Africa's 50-year dream

Addis Ababa - High-speed railways, a common language, diplomatic clout, cutting-edge fashion and leadership in space exploration: this was the vision of a transformed Africa laid out before a continental summit on Thursday.

In a speech to the African Union, the 54-member bloc's chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma provided a foresight of what Africa could be like in just 50 years' time, providing some welcome distraction to an agenda dominated by conflict. READ MORE

Africa Stands Up to Europe's Bully Tactics

The decision also renders futile the European Union's decision to exclude President Mugabe at its meeting with African states in two months time. President Mugabe's election as the First Vice chairperson makes him automatically eligible for the chairmanship in 2015. It simply defies logic why the West has continued to expose itself so badly in its bid to isolate President Mugabe and play archaic politics of divide and rule, which no longer have a place even in the chaotic scheme of international politics. READ MORE

Central Africa: Rethinking Pan-Africanism in the Current Epoch

POLITICAL disturbances in South Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad have put into focus the urgent need for African leaders to rethink the concrete continental unity and critically examine the ramifications of foreign military interventions in our domestic affairs.

While the internal dynamics of these individual countries are acknowledged, one cannot dismiss the existence of foreign political interference in fomenting tribal animosity in South Sudan and religious intolerance in CAR. READ MORE

King and Mandela inspire community connections through dance and music

Masankho Banda first came to the United States in the 1980s when his father was a political prisoner in Malawi. On Monday, he returned to use his firsthand experience with political oppression to host a celebration of two global leaders for justice —the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Through free-form dance and music, Banda guided a multicultural, multigenerational group in a Northwest Washington storefront church in exercises designed to channel the teachings of the slain civil rights leader and the South African icon who died last month. READ MORE