At the ongoing WTO Ministerial in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa must be prepared to accept no deal than accept a bad one. It is time for progressive forces in the Global South to act in peaceful non-violent resistance against the injustices of the Empire and its cynical deployment of the WTO as a weapon of war against the people of the world for the benefit of the small, corrupt, coterie of mega-corporations for whom profits come before humanity.

Not many years ago Kenya’s flowers were produced by hundreds of small producers, providing livelihood for thousands. Now they are produced by a handful of multinationals. Those who own the farms in Naivasha as well as middle agencies make enormous profits, but the direct producers – the wage workers – get very little.

Collectively, these agreements make national economies hostage to global corporations that would enjoy extra-territorial protection. Moreover, the pacts are being negotiated without the due process of democratic participation of the people of the world.

The WTO is located firmly in an old ethical order which puts profit over people; where those in power make the rules to suppress the powerless; and where this iniquitous and unjust world “order” (disorder) is legitimised by the ideology of neoliberalism. Progressive people must defy this iniquitous system and overturn it; it is not reformable.

The World Trade Organisation, controlled by a new empire that still disfavors the Global South, broadens the gap between influential and developing nations. With a neocolonial system implicitly in place, if small and middle-sized countries do not 'follow the rules' as dictated by the Big and Powerful nations, then they are subjected to sanctions. Sanctions are acts of war.

Regardless of one’s religious persuasions, Pope Francis’ views on poverty are quite progressive. He insists that as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems. Inequality is the root of social ills.

Nathan Shamuyarira was a man who dedicated his life to the emancipation and unity of both his native Zimbabwe and the African continent. In various capacities – as activist, politician, academic and professional – he consistently served with his characteristic generosity, incorruptibility and commitment.

Much hope is placed on foreign direct investment to deliver development capital for African countries. Yet FDIs are part of the global financial capitalist system, which maintains and reproduces inequality and keeps African states dependent on Western countries and financial institutions

Critics of the BRICS base their arguments on empirical observations. But they need to go further beyond this and provide a deeper analysis of their theory of sub-imperialism. Otherwise their critique is a distraction from real issues of concern to progressive forces

A long-time comrade of revolutionary figure Dani Wadada Nabudere provides an in-depth view of the Ugandan leader’s life and often uncelebrated achievements.

An analysis of the relevance of concepts of ‘Common Goods’ and ‘Common Good for Humanity’ in the struggle for alternatives to neoliberal capitalism.

A new book scrutinises the labour structure of the South African mining industry over the last 350 years.

There are at least a million people in the West who live off the aid industry. They have a vested interest in perpetuating it. But it will disintegrate over time and die slowly.

The ‘aid industry’ fooled many into believing it was a necessary tool for development. But following the Busan forum on aid effectiveness, its time to rethink a world without it, writes Yash Tandon.

For Africa, writes Yash Tandon, liberation from imperialism overrides all other issues. So, to view negotiations about climate change as an isolated issue, as the left activists tend to do, is dangerously myopic.

Dani Nabudere has passed on, and with him has passed a piece of Uganda, a piece of the continent, a part of humanity, writes Yash Tandon.

Africa remains at the mercy of a self-interested international ruling class interested purely in maximising profit at all costs and consolidating its position, writes Yash Tandon. As the continent faces up to the enormous challenge of climate change and the creation of a sustainable ‘green economy’, it must look inwards and draw upon its own expertise and resources and resist the temptation to rely on compromised external ‘experts’, Tandon stresses.

Yash Tandon draws on the recent massacres in Norway to examine the polarising of identities, which he describes as 'the most dangerous cancer of our times'. 'Why and how do all these multiple identities get reduced to two nominal but highly dangerous polarised identities - "them" and "us"; the "insiders" and the "outsiders"; the "included and the excluded"? In whose interest are these binary identities created, and by who?'

Yash Tandon takes a deeper look at the mass killings in Norway on 22 July. The event, he writes, 'gives us a moment to comprehend the deeper meaning of human existence'.

Matthew Newsome speaks to policy maker, professor, author and activist,Yash Tandon, about kleptocratic capitalism, African sovereignty and the challenges to creating a fair and sustainable society.