Ghanaians have started a national debate as to whether the involvement of the private sector in the establishment of universities has lowered academic standards and thus affected the quality of their graduates for the job market. Growing demand for university education amidst a squeeze on the public budget has resulted in private entrepreneurs establishing universities all over the country. But instead of contributing to national development, the trend is creating a teeming mass of unemployed youth, opening a debate on whether these institutions are playing a useful role.

This global overview from the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre looks at internal displacement resulting from conflict and violence during 2011. 'In 2011, the number of people internally displaced by these causes stood at 26.4 million. The world in 2011 was an unsafe place for millions of people. From criminal violence including attacks by armed groups in sub-Saharan Africa or by drug cartels in Latin America, to armed clashes such as those associated with the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire or the uprisings across the Arab world: such events caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Many risked their lives as they sought refuge in unfamiliar environments while facing a constant struggle to meet their basic needs.'

The recent damage to a Nok sculpture raises important questions about the legality and morality of removing African artefacts from their origins and transporting them to the West.

Though apartheid ended on paper, black South Africans in uMshwathi continue to struggle against being uprooted from farmlands by white land grabbers.

‘Africans in China’ is the first book-length study of Africans travelling to China and forming communities there. Employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods involving prolonged interaction with approximately 800 Africans across six main Chinese cities - Guangzhou, Yiwu, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macau - Professor Adams Bodomo (The University of Hong Kong) has constructed sociolinguistic and sociocultural profiles that illuminate the everyday life of Africans in China. This unprecedented book provides insights into understanding issues such as why Africans go to China, what they do there, how they communicate with their Chinese hosts, what opportunities and problems they encounter in their China sojourn, and how they are received by the Chinese state. Learn more about the book, which was published by Cambria Press in 2012, at

Watch a six-minute Clip.

* BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Please do not take Pambazuka for granted! Become a Friend of Pambazuka and make a donation NOW to help keep Pambazuka FREE and INDEPENDENT!

* Adams Bodomo is the African Studies Programme Director at the HKU School of Humanities.
* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

At last week’s World Bank and IMF spring meetings, the G24, the group of developing countries governments made a bold bid to get debt work-out mechanisms back on the agenda. They called for a study on sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms, a topic which the IMF had ignored. The European debt crisis provided an opportunity to re-open the debate. Though the G24 call was not echoed in the International Monetary and Financial Committee’s statement, it was an important first step which shows how the problem of unpayable and illegitimate debt is increasing at international level.

The Brazilian government of Dilma Rousseff is taking firm steps towards stronger relations with Africa, such as the creation of a special fund to finance development projects together with multilateral lenders like the World Bank. South America’s giant is keen on establishing a strategic association with Africa, and the tool for doing that is its powerful national development bank, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which will work in conjunction with the multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB).

A recently posted YouTube video provides a glimpse of the thriving resistance of the Palestinian people, and the depravity of the Israeli military. In the video, a young Palestinian woman climbs over an Israeli military water cannon, effectively neutralizing the vehicle, while defiantly waving the Palestinian flag atop the water canon. Sadly, the video also shows Israeli occupation forces attacking protesters with pepper spray, aimed directly (and deliberately) into their eyes and from close range.

This newsclip from The Real News Network examines worker protests in Egypt in the context of the European Bank seeking to ratify $1.5 bn in loans to Egypt. 'This isn't investment, it's imperialism!' shouts one protestor.

Can regional integration offer a way out of the current economic, climate, food and energy crises? In this video documentary, activists from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe argue that regional integration is the only viable response to these crises.

As media interest mounts around a GM wheat trial taking place at Rothamsted Research Institute, the Gaia Foundation and partners African Biodiversity Network have voiced support of the challenge being led by campaign group Take the Flour Back. Later this month they will be launching the film 'Seeds of Freedom', a 30-minute documentary exploring the corporate takeover of seed, and the impact that this is having on communities across the world. Visit the webpage to find out more.

In this broadcast, Africa Today talks with Kali Akuno of the United States Human Rights Network on his article 'Trayvon Martin is All of Us' and speaks with Art Curator Thomas Seligman on the 'Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley' exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center/ Stanford University.

Japanese organisations have asked for support in their appeal to Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon concerning the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool. 'It is clearly evident that Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool is no longer a Japanese issue but an international issue with potentially serious consequences. Therefore, it is imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late. We are appealing to the United Nations to help Japan and the planet in order to prevent the irreversible consequences of a catastrophe that could affect generations to come.'

A concerted funding effort is needed to achieve basic services for all, says this Occasional Paper from the Municipal Services Project (MSP). 'One untapped source for renewed funding of public services is the large pools of public capital accumulating in Public Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds. At present, they invest heavily in the private sector to maximize returns but under appropriate conditions, such funds could actually realize greater long-term returns from investment in public service provision while avoiding the politically controversial and contradictory practice of using public sector funds to support privatization.'

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance. After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

The Private Military & Security Companies (PMSC) newsletter published by contains updates on the impact of these companies on human rights from around the world.

Two of the world's biggest mining companies endured a barrage of protests as a broad coalition of unions, individuals, social and environmental groups from as far afield as South Africa and Mongolia travelled to London for Rio Tinto and Anglo American's annual meetings. At Anglo American's AGM, the miner came under fire amid allegations its South African subsidiary is responsible for cases of silicosis and tuberculosis in the country contracted between the 1960s and 1990s. About 1,200 former gold miners suffering the lung diseases are bringing a case against it in the High Court in London next month.

An analysis of the continuing financial enslavement of West African nations to the French government.

Growing solidarity and resistance by Latin American nations to the continuing hyper-hostility of the US towards Cuba demonstrates a new assertiveness in relationships and a shift in political power.

The World Bank and European Commission officials have accused Nevsun, the Canadian mining company operating in Eritrea, of misleading its investors. A Wikileaks cable, dated 15th June 2006, describes a visit organised by Nevsun and the Government of Eritrea for export credit agencies from Canada and South Africa, as well as Proparco, Standard Bank, and the European Investment Bank.