The German parliament’s upper chamber has rejected a law that would have allowed quicker deportations to Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. The decision deals a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee strategy, reports Jefferson Chase. In the end, the vote wasn’t even close. Led by federal states with left-leaning governing coalitions, a wide majority of the Bundesrat shot down a law …

Gambia’s government will launch an investigation into the finances of former President Yahya Jammeh, Justice Minister Aboubacarr Tambadou told Reuters on Friday. Tambadou said the investigation would include his personal use of a charity bank account. The government of President Adama Barrow, who beat Jammeh in the December 2016 election before Jammeh fled into exile, had accused Jammeh of siphoning …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari returned to his country on Friday after nearly two months of absence. He has been in the UK receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. Details of his health condition have not been made public. The former military ruler left the country on 19 January and has been on medical leave in London. Buhari (74) is however …

Most flights at Berlin’s Tegel and Schönefeld airports will be cancelled on Friday as ground handling staff strike in support of a pay claim. Ground staff will walk off the job from 04:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday, the Verdi union said after a ballot of members voted 98.6 percent for industrial action. Lufthansa said it has cancelled all …

Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport officially closed yesterday for a six-week repair. The closure will last six weeks to allow for a comprehensive maintenance of the airport runway, according to the Nigerian government. The decision to shut the airport and divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna, an airport used primarily for domestic flights about 160 km to the north, was taken …

It is a common practice of Western journalists to compare the economic situation of Ghana today with that of South Korea to illustrate how backward Africa still is in comparison with the other parts of the world. The basis for comparing the two countries is the similar size of their economies at the time Ghana gained independence in 1957. Our …

This year’s Anne Klein Women’s Award from Germany’s Heinrich Böll Foundation goes to South African Nomarussia Bonase, who fights for Apartheid victims still waiting for compensation. DW journalist Thuso Khumalo has met her. Nomarussia Bonase, aged 50, celebrated winning the Anne Klein Women’s Award by singing and dancing with her family and supporters, both young and old, on the street …

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that Ghana no longer has an excuse to remain an underdeveloped country after 60 years of independence from colonial rule. In a nine-page independence anniversary speech delivered in Accra on Monday, he pointed out that after successfully fighting off colonial rule in order to take charge of its own destiny, “we have run out …

Félicité, a story about a nightclub singer in Kinshasa who has to desperately find funds to pay for her son’s treatment after a road accident, won the top prize at Africa’s top film festival at the weekend. The film won the Étalon de Yennenga (Golden Yennenga Stallion) award at the 25th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of …

  German Development Minister Gerd Müller has been canvassing support for his ‘Marshall Plan with Africa’ at the African Development Bank in Ivorian capital city of Abidjan. Some bankers thought his discussion paper lacked detail, reports Adrian Kriesch. In the modern premises of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the Ivorian commercial hub of Abidjan, around twenty board members are …

Nigeria is advising its citizens against all but essential travel to the United States because of the lack of clarity on new immigration rules, the government said on Monday (6 March). A special adviser to the president on foreign affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said in a statement that Nigerians “without any compelling or essential reasons” should consider delaying. “In the last …

  The United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent undertook its first official visit to Germany from 20 to 27 February to study the human rights situation of Black people in the country. The human rights investigators met members of the Black community in five cities across Germany.Bob Hooda, an engineer originally from Tanzania who was …

More than 40.000 people with Ghanaian heritage live in Germany, which makes them the biggest African community in the country from south of the Sahara. Half of them still have Ghanaian citizenship.

Air France now offers three weekly flights on the Accra-Paris route. The flights, departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, are operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. “These three weekly flights will strengthen Air France’s presence in Africa as well as the Air France-KLM Group’s presence, as KLM already flies daily from Amsterdam to Accra,” Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of …

Germany and Tunisia have made a deal on immigration and development aid. Under the agreement reached after talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Beji Essebsi in the Tunisian capital, the North African country will take back its citizens whose asylum applications have been turned down by Germany. Berlin will reward Tunis with generous development aid. “We have agreed with …

Botswana is the official partner country of ITB Berlin this year and #ilovebotswana is the slogan of the opening ceremony.

The United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent undertook its first official visit to Germany from 20 to 27 February to study the human rights situation of Black people in the country. They met representatives of the Federal and State Governments, Members of Parliament (Bundestag), representatives of national and state-level human rights institutions, and civil society …

GENEVA, Switzerland, 2 March 2017,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The 5th edition of the AFRICA CEO FORUM will take place from 20 – 21 March in Geneva and will focus on how to succeed in this new economic cycle on the continent. Having cemented its status as the foremost meeting dedicated to the development of the African private sector, the AFRICA …

Adam Amina, a 33-year-old pregnant mother, lay in one of the labour wards at Tamale’s only referral hospital in northern Ghana. She looked uncomfortable as she waited for her turn to be examined by one of the male midwives.

The city of Frankfurt will again host the Nollywood Film Festival Germany (NFFG) and its sister event Nollywood Europe Golden Award (NEGA) this year, director Isaac Izoya has announced. The yearly event, organized by Ehizoya Golden Entertainment e.V., features Nollywood (Nigerian) film screenings, an award ceremony and networking opportunities for filmmakers. Nomination for Nigerian films to be screened at this …