17 January 2017, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a robust defence of globalization to business, government and civil society leaders in the opening plenary session of the 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. China, Xi said, is committed to fulfilling its international responsibilities and contributing to addressing pressing global challenges, including climate change, the need for new …

I am a 31-year-old Kenyan. I left my home country more than twelve years ago, six months after I completed my secondary education. My initial reason for coming to Germany was my interest in the German language. Since I had already learnt it for four years in my secondary school, I wanted to further my skills before I embarked on …

Germany plans to step up its engagement within the framework of the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, with deployment, not earlier than March 2017, of combat and transport helicopters and up to 350 additional soldiers. The new mandate was adopted by the cabinet on 11 January  and still needs to be approved by the German Bundestag. In 2012, Islamist groups managed to …

The 2nd German-African Business Summit (GABS) will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 8 to 10 February 2017. The first edition of the event, which took place in Berlin in September 2015, provided a forum for some 400 participants from the worlds of business and politics, from Germany and Africa, to discuss Africa’s prospects and potential and to make new contacts. …

There was much excitement in Africa when Barack Obama was elected US president in 2008. But he didn’t live up to many expectations. Daniel Pelz recounts the legacy of the first US president with African roots. Jubilant crowds flooded the streets of Ghana’s capital Accra during Obama’s first visit to Africa as US president. Even members of Ghana’s parliament rose to chants …

Ethiopian Airlines has concluded preparations for new flight links to Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province. The carrier will launch the three weekly flights on 3 June 2017. Chengdu is the seventh largest city in China and is the country’s western centre of logistics, commerce, science, and technology, as well as a hub of transportation, manufacturing, and communication. Group …

Gambia’s Supreme Court has refused to stop the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow. Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle yesterday declined to hear a petition brought by President Yahya Jammeh, seeking an injunction “restraining Mr Barrow, the Chief Justice of the Gambia or any judicial or quasi-judicial officer or any person in whatever capacity whatsoever to preside over the swearing-in or inauguration on …

Eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, according to a new report published by Oxfam today to mark the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos. The eight individuals named in the report are Bill Gates, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, veteran investor Warren Buffett, Mexico’s Carlos …

French President François Hollande has reaffirmed his commitment to peace in Mali in an address to more than 30 African leaders gathered at the 27th Africa-France Summit in Bamako on Saturday, 14 January.  The annual conference, which took place in the Malian capital this year, discussed cross-border jihad, governance challenges and Africa’s role in the European migrant crisis. Malian President …

Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have issued a 19 January deadline for the resolution of the Gambian political crisis. The leaders made the decision on the Gambian political crisis at the weekend where they met at the fringes of the 27th Africa-France summit in Mali’s capital Bamako. They repeated their calls on President …