The Social Democrats (SPD) said Friday that they are ready to hold talks that may help caretaker Chancellor Angela Merkel resolve a deep political crisis without calling new elections. “The SPD is of the firm conviction that there must be talks,” its general secretary Hubertus Heil said after an eight-hour, late-night meeting headed by SPD leader Martin Schulz. “The SPD …

Nicholas Opiyo received the prestigious German Africa Prize on Thursday at a solemn ceremony in the Allianz Forum at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Opiyo, founder of the human rights organization “Chapter Four Uganda”, has worked tirelessly since 2005 to defend civil liberties in Uganda, often for free and on behalf of society’s most vulnerable and marginalized. The award was …

France has called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over slave-trading in Libya as President Emmanuel Macron condemned the auctioning of Africans as a crime against humanity. “France decided this morning to ask for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss this issue,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament on Wednesday (22 November). …

Some 250 Cameroonian migrants have been repatriated from Libya following the CNN video footage that showed the sale of migrants in the war-torn country. They arrived at the Yaoundé Nsimalen airport on Tuesday night with tales of woe and suffering. They described a “total hell” that they wouldn’t wish on their “worst enemy” as global outrage grows over footage showing …

The second edition of Queen of Nollywood Awards Germany will take place in the south-western German city of Ludwigshafen on Saturday, 2 December. The event honours practitioners of the Nigerian home-grown movie industry. Among those to be honoured at the event are actors, directors, producers, diplomats, businesspeople and politicians – persons who have in one way or the other contributed …

After removing visa requirements for African nationals, Rwanda has announced a new visa system that will issue a 30-day visa to citizens of all countries upon arrival without prior application. Rwanda has announced a new visa regime that allows travellers from across the world to be issued a 30-day visa on arrival in Kigali, beginning 1 January 2018. The first …

The Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo will be conferred with the 2017 German Africa Prize on Wednesday (25 November) in Berlin. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will present the prestigious award to Opiyo at a ceremony that will be attended by members of the Berlin diplomatic community as well as high-ranking officials of the German government. The German Africa Foundation which …

Zimbabwe enters a new chapter of his modern history as its leader since its independence in 1980 resigns amid a deep political crisis that now seems peacefully resolved. Singing has replaced sighing on the streets of Zimbabwe with the news of President Robert Mugabe’s resignation on Tuesday. The country has been holding its breath since the veteran leader refused to bow …

Deportees from Libya reveal the horrors of the migrant slave trade as they arrive home. Ivorian migrants returning from Libyan detention centres have confirmed the sale of slaves in the North African country. A total of 155 returned to Abidjan on Monday night, each with a tale to tell. Trying to make their way to a new life in Europe, …

The United Nations will investigate the existence of slave markets in Libya following the CNN report showing that sub-Saharan Africans are being sold as slaves for as little as $400, reports Sertan Sanderson UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that recent reports of African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya were “appalling” and could amount to crimes against humanity. …