Our special correspondent Adira Kallo reviews the 31st edition of the biennial international men’s football championship, the Africa Cup of Nations, taking place in Gabon from 14 January to 5 February. He writes that the world of football can confidently look forward to a classy display of the beautiful game at AFCON 2017 All eyes will focus on Gabon from …

Originally from Nigeria, I am now German and have lived in Germany since 1989. I’m happily married to a German woman and we have four children. I quickly learnt that you need the German language and education in this country to achieve your goal. For this reason, I first learnt the language and obtained technical education training. I’m a mechatronics …

Germany is set to launch tougher security measures for asylum seekers and refugees who are not properly documented or deemed to pose a security threat. The new measures, agreed upon on Tuesday, 10 January will make it easier for the authorities to electronically tag immigrants considered a security risk, as well as those required to leave Germany but who have …

Muslim girls at Swiss schools must attend swimming lessons including both boys and girls, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled, rejecting a case filed by two parents who wanted their daughters exempted from the classes on religious grounds. The court found on Tuesday, 10 January that, although the Basel school had “interfered with” religious freedom by insisting …

Gambia’s embattled President Yayah Jammeh today, 11 January appointed a mediator to facilitate meetings between himself and president-elect Adama Barrow. The ruling party’s secretary general will mediate between Jammeh’s supporters and the opposition to “resolve any mistrust and issues,” Jammeh said in a televised address to the nation early today. He refuses to accept the election result because it was …

Did you know that ‘Africa’ is a tiny hamlet in Brandenburg? Or that there are 11 ‘Cameroons’  in Germany? Places bearing African names in Germany have a varied history, writes Gwendolin Hilse. Africa is a continent? Of course. In German, it’s spelt “Afrika” and that is also the name of a hamlet in the Uckermark district of the state of Brandenburg in eastern …

“Liberians are telling the world that the causes of the long civil wars are still there and they have genuine fears of their country returning to violence,” said Jennifer Overton, Regional Director for CRS in West Africa. “We now have some very specific key indicators for potential risks of conflict. But we have to address them now.”

No show at the Gambia’s Supreme Court today as expected. The much-awaited sitting of the court over the petition filed by President Yahya Jammeh, challenging the results of the 1 December presidential election which he lost to opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow, has been suspended. Gambia’s apex court could not form a quorum as only one judge was present. A …

The FIFA Council has unanimously decided in favour of increasing the number of teams playing at the World Cup from 32 to 48 with effect from the 2026 edition of the global sporting event. The world football’s supervisory and strategic body held its third meeting at the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich on 9 and 10 January, and decided on …

President Muhammadu Buhari will lead a delegation of ‎the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)‎, to The Gambia on Wednesday, 11 January. The trip is seen as a last-ditch attempt to resolve the political impasse in the country. The decision to undertake the trip was taken on Monday, 9 January in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, following an extra-ordinary meeting …