Many museums in Europe and America are facing a financial crisis and from recent reports, it would not be unreasonable to assume that they may be tempted to sell, loan, transfer, or exchange African artefacts they are illegally holding, such as the Benin bronzes without anybody taking much notice

In recent years, the United States has increasingly been sidelined in areas of deep economic transformation in Africa because US engagement with Africa has been primarily through militarism and military relations. The current visit of US President Barack Obama to Africa should be viewed against this background.

How will Africans remember President Obama? How can his current visit to the continent create value for African and the American people? Here is some open advice

Although the recent forum on Africa in Ottawa did not solve all the issues surrounding foreign natural resource extraction in one sitting, it did get policy-makers listening, which is the first step to bringing about meaningful policy change

The U.S. reprises Iraq, inventing a WMD threat from Syria. The FBI concocts home-grown terror through stings, while the NSA claims it has secretly saved many lives. “Why this steady stream of government-invented terror, if the real thing is so abundant?” And, isn’t the U.S. arming and funding the same jihadists they are supposed to be listening for on our telephones?

The Tribunal ruled that the landlord was interdicted from levying the irregular charge in future, and ordered the landlord to repay the tenants all the service charges levied against them since May 2009

Yash Tandon’s was launched on 21 June. It is the beginning of the digital repository of his life's writings.

Tandon, who has contributed more than 40 articles to Pambazuka News, is from Uganda and has worked at many different levels as an academic, a teacher, a political thinker, a rural development worker, a civil society activist and an institution builder. He was involved in the democratic struggles in Uganda and was member of the interim Uganda Parliament (1979-80).

Without identifying the structural causes of sexual violence which emanate from cultural, political and economic factors on the national and global scale, the problem will remain. Sexual violence has been feminized, though it includes men and is not an isolated crime during war time but normalised and systematised as highlighted in the Congo

The Malawi Young Pioneers Movement, which unfortunately became a terror militia to prop up the Banda regime, should be revisited by the Malawi government with the goal of involving youth in the county’s development

All over the globe young people face similar and dissimilar problems: issues of oppression, economic, political and social injustice in various manifestations. They must globally mobilise with other progressive forces to transform not only their own lives but their own societies and the world

While it is key that youth who are vulnerable and marginalized are protected, brought to the mainstream and essentially empowered, it is also important to locate the assets within the youth body and create an enabling environment for their participation

Africa is moving forward and with it are young, bright and innovative people who are positioning themselves to take a creative, critical and concrete role in its development. Young Africans in the continent and the diaspora can play a crucial role in shaping the future

Will the much-vaunted new Constitution change the dismal fortunes of the youth for the better? It provides that the State shall take measures to ensure that the youth have access to relevant education and training; are accorded an opportunity to be represented and participate in political, social and other spheres of life; have access to employment and are protected from harmful cultural practices and exploitation

Young people have paid an extremely high price for the fragile state the DR Congo finds itself in, especially as large numbers of them are uneducated, unemployed and with no skills. As a result, many have become dangerous delinquents

Sierra Leone is emerging from a decade of civil war and although education and training opportunities for young people are expanding, there is a clear gap in enhancing job candidates' chances of success upon applying for a position

African youth have been the drivers of revolutions in the past two years. However, to be more effective in bringing about desired change in their nations and the continent, they must listen, learn and earn their right to make meaningful contributions

Being a young African woman is perhaps the most perilous form of identity in the continent. But there is growing recognition that Africa’s progress will be directly determined by how well it performs in improving the lives of its women and girls

Contemporary socio-political and economic conditions engendered by poor governance and the contradictions of decadent capitalism have led the youth into unemployment, underemployment, idleness, and unproductive and criminal activities for survival

Humanitarian intervention provides the U.S. the perfect ideological cover and internal rationalization to continue as the global ‘gendarme’ of the capitalist order. America should leave the rest of the world alone

Israeli cultural and academic institutions, as well as cultural products like films, directly contribute to maintaining, defending or whitewashing the oppression of Palestinians, as the Jewish nation deliberately tries to boost its image internationally

The recent court ruling ordering President Mugabe to hold elections by July 31 strangely never took account of the enormous amount of legal work that needs to be done before polls can take place under the new constitution

A coalition of civil society health experts respond to President Museveni's State of the Nation Address 2013

Today, June 13, 2013 is 33 years since world-renowned historian, academic and political activist Walter Rodney was killed on Bent Street in Georgetown, Guyana. To this moment there has been no credible enquiry into this dastardly act of cowardice. In the interest of justice, it is high time that every Guyanese and every decent human being the world over renew the repeated call made by his family, the WPA, and activists around the world for an impartial, independent, international enquiry into the circumstances surrounding his murder.

WHO WAS WALTER RODNEY

Because most of the population today was either very young, or were not born as yet when he was killed, I have included a brief timeline taken from his biography.

1. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana, on March 23, 1942.
2. He came from a humble working class family.
3. Won scholarship’s to Queens College, to the UWI, to School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
4. At age 24 completed Ph.D. with honors in African history.
5. His Ph.D dissertation was published in 1970 by Oxford University Press with the title, ‘A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800’.
6. An active partisan of the African liberation struggle (throughout his life)
7. Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1966-1967)
8. Professor at the University of the West Indies (Mona 1968)
9. He was expelled from Jamaica in 1968
10. Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam (1968-1974)
11. Published ‘Groundings with my Brothers’ (1969)
12. Published ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ (1972)
13. Came home to Guyana (1974) to take up the appointment as Chair of the History Department at the University of Guyana
14. Burnham government (1974) rescinded his appointment at the University of Guyana
15. He emerged as resistance leader in Guyana against dictatorial rule (1974-1980)
16. Together with others formed the resistance movement in Guyana, Working People’s Alliance (1974)
17. Completed the manuscript, ‘History of the Guianese Working People 1881-1905’ (1980). This manuscript published in 1981.

