Representatives of businesses, governments, investment organisations and financial institutions from Africa and Europe will gather in Berlin on Thursday, 6 July for the annual German-African Business Day. Under the theme “Empowering Millions: Africa’s Rising Digital Economy”, participants will discuss how to intensify economic ties between Germany and Africa. Organised by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) in …

BBC World News is focussing on Africa’s hidden history in a special television broadcast, ‘The History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi’. The series, made in partnership with UNESCO, tells African history from the beginning of mankind to the modern-era from an African perspective. The first episode of The History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi, aired on BBC World News this …

The result of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is out and four African associations have emerged winners, reports Oliver Behrens. The number of African associations in Germany is on the rise with over 700 African clubs and organizations committed to supporting projects in Africa, supporting sporting ambitions, the preservation of the African culture and integration in Germany. MoneyGram, a …

World leaders on Saturday (1 July) paid final tributes to Helmut Kohl, the former Chancellor who reunited Germany and helped shape Europe as we know it. Kohl, who died on 16 June at 87, was lauded at a ceremony at the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg as a dedicated European pacifist by former US President Bill Clinton, …

Reigning football’s world champions, Germany, beat Chile on Sunday to win the Confederations Cup just two days after claiming the European Under-21 title. Lars Stindl scored the only goal into an empty net in the 20th minute of a pulsating, bad-tempered final in the Russian city of St Petersburg. The dramatic game featured missed chances, defensive howlers, scuffles and two …

Fighting disinformation and raising awareness of the risks of exile: These are the goals of the Saloum Rapatak association, which has been active in Senegal for more than seven years. Jimane – whose real name is Ousmane Thioune – is a radio host and the president of Saloum Rapatak, an organisation based in the city of Kaolack, 189 kilometres southwest from …

Germany’s federal parliament has voted by a wide margin to legalise same-sex marriage.  The Bundestag voted by 393 to 226 on Friday (30 June) to give full marital rights to homosexual couples and allow them to adopt children. The vote came after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her mind and said members of her ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc should follow their …

The German Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has voted to fine social media networks up to €50 million if they fail to remove hateful content or fake news. The networks will be given 24 hours to block or delete any inappropriate content. “Freedom of speech ends where criminal law begins,” Justice Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that the measure …

An increasing number of old people in Germany face the risk of being stuck in poverty in the coming years, says a new study. Single women, low-skill workers and long-term unemployed are among those starkly affected. The changes taking place in the German labour market in favour of temporary jobs, contract workers and precarious working conditions in the low-wage sector, …

Ghana has signed a US$10 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China to develop its bauxite industry, the country’s Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo said on Wednesday. Growth in the West African country slowed sharply in 2014 due to a fiscal crisis and tumbling commodity prices following years of economic expansion at around 8 per cent on the back of gold, …