Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, has blamed corrupt officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for the delays in the issuance of international passports to Nigerians. He made the revelation in response to the outcry of Nigerians, both home and abroad, over the difficulties they go through to obtain passports. Aregbesola, who was speaking at the opening …
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Germany: Condemnations trail arson attack on Black MP’s office
A fire broke out on Wednesday at a building in the eastern German city of Halle (Saale) that houses the constituency office of Dr Karamba Diaby, an SPD Member of the Federal Parliament. The police suspects that the fire was deliberately set and a suspected perpetrator has been arrested. According to reports, witnesses noticed flames at the building in Große …
Read More »Don’t miss these African Festivals in Germany!
This year’s season of African music and culture in Germany is taking shape. Here are the Top Festivals you don’t want to miss before summer ends in 2023:———————————- Africa Festival Würzburg 26 – 29 May / Würzburg The International Africa Festival has been existing since 1989 and is the largest and oldest festival for African music and culture in Europe. …
Read More »How to set up a new business as an expat in Germany
There are many opportunities for startups in Germany. A few tips that will help you achieve success. —— Find a space for your ideas For years, Berlin has also been regarded as Germany’s startup capital. Every year, more than 500 new businesses are launched there. However, cities in the Ruhr region, such as Essen or Dortmund, repeatedly top the German rankings because …
Read More »Nigeria: Lagos launches electric public buses
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced the launch of the first set of electric buses for the state’s mass transit scheme. He announced the development on his Instagram page on Sunday, as he shared pictures of the buses. Sanwo-Olu wrote: “I am excited to announce the first set of electric buses in the Lagos Mass Transit Master …
Read More »Abuja conference outlines strategies for Diaspora engagement for African development
A 31-point communiqué released at the end of the two-day Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS), which took place on 27-28 April in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja, details practical steps to drive an effective engagement between Africa and its Diaspora. The Communiqué, presented by the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the event, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said the African Diaspora …
Read More »German chancellor embarks on second visit to Africa
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Africa for the second time since he assumed office. In May last year, he visited Senegal, Niger and South Africa in a three-day tour. This time, the German leader will travel with a trade delegation to Ethiopia and Kenya from 4 to 6 May 2023. In Addis Ababa, Chancellor Scholz will meet with the …
Read More »How false information was weaponised at Nigeria’s presidential election — Special Report
Tijani Abdulkabeer is a Nigerian freelance journalist who covers solutions, accountability in governance, social justice, business, education, environment, humanitarian crisis and more. In this special report for the International Centre for Journalists, he details how deliberate campaigns of disinformation were waged by agents of political parties to influence voters’ decision at the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, a strategy that endangered …
Read More »Buhari challenges African diaspora at global conference in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Africans home and abroad to connect and create a common front through strategic frameworks to address the challenges arising in the new world order. This was stated during his keynote address at the second edition of the Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS) which opened on Thursday in Abuja. Speaking through his representative Mu’azu Jaji …
Read More »European Parliament’s Development Committee visits Kenya
Six members of the European Parliament’s Development Committee (DEVE) visited Kenya recently to consult with Kenyan government, civil society and business community on the impact of the humanitarian crisis caused by the cumulative effect of climate change, drought, food insecurity and its corollary famine, on the country’s economy. Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana MEP, head of the delegation, writes on what the …
Read More »You can’t quantify Harry Belafonte’s greatness – Ade Bantu
Ade Bantu (right) and Harry Belafonte/Photo: Courtesy of Ade Bantu Tributes are being paid across the world to the African-American entertainer and rights icon Harry Belafonte, who died in New York on Tuesday at the age of 96. Ade Bantu, the Afro-German musician and rights activist who once met Belafonte, has penned a moving tribute to the Black singer, actor …
Read More »Visa requirement for Kosovars travelling to EU to be dropped
As from 1 January 2024 at the latest, Kosovo passport holders will be able to enter the European Union (EU) and the Schengen area twice a year for 90 days without a visa. Following agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on a proposal by the Commission, passport holders from Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU …
Read More »Germany: Give work permit to asylum-seekers, Ramelow advocates
A leading member of the Left party (Linke) has called for a change of strategy in Germany’s asylum policy. In the opinion of Thuringia’s Premier Bodo Ramelow, it amounts to a paradox that Germany is looking for skilled workers abroad while at the same time skilled workers in Germany are stuck in the asylum trap. Migrants should be given the …
Read More »Nigerian woman defrauds German man of €200,000 in bride scam
The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police (PSFU) in Lagos has arrested a suspected female fraudster for allegedly defrauding a 50-year-old German man of US$220,000 (about 200,000 euros), after promising to marry him. The police spokesperson, SP Eyitayo Johnson, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday (19 April 2023), said the 21-year-old suspect lured the victim on …
Read More »Germany: New report shows more inhabitants have immigration history
Almost a quarter of the people living in Germany last year have an immigration history. That is 20.2 million people or 24.3 per cent of the total population, the Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday in a micro census data report. The authorities defined people with an immigration history as those who arrived in Germany since 1950 and their direct …
Read More »A tree for future generations in Kenya by Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana MEP
Every tree is a living symbol of peace and hope. With its roots deep in the earth and its branches reaching for the sky, it lets us know that in order to aspire to reach higher and higher, we too must be firmly rooted to the ground, for, no matter how high we reach, it is always from our roots …
Read More »Germany: Award of highest national honour triggers debate over Angela Merkel’s legacy
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented former Chancellor Angela Merkel with the country’s highest honour on Monday at a ceremony in Berlin. Ms Merkel, who was head of government for 16 years, was honoured with the Großkreuz des Verdienstordens (“Grand Cross of the Order of Merit”) for her contribution to German political life. The national honour has been received by only two …
Read More »Amsterdam: Dead stowaway raises security concerns about Nigerian airports
A dead man was discovered in the wheel well of a KLM flight KL588 that arrived at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, from Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday (17 April). The man is assumed to have climbed into the aircraft at the Lagos international airport. The incident which is not new has raised serious security concerns about how and when the man was …
Read More »Students face accommodation crisis in Berlin
The housing shortage among students in Berlin may be getting worse, according to a new report by the German news agency dpa. The waiting time for a place in a student hostel, for example, is at least three semesters. At the beginning of the summer semester, many students in Berlin are still desperately looking for a flat. As of 1 …
Read More »Analysis: Return of the Interminable President in Africa
Nigerian human rights activist, lawyer and writer Chidi Anselm Odinkalu* writes on the democratic backsliding in Africa as military officers increasingly seize power and elected leaders elongate their tenure by arbitrarily changing the constitution. And he analyses the causes of the unsavoury trend and what it portends for the continent — Macky Sall, Senegal’s president since the beginning of April …
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