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 …

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 …

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 …

The security situation in Nigeria is worsening by the day as marauding bandits, camouflaging as herdsmen, roam across the country kidnapping for ransom, waylaying travellers, killing farmers and generally making the country unsafe. Added to the security troubles of the country is the possibility of inter-ethnic clashes flaring in different parts of the country caused by worsening inter-communal relationship. Members …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first vaccine for its COVAX program, aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines in Low- and middle-income countries. On Monday, the UN health agency issued emergency approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine, with deliveries expected to commence by March. The approval comes after a study in South Africa indicates that the AstraZeneca vaccine …

The World Trade Organisation has confirmed Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General. She is the first woman and the first African to lead the international trade body. According to a statement by the organisation on Monday, her term is scheduled to start on 1 March 2021. The term, which is renewable, will expire on 31 August 2025. …

The immediate past chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), Hon Kenneth Gbandi, has called on the body to withdraw the award it once conferred on the current governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, if he does not deny a recent statement credited to him on security in Nigeria. Mohammed had last week said that herdsmen were …

 Britain’s Karim Ahmad Khan was elected on Friday by the parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the new chief prosecutor for a nine-year term starting in June. The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court held its second resumed nineteenth session on 12 February 2021 at the UN Headquarters in New York. …

Lagos, Nigeria: Following the decision of the Lagos State Judicial Panel to allow the Lekki Concession Company to reopen the Lekki tollgate where soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing many in cold blood on 20 October 2020, Nigerian youths protested on Saturday to show their dissatisfaction of the decision. Despite the presence of heavy security operatives on ground, youths …

Since 14 December, travellers returning home and those entering Germany from a risk area (Risikogebiet) have to be mandatorily tested for the coronavirus infection prior to entry or immediately thereafter. Those entering from a risk area must present a negative coronavirus test within 48 hours of entry. In addition, they must undergo a ten-day quarantine, which can be shortened after …

Highly contagious variants of the coronavirus from Brazil and South Africa are spreading in Austria, France and the Czech Republic and causing concerns Germany. Entry checks will be stricter as from Sunday at German borders with neighbouring countries due to new travel restrictions introduced by government to check the spread of the more dangerous coronavirus mutations.  Federal Interior Minister Horst …