January, 2017

• 21 January

  Gambian refugees in Germany react to crisis at home

  Gambian refugees across the world are following the political crisis in their home country with both apprehension and hope. DW’s Daniel Pelz met some of them in Germany’s capital Berlin. General’s hands were glued to his smartphone, even when he spoke. “I am so scared. I am always thinking about Gambia, about what’s happening next,” the 30-year-old refugee from The Gambia said in …

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• 21 January

  FULL SPEECH: Why I Stepped Down As President Of The Gambia, by Yahya Jammeh

  Fellow Gambians, my first preoccupation, as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and a patriot and the most sacred at that is to preserve at every instance and in every circumstance the lives of Gambians and this is a duty I hold sacrosanct. I have always pride for peace and security of our nation and Africa. During this entire …

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• 21 January

  BREAKING! Yahya Jammeh finally agrees to step down and leave Gambia

  “I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation with infinite gratitude to all Gambians,” Yahya Jammeh said in a late night address on state television yesterday [Friday, 20 January]. The man who has ruled The Gambia for the past 22 years has finally agreed to give up power and leave the …

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• 20 January

  World’s biggest fair for food and agriculture opens in Berlin

  The International Green Week has opened today in Berlin. The exhibition, which is the world’s biggest fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, will run until 29 January. In a total of 26 exhibition halls, about 1,500 national and international exhibitors present typical regional products and services and invite visitors to discover the world’s foods and other treats. The International Green …

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• 20 January

  German parliament legalises marijuana for medical use

  The German parliament has voted to allow the use of the drug for medical purposes. The issue had been a point of heated discussion in the country for a long time. Members of Germany’s parliament Bundestag voted unanimously on Thursday 19 January to legalize the use of medical marijuana. Seriously ill patients will qualify for medical marijuana if they have …

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• 20 January

  ECOWAS troops in Gambia, Jammeh given last deadline to vacate State House for President Barrow and leave country

  With the swearing in of President Adama Barrow yesterday in Dakar, Senegal, The Gambia now has an internationally recognized leader. Analysts say the event signalled the end of the presidency of Yahya Jammeh. He is now effectively a rebel leader and all efforts are being made to persuade him to vacate the State House in Banjul and leave the country. …

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• 19 January

  Gambia: British tour operator evacuating holidaymakers

  British tour operator Thomas Cook started evacuating nearly 1,000 holidaymakers from Gambia on Wednesday (18 January) after President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on his final day in office, increasing the chances of civil unrest. In a statement on its website, Thomas Cook said it had activated its contingency plans and was laying on extra flights in the …

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• 19 January

  BREAKING! Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow to be sworn in today as West African troops amass on the border with Senegal

  President-elect Adama Barrow has announced that he would be sworn in today at the Embassy of The Gambia in Dakar, Senegal’s capital.  The constitutional term of office of former President Yahya Jammeh elapsed at midnight yesterday (18 January). “I would like to inform you that the Inauguration Ceremony is going to take place at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal,” …

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• 18 January

  Germany’s ‘Marshall Plan’ for Africa unveiled in Berlin

  German Development Minister Gerd Müller has presented his long-awaited new Africa strategy. He’s proposing a new level of development cooperation, as Daniel Pelz reports from Berlin. Fighting poverty in Africa is not just a moral obligation, but also in the self-interest of wealthy countries like Germany, German Development Minister Gerd Müller said as he presented his long-awaited “Marshall Plan” for Africa in …

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• 18 January

  Gambia: Jammeh goes for full confrontation, declares state of emergency; ECOWAS military intervention now inevitable

  Any hopes that the lingering Gambian election crisis could peacefully be resolved have now vanished as President Yahya Jammeh yesterday [17 January]  declared a 90-day state of emergency. In a TV address to the nation, the embattled leader whose term of office expires at midnight on Wednesday, 18 January said the measure was necessary to avoid a power vacuum, insisting …

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