Zambian miners ended a two week old strike for better pay in early November, winning back their jobs and a pay hike from a Chinese firm. Union officials said it was a sign that Chinese-owned companies in Zambia are starting to bow to government pressure over worker rights. Management at the Non-Ferrous China Africa locked out the workers who had gone on strike for a 100 percent raise from their base pay of $200 monthly. Zambia has seen a rash of strikes at Chinese and Indian-owned plants after newly-elected President Michael Sata proposed raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $84 a month.

Weapons of Mass Construction: MBBC E-Learning Platform Launches!

The Movement Building Boot Camp (MBBC) online platform is an e-learning space for African activists doing progressive work around sexuality, gender, justice and rights. It features training guides and knowledge resources to support creative thinking, strategising and discussions among activists working for social transformation inclusive of issues of sexuality and gender identity. The training resources are organised around three intersecting pillars: Concepts (theoretical frameworks for understanding our world), Practice (activist tools and methods) and Self (individual and collective well-being and security). The site is intended to support self-organised learning and training. The materials are designed to be directly downloaded and used by individuals and activist groups. It includes training modules to help facilitate your own training or learning. The library contains references and materials for further reading. Content created for this site is available for free under a Creative Commons license that allows it to be used for non-commercial purposes. In the spirit of movement building, please do let us know how you are using the materials, and if you would like to contribute information for the site.

The Obama administration is considering 'an urgent appeal' from Kenya for US intelligence and logistical support for its military operation in Somalia, the Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper characterised Kenya’s Somalia operation as 'faltering' but cited no specific sources, even though Kenya UN ambassador Macharia Kamau did visit Washington to seek US backing for Operation Linda Nchi. Mr Kamau had earlier told nation.co.ke that Kenya would welcome an international blockade of Kismayu, the southern Somalia port through which the Al- Shabaab derives much of its revenue. The US has publicly expressed reluctance to undertake such a blockade.

Global Justice Ecology Project has just published the No REDD Papers, Volume 1. 'Your future, our climate and Indigenous Peoples are threatened by a devious false solution to climate change called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Unfortunately, industrialized countries, oil companies and other climate criminals that are trashing the planet have absolutely no intention of drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions necessary to truly address climate change.'

The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region has been (and remains) a fascinating testing ground for the media and politics and has inspired, among numerous other independent productions, a documentary film that features the voices of North African and African immigrants living in Italy. Called #Revolution, this short video was filmed in Padua and Bologna by citizen-reporters belonging to the Voci Globali association.

A week-long lecturers' strike has been suspended to allow pay negotiations between the government and university unions. Labour minister John Munyes announced that the tutors are expected to resume teaching immediately and talks will begin in two weeks. Under the agreement, the Ministry is supposed to initiate the consultation process with the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Service.

Opportunity Closing Date: Monday, November 28, 2011
Opportunity Type: Call for Submissions

18 December 2011 marks Bantu Stephen Biko’s 65th birthday. In celebration, the Steve Biko Foundation is calling for reflections on the legacy of this South African freedom fighter. The topic is The Contemporary Relevance of Steve Biko. Submissions may focus on any field that was impacted by Biko, but of particular interest are: The Arts, Culture, Education, Economic Development, Identity and Health

Submissions will be published in the December issue of the Steve Biko Foundation’s FrankTalk Journal as well as on the FrankTalk Blog. The length of the submission should be between 800 and 1500 words in MS Word.

Papers should be submitted to Dibuseng Kolisang at
Alternatively, papers may be faxed to + (27.11) 403. 8835.
For more information email Dibuseng or call + (27.11) 403. 0310.

Africa does not need an American military base on its soil. Would Americans welcome such a foreign base in their land? Motsoko Pheko urges African countries to resist this imperialist move, which is intended to facilitate plunder of their resources.

Thousands of pro-democracy activists demonstrated in Morocco's largest city calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections less than two weeks away. The demonstrations comes as a parliamentary delegation from the Council of Europe noted there was little enthusiasm in the country just two weeks before the election and said there was worry about the level of participation.

