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Obasanjo, other African leaders pay tribute to Mugabe

African leaders have been paying tribute to Robert Mugabe, who died in the early hours of Friday. His 37-year-rule in Zimbabwe made him one of the continent’s longest-serving leaders. Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, on Friday, described the death of Mugabe as a “big loss”. Zimbabwe president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, had announced that Mugabe, 95, died in Singapore. He …

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Nigeria: Ruling party chief calls for takeover of South African companies

Adams Oshiomhole, the chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for the nationalization of South Africa-owned companies operating in Nigeria. Among the South African companies Oshiomhole wants the federal government to immediately nationalise are MTN, a multinational mobile telecommunications company operating in many African, European and Asian countries, Stanbic Bank and the direct broadcast satellite service DStv. …

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British Airways pilots set for strike

A two day strike by British Airways pilots looks set to go ahead next week, with airline and union positions as far apart as ever. The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it could call off the strike planned for September 9 and 10 if the airline agrees to restart negotiations. BALPA said it has put a new proposal to …

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BREAKING! Robert Mugabe, former Zimbabwean leader, dies at 95

Zimbabwe’s ex-president, Robert Mugabe, has died after battling ill health for years, his family has announced. The former leader, who  is believed to have died in the early hours of Friday,  had been in hospital in Singapore since April. Mugabe governed his country from its independence in 1980 until he was ousted in a military coup in November 2017, ending …

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Germany: Over 600 attacks on refugees in first half of 2019

Asylum-seekers and refugees continue to be the targets of attacks in Germany — and they are almost always victims of far-right violence. Offenses range from verbal slurs to arson and dangerous bodily harm. German police registered a total of 609 attacks on asylum-seekers and refugees during the first half of 2019, according to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. The newspaper cited an answer given by …

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Airline set to evacuate Nigerians in South Africa as diplomatic mission shuts down

A Nigerian airline has offered to evacuate Nigerians wishing to leave South Africa as the country’s diplomatic missions shut down in Nigeria. Raphael Adenaike reports. Air Peace, Nigeria’s biggest airline by fleet size, has offered to bring Nigerians living in South Africa back home. The airline announced the offer on Wednesday as a fallout of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals …

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Website where asylum-seekers can report complaints in refugee camps launches

Since the launch of nine “anchor centres” (“Ankerzentren”) in Germany last year, the concept of these holding facilities for asylum-seekers has been repeatedly criticized by NGOs while the government has called them a success. A new monitoring website lets current and former residents report incidents anonymously. Benjamin Bathke reports Three German states, including Bavaria, last year turned nine reception facilities …

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Diamond Platnumz storms Berlin for live concert

Diamond Platnumz has arrived in Berlin to keep date with his fans on Saturday.  East Africa’s king of pop breezed into town from New York City on Wednesday night. Platnumz will perform at the prestigious Columbiahalle in Germany’s biggest city on Saturday, 7 September. The concert, tagged #SIMBAinBERLIN, is taking place exactly a week after Nigeria’s superstar 2Baba Idibia, aka …

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Nigeria recalls ambassador from South Africa as diplomatic row heats up

A day after Nigeria’s foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, summoned Bobby Moroe, the South Africa High Commissioner to Nigeria, to his office following xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, Africa’s most populous country has now withdrawn its ambassador, Alhaji Kabiru Bala, to Pretoria. The latest diplomatic action was taken amidst attacks on South African-owned businesses operating in Nigeria. Abuja …

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Deported Nigerians: Germany violated international agreements – say activists

Twenty Nigerians were deported to their home country on 19 August. Our correspondent Raphael Adenaike was at the Lagos airport when the deportees arrived and they narrated their personal ordeals and experiences with the German police, immigration officials and medical doctors as well as the Nigerian Embassy to Raphael (read article here). Raphael also spoke with pro-refugee activists in Lagos …

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Soyinka criticizes UK over Brexit as Boris Johnson loses key vote in parliament

As British politics grapples with how to handle Brexit, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson against going ahead with his decision to suspend – or prorogue – parliament. Going forward with the controversial plan, an attempt to stop MPs from preventing the UK from leaving the European Union without a deal, would be setting a bad …

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The challenges Black women have with their hair – Adama Paris

Senegalese international fashion designer and artist Adama Amanda Ndiaye, better known as Adama Paris, is currently exhibiting her work, Afro Exhibition, in Berlin, Germany. “It talks about my journey as a Black Woman with my hair,” said Paris, in an interview with Afrobizgermany, at the exhibition Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion x Hair x Design. The exhibition, holding at the Kunstgewerbemuseum …

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Nigeria goes tough on South Africa over xenophobic attacks

The Federal Government of Nigeria has summoned Bobby Moroe, the South Africa High Commissioner to Nigeria, following the latest xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals, including, Nigerians living in South Africa. Moroe was summoned by Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to his office in Abuja on Tuesday. The action, in diplomatic practice, is a form of expression of displeasure …

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New laws and regulations in Germany from September 2019

A number of new laws and regulations – affecting online banking and payment for online transactions, appointments at the doctor’s and insurance coverage for HIV prophylaxis drugs, allowances for asylum-seekers and the cost of sending packets etc – enter into effect in the new month. The most important changes are in this overview. HEALTH New incentives for quicker appointments for …

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What 2Baba Idibia’s concert in Berlin proves

It was the evening of Sunday, 1 September in one of Berlin’s most prestigious event locations. The hall of Columbia Theater was filled to capacity with happy people – Africans, Germans and others, who had gathered to see the Afrobeat’s legend 2Baba Idibia (aka 2Face Idibia) perform live. What marked the concert, dubbed 2FACE #20YearsAKing of Afrobeats Live, apart from …

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Nigerians in Germany speak out on situation in home country

Some Nigerians in Germany have faulted the method employed by Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist, in his call for a revolution against the Nigerian government. Speaking in a video interview with Samson Itondo of Afrobizgermany, the commentators said Sowore’s revolution call could have a partisan political undertone, having lost his bid to become the country’s president at the 2019 …

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“I did not disrespect Nigeria’s First Lady in my movie” – Annie Idibia speaks out in Berlin

Nollywood actress Annie Idibia has said that she did not disrespect Aisha Buhari, wife of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, in a scene in Power of 1, a movie produced by Efe Omorogbe, CEO of Buckwyld Media Network. The wife of Afrobeats legend 2Baba Idibia said this in an interview with Afrobizgermany, when the movie was screened at the Nollywood Films Travel …

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Former Nigerian minister bags prestigious German fellowship  

A former Nigerian minister and presidential contestant at the country’s last general election has been awarded a resident fellowship at one of Germany’s most prestigious academies. A prominent Nigerian, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, has been awarded a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin for the period from from September 2019 to February 2020. Others who bagged the …

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Nigerian who rampaged at German asylum centre deported

The authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria have announced that a Nigerian who went on a rampage recently at an Anchor Centre (Ankerzentrum), a big holding camp for refugees, has been deported to Nigeria. The news was broken on Thursday to the Bayerischer Rundfunk by the Bavarian State Office for Asylum and Repatriation (Bayerische Landesamt für Asyl und …

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