Africa Follow

The 6,000 delegates to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, this week have a heavy responsibility.

One of Africa’s greatest novelists, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, spoke to Ken Olende about his latest work, Wizard Of The Crow, and the state of the continent today

People in one of Africa’s poorest countries are recovering from being deluged with toxic waste. The recent emergency in the West African state of Ivory Coast has highlighted the way Western multinationals and governments dump waste on the Third World to evade controls and save money.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings just completed in Singapore were a disaster for the Third World, especially Africans who face a dramatic decline in voting shares on the IMF board, at the same time a few middle-income countries led by China recapitalise the institutions.

Tony Benn and Sir Willard White were among the speakers and performers at the unveiling of a plaque at School of Oriental and African Studies to honour Paul Robeson.

The TUC is organising a demonstration in front of the Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe at 1pm on Friday 22 September 2006 to protest against the repression of trade union and human rights by the Zimbabwean authorities and to express solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe.

Mandekalou 2Various artistsOut now This CD is a wonderful collection of some of the greatest artists of West African music.

The fourth London Schools and the Black Child conference was held in central London last Saturday, focusing on the continuing inequalities experienced by children of African and Caribbean heritage in schools.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has called for nationwide demonstrations for today, Wednesday 13 September in what the union has termed ‘Operation tatambura: usadherere mushandi’ we are suffering: don’t take workers for granted. The ZCTU is demanding salary increments aligned to the poverty line which would currently require more than double what most workers are earning. In addition the union is demanding a reduction of income tax to a maximum of 30% and access to anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV/Aids..

New Orleans is still broken. There is a "beauty strip" along the river in mainly white neighbourhoods, where "les bon temps" are still celebrated, but the heart of the African-American metropolis, middle class as well as working class neighbourhoods, remains a ghost city. Vast areas of the city are still without power and bodies are still being discovered in the toxic rubble.

The presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were the first national vote in the country for more than four decades.

TsotsiDirected by Gavin HoodDVD out now This film traces six days in Tsotsi’s life in modern South Africa. He ends up caring for a baby he accidentally kidnaps during a carjacking.