African leaders converge in Addis Ababa for the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government Summit of the African Union on 9-10 February. Amongst many issues on the agenda, the 2020 Assembly under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”, will take stock of the challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development on …

In this short story, Berlin-based legal scholar and creative author Nelly Sarpong writes on a fictional encounter with a racist at a train station, revealing how difficult it is to react in a situation where the dignity of a Black person is under assault. ——— It was 5: 45 pm, I was packing up and getting ready to leave when …

As African leaders converge at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 9-10 February, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria and Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, explains in this opinion piece why an African leadership role on climate action is …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s arrived in Pretoria on Wednesday in the first leg of her 4-day trip to South Africa and Angola. Top on her agenda on the visit is increased economic co-operation with both countries, say analysts. South Africa is Germany’s biggest trading partner in Africa and Angola, with its mineral riches, promises more opportunities for German companies. South …

 The Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) elected a new National Executive Committee at its recent bi-annual conference held in Kassel. The conference, attended by representatives of local Ghanaian associations from all over Germany, chose the following 7-member National Executive Committee officials: Mr. Akwasi Opoku Edusei – President; Mr. Alexander Okai Anane – Vice-president; Mr. Aaron Hooper – General Secretary; Mr. Paul …

President Muhammadu Buhari launched the new Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020 at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday. The objective of the NVP 2020 is to strengthen Nigeria’s position as a key economy in Africa by attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country’s economy, he said. The NVP 2020 features visa-on-arrival for African Union nationals, increase in …

Bob Marley, who is considered one of the world’s greatest artists of all time, would have been 75 years old on 6 February. His family and recording company have released a year-long commemoration programme, MARLEY75, featuring special releases, live performances and new music videos plus rare and unreleased material from the Marley family vaults and private collection. The Marley family, …

Google has launched its first Google Developers Space in Lagos, Nigeria. Previously referred to as the Google Launchpad Space, the Google Developers Space is a hub for African developers, entrepreneurs and startups. The event took place on 29 January. Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, made a commitment to African entrepreneurs in July 2017 to start the Launchpad Accelerator Africa program and …

ABUJA, Nigeria, February 3rd, 2020,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Science and Engineering Experts have called on young female students to pursue professional carriers in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM in Nigeria. The experts who were drawn from the public and private institutions in Nigeria, as well as the development sector, made this call recently at the Engineering …

The International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) are offering fellowships to up to six young Southern African journalists and up to five young German journalists.  Journalists ages 25 to 40 from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Germany can apply. The Southern African-German Journalists’ Programme is a multiyear …

Black Business Matters, a networking platform for entrepreneurs of African descent, took place in Berlin on Saturday (1 February) to mark the beginning of activities commemorating the 2020 Black History Month in the German capital. The event, which was held at the premises of Each One Teach One (EOTO) in the Wedding district, was attended by young and not-so-young Black …

The United Kingdom officially ended its 47 years of European Union membership on 31 January, ending the uncertainties that have characterised the bloc since 23 June 2016 when 52 percent of Britons voted to take their country out of the then 28-member bloc (now 27). Brexit however is yet to be fully consummated as the two sides still have to …

Berlin’s state parliament has passed a law to freeze rent prices in the capital for five years. The legislators by their decision on Thursday (30 January) cleared the final legal hurdle to the Berlin rent cap initiative. The Senate of Berlin, the executive body governing the city that is also a federal state, had on 22 October approved the rent-freeze …

The Nigerian government has officially reacted to the Trump administration’s decision to add the country to the latest list of nations to face stringent travel restrictions to the United States. In a press statement signed by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the Nigerian government clarified that the measure “is the suspension of the issuance of immigrant visas to Nigerian passport holders …

'Trees of Knowledge' will convert trees and rural landmarks into educational wifi hubs in Africa

This follows the announcement of a partnership between Facebook and The South African Police Service (SAPS) to use the Facebook platform and community to help find missing children

President Donald Trump has added Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan and Tanzania as well as Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan to the list of countries to face stringent travel restrictions to the United States, according to an official announcement on Friday. In line with the new policy, immigrant visas, issued to those seeking to live permanently in the United States, will be banned for …

The Greek government unveiled a plan to build sea barriers across the Aegean Sea in a bid to prevent irregular migrants crossing to the Greek islands from Turkey in a bid, according to analysts, to call the bluff of Turkish President Erdogan, who has repeatedly threatened to send millions of refugees to Europe. Greece’s defence ministry published a call for …

Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, has released figures showing that unemployment in the EU is at its lowest since 2000. The average unemployment rate in the 28 EU states was 6.2 percent in December 2019, the lowest in almost 20 years. The Czech Republic (2.0 percent) as well as Germany and the Netherlands (both 3.2 percent) had the lowest jobless …

February brings some changes for people living in Germany as a result of new or amended laws and regulations. Some of these changes have an impact on the pockets of consumers. Here is an overview of the important changes from 1 February 2020, by Sola Jolaoso Cheaper BahnCard 25 and 50 As part of its “Klimapaket” (climate-protection package of policies), …