Zimbabwe is on the verge of new riches as it pledges to significantly increase its production of lithium used in batteries for electric vehicles. If its production potential is realized, the metal will bring the African country fabulous wealth, say analysts. Zimbabwe aims to supply 10 percent of the world’s lithium and could reach 20 percent, the mines minister from …

 Germany and Ghana are to work together on issues including economic cooperation and migration. President Nana Akufo-Addo will also back Germany’s bid for a permanent place on the UN Security Council. Calling for reform of the UN Security Council, Akufo Addo said he supported Germany’s claim for a permanent seat, after meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday. The …

Nigerians are getting poorer despite the country’s slow recovery from recession, and economic reforms are urgently needed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The Fund expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political energy and resources, the …

Unemployment in Germany held steady at historic lows in February, official data showed Wednesday, as booming demand in Europe’s top economy fuels an ongoing hiring spree. The jobless rate was unchanged this month at 5.4 percent, the federal labour agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit or BA) said in figures adjusted for seasonal swings, remaining at the lowest level since German reunification …

Although the total number of attacks on refugees fell by about one-third from the previous year, the level remains high. More than 300 people were injured in the attacks. German newspapers reported Wednesday that there were 2,219 reported attacks on migrants and refugees and their accommodations in 2017. While this means there was an average of six attacks per day, …

The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says Africa must build value-added, industrialised economies with modernised agriculture, which takes full advantage of the digital revolution, if she is to create wealth and prosperity for her peoples. Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday, 27 February when he delivered the keynote address at the 5th German-African Economic Forum, …

Gambia’s minister of tourism, Hamat Bah, has declared sex tourists unwanted in the country. “We are not a sex destination. If you want a sex destination, you go to Thailand. The Gambia is not a sex destination. We are not, we are not and please every Gambian must sing that song,” Bah said in an interview in January. He went …

A Gambian activist, Jaha Mapenzi Dukureh, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the area of helping combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a Norwegian portal has reported. Jaha Dukureh is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls. She is also a regional goodwill ambassador for the United Nations women bloc. Jaha Dukureh …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised a food bank for refusing to accept any more migrants, calling the decision “not good”. Essener Tafel, a charity that serves free meals to the poor, had come under fire after it said it would now require new customers to produce German identity papers as a huge migrant influx was displacing locals in need. …

Real estate agencies are refusing to rent properties to refugees and migrants in Basque Country, northern Spain, the SOS Racismo association has said in a report. It added that there had been at least about 30 cases of discrimination in Victoria. In Bilbao, a group of Moroccan women has taken part in a protest against “humiliation and for the right …

The German conservative party Christian Democrat (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel has approved the grand coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD) by a wide margin, as expected. Only 27 out of 975 party delegates at the CDU party conference in Berlin on Monday voted against the plan to form a new government. However, many in the party are known …

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Worldwide, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, will host the Holy Ghost Festival of Life in Berlin in April. The indoor, interdenominational festival of Christian music, dance, drama, prayer, prophecy and sermons, will take place on 27 April in the German capital city. Festival of Life (FOL), established in London in …

A campaign to raise awareness among the youth regarding the realities of irregular migration has been conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ghana. Communities in the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana participated in an outreach and sensitisation campaign organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). From 5 to 10 February, the …

The corpse of the 54-year-old clergyman was found in his office in the Berlin district of Berlin Charlottenburg last Thursday.  Rev. Father (Dr) Alain-Florent Gandoulou is believed by the police to have been murdered. German media say the suspected assailant is from Cameroon. Berlin’s French-speaking Catholic community held funeral rites Sunday for Father Gandoulou in the city’s St Thomas Aquinas …

Thousands of people protested against Israel’s plans to deport African migrants at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday. At the same time there was a smaller protest, numbering in the dozens, who rallied for the deportation of the migrants. Israel began in early February to hand out notices to 20,000 male African migrants giving them two months to leave …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins a five-day official visit to four African countries on Monday, 26 February. According to a statement released by the president’s office, Erdogan will hold talks with his counterparts in Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali in one-on-one and inter-delegation meetings. The leaders are expected to discuss regional and global developments, bilateral relations and cooperation. Business …

Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has put his support behind Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup finals, saying the North African country would be the logical choice. Morocco is bidding for the fifth time to host the World Cup finals, having also tried for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 tournaments. The only other bid is a …

Google Play apps and games store has started accepting payments in Kenya through Safaricom’s mobile phone M-Pesa service to boost downloads in a market where many people do not have a credit card. M-Pesa, which enables customers to transfer money and pay bills via mobile phone, has 27.8 million users in the nation of 45 million people where Google’s Android …

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the abduction of some students from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe State as a national disaster. The President, however, gave the assurance that no effort would be spared by the Federal Government to rescue the girls and bring succour to their families. He gave the assurance in a statement issued on Friday …

The European Union is to double the budget allocated to a multi-national force in West Africa’s Sahel region as part of a declared mission to crack down on Islamist militancy and human trafficking there. Europe fears that growing instability in the Sahel region of Africa — an arid land mass lying to the immediate south of the Sahara Desert and …