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Allegations that President Jacob Zuma’s friends, the Gupta family, corruptly dictate cabinet appointments have plunged South Africa into a political crisis. Shutterstock

Why state capture is a regressive step for any society

Lobbying political actors to achieve particular outcomes is an acceptable practice in a democracy. But state capture, as is allegedly happening in South Africa, denotes holding the state to ransom.
Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of South Africa’s governing party the African National Congress, holds the key to Jacob Zuma’s future. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Dramatic night in South Africa leaves president hanging on by a thread

For the time being at least, South African President Jacob Zuma is not ready to relinquish power. But perhaps sooner rather than later he may have to face the inevitable.
High-rise buildings amid shacks in Luanda. President Dos Santo has announced plans to retire amid growing unease among Angolans over deepening poverty despite a recent oil boom. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Dos Santos maintains the status quo while suggesting change in Angola

Angola’s Dos Santos is buying time. His promise to step down is an attempt to diffuse growing political tensions, as repression continues. He might relinquish his position, but not his power.
A river flows into the Indian Ocean along South Africa’s Transkei coast, where residents are resisting a titanium mining project. Epa/Nic Bothma

Local anger is rising against South Africa’s ‘resource curse’

South Africans living in communities along the country’s east coast are engaged in intensive protests against mining companies, despite rising danger.
The US and Cuban flags with Havana’s National Capitol Building in the background. EPA/Michael Reynolds

Lessons from Cuba about reclaiming symbols of a painful past

Cuba’s National Capitol Building has been reclaimed as the seat of the National Assembly 54 years after it was abandoned by the new revolutionary government. There are lessons in this for others.
The Angolan government failed to use revenues when the oil price was high to tackle massive social and economic challenges. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Why Luanda’s residents are asking: where did all the oil riches go?

As the oil price crisis deepens, Angolans are beginning to ask what actually happened to the glut of oil dollars. Very little has come from the oil boom of 2004-14.
There is an abundance of baby fur seals on the west coast of South Africa, but true seals, which inhabited the area five million years ago, no longer do so. Supplied

Unlocking the mystery of how true seals disappeared from the Cape

Climate and sea level changes over time have led to the disappearance of the true seals, although these mammals still exist in the Antarctic.