Zimbabwe will hold its general elections on July 30, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced, the first since the army forced 94-year-old former president Robert Mugabe to resign last November. Mnangagwa, who became president following the military take-over, has promised to deliver on free and fair elections to win over Zimbabwe’s critics at home and abroad. The vote will pit him …

Mamoudou Gassama, the 22-year-old Malian “Spiderman” celebrated for saving a child hanging from a balcony, took his first step towards French citizenship Tuesday and joined the fire brigade as accolades continued to pour in over his daring rescue. Video footage of Gassama scaling four storeys of the building with his bare hands has catapulted the young man to global fame, …

An estimated 5,000 supporters of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party demonstrated in Berlin on Sunday “for the future of Germany” in the party’s largest gathering since it became Germany’s top opposition party. AfD supporters shouting “Merkel must go” were largely outnumbered by rival demonstrations, gathering about 20,000 people, according to police estimates, however. Excerpts of  Jefferson Chase’s report …

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said she encountered sexism and racism when she took over the job, with some in soccer opposed to a “black woman” taking a senior post at the global governing body. FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said she encountered sexism and racism when she took over the job, with some in soccer opposed to a “black …

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed the young Malian migrant who saved a 4-year-old child hanging from a fourth-floor Paris balcony, saying his act of bravery opened the door to French citizenship. At a meeting in the Elysée presidential palace Monday, Macron praised Mamoudou Gassama, an undocumented migrant from Mali, for his “exceptional act” and added: “We’re going to …

“Global Networking & Modern Economy” was the motto of this year’s Africa Day Conference. AfricanTide Union e.V. hosted the event for the eighth year in Dortmund. From May 24 to 26 representatives of African Diaspora communities met politicians and ambassadors, entrepreneurs, creative minds and interested citizens from Germany and abroad at the Dortmund Town Hall. The economic situation in Africa …

Sixteen members of a mostly female network of Nigerian human traffickers operating forced prostitution rings in France went on trial last week in Paris, facing their accusers as the trafficked women testified to being lied to, beaten and raped. Plaintiffs at the High Court of Paris began giving testimony on May 14 against a group known as the “Authentic Sisters”, …

Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to repeal its ban on abortion in a referendum the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described as a “quiet revolution.” The result was a landslide 66.4% ‘yes’ vote against 33.6% who voted ‘no’. Voters were asked if they wished to scrap the eighth amendment, which gives an unborn child equal rights to life as a pregnant …

A recent study by the REACH initiative, funded by UNHCR, has found that European Union measures implemented in Libya since the beginning of last year have led to an increase in internal trafficking routes and that the living conditions of migrants in the country have not improved. Migration policies implemented by the EU in Libya since the beginning of 2017 …

Tanzania’s Gerald Bigurube and Madagascar’s Clovis Razafimalala have dedicated their lives to saving their countries’ natural heritage. They are the recipients of this year’s annual German Africa Prize. Forty-four years. That’s the amount of time environmentalist Gerald Bigurube has dedicated to saving Tanzania’s wildlife and natural environment. As the long-time head of Tanzania’s National Parks Authority (TANAPA), the 66-year-old has led the …