Globalisation continues its forward march
Noam Chomsky

To date, the rise of public indignation has not questioned the power of companies. The future depends on what the majority is ready to withstand and knowing whether this vast majority will collectively come to a constructive proposal in response to the problems that are at the heart of the capitalist system of control and domination. If not, the consequences may be grave, as history has so clearly shown.

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One Europe, several Europes in construction or deconstruction?
Samir Amin

To some, Europe is currently under construction. But Samir Amin thinks that those who think so have limited and fragile criteria for judgement which could be compared with the inter-dependence of interests, in the short-term, of European monopoles. According to Amin, the current crisis is most probably the start of the ‘deconstruction’ of Europe.

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Senegal: What interpretation can be made of the happenings in June?
Sidy Diop

The events which recently shook Senegal show that the political system of the country is in crisis. Through massive street demonstrations, the population prevented the parliament from adopting a law, and a few days later, violent protests expressed the great dissatisfaction created by the energy policy. It should not be doubted that this is an unprecedented occurrence which calls for reflection in order to determine the true meaning of the happenings and perhaps draw lessons which are essential to hatch the institutional evolution that measures up to the new expectations displayed by the people.

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The reason for marching against rape of women in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

When some Congolese heard of a march by their fellow citizens from Paris to Brussels, they thought it was madness. One of the recurrent questions asked was: ‘What will that change?’ The material, symbolic and humane reason behind the march was unknown to them. They had forgotten that great changes start from little things. This article by Jean-Pierre Mbulu is an attempt at theorising this walk and its effects.

Journalists in Zimbabwe are concerned over a fresh warning that they face being jailed, if they report on issues discussed in cabinet. It is understood that the government plans to use the Official Secrets Act to silence the media, as it forges ahead with its culture of keeping ordinary Zimbabweans in the dark.
Government ministers are said to be getting increasingly uncomfortable with media reports of their deliberations in parliament, especially over issues they disagree on.

Zambia's President Rupiah Banda has put this year's general vote on Tuesday, 20 September. Incumbent Zambian President and top contender under the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) stable, Rupiah Banda announced the election day during a live broadcast to the nation.

A group of civil society organisations have issued a statement that requests that the government removes the restrictions imposed on civil society organisations and human rights activists in order to enable these actors to contribute to the change called for by the revolution and in implementing a peaceful transition of power towards a civil government freely elected by the people.

Sudan is urging the UAE to begin developing the vast expanses of farmland it has acquired in the country, as the north loses the majority of its oil revenues following the independence of South Sudan. The country, ravaged by years of conflict, is now turning its focus to its agricultural sector, as it desperately tries to generate cash. Investors from the UAE, including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, have been given a total of 600,000 feddans of farmland in Sudan, either for free or at nominal rent costs, on condition they will invest in the land, said Salih Ibrahim Salih Mohammed, a senior researcher at the Sudan Economic Advisor's Office, a division of the country's embassy in Abu Dhabi.

This issue of South Bulletin focuses on the adverse effects of the boom and bust cycle in capital flows into and out of developing countries, which has caused adverse effects in many economies. After the financial crisis, capital flows resumed their large surge into some developing countries. This has caused them many problems, such as currency appreciation affecting their trade, excess money, asset price boom and inflation.

Mandela Park Backyarders say they have 'proof of corruption' in a Khayelitsha housing project and have called for the 'immediate' resignation of Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela. The call follows the organisation’s online publication of results of their investigation into the occupation of houses in the Mandela Park Housing Project, of which 150 houses out of a planned 950 have been completed.

After walking for days to escape drought and insecurity, often barefoot and with almost no food or water, Somali refugees who arrive at Dadaab camps in northern Kenya are met with delays and red tape. Some wait up to two weeks to be registered as refugees, and longer to get food and shelter. The sluggish pace of the registration process is partly because refugees may only register and receive ration cards at Ifo camp, at the centre of the three Dadaab camps set up to 10km apart.

A Zambian newspaper editor has appeared in a Lusaka High Court to commence his defence in a defamation suit brought against him by President Rupiah Banda. President Banda, in power for almost three years now, sued The Post editor Fred M’membe and his publication for defamation ahead of the 2008 polls after the paper allegedly said he was 'corrupt and a liar'.

