Al Shabab followers wake up every morning with a plan on how many lives they can take, not how many lives they would save. They read Quran and in their demented minds come up with wrong self-serving interpretations

To blacklist students is not only a witch-hunt aimed at preventing activists from holding union offices but also a calculated scheme to weaken the OAU students’ union and establish it under the direct manipulation of the university administration

We have the vote but the political parties do not represent the aspirations of the people, writes Ayanda Kota, founder of the Unemployed People’s Movement.

There is enough research to show massive capital drain from Africa and that Africa is a net creditor to Europe and North America. Without an African central bank functioning under democratic control and a credible African currency, the drain of resources will continue to rob Africa the means to achieve development

Despite U.S.-backed violence against them, indigenous communities are fighting back as multinational corporations encroach on their lands

The Lobito Corridor between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a game-changer in the new scramble for Africa’s mineral riches.

Despite their anti-imperialist potential, BRICS states have promoted neo-liberal and imperialist practices that facilitate capital accumulation, resource extraction and expansion of their markets. But growing popular unrest against exploitation, ecological destruction and neoliberalism in the BRICS countries may lead to a different, anti- imperialist, course

Industrial investment in Africa by BRICS nations has been mired in scandal at times but on the whole appears to be welcomed. Farai Maguwu takes a closer look at the real impact of BRICS investments in Zimbabwe, and questions what is required for Zimbabwe’s long term benefit.

The bank is touted as being a good potential host of the proposed BRICS bank. But its record so far suggests otherwise. A lack of representativeness, dubious appointments and investments, incompetence and a tendency towards privatisation have left many questioning whether the bank even fulfills its own mandate in the region

Namibia has enjoyed a good reputation for its nature conservation, but there is evidence the illegal trade in wildlife products is taking off.

This week’s special issue takes a gloomy look at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and their subimperialist extractive tentacles around the African continent. Social justice movements must start with a common critical analysis of the BRICS in order to intensify South to South resistance and solidarity

In Orwellian Ethiopia, the government is using foreign technology to bolster its widespread telecom surveillance of opposition activists and journalists both in Ethiopia and abroad. Addis Ababa uses control of its telecom system as a tool to silence dissenting voices

Hankering over the ‘glorious’ past as we confront our present struggles is not really helpful. Rather we should dare to invent the future, as Thomas Sankara challenged us

Caribbean nations are seeking reparations from Europe for the slave trade. All peoples of Africa and the Caribbean should support this cause. We ought to fully appreciate the lasting effects of genocide, slavery and colonialism - and how they relate to our condition today

In the run up to Algeria’s presidential elections on 17 April, a tragic comedy unfolds in which presidential candidates contest against a rigid regime with false stability. The outcome of the election is predetermined; and the people will lose, no matter which candidate wins

Josina Mutemba Machel was a revolutionary Mozambican fighter for FRELIMO who like thousands of women fought for independence for her country until she died at the tender age of 25. 7 April marks the day she died – a day celebrated as National Women’s Day in Mozambique. It occasions a celebration of her exemplary short life

The economy of Zambia is in bad shape under the helm of President Michael Sata. Sata’s liability is not in the fact that he is too old, or some of his ministers are ancient, his deficiency is in the fact that he lacks an economic vision for the country

Over sixty percent of Zimbabwe’s population are Christians. However, not all churches are supportive of homosexuality and endorse the Zimbabwe constitution that criminalizes same sex marriage yet disallows discrimination. Meanwhile several politicians make reckless denunciations of homosexuals whilst others quietly indulge in homosexual acts themselves

Why are African political leaders so drenched in opulence while their people are so poor? There are gluttonous heads of state in Africa who fail to emulate the example of the life of Nelson Mandela who was not inspired by greed and materialist accumulation

As Malawians prepare go to elections on May 20, a new comprehensive report shows that important electoral reforms have not been put in place. And the country’s politics is driven by regionalism and ethnicity