Germany inched toward a new government Friday as Chancellor Angela Merkel and the centre-left Social Democrats agreed to move ahead with formal talks to build a coalition. Merkel’s Christian Democrats, her Bavarian CSU allies and Martin Schulz’s SPD announced a policy blueprint for a future coalition government. If the three parties can agree on the details, and avoid pitfalls along the …

Clashes last week between rival elements of Côte d’Ivoire’s security forces appear to be a destructive extension of a tussle at the highest levels of power. As such, they bode ill as the country gears up for presidential elections in 2020. On 9 January in Bouaké (the country’s second largest city and between 2002 and 2011, a rebel stronghold), soldiers …

Nigeria’s Channels Television and the BBC are joining forces on a new English language current affairs programme due to launch in 2018. The live studio based show will focus on the stories behind the news, with original storytelling and audience interaction via social media and in the studio in Lagos. Made by the BBC and Channels Television in Nigeria, this …

A Nigerian-British male fashion model, Harry Uzoka, has been stabbed to death near his home in what is believed to be a robbery which went wrong. Uzoka, who was on the books of Premier Model Management, died from a single stab wound in the tragic incident on Friday (12 January). Neighbours on Old Oak Road, East Acton, reported a shout …

US President Donald Trump has denied being “racist” in the wake of wide condemnation triggered by his alleged reference to Haiti and African nations as “shitholes”.   Trump reportedly used the term last week during a bipartisan Oval Office meeting on immigration reform. “I’m not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell …

German doctors shut their doors to state insurance patients at the end of each quarter to save money, a new study has shown. Germany’s profit-driven health care system is increasingly attracting criticism. State health insurance patients are struggling to see their doctors towards the end of every quarter, while privately insured patients get easy access, according to a study released …

Liberia’s ruling Unity Party has expelled the country’s outgoing president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is accused by party leaders of meddling in last year’s presidential elections in which its candidate suffered a bruising defeat. Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been in power for 12 years, denies the party’s allegations that she held inappropriate private meetings with …

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted all the appeals presented by Sudanese nationals against the Italian government for their collective forcible removal on August 24, 2016, under an agreement between the Italian police chief and his Sudanese counterpart. The ECHR has formally notified the Italian government of the appeals and asked for specific information in order to better …

Africa’s continental leadership body has reacted with anger to the US president’s crude remarks about African countries. The African Union Mission in Washington DC has condemned Donald Trump’s derogatory statements allegedly made about Africa and Haiti. In a statement released on Friday, the mission expressed its disappointment in the president of the United States and demanded a ‘retraction of the …

The Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament kicks off on Saturday January 13 in Morocco. The CHAN is a version of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) but one that is reserved for players who ply their trade in Africa. The biennial competition is scheduled to take place between January 13 to February 4, 2018 across four Moroccan cities of Casablanca, …

The annual Henley Passport Index has just been released. It ranks passports according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The ranking named Germany as the country with the most powerful passport in the world for the fifth year in a row. Last October a separate ranking put Singapore at the top of the list, but Germany …

French President Emmanuel Macron faces a backlash over plans to tighten immigration law as the number of asylum seekers soars, with aid and emergency agencies accusing his government of planning mass expulsions. To try to ease the tension, Macron dispatched Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to meet aid organisations on Thursday and explain legislation due to go in coming weeks to …

A report that President Donald Trump reportedly asked why so many people from “shithole countries” like El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations come to the US has been met with widespread outrage. Trump reportedly became furious during a meeting at the White House Thursday when Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) proposed restoring protections for immigrants …

More than 200 persons have been reported dead or missing in a deadly start to the New Year for migrants on the Mediterranean. The Libyan Coast Guard reported Wednesday (10 January) that up to 100 migrants, majority of whom were from The Gambia, Senegal, Sudan, Mali and Nigeria, remain missing in the third deadly shipwreck on the Mediterranean Sea since …

More than 200 people were arrested and dozens were injured on Tuesday as a wave of demonstrations continues to shake several cities in Tunisia following new austerity measures in the 2018 budget, which are expected to increase the cost of living. The spokesman for the Tunisian interior ministry Khalifa Chibani told local media outlets on Wednesday that 49 police officers …

Nigeria’s political parties must select their candidates for the country’s 2019 presidential election between 18 August and 7 October this year, the electoral commission said on Tuesday in a timetable of the polling process. Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 16 February 2019, marking the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term. Buhari has not said if he …

The US government has blocked the sale of Texas-based international money transfer company MoneyGram to Chinese online retailer Alibaba, both corporations have announced. The MoneyGram deal is the latest in a series of Chinese acquisitions of American companies that have failed to clear US financial authorities. The $1.2 billion deal’s failure represents a blow for Jack Ma, the executive chairman …

 An electro-pop song called “Mercy” by French duet Madame Monsieur is competing to represent France in the 63rd edition of the European song contest Eurovision in May. The piece tells the unique story of a toddler born on a rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea. “I am all those children taken by the sea”. There’s a stirring story behind the …

The African Union (AU) has condemned an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea stressing that it will not condone any unconstitutional power seizures on the continent. The United Nations through its special envoy to the Central African nation, Francois Fall, had also condemned the attempted takeover promising to help Malabo with stabilization efforts. The AU Commission’s position was contained in a …

German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it plans to hire more than 8,000 people in 2018, the latest step in a relentless push for growth at one of Europe’s largest carriers. Taking into account workers leaving the company, a Lufthansa spokesman told AFP that the net effect of the hiring spree would be “several thousand” new jobs — an increase …