Ahmed Ben Bella, the first elected president of Algeria and one of the greatest figures of Arab nationalism died on April 11. In this wide-ranging interview, reflects on his life and offers interesting perspectives on world affairs.

It remains to be seen whether the new president will be careful in her efforts to mend bridges with the West in order not to be seen as an unconditional supporter of the West.

Torture and other inhuman and degrading treatments, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearance, the use of rape as a mean of intimidation, are current practices committed by the Moroccan authorities against Saharawi adults and children.

The BRICS leaders have seen concretely that there is no alternative to moving from a unipolar world to a multipolar world that is based on mutual respect and an end to hierarchies.

It appears to be one of the means Greeks use to resist poverty and unemployment imposed by the successive austerity packages. But the consequences of this social economy might be the foundation of a different society.

QUESTION: Who is the third biggest arms importer in the world, behind India and China?

ANSWER: Greece

QUESTION: If Greece had spent the EU average on defence over the past 10 years (1.7%) of GDP rather than spending 4% of GDP, how much money would it have saved?

ANSWER: 52% of GDP or Euro150 billion. So why are France and Germany not demanding that Greece cuts its defence spending; a residual fear of the Turk or perhaps there is another reason...?

QUESTION: In the period 2006-2010 which country was Germany’s largest market for munitions?
Answer: Greece, which accounted for 15% of total German arms sales.

QUESTION: In the same period, what country was France’s largest arms export market in Europe (third largest overall)?

ANSWER: Greece

QUESTION: In 2010 (last year data is available) social spending in Greece was cut by 1.8bn Euros, how much did military spending change?

a) Decreased by Euro 900 million
b) No change
c) Increased by Euro 900million

ANSWER: C

It is high time the US foregoes its sense of entitlement at the World Bank and allows a merit-based and transparent contest for the presidency to allow non-American candidates a genuine chance of winning.

Dr Lopes is considered an institutional development and reform specialist.

Residents of Nairobi’s numerous slums live in constant fear of demolition of their homes. Yet there is no government plan to solve the problem of housing. The residents need to organise and demand their rights.

cc WikimediaAfter the tragedy of Obama, the new World Bank president could well be a farce. It’s simply a matter of considering the underlying power relations.

BAMILEKE:

I am a Mod Ngam
Man of spiders
Often called a diviner.
I am Bamileke
Born in Cameroon
Observing the Earth Spider.

VOICES:

He lives underground
With the nature spirits
Our ancestral messenger.

BAMILEKE:

Earth Spider takes his pick
Movement of leaf and stick.

VOICES (chanting):

He knows the ancient ones.
Earth Spider, tell us what you see;
We await your diplomacy.

DOGON:

I am a Hogan
Diagnosing for the Dogan,
Sands of the Bandiagara.
Come, Sand Fox
There are sticks in the sand
There is drought in the land.
I invoke your presence;
I am the Sunset Chanter.

VOICES (chanting);

Bandiagara
Mountain of freedom
For the Dogon of Mali.

DOGON:

Tell us Sand Fox
Our precious visitor;
Have we offended our ancestry?

BAULE:

I am called Komien
Within the Baule
My special pot called Gbekre.
Once upon a time
The mouse could speak
Of that the Baule toast.
Now he talks
Through the movement of sticks
For us in the Ivory Coast.

KARANGA:

I am an Nganga
Throwing dice called Hakata;
Made of wood
Bone or seed.
Between Ancestor and Karanga,
I endeavour to intercede.
Trusted and respected
I divine, I pray;
For the Karanga of Zimbabwe.

VOICES (chanting):

Ancestor, ancestor
The Healer wants to talk with you.
Whether with mice
Or the use of dice
Diviner wants to talk with you.

ZULU:

Being a Sangoma
I also use bones.
I am Nguni.
That is the Zulu, the Xhosa
The Ndebele and the Swazi.

VOICES (chanting):

Come with the bones, Sangoma
Come as quick as you can
Tell us of Unkulunkulu
Are we drifting from his plan?

ZULU:

From Unkulunkula
I received a special duty.
Having done my training,
Knowing herbs and animals;
I can make the sacred Muti.

I was possessed
I did not choose this profession.
Unkulunkulu called me,
Through my ancestor,
To be a healer of this nation.

VOICES:

Blessed Babalawo
It’s not time for you to go.
Here comes another someone
With troubles in his head;
I think he’s sinking in the flow.

YORUBA:

I am Babalawo
With the gift of Ifa
Giving to my people the Yoruba.
A gift from Olodumare
Through his servant Orunmila
To me, here in Nigeria.

