Africa
Atmospheric CO2 Concentration at Highest Level in 800,000 Years
Carbon dioxide – the main atmospheric greenhouse gas – reached 410 parts per million in April, for the first time in recorded history. The connection to global warming is undeniable, but emissions have plateaued, which means that we can still reverse this trend, says climate scientist Michael Mann
UN Declared Humanitarian Crisis in the DRC, President Kabila Rejects Aid
President Joseph Kabila insists that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, even as millions of children starve. Kabila “doesn’t want anything to reinforce what is widely understood: that the instability in the country is caused in large part by his refusal to step down from power,” says Friends of the…
Winnie Mandela: ‘The Rebel Within a Rebellion’ in South Africa
Ronnie Kasrils, Former ANC Minister of Intelligence, says Winnie was an inspiration to a nation. When the huts were burning and people were bleeding in the streets during the struggle against the Apartheid, it was Winnie that first arrived to be by their side; she was a South African diamond in the rough
The Chinese in Africa
A New Chapter in China-Africa Relations
The political and economic relationship between China and Africa, which has steadily intensified since the ’90s, is very different than the relationships African countries have had with other capitalist powers. China’s own colonial past is a big factor, says Dr. Zhiqun Zhu of Bucknell University
Capital Flight From Africa: How the Poor Finance the Rich
A new World Bank report comparing economic growth among different regions in the world ignores key factors in addressing wealth and inequality in Africa–particularly the wealth that is stashed offshore in developed countries, says economist and author Leonce Ndikumana
IMF’s Structural Adjustment Programs Weaken States They Aim to
A new paper from the Political Economy Research Institute discusses how the IMF’s programs undermine the ability of governments in developing countries to properly govern
President Ramaphosa: From Militant Revolutionary to Corporate Magnate
The ANC’s revolutionary leadership became low-level allies of international capital–the same capitalist classes that exploited South Africa’s working people, says scholar Horace G. Campbell
South Africa: Criminality and Deep Rot in the ANC Will Continue Under New President
South Africa’s new President Cyril Ramaphosa has been part of the ANC leadership for decades, aiding and abetting in the very criminality he now pledges to eradicate, says Vishwas Satgar. Watch part 1
Zuma’s Catastrophic Presidency Ends in Forced Resignation (1/2)
South African President Jacob Zuma resigned under intense pressure from his political party, the ANC, which ordered him to step down or face a no-confidence vote. Zuma has had a disastrous effect on South Africa’s nascent democracy, but a surging countermovement gives reason for hope, says Vishwas Satgar of Wits University. Watch part 2