The 141 migrants aboard the rescue ship Aquarius are headed for Malta, after days of yet another standoff on the Mediterranean Sea as three countries refused to allow the ship port access. Malta originally refused to accept the ship, as did Spain, which previously allowed its passengers to disembark during…
As part of its External Investment Plan, the European Union has approved €800 million for investment earmarked for Africa and the regional “neighborhood” countries, a number of which also are North African states. The funding will support programs including a new lending alternative for refugees or the internally displaced, who…
A scientific study of ivory traded by dealers across Europe proves that the sales are illegal, according to the activist groups that released the study Tuesday. Avaaz, working with the Elephant Action League, purchased 109 pieces of ivory in 10 countries across Europe in an attempt to demonstrate to European…
The European Union has signed a new Economic Cooperation Agreement with Liberia, and provided an initial €27 million in funding for the West African nation’s budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The commitment follows President George Weah’s trip to attend the annual European Development Days (EDD) Summit, held this week…
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia is in Brussels Tuesday for a donor conference to help support the country’s democratic transition from the decades of rule under former dictator Yahya Jammeh. The conference, jointly organized by The Gambia and the European Union, will see Barrow co-chair the meeting alongside High…
Officials in Burundi verified on Monday the final vote tally on a referendum, initiated by President Pierre Nkurunziza, which extends presidential term limits to allow him to run for and remain in the office through 2034. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said the referendum passed with 73 percent of…
Global human rights organization Amnesty International is again pressuring European Union nations to change its policies on migration from Libya, where thousands of refugees and migrants are trapped in shocking conditions. That message comes as EU officials said Wednesday that the central Mediterranean transit numbers remain much lower, but the…
Julius Maada Bio, the opposition candidate of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), has won the country’s presidential election runoff with 51.8 percent of the votes, the National Election Commission (NEC) announced late Wednesday. Maada Bio received 1,319,406 votes, narrowly defeating All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Samura Kamara, who took 48.2 percent…
A bottleneck for refugees fleeing Libya into Niger – and waiting to continue on to Europe – is threatening the success of an agreement to free migrants and refugees from Libyan detention centers and slave markets. The deal between the European Union (EU), African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN)…
The international community has pledged more than USD$500 million to support the regional G5 Sahel security force, the European Union said following a high-level conference hosted in Brussels Friday. The funding for the joint military force of the five nations – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – includes…
The European Commission, speaking ahead of a Friday conference on the Sahel, reiterated its support for the G5 nations and the regional security initiative launched this year. “The EU has fully supported this African led initiative from the very beginning and provided an initial contribution of €50 million to help set it…
Fourteen human rights organizations, including the global Human Rights Watch NGO, have called on Western governments to speak out against presidential elections in Egypt they describe as “farcical.” “The United States, European Union, and European states, which provide substantial financial assistance to the Egyptian government, should consistently integrate human rights…
Kenya remains deeply divided following the contentious 2017 elections, according to a report from the European Union’s chief elections observer released Wednesday – a report that created some division of its own as Kenyan officials objected to the EU decision to make it public. “Kenyans went from high hopes for…
The political opposition in Gabon is speaking out against proposed constitutional revisions drafted by the government of President Ali Bongo, changes that follow the months of national dialogue meant to resolve the country’s political instability. Zacharie Myboto, president of the National Union party, issued a statement Saturday warning that the…
Federal prosecutors in Ethiopia have set a November 3 hearing date in the case of Merera Gudina, the head of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) who has remained in custody since a November 2016 arrest. Merera, a 61-year-old scholar and lifelong human rights activist, entered long-delayed not guilty pleas on…