Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Premiers of the 16 federal states decided on Wednesday (3 March) to extend the shutdown until 28 March. In the same breadth, a plan for the easing of the restrictions was announced. “The daily reporting figures show that the efforts of the last few months have paid off and lower incidences have been achieved. This …

“We continue to work with health authorities around the world to ensure high visibility access to trusted and accurate public health information on our service, including about COVID-19 vaccines”

The Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), said the current situation in the country would likely drive many more Nigerians into irregular emigration. Mr Solomon Okoduwa, Executive Director of IYAMIDR, who is a former aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Illegal Migration, made this known in an interview with NAN in Benin …

Nigeria has received nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, courtesy of the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO. The United Nations (UN) in Nigeria made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday (2 March). According to the statement, Nigeria on Tuesday received 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum …

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has officially resumed as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  As she took up her new role on Monday at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the former Nigerian finance and foreign minister said she was eager to get straight to work as the first woman and first African to lead the global body. “I am …

Like at the beginning of every month, new legal changes enter into effect in March 2021.These affect, for example, energy labels for refrigerators, televisions or washing machines. Also, summer time starts soon and parents urgently need to pay attention to the deadline for applying for Baukindergeld. Moreover, the lockdown regulations will be relaxed. Here’s an overview of the important legal …

Almost daily, citizens including school children are abducted for ransom in Nigeria. In the past two weeks alone, two high profile abductions of hundreds of school pupils have generated global media attention. The murderous Boko Haram insurgency also continues to ravage Nigeria’s north-eastern region. In the north west, bandits invade villages killing and maiming, and displacing the original inhabitants.  More …

Following allegations of violence levelled against the police in Chemnitz by an African family, a civil society organisation has launched a campaign against police brutality. According to the accounts of Mark Kitau and Jackline Nadler, a Kenyan couple, they were brutalised by police officers on the night of 31 January in the eastern German city of Chemnitz. The media has …

GIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in the Africa and Middle East region, to train young people in digital technology and boost their employability. Following launches in Tunisia and Senegal, Ethiopia will be home to the third Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, February 25, 2021/ — Today, …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered its first Covid-19 doses to Ghana under a programme to ensure low-income countries do not wait for years to start inoculating their populations. Ghana became the first country to receive the vaccines through the COVAX program on Wednesday, a joint statement issued by UNICEF Ghana and WHO Ghana said. An aircraft carrying 600,000 …

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, February 24, 2021/ — Digital platforms in Africa should scale up to take advantage of the continent’s surging demand for creative content, said Africa Investment Forum Senior Director Chinelo Anohu, adding that the African Development Bank flagship entity is providing advisory services and investment support to creative players. The Africa Investment Forum was working to promote content …

How an IOM frontline worker goes beyond return counselling by providing African migrants in Germany with the support they need Berlin – It is a full day for Danielle Al-Qassir at the foreign immigration office in Berlin. “I have clients calling me on my work phone, my private phone and the landline, and we have clients coming in in-person,” she …

In order to strengthen political dialogue and promote economic relations, Professor Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Togolese Abroad, held diplomatic talks on February 16, 2021 with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in St. Petersburg. According to reports, Professor Dussey’s visit was on the invitation by Moscow, and came on exactly one year after their …

In 2018, Germany’s asylum office BAMF came under fire for supposedly wrongly issuing numerous positive asylum decisions. Now, German courts have ruled in favour of 66 refugees whose positive asylum decisions had been revoked. Benjamin Bathke/DW reports German administrative courts have ruled in favour of 66 refugees after they brought lawsuits against the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees …

The number of asylum applications in Europe fell by almost a third last year. A total of 461,300 applications, 31 per cent fewer than in 2019, were filed, according to EASO, the EU’s asylum office based in Valletta, Malta. The main reason for the decline, according to EASO, is the Corona pandemic travel restrictions. The figures cover all initial applications …

A look into the ban on cryptocurrency in Nigeria by Ibrahim Moshood and Oneyka Cindy Ojogbo, Associate and Senior Associate respectively of the international law firm Centurion Law Group In a letter dated 5 February 2021[1], the Nigerian government through its apex bank – the Central Bank of Nigeria (“CBN”) – clamped down on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. The letter specifically …

Calls for political consequences are loud as Germany commemorates the first anniversary of the racist killings in the western German city of Hanau. On 19 February 2020, a 43-year-old German shot dead nine people with foreign roots in Hanau out of sheer racially-motivated hate — One year ago, on 19 February 2020, a 43-year-old German in Hanau had shot and …

International remittance service provider, WorldRemit has described the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, mandating commercial banks to open dollar accounts for customers who do not have as timely and apt. Country Manager, WorldRemit, Nigeria and Ghana, Gbenga Okejimi, stated that the move would enhance remittance payments for those who receive support from family and friends abroad. The …

Mastercard and MTN empower millions of consumers in Africa to make payments on global platforms, advancing digital financial inclusion · Partnership will enable millions of MTN customers to pay on global online platforms with a Mastercard virtual payment solution linked to MTN MoMo wallet · Mastercard’s technology will enable new digital commerce opportunities for consumers and merchants with or without …

The global pandemic has accelerated the need for true digitisation as African customers demand a more seamless digital customer experience from their communications service providers (CSPs), writes Pikie Monaheng, CEO at Amdocs South Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 17, 2021/ —  It’s no secret that CSPs need to transform their businesses to compete in the continent’s highly competitive communications landscape …