The trend of international land grabbing - when governments and private firms invest in or purchase large tracts of land in other countries for the purpose of agricultural production and export - can have serious environmental and social consequences, according to researchers at the Worldwatch Institute. Deals that focus solely on financial profit can leave rural populations more vulnerable and without land, employment opportunities, or food security.

As African Union and NATO leaders push for a political solution to the Libyan crisis, many of the thousands of refugees and migrants stranded on the Libyan- Tunisian border say their plight continues to fall on deaf ears. Sitting outside her makeshift tent with her daughter and grandson, 63-year-old Somali refugee Hawiyeh Awal tries to find a bit of shelter from the scorching sun on the Tunisian desert. 'I’m so scared that I’m going to die in this hot desert,' she says. 'I have diabetes and I’ve lost more than eight kilos since coming here because of the hot weather.'

A call for applications to grantees seeking to organise activities to mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence has been issued by African Women’s Development Fund. The maximum amount of grant disbursed per organisation will be US$1,000.

Post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problems experienced by Somalis who fled their country to settle in the UK, according to Abdi Gure, a community development worker for Mind, a mental health organization based in Harrow, north London. Uncertainty over immigration status, housing and language barriers can compound mental illness but fear of being stigmatized may prevent sufferers from seeking support from their community as well as from the mental health services.

The Pan African Parliament (PAP) recently held a meeting of parliamentarians from across the continent to discuss an appropriate African response to resource grabs, reports the blog anothercountryside.wordpress.com. 'The meeting noted the strategic potential of countries with natural resource wealth, but also the inequitable deals that have been approved by many governments, providing long-term leases of 50 to 99 years to companies at minimal or even no cost, and with few guarantees about development. Of priority concern was evidence that local communities are often displaced, undermining local food production and aggravating vulnerability to hunger and chronic poverty.'

The US has suspended a $350m (£213m) aid package to Malawi after the security forces were accused of killing anti-government protesters last week. A US government agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), said the money was to have been spent on developing Malawi's power sector. But it had suspended the aid because it was 'deeply upset' by the deaths of 19 people during the demonstrations.

Rwanda is the first country in the world where women outnumber men in parliament, with women occupying 45 out of 80 seats. However, despite this, experts say that the country still needs a gender equality perspective on how national resources and programmes are implemented. 'The move will help ensure government spending addresses the needs of women and men equitably,' said Susan Mutoni, referring to the situation in Rwanda. Mutoni is the project coordinator of gender responsive budgeting in Rwanda’s ministry of finance and economic planning. Since 2009, the country has been part of a three-year pilot programme, the Gender Equitable Local Development (GELD), which is organised by UN Women and the United Nations Capital Development Fund.

The government of South Africa should provide access to protective measures such as condoms and water-based lubricants in prisons and other places where forced and consensual anal sex is prevalent, say some advocates for improved health services for men who have sex with men. Sensitivity training for health care workers, improved counselling for HIV-infected men and the provision of condoms and lubricants in prisons and other places where men have sex with men are among solutions being advanced to combat rising HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in major cities of South Africa. The solutions are among measures urged by participants to the first South African conference, the 'Top2Btm MSM [men who have sex with men] Symposium,' held to 'brainstorm about prevention, care and treatment for MSMs'.

Several districts in Uganda will need urgent relief aid to mitigate the risk of starvation following poor rains that have affected this year's harvest, the Minister for Disaster Preparedness warned. Most of the affected districts are in Karamoja where the situation was particularly unique because crop failure and a prolonged drought had aggravated the region's food crisis, Musa Ecweru said.

The government failed to stop a teachers’ strike last week after the ministers responsible insisted there was no money to meet their demands. Education Minister Jessica Alupo and other line ministers told MPs on the Parliamentary Social Services Committee that their hands were tied and that the matter had been forwarded to Minister of Public Service Henry Kajura, who asked teachers to be patient as there was no money.

Inmates in Ugandan prisons are subject to brutal compulsory labour, frequent violence, miserable overcrowding, and disease, Human Rights Watch said in a report examining conditions in 16 prisons throughout the country. Over half of those in Ugandan prisons are in pretrial detention and may be held for years without having been convicted of any crime, Human Rights Watch said. Profits from prisoner labour often benefit individual prison officers, while prisoners suffer illness from inadequate food, water, and basic hygiene.