The new collection provides a nuanced overview of the political, social, and economic forces shaping contemporary Zimbabwe.

A review of Adam Hanieh’s new book, ‘Capitalism and Class in the Gulf Arab States’ (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).

A new report by UNESCO has revealed the extent of homophobic bullying worldwide, recognizing the problem as a human rights issue. The UN agency’s first ever international consultation on the issue brought together experts from NGOs, ministries of education and academia from more than 25 countries around the world.

The Sudanese president who is wanted by the International Criminal Court to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges over Darfur could not travel to Malawi to attend an AU summit. The AU changed the venue to Addis Ababa after President Banda of Malawi said her government would collaborate with the ICC.

Review of: Mary Ndlovu, 'Against the Odds: A History of Zimbabwe Project Trust ' (Harare: Zimbabwe Project Trust and Weaver Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-77922-168-1)

An Ethiopian musician has just released an upbeat song and a tribute to Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, the first African leader who defeated the Italian colonial forces at the battle of Adwa in 1896.

Are you that concrete jungle
Crumbling under the weight of
Maneuvering, manipulative matatus
Where passengers are shuka’d at whim

Are you where darkness whispers sweet lullabies
Or where lights play dirty tricks

Where money is mobile
And glass ceilings tower as high as KICC

Where freedom is plastered on bus stops
And injustice deeply rooted
Into territorial boundaries

Where few attest their tribe is indeed Kenyan

Where tusker runs like maji

Where unga is revolutionized
And revolutions are most definitely not televised

Where radios relentlessly relay well kept secrets

Where the rain commands the city
And payday drives traffic

Where the likes of Kibera & Sinai make way
For the likes of Karen & Spring Valley

Are you the capital of thieves and robbers
Or a mega polis of IT geeks, business gurus and self made men

Where every pocket is packed with dreams
But not every dream packs pockets

Tell me, Nairobi, are you that place?

© Nebila Abdulmelik, February 2012
[email][email protected]
http://aliben86.wordpress.com

Change is about to sweep Ugandan politics after decades of Museveni rule...

Verschave is convinced that the inception of Françafrique calls into question the meaning of political independence granted to French colonies in Africa more than five decades ago.

In ‘Migritude’, Shailja Patel bares her soul, mine and yours, the world’s. And out come storms of life that fill every cranny you know, a gust that nobody should stop.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo will now be appearing in sport news.

Help is in for Greece, sure...

Blaming victims of rape largely misses the mark: when does the onus begin to fall on those who carry out the crime, instead of it perpetually falling on those who have been assaulted?

A farmer who says that Heritage Oil dumped dozens of truckloads of waste in a pit dug on his land, a few kilometres north of Murchison Falls National Park, is still waiting for the National Environmental Monitoring Agency (NEMA) to give him the results of tests they conducted in 2009, and for the waste to be removed for permanent disposal elsewhere. Douglas Oluoch, 43, relates that he first came into contact with Heritage in his capacity as a local councillor (LC II) in Purongo sub-county of what is now Nwoya District. In 2008, he says, a Heritage official, who he can identify only as 'Albert', offered to pay him for accepting waste from exploration wells dug within the National Park.

Shailja Patel’s unique artistry is a provocative global mash-up of genres. She’s a slam poetry champion and star of her award-winning, one-woman play “Migritude” about the intricate webs of global migration and cultural identity. As an acclaimed poet of South Asian and Kenyan ancestry, through her fearless art she embodies the authentic voices of women, South Asians and Africans who are otherwise seldom heard. For her, the ultimate destination of poetry is justice -- too heart-breakingly beautiful to be denied.

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Charlotte Hill O’Neal aka Mama C, visual and spoken word artist, musician, filmmaker, long time community activist and co Director of United African Alliance Community Center UAACC based in Tanzania, East Africa is pleased to announce that plans for UAACC Heal the Community Tour 2012 have begun!

Mama Charlotte will be visiting the United States starting from late September for up to three months. She will be available to visit your community or school to speak on more than two decades of UAACC outreach in America and East Africa including the UAACC Leaders of Tomorrow Children’s Home program; screen unique and inspiring films; perform her music and poetry and spread the inspiration and love!

To make arrangements to bring Mama Charlotte to your school or community contact her at: [email][email protected]

Mama Charlotte was born in Kansas City, KS in 1951 and has lived in Africa with her husband Pete O’Neal, founder of both UAACC and Leaders of Tomorrow Children’s Home (LTCH), since 1970. She is the mother of two children, Malcolm and Ann Wood ‘Stormy’.

Gado welcomes new French president.

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga last week arrived in Nairobi in full graduation attire from the US where a college conferred on him an honorary doctorate, his third.

Al Ahly are very bitter because no justice has been done after scores of their number were killed in the worst incident of violence inside a stadium since Roman gladiators massacred slaves in arenas.

This is a podcast prepared by Mbonisi Zikhali based on the launch of the African Awakenings book that we held last night in Ottawa hosted by Octopus Books, Inter Pares, Carlton University and Friends of Pambazuka.