It was a key point of disagreement between the parties, but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc appears to have reached a compromise with its coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD) with regard to migrant family reunions. There is, however, still some disagreement on the finer points. Sertan Sanderson reports. More than four months after general elections, Germany seems to be …

Nigeria’s home based Super Eagles have qualified for the finals of the African Nations Championship, their first ever, after edging Sudan 1-0 in the semi-final played in Marrakech. The Nigerians will on Sunday meet hosts Morocco, who had earlier spanked Libya 3-1. The final of the ongoing Championship for African Nations (CHAN) will be between hosts, Morocco, and Nigeria. Morocco …

Unemployment in Germany hit a new low in January, official figures showed on Wednesday, as Europe’s largest economy made a strong start to the year while Berlin inches towards forming a government. Just 5.4 percent of workers were jobless in January, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit or BA) said in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar variations, down …

An independent international commission of inquiry has been established to investigate the death of  Oury Jalloh, who burnt to death in a police cell in Dessau thirteen years ago. An Independent International Commission of Inquiry to clarify the death of Oury Jalloh was founded in Berlin last weekend, and it has started work. The commission has set itself the task …

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga has been sworn in as the ‘people’s president’. Odinga took the controversial oath at Uhuru Park Grounds in Nairobi on Tuesday at 2.45 pm in a ceremony skipped by his co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula. Kenyan authorities forced independent television and radio stations reporting on the gathering off air as supporters of …

China’s ambassador to the African Union has denounced as “absurd” a report by French newspaper Le Monde alleging that Beijing has been spying on the continental body. The report published last week claims technicians at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital discovered last year that the contents of their computers had been regularly copied to servers in Shanghai since 2012, …

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been sharply criticized for delivering Cameroonian separatist leaders into the hands of the government of President Paul Biya in a move seen as very unusual in international diplomacy. The Nigerian government on Friday deported 12 Cameroonian separatist leaders who were arrested earlier this month, their lawyer said Monday. Julius Ayuk Tabe and 11 others …

South Africa’s male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo won a Grammy award at Sunday’s ceremony. Their album “Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration” won in the Best World Music Album category. The album is a tribute to the group’s founder, Joseph Shabalala. With their soulful voices and traditional Zulu dance moves, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has sold millions of albums worldwide …

The leadership of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe (NIDOE) has commenced its tour of Nigerian diplomatic missions across Europe. The Central Executive Council (CEC) of the body, led by Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, kicked off the tour on 17 January when it paid a courtesy call on Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, in Berlin. The Gbandi-led delegation …

The European Court of Justice has ruled that sexual orientation tests can’t be used to rule on asylum applications. Hungarian immigration officials should not have put a Nigerian asylum seeker through psychological tests to determine whether he was telling the truth that he was gay. Hungarian immigration officials were wrong to make a Nigerian asylum applicant undergo psychological tests to …

“Today we launch the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). We are nearly ready to launch the Continental Free Trade Area, and freedom of movement of persons is achievable in 2018,” President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has said. The Rwandan leader made the commitment on Sunday while delivering his acceptance speech as the new chairperson of the African Union at …

South African jazz legend and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela has died, aged 78. Masekela “passed peacefully” in the country’s commercial capital, Johannesburg “after a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer,” his family said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is with profound sorrow that the family of Ramapolo Hugh Masekela announce his passing. After a protracted and courageous battle …

Nigerians hit the streets of the British capital on Monday to condemn the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians by suspected Fulani herdsmen in various parts of Nigeria. The protest was convened by Mutual Union of Tivs in the United Kingdom (MUTUK) and was supported by members of the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom. The protesters while chanting, ”Buhari, no …

Liberian President George Opong Weah promised his country men and women yesterday he would not let them down. He spoke at a jam-packed Samuel Doe International stadium in Monrovia shortly after he took his oath of office as the 24th president of his country. It was the first time since 1944 that power was transferred from one president to another …

Killings carried out by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen are causing widespread insecurity in Africa’s most populous country. The worldwide community of Nigerian citizens in the diaspora has now issued a press release on the burning national issue. “The massacre of scores of human beings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State on New Year’s Day in cold blood sent shockwaves …

Talks can now begin on ending months of political deadlock after members of the centre-left SPD voted to open formal talks on a “grand coalition” with the Chancellor Angela Merkel-led conservative CDU/CSU bloc. “Today, it’s not just about whether we’re entering coalition negotiations. No. Rather today we finally decide which direction our country and Europe are going. And that’s why …

The second edition of Queen of Nollywood Awards Germany took place recently. The event, which honoured practitioners of the Nigerian home-grown movie industry, was attended by hundreds of fans of the African movie industry, including a sister of former President Barack Obama. The presence of Dr Auma Obama, from Kenya, in the south-western German city of Ludwigshafen on 2 December …

In a bold initiative, a group has started a school in Germany to teach an African language to children of African origin in the Diaspora. Saturday (20 January) witnessed the official opening of the Igbo Language School in Frankfurt. Igbo is the language of the Igbo people, one of Nigeria’s three biggest ethno-national groups. Attended by members of the Nigerian …

Many users on social networking sites in Germany don’t know that publishing fake news or hateful comments can have legal ramifications. How does German law treat the subject? Aref Gabeau reports. On New Year’s Eve the German police in the Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia published a tweet in Arabic wishing a happy new year. German politician Beatrix von …

In commemoration of World Migrant and Refugee Day on 15 January, a young Sengalese man named Seny Diallo tells his story. After he arrived in Italy by sea, he went back to Senegal to raise awareness among young people about the dangers of irregular migration. After having been forced to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy aboard a migrant boat …