The U.S.-Africa Business Summit will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, South Africa from November 14-16. Hosted every two years, the event titled “Africa: Entering the Door to Opportunities,” will provide a forum for some of the world's top global business leaders to discuss trade and investment opportunities in Africa, best practices, and how best to increase trade and investment in ways that will help engender sustainable growth on the continent. This is CCA's (Corporate Council on Africa) sixth Summit, but the first-ever to be held in Africa. More than 1,500 participants are expected to attend.

Editors Converge in Nairobi

Over 100 editors from media houses in Africa are meeting in Nairobi this week to discuss ways of promoting peace in Africa through objective and neutral reporting of news and information. Titled “Media Leadership, Elections and Democracy in Africa,” the African Editors Forum is committed to provide professional support for African editors. It also seeks to defend and promote media freedom and independence as well as seek to become leading media players with a highly professional membership that is influential in setting Africa’s agenda.

World Development Report 2008 Launched

The World Development Report 2008 was launched on 1^st of November 2007 at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi. An annual publication of the World Bank, the report titled Agriculture For Development seeks answers to broad questions as: What can agriculture do for development?; What are effective instruments for using agriculture for development?; and how can agriculture-for-development agendas best be implemented? 

The report further calls for greater investment in agriculture in the developing countries and warns that the sector must be placed at the centre of the development agenda if the goals of halving poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized. While commenting on the report during the launch, Co-author of the report Derek Byerlee recommended proper governance and structured policies as a recipe for service delivery in the Agricultural sector. 

Floods Still Raging

Heavy downpours have hit the small country of Brazzaville; a stretch of the railway linking Congo's capital to the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire has been flooded, cutting off a key supply route. Road traffic in the affected area has also been severely affected by the deluge. When a stretch of the line in the same area flooded last year, the interruption led to shortages of fuel and food in the capital. Floods have been a catastrophe in the past three months in most parts of the continent, leading to disease outbreaks, submerged homes and schools. Natural disasters have in the recent past hindered gradual development in Africa

Abducted Children in Chad Had Family

According to United Nations, the vast majority of the 103 children abducted for adoption in France from eastern Chad had a family in the country. Humanitarian agencies and other UN partners are providing assistance and investigating the identities and places of origin of the children. “During interviews with humanitarian staff, 91 children said they had been living with their family, consisting of at least one adult they considered to be their parent," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Controversy has since emerged over the actual motive of the NGO, ‘Zoe’s Ark’ that initially referred to the children as orphans. The French President, Sarkozy has since traveled to Chad to intervene in the case.

Showcasing Kenya in London

The tourism sector is set to showcase Kenya as a preferred destination at the World Travel Market to be held in London staring November 12^th to 15^th. The annual exhibition brings together over 40,000 participants under one roof, providing an opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, and negotiate. “This is one of the best opportunities to showcase the country's national parks as well as see what our competitors have to offer,” said Mr. Andrew Toboso, the head of marketing at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Apart from market players in the industry, students from the Kenya Utali College will accompany the exhibitors in a bid to showcase the best of Kenya's tastes and talent in the hospitality industry.