Eritreans make up one of the most prominent groups of refugees heading for Europe. What are the reasons behind this and what is the human rights situation like in the country? Wesley Dockery explains. Eritrea is a nation that lies in the Horn of Africa, bordering Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The country has been led by President Isaias Afwerki for …

A controversial pact, in which the US military wants to invest $20 million and get access to Ghana’s runways and communications, set off rallies in the West African nation, with people chanting their country is “not for sale.” Thousands of people flocked to the streets of Accra, the capital of Ghana, to protest a military deal the government recently signed …

Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial for allegedly misusing his influence to spy on an investigation into his 2007 presidential bid. It was claimed the campaign was funded by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. France’s financial prosecutor has confirmed that the former president will stand trial for influence peddling, according to Reuters. He’s accused of securing leaked details of …

Joblessness in Germany fell in March to a new record low since reunification in 1990, official data showed Thursday, as good times for Europe’s largest economy continue into the new year. Some 5.3 percent of the workforce was out of a job this month, according to preliminary seasonally-adjusted data from the federal labour agency, in line with analysts’ predictions. That …

A court in Mauritania has sentenced two slave owners to between 10 and 20 years in jail. Human rights activists have celebrated the ruling, which they say is the harshest anti-slavery decision in the country’s history. The two cases were brought by former slaves in the northwestern town of Nouadhibou, activists said Friday. A special court delivered its verdict on …

People seeking a US visa may soon be required to disclose their social media information so that five years’ worth of their online footprint can be scrutinized. It was previously reserved for people from terrorism-affected states. Nationals from countries where the US requires no visa, which include Germany, France and Britain, would be exempt from the social media checks. The proposal was …

According to the latest Africa Investment Index 2018 by Quantum Global Research Lab, an independent research arm of Quantum Global, Morocco has been named the most attractive investment destination in Africa, followed closely by Egypt and Algeria. ‘‘Morocco has been consistent in attracting an inward flow of foreign capital, specifically in banking, tourism and energy sectors and through the development …

Voters in Sierra Leone flocked to the polls on Saturday to elect new president in a hotly contested run-off vote between opposition leader Julius Maada Bio and ruling party candidate Samura Kamara. Bio, of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won a razor-thin victory in the first round of voting on March 7 with 43.3 per cent, while his …

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, is in New York to pitch for a seat at the UN Security Council for 2019 and 2020. A UN vote is to be held on June 8. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will try to convince UN member states of Germany’s credentials for a seat at the UN Security Council in New York. Maas made …

Germany recorded a bounce in the birth rate in 2016, official statistics show. The country hit a 43-year high helped along by large numbers of recently-arrived migrants. The latest figures are part of an upward trend for Germany, Europe’s biggest country by population, which has suffered from low birth rates since the 1970s. Some 792,131 children were born in Europe’s …

President Donald Trump has said that several thousand Liberians who have been living in the United States under a temporary immigrant status will have one year to return to their country or they will face deportation. The president said in a memo on Tuesday to the secretary of state that he was formally ending a program that has allowed Liberian …

Gerard Canals, operation officer at the NGO Proactiva Open Arms, is not afraid of jail. Earlier this month, the Spanish NGO helped save more than 200 people from drowning in the central Mediterranean. “I may go to prison but I am not really worried because we did nothing wrong,” he told EUobserver on Tuesday (27 March) in Brussels. Canals, along …

Ethiopia’s ruling coalition has elected a new leader in the person of Dr Abiy Ahmed. He will eventually become Prime Minister of the country, its first Muslim leader ever. The change in leadership follows the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn last month. He was the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step down; previous leaders have died …

“We won’t be putting a check in anyone’s pocket,” Germany’s development minister has said. The new initiative follows a test program whereby Germany gave refugees extra money to return home. The German government announced on Wednesday a new initiative to make it more attractive for refugees in Germany to voluntarily return to their country of origin. Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, …

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has successfully completed its mandate after almost 15 years of supporting the West African nation in its transition to peace and democracy. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, at a ceremony on 16 March in Monrovia attended by President George Weah, said the completion of UNMIL’s mandate was a pivotal moment for the history of …

Sierra Leone’s presidential runoff vote has been postponed to Saturday, March 31 by the Supreme Court, the elections body announced late Monday (March 26) in an official statement. The original date was Tuesday, March 21 but a High Court injunction affected the electoral body’s preparation leading to the four-day extension. Lawyers for the Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) approached …

The son of Angola’s ex-president, José Filomeno dos Santos, has been charged with fraud relating to the illegal transfer of $500 million to a British bank out of an account belonging to the country’s Sovereign Fund, the prosecutor general’s office said on Monday. Dos Santos is the highest profile figure to be charged since President Joao Lourenco succeeded former leader …

Nigerians in the Diaspora will converge on the British capital in July to mark this year’s Diaspora Day, the first time the event will be held outside Nigeria. The Governing Council of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide (NIDOWW) has announced that the Nigerian Diaspora Day will take place on 26-28 July in London. It’s the first time that the …

Spanish police have arrested 89 persons and broken up what they said was a sex trafficking ring. Spanish police have rescued 39 women and girls smuggled in from Nigeria and trafficked into sex work by a notorious Nigerian gang. Europol says the victims were kept in “squalid conditions in caves” and intimidated with voodoo threats. According to the BBC report, …

The number of migrants who cannot be deported rose in Germany in 2017. Authorities often struggle to obtain the relevant travel documents from their countries of origin, according to a report. The number of rejected asylum seekers and migrants who cannot be deported as they lack the necessary travel documents has increased by 71 percent, to 65,000 in 2017 from …