Former Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany’s new president on Sunday by the 1,260-member Federal Assembly, made up of national lawmakers and parliamentarians from the country’s 16 states. Five candidates participated at the election. In addition to Steinmeier, other candidates for the presidency were the political scientist Christoph Butterwegge, the vice-chairman of the AfD, Albrecht Glaser, the TV …

Former Foreign Minister and presidential candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to be elected as Germany’s new ceremonial head of state on Sunday. As president, the 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the country abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation. For the Social Democrats (SPD), his appointment raises the party’s …

Germany’s Development Minister Gerd Müller has called for more German engagement in Africa at the just concluded 2nd German-African Business Summit  in Nairobi. He argues that investments help reduce poverty. Daniel Pelz reports. Dr Gerd Müller does not hesitate. With a huge smile, the minister picks a white coat and heads to the manufacturing hall of Kevian, a leading Kenyan …

The death of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi at a critical moment in the DR Congo’s history is an irreparable loss for a country trying to navigate a constitutional crisis without descending into bloodshed. The best way to honour Tshisekedi is to continue the fight for democracy in the country, argues Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the historic leader …

Germany’s federal and state governments have agreed to a plan to quickly deport rejected asylum-seekers. Although deportations are a state matter, the federal government has made it clear it wants to play a bigger role. Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states in Berlin on Thursday (9 February) and agreed to a plan that will speed …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Europe will hold a conference in the German city of Hamburg on 17-18 February. According to Kenneth Gbandi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of NIDO Europe, the event will discuss how to reposition the group for greater effectiveness. International brand management expert Charles O’Tudor will deliver a keynote speech at the two-day …

Two Muslims suspected of planning terror attacks in Germany have been arrested during widespread raid against radical Islamists. Police in the town of Göttingen, the state of Lower Saxon (Niedersachsen), arrested the two men suspected of plotting a terror attack on Wednesday evening, officials announced on Thursday (9 February). The men arrested, a 27-year-old Algerian and a 23-year-old Nigerian, are …

About 400 Africans and German sympathisers turned out on Wednesday (8 February) to protest against the police shooting of Augustine Akwasi Obenga in Hamburg a week ago. The demo started from the central train station and proceeded through the Lampedusa Tent in Steindamm and back to the train station. Protesters spent about three hours in the biting cold to register …

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has announced that it was investigating former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko for possible crimes against humanity. Sonko, who is seeking asylum in Switzerland, was a top figure in the repressive regime of ousted president, Yahya Jammeh. Sonko was arrested on 26 January in an asylum centre in Berlin following a case of …

More than 12,000 Nigerian asylum seekers in Germany face deportation, it was disclosed yesterday (7 February). The Global Head of Programme, Migration and Development at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dr Ralf Sanftenberg, made the disclosure when he visited the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa in Abuja. Sanftenberg …

The 67th Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale – kicks off on 9 February in the German capital city. The Berlinale is one of the biggest international film festivals alongside the Cannes and Toronto film festivals. Up to 400 films are shown every year, mostly international or European premieres, and the festival, the world’s second largest audiovisual event, sells more …

The 2nd German-African Business Summit (GABS) takes place in Nairobi, Kenya from 8 to 10 February 2017. The first edition of the event, held in Berlin in September 2015, provided a forum for some 400 participants from the worlds of business and politics, from Germany and Africa, to discuss Africa’s prospects and potential and to make new contacts. In his …

Kwesé TV, Africa’s newest satellite network has launched. The Kwesé Network’s Pay-TV satellite service started broadcasting on 30 January 2017, beaming Kwesé’s full suite of entertainment and sports programming to households in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, which make up the first phase of the Kwesé TV rollout across Africa – other countries will be announced in due course. Having already …

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has expressed his hopeful optimism for Africa. He spoke of the continent’s promise and vast potential at a press conference on 31 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after attending the 28th African Union Summit. For the record, below is the full text of his remarkable statement: Far too often, the world …

Cameroon came from behind to beat Egypt 2-1 and seal a fifth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in a thrilling final. Vincent Aboubakar came off the bench to score a late goal to steer Cameroon to a 2-1 victory over Egypt in the final of the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Libreville on Sunday (5 February). The victory …

One of the commanders of the ECOWAS Military Intervention in the Gambia (ECOMIG) force has revealed the reason why ex-leader Yahya Jammeh finally decided to leave the country after weeks of obstinacy, which allowed the newly-elected president, Adama Barrow, to take office. The commander of the Nigerian Air Force’s contingent deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition …

Administered by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in co-operation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the initiative aims to financially reward asylum applicants if they are willing to return to their homelands. About 40 million euros ($43 million) has been set aside for payments

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday (1 February) signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly, with a pledge to ensure its full implementation to eradicate kidnapping once and for all in the State. The Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping Law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom. …

No fewer than 41 Nigerians, which included 33 males and 8 females,  deported from the United Kingdom to Nigeria arrived Lagos today (1 February). The deportees arrived at the cargo terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja in an unmarked Airbus aircraft which touched ground at exactly 7:40 a.m. According to the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria …

My father is Greek and my mother is Ghanaian. I came to Germany in the late 1990s to learn the German language and be a bilingual secretary. And Cupid’s arrow pierced my heart. The Germans are a down-to-earth people and I was fascinated by their difficult language. It was not an easy road considering the language barrier when I first …