Africa Print writes that Sappi has celebrated Nelson Mandela Day in South Africa, with a series of community initiatives to raise funds. The story lists a number of beneficiaries, including the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and Helen Joseph Hospital in Gauteng as well as several forestry communities in KwaZulu-Natal.

Africa Print also reports that Technology Global, based in Lagos in Nigeria, has signed a distribution deal with Esko AVT to supply and service the company’s full range of print inspection systems for packaging, labelling and decoration as well as its label and packaging workflow software.

Labels and Labelling has a story from Thailand, where Cyber SM has been appointed as the local distributor for Grafisk Maskinfabrik (GM). The company was established in 1976 and has branches throughout the region from Vietnam to Mongolia, having also sold Mitsubishi and Ryobi printing equipment.

From Australia, Print21 writes that the Federal government’s decision to leave it up to businesses as to whether or not to make vaccination mandatory is putting those companies in a difficult position, with the magazine predicting that vaccination in the workplace will likely be the biggest issue of 2022.

Elsewhere, Print21 has a story from Heidelberg, which has sold 11 new presses into Australia and New Zealand this year, mostly B1 but with some B2 machines, as well as a Labelfire hybrid label press in New Zealand - the third in the region.

Meanwhile, Sprinter reports that Konica Minolta is one of ten companies prosecuted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for failing to comply with obligations to lodge financial reports between 2017 and 2019. The story includes a statement from Konica Minolta that no conviction has been recorded against the company.

Over to North America, where Graphic Arts Media has a story on Konica Minolta having had to postpone its first dealer event since the outbreak of Covid-19 following updated advice from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding measures to control the virus for indoor settings.

Printweek India has a story from Cosmo Speciality Chemicals, a subsidiary of Cosmo Films based in New Delhi, which has introduced a clay-based sourcing agent, Eco Clay, for the treatment of textiles, where it can help reduce weight loss and leave the fabric with a smooth handle.

Indian Printer and Publisher reports that McDermid has appointed Prasenjit Das as its senior sales manager for the South Asia region. He has 20 years experience and was previously vice president of marketing for Apex Asia Pacific. His predecessor, Rahul Dwivedi, has been promoted to senior business development manager for South Asia.

According to ME Printer, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority has won first place in the Enterprise category of the annual Emirates Environmental Group awards, for collecting and recycling 2,063 ink bottles, helped by an ink recycling information campaign. It’s the fourth time in a row the company has won.

ME Printer has also covered a story from Doha in Qatar, where a new digitization and 3D printing center as well as an art gallery is to be built following an agreement by the Qatar Free Zones Authority, the Polish Wolf Group, and Msheireb Properties, which is part of Qatar’s preparations to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.