January, 2018

• 19 January

  Germany, land of woefully slow internet

  A new report has found that only a small fraction of German users get the internet speeds that providers promise. And, according to a study of service providers, the problem is only getting worse. Elizabeth Schumacher reports. A new report from Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has revealed that the country — known the world over for ingenuity and efficiency …

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• 19 January

  Britain agrees to pay France to stop migrants

  Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed a new border security deal on Thursday, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores. The two leaders meeting for wide-ranging talks at the Sandhurst military academy near London, agreed that the UK will pay an extra £44.5 million (50 million …

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• 19 January

  Morocco’s parliament discusses racial discrimination against black Africans

  The experience of sub-Saharans in North Africa, most of whom are migrants in transit, has been marked by outright racial discrimination and social rejection. A Moroccan party has now raised the issue in the country’s parliament, proposing a law against racial discrimination. Safaa Kasraoui reports. The Independence Party (Istiqlal) of Morocco proposed on Tuesday a new law to criminalize acts …

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• 19 January

  Ghana’s president speaks on his successes after one year in office

  

  Ghana’s economy is rebounding and the major commodity exporter is poised to wean itself off bailouts through sustained fiscal discipline and a battle against corruption, President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Wednesday. The former opposition leader, sworn into office a year ago, said his government spent the past year stabilizing the economy, including clearing huge debts while rolling out infrastructure such …

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• 19 January

  Britain appoints first-ever ‘minister for loneliness’ to tackle social isolation

  The UK has created a “minister for loneliness” position to tackle modern public health problems associated with social isolation. The government of Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday it appointed Tracey Crouch after research showed as many as one in ten people felt lonely “always or often” and that hundreds of thousands of elderly people hadn’t spoken to a friend …

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• 18 January

  Germany: Another Kenyan found dead in Essen, police calling for information

  As the Kenyan community is still mourning one of their own, Brian Nyawade Owino, an asylum-seeker whose death was announced in Berlin on 5 January, the police found the remains of a Kenyan woman in the western German city of Essen on Wednesday (17 January). The body of the 27-year-old Mary Waithera Kamathi, popularly known as Carrie Jones, was discovered in …

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• 18 January

  Equatorial Guinea’s attempted coup was hatched in France, says President Obiang

  President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea has spoken out for the first time on the recent alleged attempt to overthrow him. Speaking in the capital Malabo, he also reacted to last year’s conviction in absentia of his son, Teodorin Obiang, in the high-profile “ill-gotten gains” corruption trial in France. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 and RFI, Equatorial …

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• 18 January

  Americans, Canadians kidnapped in Nigeria, 2 policemen killed

  Kidnappers have abducted two Americans and two Canadians in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, killing two police officers, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The North Americans were ambushed by unknown gunmen around Kagarko on their way from the city of Kaduna to the capital Abuja, Reuters quoted Mukhtar Aliyu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state police, as saying. …

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• 18 January

  Netherlands expels Eritrea’s top diplomat over ‘diaspora tax’

  The Dutch government has declared the head of the Eritrean embassy’s office in The Hague ‘persona non grata’ and has demanded his immediate departure. The decision followed a motion issued by the Dutch parliament to close the consulate. The decision to expel Tekeste Ghebremedhin Zemuy, Eritrea’s Chargé d’Affaires in the Netherlands, was made after reports of the intimidation and coercion, …

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• 18 January

  UK, Germany praise Ethiopia for releasing political prisoners, urge further reforms

  The United Kingdom and Germany have praised the Ethiopian government for releasing political prisoners, charging Addis Ababa to follow through with its promises on political reforms and opening up the democratic space. Their comments came in the wake of the release of over 500 politician prisoners on Wednesday as promised by government earlier this month. Among those freed is Prof …

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