German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected to her fourth term Sunday, although the elections saw a shift among coalition partners in a decision with implications for African countries. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) party received the most overall votes but not enough to hold a majority…
In the quest to better understand marine ecosystems and climate, South Africa and Brazil will partner with the European Union to study the Atlantic Ocean shared by their nations. The South Atlantic Research and Innovation Flagship Initiative was launched in July at the Belém Tower in Lisbon. The program is…
The European Union’s dicey migration deal with Turkey is causing untold misery among migrants and refugees trapped on Greek islands, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Wednesday. The HRW organization conducted research in May and June on the island of Lesbos that “documented the deteriorating mental health…
The G5 Sahel summit next Sunday in Bamako is likely to serve as a turning point in the years-long struggle for security, in a region where the threat of terrorism has only appeared to deepen and armed ethnic and jihadist groups remain firmly entrenched. The G5 nations – Burkina Faso,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Media outlets in Mauritania and Mali say that JNIM, a militant group aligned with al Qaeda in West Africa, has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack on a resort favored by Westerners near Bamako. A statement released to the Mauritanian media outlet ANI by Al Zallaqa, the media arm of the recently organized JNIM…
In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s announcement Thursday that the United States was pulling out of the Paris climate accord, there was no shortage of responses from the international community or, for that matter, from American business leaders and local and state governments. The rest of the world expressed…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The European Union formally listed on Monday nine current and former officials of the Democratic Republic of Congo whose role in human rights violations has led to EU sanctions against them. Their names were added “in view of the gravity of the situation in DRC,” and join the list of…
The European Commission has updated its EU Air Safety List, which now includes 181 airlines in countries outside the EU that are either banned or restricted from flying to member nations because of safety or regulation issues. All air carriers certified in Benin and Mozambique were removed from the EU Air…
Libyan authorities picked up nearly 500 migrants, more than half of them from Morocco, in what they say were their territorial waters off the coast of Sabratha on Wednesday – but not without a challenge from the German NGO Sea Watch, whose own vessel tried to intervene so the migrants…
More than 1,800 Moroccans gathered at the border crossing to the Spanish enclave at Ceuta on Tuesday, forcing authorities to again close the crossing because of the demonstrations. The border was closed for a week following the April 24 death of a woman who was crushed in a stampede at…
Environmental champion Youba Sokona’s resignation is effective April 30, so as of Sunday the Malian scholar will no longer serve in his leadership role at the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI). At first glance, it may seem hardly newsworthy and entirely forgivable to not know who Sokona and the AREI…
Human rights organization Amnesty International has called on the United Nations to add human rights monitoring to the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). “The UN mission in Western Sahara is the world’s only modern peacekeeping operation without a human rights component,” said Heba…
With the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government transition process at a standstill, the African Union (AU) and other international partners said Thursday that all parties to the negotiated December 31 agreement need to return to the ongoing dialogue and begin the formal framework leading to new elections. The AU, along…
The news that a provision of United States law requiring companies to report “conflict free minerals” information will be lifted by President Donald Trump’s executive order has been met with dismay by human rights organizations and activists. Yet are the conflict free rules really helping in the Democratic Republic of…
The leaders of European Union (EU) member states will return to Malta on Friday to discuss strategies to control migration across the Mediterranean Sea. “Our main goal for the Malta summit is to stem the flow of irregular migration from Libya to Europe. This is the only way to stop…