Experiment Results

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) particle detection systems use Element Six synthetic diamond in their first line of defence against beam-induced radiation damage in their recently announced Higgs boson experiment results. LONDON, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Element Six, the world leader in synthetic diamond supermaterials, is proud to announce that its highest purity synthetic diamond is an integral part of the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider) CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) and ATLAS Beam Condition Monitoring Systems, used in the recent experiments which revealed the discovery of a new particle consistent with Higgs boson. This follows Element Six's announcement earlier this year regarding the construction of a $30M Global Innovation Centre in the UK, to...

25Jul

By The African Press OrganizationNo Comments

African News

IBM To Boost Technical Skills In Mauritius

New programs to help develop technical talent in the Indian Ocean Island Region PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced a collaboration agreement with the University of Mauritius to help meet the demand for Computer Science skills in the Indian Ocean island region. The joint academic initiative will provide technology and training resources while boosting support for computer science professionals at the University. In tandem, IBM also launched a Mauritian technical skills training pilot initiative for IT specialists, which will be rolled out to nine other African countries. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO) As part of the agreement with the University of Mauritius, IBM will provide access to the latest open...

23Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

KEMET Highlighted in GAO Report on Conflict Minerals

GREENVILLE, S.C., July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- KEMET Corporation (NYSE: KEM), a leading manufacturer of tantalum, ceramic, aluminum, film, paper and electrolytic capacitors, today announced that it is positively cited in the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report Conflict Mineral Disclosure Rule: SEC's Actions and Stakeholder-Developed Initiatives (GAO-12-763). This report highlights KEMET's "Making Africa Work" initiative of establishing a "closed-pipe" supply chain for responsible sourcing of tantalum from Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120723/CL44445 ) "Addressing both the social and economic health of the local mining communities in the DRC is a critical step in resolving its l...

23Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Confirmation.com Uncovers $200 Million Peregrine Financial Group Fraud

Commodity Futures Regulator Moves to Mandate Use of Service for All Regulated Brokerages BRENTWOOD, Tenn., July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Within 24 hours of a regulatory mandate to use electronic confirmation service Confirmation.com, here, PFGBest, a commodity brokerage unit of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., was exposed as a multi-year $215 million fraud. "PFGBest is a sadly common example of how easily bank and account information can be falsified to evade detection of accounting frauds," said Brian Fox, founder and chief marketing officer of Confirmation.com. "CEO Russell Wasendorf resisted using our service for months, presumably because he knew that as soon as electronic confirmation went into effect, he would be exposed. We have seen this pattern several times since lau...

23Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Science

New Study Finds Greatly Elevated HIV Infection Rates Among Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men in the U.S.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the U.S. (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM. The HPTN 061 study showed that the overall rate of new HIV infection among black MSM in this study was 2.8% per year, a rate that is nearly 50% higher than in white MSM in the U.S. Even more alarming, HPTN 061 found that young black MSM—those 30 years of age and younger—acquired HIV infection at a rate of 5.9% per year, three times the rate among U.S. white MSM. The overall infection rate among black MSM in this U.S study is comparable to the rate seen in the gen...

23Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Nigeria News

Kola Aluko Hails $4.5 Billion Deal for New Refineries

LONDON, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nigerian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US firm Vulcan Petroleum Resources and Nigeria's Petroleum Refining and Strategic Reserve to build six new oil refineries in a deal worth $4.5 billion. Two of the plants, each of which will have a capacity of 30,000 barrels per day, are set to be operational within a year. Nigeria - Africa's top oil producer - has been held back by its lack of refining capacity, which has made it a net importer of processed crude and subject to global price fluctuations. Until recently, a generous fuel subsidy protected consumers from high import prices. Though not yet lifted entirely, six months ago President Goodluck Jonathan announced that this support was no longer affordable. Fund...