United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Prof. Horst Köhler as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel offered Horst Köhler his congratulations: “Horst Köhler has long devoted himself to the African continent with dedication and passion – for many years as President and latterly on behalf of the African Development Bank. He is just the right …

The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is hosting the Start-up Night! Africa on 26 October in Berlin. This will be a networking and matchmaking event, bringing together digital African start-ups and German start-ups and established companies. Are you interested in broadening your network? If so, do make the most of this opportunity and be a part of the Start-up …

Angela Merkel has been judged by viewers to be the more credible candidate following the election debate with her SPD rival, Martin Schulz. DW looks at the candidates’ positions on the key domestic and global issues. Chancellor Angela Merkel made the more convincing case to lead Germany for the next four years in Sunday’s television debate against her election rival, …

Eritreans who have completed their military service can safely be sent home from Switzerland if their requests for asylum are rejected, a Swiss court has ruled. Eritreans are the biggest group of asylum seekers in Switzerland, with nearly 14,500 citizens in the asylum process as of the end of July 2017, government data showed. Nearly 9,000 of them have won …

One of the recipients of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is an organization that promotes Pan-Africanism from the German city of Munich but with a global reach. Femi Awoniyi writes on how a Diaspora initiative is making a positive impact on the worldwide community of people of African descent. Four organisations emerged winners of the maiden edition of the …

In the second and concluding  part of his report on Ghanaians in Germany, journalist, translator and community activist Sam Atsu Nove* writes on the changes in the patterns of Ghanaian migration in the past 40 years and the contribution of the Diaspora to Germany’s and their home  country’s development. ———————————– The economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s in Ghana …

The historic decision of the Kenyan Supreme Court to annul the result of last month’s presidential election, citing irregularities, has been welcomed in the international community. Even though President Uhuru Kenyatta says he disagrees with the verdict he has pledged to respect it. The country must now hold a new presidential election within two months. It has now emerged that …

Europe and the Africa intend to step up co-operation in the fight against criminal human traffickers – Europe is to provide more support for the African countries. That is the outcome of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris with leaders of other European and African states. “We must fight illegal migration and …

After several years of waiting, a new substantive ambassador from Nigeria to Berlin arrived during the week. Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, a former member of the Federal House of Representatives, takes charge of the embassy which has been headed until now by the Deputy Head of Mission, Ambassador Mobolaji Sakirat Ogundero. Hon. Yusuf Tuggar, who was born on 12 March …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was confronted by whistling and screaming protesters during a campaign speech for the second time in a little more than a week. The defiant chancellor told the anti-refugee hecklers Germany still welcomes asylum-seekers. Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term as the chancellor in the 24 September election, spoke on Saturday to a crowd of 1,500 …

A group of Togolese opposition parties has called for a march in the capital Lome on 30 and 31 August to demand political reforms, according to a statement released Wednesday evening. Cap 2015, a coalition of five parties, the Pan-African National Party (PNP) and another group of six parties also demanded the release of those arrested on 19 August during …

An information campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of irregular migration will kick off  at the Centre for Management Development in Lagos on 12 September. Initiated by African-German Information Center (AGIC), Hamburg, and The African Courier Verlag, Berlin, with the support of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the campaign under the aegis of the “Migration Enlightenment Project in Nigeria (MEPN)” …

The Igbo culture of Nigeria will be celebrated on Saturday, 26 August when the Anambra Day holds in Frankfurt am Main. Hosted by the Anambra Progressive Union (APU), the festival of arts and culture will feature music and dance performances as well as a display of Igbo folklore in drama and poetry. Other activities to take place on the Anambra …

Sauti Sol, a popular Kenyan award-winning group, will perform live with their band in Berlin’s Kesselhaus on 8 September and in Cologne’s Sartory on 9 September. This is the start of their European Tour. Naming a few of their accolades to date, they won East African Artists of the Year (2016 Bingwa Awards), Best African Group at African Muzik Magazine …

Karamba Diaby, Germany’s first African-born Bundestag member, has filed charges against racist Facebook commentators. The far-right NPD questioned his right to represent German people on its page. Karamba Diaby, German MP for the eastern city of Halle, has filed criminal charges against people who made racist comments on a Facebook post by the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) on Monday. …

Angolans vote Wednesday in an election that will see President Jose Eduardo dos Santos quit after nearly four decades in power, but with his hand-picked successor widely expected to take over. The long-time leader has laid the groundwork for his designated successor in an oil-rich country where poverty, corruption and human rights concerns are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. Defense …

The Turkish president has called on Turks living in Germany not to vote for “enemies of Turkey.” Will his call be heeded or ignored? DW’s Christoph Ricking went to the heart of Cologne’s Turkish neighbourhood to find out. Cologne’s Keupstrasse, the main street for Turkish life in the city’s Mülheim district, bustled with Monday morning business activity: trucks made shop …

Hundreds of Muslims gathered just meters away from where the Barcelona terror attack of last Thursday took place to protest against Islamic-inspired violence. Spain was hit by its worst terrorist attack in more than a decade on 17 August, when a van driver rammed into dozens of people enjoying a sunny afternoon on one of Barcelona’s most famous thoroughfares, killing …

In an unusual intervention in Germany’s coming general election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on Turkish-origin Germans to give a “slap” to both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition in September polls. Erdogan has caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote neither for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its coalition partner …

A cashless economy is one in which the purchase of goods and services and the payment of debts and remittances are done through electronic money media, either through credit and debit cards, direct transfers from one account to another, smart cards, mobile payment systems, and other technologies. With aspirations of becoming an African economic powerhouse, Ghana is partnering with organisations …