Cameroonian economist and banking executive Vera Songwe has been appointed the new Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission on Africa (ECA). Dr Songwe beat more than 70 candidates to clinch the post which was held by Dr Carlos Lopes of Guinea Bissau who stepped down from the organisation in September last year. ECA is one of the United Nation’s five …

New film narrates the journey of a Cameroonian migrant from his home country through Morocco, by sea to Spain and finally Germany. The film, which premiers on 21 April in Berlin, shows vividly the ordeal of young Africans, fleeing war and poverty, in search of peace and hope. And how the lucky ones who reach their chosen destinations realise that the …

The staff of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Niger and Libya have documented shocking events on North African migrant routes, which they have described as ‘slave markets’ tormenting hundreds of young African men bound for Libya. Operations Officers with IOM’s office in Niger, reported on the rescue of a Senegalese migrant (referred to as SC to protect his …

East Africa’s economy has continued to grow despite the adverse effects of drought being felt across the region according to ICAEW’s (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) latest report. In Economic Insight: Africa Q1 2017 launched on 13 April, the accountancy and finance body points out that authorities from various East African nations have attempted to mitigate …

Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajan, Gambia’s Minister of Women Affairs and Overseer – Vice President’s Office, has won the top award of the New African Woman of Year. The fearless Gambian human rights and democracy activist took New African Woman magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year’ Award at a glitzy ceremony, which held in Dakar on Wednesday. Mrs Jallow-Tambajan was instrumental in unifying the …

The globally acclaimed fashion magazine, British Vogue, has a new editor, its first Black editor in more than 100 years of its existence. 45-year-old Edward Kobina Enninful was announed during the week as the 11th editor of Vogue, its first male editor. Enninful as editor of Vogue is notably the first Black editor of a mainstream UK fashion magazine. He succeeds …

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja will be reopened next week after a six-week closure to allow for repair works on the runway. The head of the federal government’s digital communications team, Tolu Ogunlesi, confirmed that major works on the runway had been completed as at 12 April. The decision to close the airport was largely due to the …

Former US President Barack Obama has been named the winner of the prestigious German Media Prize 2016. The 55-year-old statesman will receive the award personally in Baden-Baden. Barack Obama is the recipient of the German Media Prize for 2016. This was announced yesterday by the German market research group Media Control, which manages the award. The former US president has accepted to …

Muslim migrants who refuse to embrace European values must realize there are better places for them to reside than in the EU, Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German Finance Minister has said. Muslims who don’t want to change their ways after arriving in Europe must be told, “you’ve made the wrong decision,” Schaeuble said during a round table discussion in Berlin on …

The African Network of Germany (TANG) has launched a project, christened  ‘Lost Dreams’, about the dangers of illegal migration to Europe. It’s currently being presented to young people in Cameroon. Moki Kindzeka reports. In the Nlonkak neighborhood of Cameroon’s capital Younde, the “Cameroon Center Band” is playing songs encouraging young people from rural areas to come to the capital to …

The United Nations’ migration agency says growing numbers of African migrants passing through Libya are being sold as slaves by traffickers or militia groups before being held for ransom. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has published a report based on interviews with several West African migrants who told of being bought and sold in garages and car parks in …

A Nigerian group in the UK has sharply criticized the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government over its handling of the violence perpetrated by ethnic Fulani cattle herders in the country. Herdsmen are nomadic or semi nomadic herders whose primary occupation is raising livestock. No week passes without the media reporting a massacre carried out by herdsmen in farming communities in …

  There was a time that South Africa looked very different to the rest of the world. The “rainbow nation” was seen to be exceptional, having more in common with the developed states of Europe than many countries elsewhere. But, in the wake of a series of destabilising corruption scandals, financial mismanagement and the incompetent leadership of President Jacob Zuma, …

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is trying to stop poor German men from selling paternity so that children born of foreign mothers can gain citizenship. But the Constitutional Court has some objections, reports Ben Knight. Men often claim paternity over children that are not their own for various reasons. There are six months left of Angela Merkel’s third administration, and it …

Kenya’s Paul Lonyangata won the Paris Marathon in a quick time of two hours, six minutes, 10 seconds on Sunday and Purity Rionoripo, his wife, won the women’s race in a new record time of 2:20.55. Lonyangata pulled clear when his compatriot Stephen Chebogut, who started with the best personal best of the field, cracked with 5.7km left. The 24-year-old …

The federal government is currently working on closing some of Nigeria’s 119 foreign missions, an official has said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said though it is expensive to close a country’s embassy or consulate, it will be beneficial in the long run. Onyeama said at the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja on Sunday that the …

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Muhammad Babandede, has announced that the Service now has standard passport booklets in sufficient quantity for issuance, and has therefore directed Passport Control Officers to clear the backlog of all outstanding applications. A statement by NIS Public Relations Officer, Sunday James, says the CG has appealed to the general public to bear with …

Nigeria and the EU are working on an agreement to facilitate the repatriation of Nigerians living illegally in EU countries, reveals Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, on Sunday in Abuja. The EU for now, he explained, was trying to have a collective agreement with Nigeria covering all the EU countries so that there can just be a one-stop-shop …

 Travel websites that advertise rock bottom deals for flights and hotel bookings are not giving customers ‘accurate’ information. A European Commission report on online travel booking says two-thirds of the websites screened displayed misleading prices. Of the 352 price comparison and travel booking websites checked in October 2016, the Commission found 235 gave prices that were not reliable. The scrutiny …

Ngeria’s superstar Yemi Alade has kicked off the first leg of her ‘Mama Africa’ World Tour in the French capital and it was amazing. The Le Trianon venue was sold out several days before the Friday concert. Alade with her Ova Sabi band and dancers delivered an electrifying 90-minute performance to the pleasure of the Paris audience. The award-winning Afro …