Because of African sensitivities about the presence of foreign military forces on the continent, the White House has gone to great lengths to stress that the president's trip will focus on trade and investment, democratic institution-building, and reaching out to young Africans. But in many private discussions, counterterrorism partnership will also feature prominently.

Four years after briefly stopping off in Ghana on his way home from a Group of Eight (G-8) summit, US President Barack Obama lands in Dakar on Wednesday night at the start of his first extended visit in his current designation, to the continent of his Kenyan father’s birth. But he is expected to give Kenya a miss, as its president is under indictment from the International Criminal Court.

Cape Town Tourism's Facebook campaign, Send Your Facebook Profile to Cape Town, has won a Cannes Lions Gold Award for Cape Town Tourism's advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather. The prize was awarded in the Branded Content Category (Best Use or Integration of Digital or Social Media) making them one of only two 2013 Gold Award winners from South Africa.

An even more important lesson to learn from marketing, concerns the intricate fragility of Brand South Africa. Much as militant unionists might abhor the notion of globalisation and the principle of capitalism, a stark, non-debatable fact of life is that South Africa cannot survive in isolation.

The embassy of Japan in Nigeria is stepping up its ties with Nigeria through culinary diplomacy with a food fair in Abuja where Ambassador Ryuichi Shoji revealed his country's "great" respect for culture and its influence, especially through food.

China is without a doubt here to stay in Africa! China clearly has a plan for Africa. The "sinofication" of Africa is currently taking place through immigration, the assertion of soft power and mass investments and goods.

President Koroma’s decision to adopt the Smart Power strategy didn’t emerge as a coincidence but through crucial evaluation of the international system in terms of threats, vulnerabilities, risks, interests and opportunities.

In the near future, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban may have their own top level domain names on the internet, which could spark innovative ways of promoting business and tourism in South Africa's main centres.