In the wake of England’s riots, Nigel C. Gibson draws on Frantz Fanon: ‘How to be human in a dehumanized society? This question haunted Fanon and it haunts our age.’

As a WikiLeaks cable reveals, the US was even more actively involved than originally thought in ‘enforcing the siege of Gaza along Egypt’s border’, writes Ali Abunimah.

Gaddafi’s fall points to more Western interventions to come in Africa, writes Mahmood Mamdani.

The global aid industry has made a core group fabulously wealthy, writes Rasna Warah.

Although I only met Samir Amin in late 2010, I had studied his work for decades, finding in them superior analyses and inspiration. In fact, after reading so much of his work I was quite unprepared for the person I actually met. He was very down to earth, incredibly funny, and could actually listen, the latter characteristic not one that can ever be taken for granted, particularly in the case of individuals who gain iconic status.

Your prodigious, insightful work on the nature of world capitalism, its origins and evolution, and on the long but necessary transition to socialism has educated, enlightened and inspired us over the last half a century. Truly you are one of the most original thinkers of the 20th and early 21st century. Your treatment of Eurocentricity and on the epistemological and philosophical consequences of the worldwide expansion of European capitalism has given us a frame of reference within which the cultural diversity of humanity is validated as an intrinsic part of authentic socialism.

In the era of globalisation, post-modernism and culturalism, many a Marxist intellectual of the 1960s and 1970s has metamorphosed, abandoning the class stand of the working people against the voracious capitalist system and imperialism. Not so Samir Amin. He has stood firm against capitalist barbarism. He does not mince his words nor does he capitulate to intellectual fashions. He does not seek accolades from Western scholarship nor does he curry favours to be counted among the 'best' 100 intellectuals. He remains steadfast in the great struggle of national liberation and social emancipation of the working people of the world. He remains anchored in class struggles at 80 as strongly as he was at 30 when he wrote his 'Class Struggle in Africa'.

Kenya's anti-corruption chief and his deputies have been given seven days to leave office after lawmakers adopted legislation establishing a revamped anti-graft watchdog enshrined under the new constitution.

At least 24 people were arrested for trying to stage a rally calling for more democracy and the resignation of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. The rally, organized in Luanda by a youth movement, gathered about 200 at Independence Square, in Luanda when the police stepped in and made the arrests. Protesters, journalists and several police officers were injured.

A new SDC Working paper soon to be published titled 'Deepening Participation and Enhancing Aid Effectiveness through ICTs and Media' examines why and how development practitioners can adopt ICTs and media for increased participation and better results into their daily practice.

Low price cellular telephones are helping advance mHealth opportunities across Africa, prompting developers to examine possible applications to address public health challenges. One application being developed for the Kenyan market provides symptom checkers, medical alerts and a searchable database of medical facility locations.

The Telegraph reports that the African Union has refused to recognise the National Transitional Council as the legitimate authority in Libya, calling instead for an 'inclusive government'.

Malawi’s president has been running the country’s 22 ministries on his own after firing his entire cabinet. But political and economic analysts say that his delay in appointing a new cabinet is detrimental to the country’s development. Some analysts say government has come to a standstill because of this, while others say the situation shows that the president has lost control.

This report from Christian Media Cross finds that the chairman of Liberia’s National Elections Commission is expressing concern about the large number of invalid votes in the constitutional referendum. Elections chief James Fromayan says some voters marked both 'Yes' and 'No' as if it were done deliberately.

If more small farmers in Africa's drought-prone regions grew improved varieties of dryland crops, their communities would be better prepared for prolonged dry spells and scarce rain, reports The Guardian.

There is continuing debate about the impact of microfinance on poverty reduction. In this analysis for Africa Renewal, David Mehdi Haman and Oliver Schwank argue that while microfinance cannot transform African economies, the scheme is necessary to help advance the continent’s development goals.

The African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) commissioned the production of a second round of Country Status Overviews (CSOs) on water supply and sanitation, to shed light on the factors that underpin progress in the sector. The World Bank, Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), and the African Development Bank implemented this task in close partnership with UNICEF, WHO, and the governments of 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While Libya's neighbours rush to recognise rebels who ousted Muammar Gaddafi, regional powerhouse South Africa is blocking the release of Tripoli's frozen millions to them. The policy reflects Pretoria's strong ties to Libya's former strongman that date back to the anti-Apartheid struggle, and frustration that Western intervention, not African mediation under the African Union, has again proven decisive on the continent.

Nigeria's anti-graft agency, set up in 2002, was supposed to crack down on corruption in Africa's most populous nation but it has failed to deliver, Human Rights Watch said.

In an opinion piece in the FT, William Wallis asserts that Africans are relishing something of a reversal in roles. The former colonial powers in Europe are wrestling with debt crises, austerity budgets, rising unemployment and social turmoil. By contrast much of sub-Saharan Africa can point to robust growth, better balanced books and rising capital inflows. There is an opportunity in this novel scenario: for Africa to assert itself on the global stage, and for European countries to take advantage of their historic footprint in Africa by stimulating commercial expansion to their south. But it is far from clear either side will grasp it.