Modibo, a 16-year-old Malian who arrived in France a few weeks ago, wants to warn those planning to come to Europe about the reality of travelling via Libya. “You mustn’t venture there,” he says about Libya. “You mustn’t cross this country. You become an animal there.” The young, angry migrant would like other Africans thinking of travelling through Libya in …

President Alassane Ouattara has expressed his “disgust” at recent revelations over African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya, demanding that those guilty of these crimes be brought to justice by the International Criminal Court. President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire has said that condemning the auctioning of African migrants as slaves in Libya is not enough, calling for the …

The death toll in Egypt’s worst Islamist terror attack in modern history has now passed 300 and at least 128 others were wounded. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack of 2017 to date, after the Mogadishu bombings in October that left more than 358 dead. About 40 militants stormed a Sufi mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed in …

The African Union–European Union Summit, an institutional framework established to discuss relationships between both continents, convenes for its 5th edition in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire. African and European Heads of State and Government will gather for the 5th EU-Africa Summit on 29-30 November in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The Summits, which take place every three years alternatively in …

CNN report showing trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya has sparked outrage in Africa and the global Black community. Protesters turned out in Berlin on Saturday to express their anger and make demands. More than 500 people gathered in front of the Libyan embassy in Berlin on Saturday (25 November) to express their outrage at the widespread violation of the …

Emmerson Mnangawa has been sworn in as interim President of Zimbabwe, replacing long-serving ruler Robert Mugabe, who resigned under pressure this week. The former vice president, whose sack sparked the crisis that led to Mugabe’s forced resignation, was inaugurated into office at a colourful ceremony in the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare, on Friday. The event was witnessed …

Mali has blamed “external intervention” for the chaos that reigns throughout Libya given the NATO-led bombing campaign in 2011. Addressing the European Parliament on Wednesday (22 November) in Brussels, Abdoulaye Diop, Malian minister of foreign affairs, said the raids were “carried out without a strategic vision, without a plan, and without the ability to manage the consequences.” The bombing campaign …

Rwanda could host up to 30,000 African migrants currently stuck in Libya where they are exposed to all forms of abuse, including being sold openly in slave markets. Speaking with New Times, a Rwandan newspaper, on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said that talks were currently under way with the African Union Commission. Mushikiwabo said Rwanda, despite not having …

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). …

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, …

At least 50 people have died in north-eastern Nigeria’s biggest mass killing this year. A suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State, as the region faces a renewed insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The Adamawa Police said a young boy was responsible for the blast which occurred during the early morning Muslim …

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she would prefer new elections to leading a minority government. She expressed her preference an interview on the German public television ZDF on Monday following the collapse of attempts to form a three-way coalition. “I do not have a minority government in my planning but now we have to wait for the next few days …

Oury Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean refugee died under mysterious circumstances in a police cell in the city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. According to police accounts, the then 21-year-old African was arrested after leaving a discotheque early in the morning of the fateful day. He had been reported by a street cleaner who felt intimidated when he asked to …

An online campaign has been launched for the retrial of the controversial death of Oury Jalloh. The Sierra Leonean refugee died in police custody in the eastern German city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. In different court proceedings, the police have always maintained that the African killed himself by setting on fire the mattress on which he was shackled. …

Organisations of people of African descent have called for a public protest against the trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya on Saturday, 25 November. The event, named ‘Demonstration to End the Enslavement, Rape, Torture and Killings of Blacks in Libya’, will take place in front of the Libyan Embassy in Berlin. Organised by, among other organisations, Black Community Hamburg, Lampedusa …