News

The EU 27 leaders recommitted their vows to European integration in Rome on Saturday (25 March) amid warnings that the bloc’s unity remains fragile. The heads of state and government met in the same Renaissance-era palace where the six founding countries signed the Treaty of Rome on 25 March 1957, to establish the European Economic Community and the European Atomic …

  Gambia said on Thursday it would set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and offer reparations to victims of former President Yahya Jammeh’s government, which is accused of the torture and killing of perceived opponents. Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said in a statement the government will also probe the finances of Jammeh, who fled into exile in January to …

  Zimbabwean opposition parties have demanded that presidential election next year be conducted by a committee set up by the United Nations and African Union because they had lost confidence in the neutrality of the local election agency. President Robert Mugabe, 94, who has been in power for 30 years, is due to run again. Leaders from several political parties, including …

Elections present a milestone beyond which countries either strengthen their democratic credentials or become failed states. Often states fail when there are either perceived or blatant election malpractices. This in turn can lead to prolonged civil unrest. Numerous cases exist across the continent. John Walubengo, a lecturer at the Multimedia University of Kenya, uses the Kenyan case to illustrate how election processes …

Virginia Wangare Greiner, the founder of Maisha e. V., a psychosocial centre in Frankfurt, has been honoured with the prestigious Elisabeth Norgall International Award. She was bestowed with the honour recently by the International Women’s Club (IWC) of Frankfurt in recognition of her efforts concerning the needs and problems of women. Ms Greiner, who is originally from Kenya, has been honoured …

The German-born Algerian and Nigerian who were arrested in Göttingen in February on the suspicion of planning an Islamist-inspired attacks are to be deported as soon as possible, the authorities have announced yesterday. The announcement followed the rejection of the appeal of the two Africans by the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) in Leipzig, which refused their prayers to order the …

Among the measures agreed at the meeting were that migrants stopped by the Libyan coast guard will be taken to camps managed by the Tripoli government, but which will be assisted by UN humanitarian agencies and the EU.

Interior ministers from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Slovenia and Switzerland, along with EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, are in Rome on Monday to discuss strategies for curbing the number of migrants coming to Europe with their North African counterparts from Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. Italy’s Interior Minister Marco Minniti wants to form a permanent “contact group” between European and …

Madagascar Football Association chief Ahmad pulled off a stunning upset on Thursday, ousting Issa Hayatou, the long-serving president of the Confederation of African Football, in an election at the organization’s congress in Ethiopia. The 57-year-old former government minister, who goes by just a single name, won the CAF presidency by 34 votes to 20 in the poll, bringing to a …

What is it like to be a Black person living in Germany? What does it mean to be excluded from your own society? Prominent guests met recently to discuss these questions and more at the launch of the new multimedia project ‘Afro.Germany’ by the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). “I used to want to be white,” says Jana Pareigis, …

Akosua Puni Essien, the wife of former Chelsea midfielder and Ghanaian legend Michael Essien, has purchased Italian football club Como. She paid 237,000 euros for the Lega Pro side at an auction on Thursday. Ms Essien becomes the first Ghanaian to buy a club in Europe. As reported by the Associated Press, the acquisition does not include the club’s board, …

Security forces shooting dead unarmed protesters, arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, disappearances, harassment and intimidation are some of the reported human rights abuses that have been continuing for more than four months now in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, writes Kumi Naidoo* on the ongoing crisis in the country. “I write to you in hiding and with so much fear that …

The President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has assured his compatriots abroad that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari was working assiduously to solve the myriad problems the country is confronted with. Saraki was speaking when he met representatives of the Nigerian community in Berlin. He assured the gathering that the National Assembly was well alive to its …

Chad’s former foreign minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat, assumed office as head of the African Union Commission on Tuesday, pledging to reform the institution and tackle the continent’s many crises. Faki takes over the leadership of the 54-country continental bloc days after the United Nations announced that the food emergencies in four countries, including Somalia, South Sudan and northeast Nigeria, constituted …

Banning Islamic headscarves in the workplace is not “direct discrimination” and can be “objectively justified”, ruled the European Court of Justice on Tuesday (14 March). Judges said that the dismissal of a Muslim employee who insisted on wearing a headscarf – despite an internal company rule prohibiting any sign of political, philosophical or religious beliefs – did not constitute a …

"Adults can't change much, their mind is already made up, even if I try to speak to that person. But with young people, you can really talk to them and make it clear: We are all the same. The children are our future."

UK lawmakers passed the Brexit bill on Monday night (13 March), overturning earlier amendments, which aimed to protect EU citizens’ rights in the UK and grant parliament a final vote at the end of the exit negotiations. Once the bill gets the so-called royal assent on Tuesday and becomes law, it will be up to Prime Minister Theresa May to …

Gambia has applied to Switzerland for the extradition of former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko. This came as the new government intensifies its efforts in ensuring justice for victims and families of those tortured and even killed during the rule of former President Yahya Jammeh. “I have authorized and invoked International Criminal Repatriation Cooperation processes regarding those out of the jurisdiction …

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 …

Africa now has its own Internet domain 25 years after the World Wide Web launched and more than three decades after the first domain name was registered. Africa now has the unique web address .africa, equivalent to the more familiar .com, following its official launch by the African Union (AU). The outgoing AU chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said the .africa …