Before they can celebrate ‘democracy day’, Nigerians deserve to know the truth about Moshood Abiola’s stolen election twenty years ago which led directly to the country’s worst dictatorship, that of Sani Abacha

The African Union and local judicial systems in Africa appear to support the impunity of African leaders who commit crimes against humanity, lock up journalists and civil rights leaders whilst exercising a double standards that fails to commit to accountability and genuine justice

The former Land and Freedom fighters, otherwise more popularly known as ‘Mau Mau’ have won compensation from the British government for the brutal mistreatment they endured. However, in Kenya many of those who have become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) since the violent elections of 2008 continue to languish in displaced peoples camps

There seems to be an unspoken foreign goal to prevent control of mining policy throughout Africa from falling into the hands of nationalist, pro-community political forces who will promote a vigorous resource nationalism agenda

Tunisians are concerned that the uprising that overthrew the Ben Ali dictatorship has failed to bear any meaningful result. The ruling coalition is only interested in its own survival and national institutions are very weak

Election year 2015 is around the corner. But the year may herald the coming of an undertaker if one of dewy-eyed and colourless governors of the north captures the presidency to further run the region aground as many governors have so far done their fiefdoms

In one of the most bizarre attacks on media freedom, police descended on certain news organizations in Uganda and closed them down for days because of publishing claims about divisions in the military. The officers’ action displayed lack of professionalism

cc J SOn the 50th anniversary of African Liberation Day a group of progressive Pan-Africanists and internationalist activists from around the world declare that the continued military presence of AFRICOM on African soil is profoundly detrimental to the short and long term interests of African people

cc C AAfrica is lacking a clear and unified policy in terms of how it relates to China. In developing further social, economic and political ties with China, African leaders must develop a coherent and structured plan to promote the interests of Africans

Since March a combination of factors, including the fall in popularity of Zambia's ruling party PF, has led to a hate campaign against LGBT people in the country

The Media Institute of Southern Africa's (MISA) Malawi Chapter is calling upon the National Assembly and the Police to act on Parliamentary Chief Security Officer, Youngson Chilinda, for assaulting photojournalist Thoko Chikondi

Outrage sparked by the recent brutal murder of a British soldier quickly spread around the world. The deed was called depraved, sick, disgusting, savage, horrifying, but this killing was no more awful than those committed by the military from the U.S. or other NATO nations

cc V M The increased use of drones raises not only questions related to efficiency and reliability, but also questions about ethics, human rights, legitimacy, sovereignty, and the morality of war

Last weekend thousands of young people poured out into the streets of Addis Ababa demanding democratic reforms. The security forces did not attack them as in the past. Peaceful change is possible in Ethiopia

Gender based violence is entrenched in the strong patriarchal ideologies of control, subversion and subordination of women and girls. Efforts to resists this has mostly been undertaken at individual level. As a result, patriarchy continues to thrive

In all my years in the United States and there are a few cultural tendencies I still have not been able to get used to: bagels, children talking back or ‘sassing’ their parents, and public acts of defaming a parent or sibling

The Democratic Alliance desperately needs struggle credentials because they realise that, in order to advance the agenda of white capital in South Africa, they need to legitimatise themselves in the eyes of backs by dressing in the regalia of the liberation struggle

For the cultural initiative to accomplish its good intentions in Africa, it needs to take into cognizance in its plans the cultural and ethnic diversities as well as the size of Africa. The continent is too big and diverse to be treated as a mono-cultural entity

Muhildeen Shikh Mohamed is one of the few Somali men who stood up to defend his wife, Lul Ali Isman when she was gang raped by government security men. His story is among many of the hidden acts of sexual violence in Somalia in which more men need to stand up against this abuse against women

The disastrous garment industry in Bangladesh is a perfect example of capitalist expansion to the Global South where labour is cheap and abundant. But such foreign investments, now highly sought by governments of poor countries, often mean deplorable conditions of work and high profits for the companies

Pambazuka News is planning a special issue on ‘YOUTH IN AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA’

We would particularly like to receive articles from young people on this topic whether they are in organisations or not

As we reach an audience of approximately 26,000 subscribers weekly, we are calling on our readers and writers to submit articles for this special issue to cover any of the following themes (or a theme or issue of your choice):

• The problems and issues young people are facing in Africa and the Diaspora
• The role of youth in society
• Positive contributions of young people in society
• The future of youth in society and the world
• Youth organizations in Africa and the Diaspora – tell us what your organization is doing
• Any other topic/subject of your choice

ARTICLE LENGHT: Texts must be between 1000-3000 words

DEADLINE: is 13h June 2013 for submission

Your name and a two line bio must be submitted at the end of the article

Texts must be submitted to: or [email][email protected]

THE EDITORS

Kenyans must defend the right to protest in all legitimate forms and those who used pigs in the recent Occupy Parliament demonstrations are free to do so, just as those who choose other means have the right to express their views

Kenya’s poorest are about to be hit with a staggering 16% tax increase on basic goods, while large corporations enjoy huge tax breaks that only benefit the richest