Fighting continues in Libya, a country fragmented by a multitude of power centers. Since mid-2014, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated due to political instability. Millions of people across Libya are impacted, including refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. Dr. Tankred Stoebe, who works with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), spent the month of January in the country co-ordinating a medical assessment that took …

Germany seeks a partnership for a common future with Africa, Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the opening of the G20 Africa Conference in Berlin. She encouraged the participants to an open, purposeful discussion: “Talk openly, we have to learn from each other and we have to achieve results.” “I hope that this conference will help us take responsibility together,” Chancellor …

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in Europe (NIDOE), Kenneth Gbandi, has called on the African Diaspora to become more actively engaged in the continent’s development. Gbandi made the call at the Africa Day Dortmund, organized by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union, recently. “For us the time of talking in NIDOE is over, …

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has been freed by an armed group in western Libya where he was being held following the 2011 revolt against his late father, former leader Muammar Gaddafi, one of his lawyers and the brigade involved said. He was released in the town of Zintan under an amnesty law passed by a parliament based in eastern Libya, lawyer …

The EU lifted visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens on Sunday (11 June), in a move that sparked joy and expectations of a better future as an aspiring EU country. Thousands of people flocked to Kiev’s European square on Saturday for free concerts and an official countdown to midnight. Musical performances included a Ukrainian version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, which …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting African leaders in Berlin today and tomorrow (12-13 June) to discuss migration, poverty and development. Leaders from Egypt, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia will be in attendance at the “G20 Africa Partnership – Investing in a Common Future” conference. The event is one of the activities of Germany’s current …

A new legislation that bans face Muslim veils, obliges immigrants to attend integration courses and asylum seekers to carry out unpaid public work will go into force in October after it was signed into law by the country’s president. The controversial integration law that will fine women for wearing face-concealing Islamic dress from October, and deprive migrants of benefits who …

    Indigenous Christians in the Muslim-dominated northern region of Nigeria are a besieged people. They’re being systematically driven off their ancestral land by violence. “Every week, there are more massacres, but nobody seems to mind – not even their own government,” writes Douglas Murray, Associate Director of the British think tank, the Henry Jackson Society. Murray who visited the …

The annual Africa Festival in Würzburg, Germany, offers many musical highlights from the African continent. This year, young artists from Senegal and Cape Verde were the main attractions. The 4-day event, the largest festival of African culture in Europe, took place on 25-28 May. Each year, the organizers of the Würzburg Africa Festival search for exciting African musicians. In almost …

Nigeria will start an international roadshow next week for the sale of a Diaspora bond and has named Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Bank of South Africa as joint lead managers, its debt management office said on Thursday. Africa’s biggest economy first unveiled in 2013 plans to sell Diaspora bonds worth between $100 million to $300 million from …

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has been talking about the impact online communities are making around the world. He is due to address the global tech giant’s inaugural Facebook Communities Summit to be held in Chicago next month. Ahead of the summit, he has been meeting people who have helped build meaningful Facebook communities. One of such people is Lola Omolola, …

One of the longest serving African presidents, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has stated that being a president for a long time has given him more experience. The 72-year-old leader made the remark on Tuesday during the State of the Nation address in parliament that lasted for three-hours due to heckling by the opposition, local media The Observer reports . “Being president …

A conference of the Group of Twenty (G20) on a global economic partnership with Africa will take place in the German capital on 12-13 June. The conference, which will be attended by heads of state and governments, will propose the “G20 African Partnership” initiative whose chief object is to spur higher investment levels – particularly from foreign investors – in …

Our contributing editor Mickie Ojijo narrates the ordeal of a German man who went to Kenya to invest his life savings in a business venture only to be duped by his local manager, a woman. All the efforts of the German to get justice have so far been frustrated by the police and courts in the East African country. Rudolf …

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will visit Germany on 11-13 June. During his stay in the country, he will attend the G20 Conference on Africa in Berlin on 12-13 June. The conference will propose the ‘G20 African Partnership Initiative’ to spur private investment in infrastructure and employment in the continent. [The G20 is comprised of 19 countries plus the EU. …

Brett Parker, Managing Director – SAP Africa, writes on how Africans are coming up with solutions to unique problems they face, leading to the emergence of new technologies. By now, I am convinced that you have heard of M-Pesa, the popular and often-cited mobile banking system that has become Africa’s innovation calling card. But do you know about the Ushahidi …

German men are claiming fatherhood of children born to immigrant women in exchange for cash, prosecutors say. A new law is now being drafted to tackle the fake paternity racket. Officials say growing numbers of pregnant immigrant women are paying German men to pose as fathers so that they can qualify for residency. The scheme allows for the children to become …

Congolese President Joseph Kabila has said he had never “promised anything” about whether to hold elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeming to back away from a deal to hold a vote this year. “I have not promised anything at all,” Kabila told the German weekly Der Spiegel in a rare media interview on Saturday. “I wish to organise …

Leaders of fifteen West African states and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in Liberia’s capital Monrovia for the 51st Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This is the first ECOWAS Summit to be held in Liberia and it’s the first time a non-African leader has been invited to speak at the forum. Netanyahu addressed …

“Agenda 2030: Sustainable Development Goals” was the theme of this year’s Africa Day in the western German city of Dortmund.  The 3-day congress, which marked the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) in 1963 and was organised by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union, beamed the focus on Agenda 2030 and its relevance to tackling the knotty …