Thousands of migrants traverse the road between Djibouti’s capital, Djiboutiville, and the coastal town of Obock carrying little more than a bottle of water and the hope that they are heading towards a better life. They pass through an arid landscape strewn with volcanic rock that sustains little life besides the occasional pastoralist and his goats. Temperatures average around 34 degrees Celsius in winter and in summer can reach 52 degrees. It is just one leg of a journey that, for most, started in Ethiopia or Somalia and for the fortunate ones will end with a well-paid job in Saudi Arabia.

Access to basic education in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains poor, with up to seven million children across the vast country out of school - despite a 2010 government decision to make primary education free. DRC is still struggling to overcome the effects of wars that raged between 1996 and 2003, compounded by continuing violence in the east of the country and decades of corruption and poor governance. The seven million figure was contained in the preliminary findings – reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - of a study conducted by the DRC government with the UK Department for International Development and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

The strike by lecturers in public universities enters its sixth day Monday with a possibility of more institutions shutting down. At the weekend, students at Chepkoilel University College in Eldoret were sent home indefinitely. The constituent college of Moi University followed Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kakamega and Egerton University in Nakuru in shutting down after lecturers and non-teaching staff downed their tools to demand increased salaries.

Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) is a UK-based refugee rights organization assisting refugees who seek asylum in Egypt. Our Egypt office (AMERA-Egypt) serves more than 1000 refugees each year and involves the efforts of more than 40 staff, interns, and interpreters from Egypt and other countries. AMERA is committed to providing holistic services for refugees and migrants in Cairo through pairing legal aid with psychosocial assistance. The Community Outreach Team comes in as AMERA's outlet to the different refugee communities around Cairo.

Nigerian newspaper NEXT shone like a million stars on 1 November as one of its editors and two of its reporters scooped two of the three awards on offer at the FAIR (Forum for African Investigative Reporters) African Investigative Journalism Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pambazuka News contributor Khadija Sharife’s untangling of pharmaceutical medicines pricing, with devastating consequences for young children in need of anti-diarrhoea treatment, which she did for Al Jazeera Africa, received a special mention from a number of judges.

AKina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is seeking a consultant to assist in developing a standardized Curricula for its African Women’s Leadership Programme.The curricula will be based on the training framework of the African Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI) which aims to build leadership at both personal and collective level. Closing date of applications is 18th November 2011.

This issue includes:
- The 50th Anniversary of Fanon: Culture, Consciousness and Praxis
- Frantz Fanon: Existentialist, Dialectician, and Revolutionary
- Revisiting Fanon, From Theory to Practice: Democracy and Development in Africa
- Hegel and Fanon on the Question of Mutual Recognition: A Comparative Analysis
- Fanon Now: Singularity and Solidarity
- Reading Violence and Postcolonial Decolonization Through Fanon: The Case of Jamaica.

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has been granted asylum in Niger on humanitarian grounds, the country's president confirmed. Mahamadou Issoufou insisted he knew nothing of the whereabouts of another of the slain Libyan leader's sons, Saif al-Islam, who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC). 'We have agreed on granting asylum to Saadi Gaddafi for humanitarian reasons,' Issoufou said during a visit to Pretoria in South Africa.

Dani Nabudere’s ‘undying commitment to practical Pan-Afrikanism on grassroot level leaves us all with an enormous challenge in continuing his legacy and insist that all his sacrifices and achievements must never be in vain,’ writes Baba Buntu.

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.

'The challenge to end economic, geographic, gendered Apartheid is huge. Much of this challenge exists at a local level. But, as this guide shows, the Constitution empowers communities to claim their rights. Activists must connect the dots and ensure that Government prioritises the rights of people. We encourage you to use this guide to do that!' - Pregs Govender, deputy chairperson, South African Human Rights Commission, in the Forward to 'Making local government work: an activist guide.'