Empires are built through the creation or acquisition of wealth. The Roman Empire came about through the productivity of its people and its subsequent acquisition of wealth from those that it invaded. The Spanish Empire began with productivity and expanded through the use of its large armada of ships, looting the New World of its gold. The British Empire began through localized productivity and grew through its creation of colonies worldwide—colonies that it exploited, bringing the wealth back to England to make it the wealthiest country in the world.

Zimbabwe has become a mafia-run state, where 2,000 super-wealthy elites hold the country to ransom. The Marange diamond field is run by a nest of thieves, where an estimated $20 billion has been pilfered. In a country with 80% unemployment, this sends a clear message to the rest of the country - take the money and run, says Zimbabwean member of parliament Eddie Cross.

When Fidel Castro died, the mainstream media in South Africa and elsewhere were beside themselves with grief over their fallen hero. If you are not a sufferer of Castrophilia, it is obvious that there is nothing good to say about this mass murderer, except that he was lucky enough to live into his 90s within 90 miles of the US coastline.

South Africa's refusal to arrest Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir while on a visit to the country in 2015 prompted a move by government to resign from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which had an arrest warrant out for al-Bashir. The Pretoria High Court has now declared this withdrawal from the ICC to be invalid, and has ordered deput judge president Phineas Mojapelo to rescind the notice of withdrawal.

The mainstream media has thrown its weight behind Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee in the upcoming US presidential election. The "prestitutes" as Paul Craig Roberts calls them are willing to overlook her history of warmongering in Syria and Libya, her crooked dealings in the White House, and her willingness to rent American foreign policy to the highest bidder. How else would the once broke Clintons end up with a personal fortune of $120m? Instead, the media rail against Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who, whatever faults he has, is determined to pull the world back from the brink of nuclear war. 

Pastor Evan Mawarire has stirred the spirit of protest in Zimbabwe. Riots and protests now seem unstoppable as they spread from the cities to Beit Bridge border posts. The diplomatic community is warning of a possible military coup, and South Africa's shocking and corrupt support for the ruling party in past election frauds may come back to haunt it. Or perhaps this time, it will heed the voice of a young and restless population that has called for Mugabe to leave now, and make way for a change. 

Eddie Cross, the Movement for Democratic Change MP in Zimbabwe, says the country is at a crisis point similar to that of 2008 when the government abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar after inflation peaked at 500 million percent. A quarter of the country's children are orphans and the military is running the ruling party. A free election is now the only route out, argues Cross.

Two stories that suggest things are fast approaching a head in Zimbabwe. One involves riots over the number of police roadblocks travellers have to navigate as they try to make a living. It seems social protest independent of political party alliances is taking over the country. The second story involves a young Zimbabwean who told his president "F..k you" and landed himself in court. He also seemingly threatened President Mugabe's kids should anything happen to him. 

It's been called the Second American Revolution. Outliers Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are rattling the political establishment in ways that hav not been seen in nearly 50 years. It's a sign that the political establishment is in trouble.

As US President Barack Obama wages his seventh war against the Muslim world after winning his Nobel Peace Prize, journalist John Pilger reminds us that the outrages committed by ISIS can only be understood by an examination of the history of Western governments and their intelligence agencies in spreading violence and terror.

The main lesson to be learned from the damage caused by SA's stricter visa rules for visitors - now relaxed - is that the government needs to pay closer attention to the unintended consequences of policy decisions.

A study by Grant Thornton suggests the government's new visa regulations will cost the economy R2,6bn and 5,800 tourism sector jobs this year. Home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba reckons the drop in tourist arrivals to SA is the result of a slowing world economy. In any event, relief is on its way in the form of softer visa requirements.

Reports that the ANC was considering a blanket ban on dual citizenship were put to rest this week by home affairs mininster Malusi Gigaba. Despite concerns that some South Africans were fighting in the Israeli Defence Force, the banning of dual citizenship would not target certain people or countries.

SA's new visa rules requiring tourists to supply biometric data has proven a bridge too far for many. The latest stats show a massive drop in the number of visitors from our supposed partners in the Brics countries, who decided to spend their money in friendlier countries.

Two South American countries - Colombia and Venezuela - offer lessons in governance that we would do well to heed. Colombia is now one of the fastest growing economies in South America. Venezuela, ravaged by a drop in oil prices, is moving in the opposite direction.

Government is back-tracking on tighter visa requirements for visitors to South Africa after China cancelled planned direct flights and the tourism industry warned of chaos at the airports, according to Independent Online.  

Liberland, a tiny dot of land wedged between Croatia and Serbia, is the world's newest country, founded by Czech libertarian Vit Jedlicka. Taxes are optional, there is no army and its borders are open to all. No wonder more than 200,000 people have requested to live there, reports the Guardian.

The message from government is that foreign investment is not welcome. Apart from the planned prohibition on foreign land ownership, a host of new laws in the pipeline is causing alarm among US companies operating in SA.

The US and NATO's attempts to encircle and defang the Russian threat have backfired horribly, writes Dmitry Orlov. The US and its allies are increasingly isolated in the world, and Russia is emerging as the clear victor in this dangerous game of chess now being played out in Ukraine. 

Zambia may soon have a white president in the form of Guy Scott, deputy to the incumbent but ailing Michael Sata. As The Economist reports, Zambians are less churlish about race than their southern neighbours. Scott has won widespread admiration for tackling the banks and other thorny social issues.

President Robert Mugabe spoke in front of a virtually empty hall at the United Nations last week. This is a far cry from his triumphant address to the UN Assembly in 1980, when Mugabe was seen as a saviour of Africa. Zimbabwe's status as a Pariah state is now confirmed in the eyes of the world.

A new generation of Americans has been born into the 9/11 myth that has been used to create the warfare/police state, writes former President Reagan economic advisor and Wall Street Journal editor Paul Craig Roberts.

This is a sociopath's wet dream: US plans for a nuclear first strike on Russia and China. What's more, the US thinks it can down any retaliatory missiles and so survive retribution for raining death down on its perceived enemies in the East. Paul Craig Roberts spills the dirt...

Pepe Escobar argues that the de-Americanisation of the world has begun, accelerated by the current "shut-down" of the US government and the shifting of financial risks overseas. China is no longer prepared to keep a low profile, and the days of US hegemony are fast drawing to a close.