Germany replaced the United States as the country with the best global image in a survey of 50 countries, according to the 2017 Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index. Simon Anholt, founder of the Index, talks about Germany’s image – and the responsibility that it creates. Germany was ranked number 1 in the most recent Nation Brands Index (NBI). What were the reasons …

Agreement reinstates rebel leader Riek Machar as vice-president, formally ending five years of bloody civil war. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal with main rebel leader Riek Machar on Wednesday, formally ending a five-year war that killed tens of thousands. The deal, mediated by Sudan and signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, reinstated Machar in his …

More than 100 people, including 20 children, died in early September when their rubber boats were wrecked off the coast of Libya, according to the aid agency Doctors Without Borders. Only two bodies have been recovered thus far. Sertan Sanderson/InfoMigrants reports on the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean. According to Doctors Without Borders (known by the French initials MSF), hundreds …

Amnesty International has spoken out against Moroccan authorities’ treatment of thousands of sub-Saharan migrants and refugees, saying that its ”relentless crackdown” is ”cruel and unlawful”. Amnesty International released a statement on Friday excoriating Moroccan authorities’ treatment of sub-Saharan migrants and refugees. ”The Moroccan authorities’ large-scale crackdown on thousands of sub-Saharan migrants, asylum seekers and refugees without due process is cruel …

The Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has warned would-be migrants to avoid irregular routes as the security situation in Libya worsens and death rates in the Mediterranean soar. In a statement released Tuesday in Lagos and jointly signed by the co-directors of the initiative, Kenneth Gbandi and Femi Awoniyi, the MEPN pointed to the declaration of a state of emergency …

The risk of death at sea for people crossing the Mediterranean continues to increase as the EU and member states attempt to stamp out refugee flows from Libya. A report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) out on Monday (3 September) says that while the number of arrivals from Libya has dropped, the proportion of people lost at sea has …

Leading international money transfer company WorldRemit has launched a new digital service within Africa, making it easier to send and receive money across the continent. The new digital service will reduce the cost of sending money across borders. The prohibitive charges that individuals and businesses pay to transfer money within Africa are recognised as a major obstacle to the growing …

Professor Pius Adesanmi, director of the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University in Canada, will participate at a public discussion on African literature in Berlin on 26 September. The event, organised by the literary agency InterKontinental, will take place in Literaturhaus Berlin. Adesanmi is well known for his often satiric writings, focusing on the absurd in the Nigerian social …

The family of former United Nations Secretary General have published a tribute to the man hailed as a reformer at the global diplomacy outfit.  It is published on the website of the Kofi Annan Foundation and produced here below. On 18 August, the world lost a leader and a statesman: Kofi Atta Annan. And we lost a brother, a husband, a …

African leaders are in the Chinese city of Beijing for a high-level summit hosted by the Chinese government. The Forum for Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC)  Summit is a meeting between the two partners and is largely premised on ways to increase diplomatic, economic and bilateral ties. It officially kicks off on September 3 through to September 4. This year’s edition is themed …