Readers across the continent will relate to the characters and imagery conjured up in a jewel-filled collection of stories and poems by Zimbabwean writers John Eppel and the late Julius Chingono, writes Philo Ikonya.

The theme for the 16th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa is 'Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values'. Arguably, the success story of South-South cooperation around shared values is the African Peer Review Mechanism, says the South African Institute of International Affairs. It is the continent’s home-grown governance tracking system and will be re-examined when African leaders meet on the summit margins. Key agenda items for the APRM forum include Liberia’s accession as the APRM’s 30th member, the much-anticipated peer review of Ethiopia, and progress reports on the National Programmes of Action (NPoAs) from South Africa, Lesotho and Nigeria.

Pambazuka News is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the first annual Pambazuka Samir Amin Award. This award, launched to mark Samir Amin’s 80th birthday in 2011, pays tribute to the extraordinary contribution Samir Amin has made to our understanding of the exploitation of the peoples of Africa and the global South.

The year 2011 will move southern Africa another step closer to becoming a regional community, as one of the building blocks of a united Africa with its African Economic Community. Southern Africa is expected to take this step towards deeper regional and continental integration when three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) encompassing 26 countries in eastern and southern Africa – almost half of all African countries – approve a plan this year to establish a Grand Free Trade Area (GFTA).

Independent multimedia reporting website Mediahacker reports on WikiLeak documents in which Dominican President Leonel Fernandez expressed concern that a United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) general had been assassinated.

In an interview with Ricky Jordan, Patricia Rodney – wife of the late Walter Rodney – discusses her preparations around finally being able to write her husband’s story.

South Africa has announced that it will launch its own development aid agency in 2011 - the South African Development Partnership Agency. This move places South Africa ahead of other emerging donors such as India and China, who have yet to create separate agencies to dispense aid, reports Centre for Global Development.

While the African Heads of State and Government are preparing to discuss African shared values during the 16th Summit of the African Union (AU), 'concrete responses are awaited from the continental organisation for dealing with the crisis and conflict situations in a manner respectful of Human Rights', stated Souhayr Belhassen, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) president. FIDH calls on the AU to adopt a firm attitude in the case of Ivory Coast, in order to avoid an electoral conflict degenerating into a bloody civil war, at the same time creating a dangerous precedent for democracy in Africa at a time when 19 presidential elections are to be held in 2011.

The latest survey by the South African Institute for Race Relations (SAIRR) has found that the African National Congress (ANC) has lost 38 wards in local government elections over the past four years. The study also found that between the previous local government elections in 2006, and up until August 2010, the ANC managed to hold 306 ward seats, gain 17, and lose 55. SAIRR researcher, Marius Roodt, predicted the ANC is likely to lose support in the upcoming local government elections.

In this interview from The Real News Network, Samer Shehata answers questions about the impact of leaked diplomatic cables on the Arab world.

A multi-billion dollar iron ore deal involving lifetime dictators and a system of power through patronage makes for a toxic mix that is bad for the people of Gabon, writes Khadija Sharife.

She watched the world through windows, counting number plates. Everybody seemed to be going someplace. Her place (just for now, she told herself) would be here, where she was needed…

Gustave Massiah

Hany Besada

Samir Amin

High poverty levels and the skewed distribution of resources in Zambia's poorest province is stirring secession talk - with an ethnic dimension. 'The tensions in Western Province are a consequence of the neglect that the place has suffered in terms of socio-economic and infrastructure development,' Thomas Mabwe, head of Development Studies at the Zambia Open University, told IRIN. 'Poverty levels in Western Province are the highest in the country, and there is very little to show in terms of infrastructure development. So, to some extent, people are just reacting to that under-development of their region,' he said.

Nigeria's foreign minister on Monday called on the United Nations Security Council to authorise force in Côte d'Ivoire as West African nations seek to further pressure strongman Laurent Gbagbo to quit power. Odein Ajumogobia, in an editorial published in Nigerian newspapers, said the crisis 'single handedly precipitated by Mr Laurent Gbagbo ... will inevitably lead to anarchy and chaos, or worse, a full-blown civil war' if not resolved.

Infrastructure finance in Africa is still struggling to claw back to the pre-2008 peak, just before the global financial crisis. A new survey by audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) shows traditional finance models have faltered in the wake of the recession, compounded by political and systemic obstacles that could derail a nascent recovery.

Kenya has secured the support of the African Union Commission and Ethiopia in its bid to have the International Criminal Court defer the case against six Kenyans at the International Criminal Court and have them tried locally. AU Commission chair Jean Ping endorsed Kenya’s request, saying it is within the realm of the rights of all ICC member states. Kenya’s Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has been on a tour of African states that the government wants to back the country’s request.

Cross-border illicit financial flows from developing countries are estimated to range from US $850 billion to US $1 trillion each year. Two thirds of these illicit flows are related to tax evasion and avoidance by multinational companies operating in the South. As a result of tax dodging, poor countries lose massive financial resources which, according to the OECD, are larger than the amount received from Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Algerian police have broken up an anti-government demonstration by about 300 people in the centre of the capital, Algiers, calling for greater freedoms. Several protesters were injured and a number are reported to have been arrested. Seven police officers were also hurt, according to state media. The leader of the opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) said those held included its parliamentary leader.

What is going to happen in Egypt on 25 January? People are calling for demonstrations and sit-ins everywhere. Who is going to participate, and where? What are their demands? Isn't it possible that some people are against the whole thing? Global Voices wraps up the Egyptian blogosphere to find out answers to these questions.