The African Union (AU) will cease to recognise Yahya Jammeh as Gambia’s president as of 19 January, when his mandate expires, the organisation’s Peace and Security Council said on Friday, 13 January. The decision comes as West African leaders failed in a last-ditch effort to persuade Jammeh to accept his election defeat to opposition candidate Adama Barrow and step down. …

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany last year has dropped by two-thirds to about 280,000. Berlin said the decrease signals that measures to reduce migration are working. Some 280,000 migrants arrived in Germany last year, a stark reversal in numbers after the country received nearly 890,000 refugees during the 2015 migration crisis, according to year-end government figures released …

Last ditch attempt by regional leaders to persuade Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh to give up power peacefully at the end of his term have ended in Banjul without any breakthrough. According reports, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and ex-President Mahama of Ghana were unable to convince Mr Jammeh to respect last month’s election results and facilitate …