VOICES:

You with great knowledge of Ifa
We beg you, do not go.
Her illness moves fast
Her days grow slow.

YORUBA:

I am a busy Babalawo.

ZANDE:

To raise them from their woes
To reach the spiritual height
I use what God has given us;
Divination by the termite
Two branches in one termite hill.
One from one tree
One from another.
And in their eating
Knowledge begins to gather.
You’ll find us in the D.R.C
The C.A.R. and Sudan-
Those who are called the Zande.
You will see us by the Congo
As well as by the Nile,
Praising the one called Onyame.

POKOT:

I am a Pokot elder
From the land of Kenya,
But just like Dogon in Mali
Our divination,
Whether by goat or by shoe,
Is performed for us by an elder
The elder of the older.
Shoes of he who is missing are thrown.
Like the Zulu bone
The Yoruba palm nut
The Maasai stone.
We continue to interpret the unknown.

VOICES:

The longer you live you get closer to the Shrine
Attracted by the Crucial Flame.
We get closer to Creator,
Called by this and that,
God of a thousand names.

Bamileke: Si
Dogon: Amma
Baule: Nyamien
Zande: Onyame
Zulu: Unkulunkulu
Yoruba: Oludumare
Pokot: Torontot
Karanga: Mwari

VOICES (chanting):

Ancestor, Ancestor
The healer wants to talk with you.
Whether by mice
Or whether by dice,
Diviner needs to talk with you.

©Natty Mark Samuels, 2010

Thirty years ago, on March 31 1982, prisoner number 466/64 of Robben Island was transferred to Pollsmoor maximum security prison (Cape Town), thus ending two decades of banishment to the worst outpost of the South African penal system. During these years, The UNESCO Courier brought regularly news and ideas from the five continents to Nelson Mandela. In November 1983, The Courier published an issue on Racism with a portrait of Nelson Mandela on the cover.

Poor sanitation is not only a menace to public health, but also a roadblock to sustainable development and a huge strain on financial resources, according to a new World Bank study. A report by the Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) finds that poor sanitation is causing a loss of US$5.5 billion every year to 18 African countries. That estimated loss in turn adds up to annual economic damages between 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Uganda’s dismal employment prospects have left more than 12 per cent of the population unemployed or underemployed. New college graduates say they can’t find long-term work or any work at all. In the face of unemployment and underemployment, many are sticking with jobs that underpay or conflict with personal values.

Government has confirmed Malawi will go ahead to host the African Union summit in June in Lilongwe this year. Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told Zodiak Radio that hosting the summit would be an honour to late President Bingu wa Mutharika who wanted Malawi to host the summit. Before President Mutharika's death, President Joyce Banda opposed the idea of Malawi hosting the summit due to what she called poor economic situation.

Democracy campaigners in Swaziland have come up with a novel protest against King Mswati III - ignore the public holiday called to mark his birthday and go to work instead. The April 12 Swazi Uprising Movement is one of the many groups and individuals in Swaziland angered that King Mswati will be spending millions of emalangeni of public money on his birthday party. They want the Swazi people to boycott any celebration of his 44th birthday that falls on Thursday (19 April 2012).

Water privatisation has been proven not to help the poor, yet a quarter of all World Bank funding goes directly to corporations and the private sector, bypassing both governments and its own standards and transparency requirements in order to do so, says a new report. Corporate Accountability International, the US-based non-governmental organisation that published the report, has called on the World Bank to stop funding the private water sector and start redirecting its money to public and democratically accountable institutions.

Lawyers for Zambia's ex-president Rupiah Banda accused prosecutors Thursday of pursuing his son on politically motivated charges of corruption in the sale of the national telecom firm to Libya's LAP Green. Henry Banda is living in South Africa. After his father lost elections in September 2011 the elite Government Investigative Wing announced that he was wanted for questioning over the $257-million sale of fixed-line operator Zamtel to the Libyan firm.

Angola is ending its military mission to help modernise the army in Guinea Bissau as a result of requests from unnamed 'sectors' in the country, Portuguese news agency Lusa quoted Angola's foreign minister as saying. Guinea Bissau is currently in the middle of two rounds of voting to elect a new president to replace Malam Bacai Sanha, who died in a Paris hospital in January after a long illness.

Shares in Cobalt International Energy fell as much as 11 per cent after news that three of the most powerful officials in Angola have held concealed interests in the Goldman Sachs-backed group’s oil venture in the African country. The fall, which wiped $900m off Cobalt’s market capitalisation, came after a Financial Times report detailed the interests.