The Lagos State Government has unveiled a statue in memory of the late Afrobeat pioneer and human rights activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The event which took place on Sunday was to mark his posthumous 79th birthday and the 20th anniversary of his passage. The ‘Liberation Statue’ was formally unveiled by the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, in the presence of …

The wood-frame house that was once home to the civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks has been sitting as an art exhibit in a garden in the Wedding neighbourhood of Berlin since 2016. The symbol of the American civil rights era has attracted many visitors including Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. Clementine Ewokolo Burnley writes on the relevance of the house to …

Morocco has replaced Kenya as hosts of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN), the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Sunday. The Emergency Committee of the body chaired by its president, Ahmad Ahmad, met on Saturday in Lagos, Nigeria, and unanimously decided to grant the organization of the fifth edition of the football competition to the Royal Moroccan Football …

The withdrawal of NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga from the upcoming election rerun raises major political and constitutional challenges for Kenya. The country has seen many opposition rallies against the electoral commission that threaten public peace and security leading to government banning demonstrations altogether in the centres of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. It is currently unclear if there will be …

Former French culture minister Audrey Azoulay has been chosen as the new Director-General of the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Azoulay defeated Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari after the fifth round of voting and the decision will now be put forward for approval to UNESCO’s 195 members on 10 November. If Azoulay’s election is approved, she will succeed …

Former international football star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai held commanding leads in provisional presidential election results announced on Saturday, setting up a likely run-off next month between the two men. Weah and Boakai lead the 20-candidate field to succeed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in what would be Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power in more than 70 …

Manchester City star Yaya Touré has announced his support for the Football People action weeks and the thousands across Europe and beyond that during the period unite to tackle discrimination in football and promote social inclusion. Speaking in a short film produced to support the campaign, which runs until 19 October, Touré said: “I have been abused by racism and …

Success rates for asylum applications in Germany vary widely from state to state, according to a new report by Funke Mediengruppe. But the varying rates raise questions over how Germany processes asylum requests. Iraqis much more likely to get asylum in Bremen than in Berlin, official figures show. For example, the protection rate for Iraqi refugees in Bremen during the …

Former international football star George Weah has taken the lead in the early election results announced by Liberia’s electoral commission on Thursday evening. The National Elections Commission (NEC) Chairman Jerome Korkoya announced the results of 1,232 polling places out of the 5,390 in the 15 counties. Weah led in 11 counties including Grand Kru, Sinoe, River Gee and Grand Gedeh …

BY STEFANIE HIRSBRUNNER / With Germany and Malta, yet another two European countries have recently approved gay marriage. While this is an important step forward in the struggle for equality, many LGBTQ people in other parts of the world still face severe discrimination [LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used …

Vote counting is underway in Liberia where large number of voters turned out on Tuesday to vote for a new president and lawmakers. The National Elections Commission (NEC) in its last press statement at the close of polls said there was a high turnout in the largely peaceful process. Election officers and party agents stayed overnight to count ballots. NEC …

Despite the fact that Africa has a growing consumer market, a rapid evolution in technology, and robust growth prospects, people still tend to focus on the negative, argues Zandre Campos*. The history of the African continent is long and complicated and it has impacted the current generation of Africans. Today, many Africans tend to have a very negative mentality. Despite …

Policies aimed at reducing the number of migrants arriving in Europe across the Mediterranean from Libya are trapping refugees in the country where they’re exposed to harsh living conditions and widespread human rights abuses, group warns. Would-be Nigerian migrants have been advised to avoid Libya due to recent developments in the North African country. The advice was issued in a …

According to the latest MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, two South African cities, Lagos, Casablanca and Cairo received the highest number of visitors in the continent last year. Johannesburg has emerged as the most popular destination city in Africa in 2016, followed by Cape Town, according to the annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Johannesburg welcomed 4.57 million international overnight …

Air Berlin will stop flying by 28 October at the latest as the administrators for the insolvent airline continue discussions with prospective buyers. The airline had already announced the end of its long-haul routes as aircraft lessors started taking back planes from the bankrupt carrier, now all Air Berlin flights will cease, although subsidiaries Niki and LG Walter will continue …

Liberians head to the polls on Tuesday (10 October) to elect a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who will step down after 12 years at the helm of Africa’s oldest republic. Over two million Liberian voters will participate at the general election to choose a president out of 20 candidates and 73 lawmakers out of the 986 aspirants. Among …

Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, have become the first African country to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia after taking an unassailable lead atop Group B. The team beat Zambia’s Chipolopolo in the city of Uyo, southern Nigeria, to secure their qualification. The only goal of the game was scored by Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi. He came on …

Kolo Toure has been appointed as an assistant coach to the Cote d’Ivoire national team. The former Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City defender will work under ex-Belgium coach Marc Wilmots, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) has announced. He was already an assistant manager at the last club he played for, Celtic. He hung his boot earlier in September 2017 after …

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised to initiate a programme that will ensure every student receives free chocolate or cocoa products every day. He said the decision is tied with the government’s plans of boosting the local consumption of cocoa products from the world’s second largest producer of the cash crop. “Our target is to provide every Ghanaian …

Research of the MEDIENDIENST has found that 57 members of the newly-elected German Parliament have a migration background. This corresponds to 8 per cent of the members of Parliament – a slightly higher ratio than 2013. They were born or have at least one parent born as a foreigner. However, 22.5 per cent of the German population has a migration …