A combined low for the ruling coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in voter support has emerged in a new survey. Her conservative sister parties CDU/CSU and coalition partner Social Democrats polled 26 and 15 percent respectively. Up to second place are the Greens. Germany’s regular Deutschlandtrend has charted eroding support for Merkel’s conservatives and especially her Social Democrat (SPD) …

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a new executive order which among other things compels Nigerians with assets outside the country to pay taxes on them. The Executive Order (008), tagged Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS), was signed by the President on Monday and takes effect from the same day, the Presidency said on Wednesday, 8 October. According to a …

Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 8-10 November in Vienna, Austria. In addition to addressing issues of concern to Nigerians in diaspora, the event will discuss the outcome of the first-ever Nigerian Diaspora Global Project & Investment Summit UK, which took place in July 2018 in London. The objective of the conference …

‘AFRIKAMERA – Latest Cinema from Africa’ presents, from 13 – 18 November, a selection of current feature and documentary films from the Horn of Africa, a region associated more with political, social and military conflicts than its cinema culture. The fact is however that the cinema can look back on a long tradition in the region. Ethiopia was the first …

Do you have an ingenious idea, courage, energy and passion? German Founders and Entrepreneurs Days (Die Deutschen Gründer- und Unternehmertage or deGUT) 2018 is the place to be as you will have access to expertise and information on what it takes to establish your own business. From defining your idea to issues of financing, marketing and sales – this event, …

Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome has announced that the country will soon roll out a visa-on-arrival regime for all Africans entering the country. In other words, there would be no need for Africans to necessarily apply for visas before flying into the country. All African passport holders need to do is fly in and have their visas stamped on arrival. The …

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his government, over the last 21 months, has ensured stability and adequate supply of power in the country, in the place of the erratic power situation that it inherited. Speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit, in London, on Monday, 8th October, 2018, President Akufo-Addo indicated that his government, over the …

Italy has warned Germany not to deport asylum-seekers back to Italy. Reports say the German state of Bavaria is preparing to send asylum-seekers back to Italy, insisting that the cases must be processed at the point of entry. Shamil Shams reports. German news agency DPA has learnt that authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria were planning to start …

Senegal’s international music star Akon is planning a solar investment programme for Sierra Leone as part of plans to support the government of President Julius Maada Bio. Akon, real name Aliaume Damala Badara, met with the president in the United States on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly, UNGA. Local media reports that his investment will comprise the …

With the emergence of the presidential candidates of the political parties participating at the next general election in Nigeria, all is now set for the poll which analysts say will be tough. While it’s generally assumed that the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, would field President Muhammadu Buhari again at the February 2019 polls, the battle for the ticket of …

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has launched a scheme under which it will grant mortgage loans to nationals in the diaspora. The bank in a statement issued on Friday (5 October) said the loan targets non-resident Ethiopians and foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin. CBE chief Bacha Gina said the product was part of the bank’s vision to serve and …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 13 October 2018. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. The Nobel Committee received more than 300 nominations for this year’s Peace Prize. The award, worth more than a million dollars, has been given …

The Organization for Migration (IOM) has released new statistics on migrant crossings to Europe via the Atlantic Ocean. So far, 1,741 people have died trying to make it to Europe through the Mediterranean. The UN agency said that a total of 82,100 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea in 2018 as of September 30. Spain saw the largest …

According to the latest report of the European statistical agency Eurostat, 16.7 million men and women in the 28 member countries of the EU were unemployed in August 2018. Compared with August 2017, unemployment fell by 1.9 million in the bloc. The lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5 %), Germany and Poland (both …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are the world’s most popular leaders, according to a new study. The survey was conducted among 26,112 respondents in 25 countries from May 20 to August 12 by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, Washington-based think tank. The most trusted international leader was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who claimed the confidence …

A group of Nigerian migrants held captive inside a detention centre in Libya have been rescued after releasing a video taken on their phones. The footage went viral on social media and caught the attention of the authorities. Sertan Sanderson of InfoMigrants reports. The migrants held in Zawiya in Libya reportedly risked their lives to shoot the video, which shows …

South African schools will teach Swahili alongside other non-African languages such as Mandarin, French and German. Proponents hope it may one day become a lingua franca for the African continent. Thuso Khumalo of Deutsche Welle reports. One of Africa’s most widely recognized languages, Swahili — also known as Kiswahili — will soon be taught in South African classrooms, in a …

A robust manufacturing sector is broadly understood as a fundamental path to economic growth and development. Despite their manufacturing potential and promising trajectories, most African countries have remained relatively dearth of factories, writes Professor Landry Signé. How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa? The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa …

Marriott International plans to increase its hotels in Africa by 50 percent in the next five years, opening new facilities in markets where it already operates and venturing into new ones like Mozambique, the company said on Monday (1 October). Global hotel chains have been increasing their investments in Africa in recent years to take advantage of fast expanding economies …