Asylum seekers and activists tell Al Jazeera how government-linked translators have infiltrated the immigration system in Europe. Elaine Allaby reports. Rome, Italy – It was a warm Mediterranean day in October 2013 when Meron Estefanos got the news. A boat had sunk off the Italian island of Lampedusa and several hundred refugees had drowned. In the end, the death toll …

Zimbabwe is on the verge of new riches as it pledges to significantly increase its production of lithium used in batteries for electric vehicles. If its production potential is realized, the metal will bring the African country fabulous wealth, say analysts. Zimbabwe aims to supply 10 percent of the world’s lithium and could reach 20 percent, the mines minister from …

Nigerians are getting poorer despite the country’s slow recovery from recession, and economic reforms are urgently needed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The Fund expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political energy and resources, the …

The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says Africa must build value-added, industrialised economies with modernised agriculture, which takes full advantage of the digital revolution, if she is to create wealth and prosperity for her peoples. Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday, 27 February when he delivered the keynote address at the 5th German-African Economic Forum, …

Gambia’s minister of tourism, Hamat Bah, has declared sex tourists unwanted in the country. “We are not a sex destination. If you want a sex destination, you go to Thailand. The Gambia is not a sex destination. We are not, we are not and please every Gambian must sing that song,” Bah said in an interview in January. He went …

A Gambian activist, Jaha Mapenzi Dukureh, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the area of helping combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a Norwegian portal has reported. Jaha Dukureh is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls. She is also a regional goodwill ambassador for the United Nations women bloc. Jaha Dukureh …

Real estate agencies are refusing to rent properties to refugees and migrants in Basque Country, northern Spain, the SOS Racismo association has said in a report. It added that there had been at least about 30 cases of discrimination in Victoria. In Bilbao, a group of Moroccan women has taken part in a protest against “humiliation and for the right …

The German conservative party Christian Democrat (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel has approved the grand coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD) by a wide margin, as expected. Only 27 out of 975 party delegates at the CDU party conference in Berlin on Monday voted against the plan to form a new government. However, many in the party are known …

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Worldwide, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, will host the Holy Ghost Festival of Life in Berlin in April. The indoor, interdenominational festival of Christian music, dance, drama, prayer, prophecy and sermons, will take place on 27 April in the German capital city. Festival of Life (FOL), established in London in …

A campaign to raise awareness among the youth regarding the realities of irregular migration has been conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ghana. Communities in the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana participated in an outreach and sensitisation campaign organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). From 5 to 10 February, the …