Portugal and Angola: the politics of a troubled media relationship

In his last text of 2016, published on Christmas day, the editor of Angola’s official newspaper, Jornal de Angola, wrote a ‘message of harmony’ where he chose to focus on diplomatic relations with the former colonial power. José Ribeiro’s reading was clear: “Forty one years after independence the Portuguese elites still treat us impolitely as if we were their slaves” (Ribeiro, 2016). This posture would be reinforced precisely a week later in the first editorial of 2017: “Angola will not cease to be an independent country (…) no longer willing to accept mouldy neo-colonial impositions from abroad” (Ribeiro, 2017).(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PLK1 facilitates chromosome biorientation by suppressing centromere disintegration driven by BLM-mediated unwinding and spindle pulling

Centromeres provide a pivotal function for faithful chromosome segregation. They serve as a foundation for the assembly of the kinetochore complex and spindle connection, which is essential for chromosome biorientation. Cells lacking Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) activity suffer severe chromosome alignment defects, which is believed primarily due to unstable kinetochore-microtubule attachment. Here, we reveal a previously undescribed mechanism named ‘centromere disintegration’ that drives chromosome misalignment in PLK1-inactivated cells. We find that PLK1 inhibition does not necessarily compromise metaphase establishment, but instead its maintenance. We demonstrate that this is caused by unlawful unwinding of DNA by BLM helicase at a specific centromere domain underneath kinetochores. Under bipolar spindle pulling, the distorted centromeres are promptly decompacted into DNA threadlike molecules, leading to centromere rupture and whole-chromosome arm splitting. Consequently, chromosome alignment collapses. Our study unveils an unexpected role of PLK1 as a chromosome guardian to maintain centromere integrity for chromosome biorientation

Africa’s Secessionism: A Breakdance of Aspiration, Grievance, Performance, and Disenchantment

This chapter offers four interpretations of Africa’s secessionism: aspiration, grievance, performance, and disenchantment. Secessionism remains a fundamental theme of African politics, despite being largely removed from the realm of the thinkable. Yet, South Sudan’s independence against all odds shows that African secessionism is also contradictory. Its aspirational simplicity obscures a complex political phenomenon that often couples a territorial demand with invocations of the right to self-determination. Claims are based on grievances, marginalization, narratives, and economic interests. The consequences of such claims vary; the two cases of successful post-colonial secession highlight that secessionism does not guarantee improvements. And secessionist claims rarely challenge the notion that the sovereign territorial state is the answer to Africans’ problems rather than one of its roots