Blog List Layout

The New Champions of Afrobeats (1)

In this first of a two-part series on how Afrobeats is changing the global musical landscape, Yemi Babalola* looks at the movers and shakers of the new genre whose roots can be traced to the Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. —- There is no way one to talk about Afrobeats as a music genre and not give credit to Afrobeat. …

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Nigeria bars Emirates Airlines from operating flights into country

Nigeria has barred Emirates Airlines from operating in and out of the country. Announcing the decision on Twitter, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said the ban will take effect from Monday, 21 September 2020. The tweet read: “The PTF sub-committee met today with EU Ambassadors to discuss Lufthansa, Air France/KLM ban. The meeting progressed well. Emirates Airlines’ situation was reviewed …

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German court rules on refusal of airline to carry passengers under alcohol influence

If a passenger under the influence of alcohol conducts themselves in a way that endangers air safety, an airline can refuse to carry the passenger and order their expulsion from the flight, a District Court (Amtsgericht) in Frankfurt has ruled. A man had booked flights for himself and his wife from Bogota, Columbia, to Stuttgart, Germany, on the airline, whose …

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Toni Tuklan – Deserving global honour for a man of many parts

The Germany-based music artist, cultural ambassador, development activist and sports enthusiast Uche Sunday Alphonsus Ojiodu-Ambrose (popularly known by his artist name Toni Tuklan) is a man of many parts. His resumé is indeed formidable: Toni’s group of companies comprises Cleantone Records GmbH (music label), Tuklan GbR (music production company) and Tuklan Sports UG (sports management company). Moreover, the serial entrepreneur …

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Nigeria reopens all airports for domestic flights

All airports in Nigeria are now open for domestic flight operations, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced on Monday. He made the announcement in Abuja at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, adding that approvals for flights within the country would not be needed from the ministry again, as all airports had been cleared for domestic …

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Flashback! Remembering König Bansah’s fairytale Wedding, 20 years on

With a turnout of 1,500 invited guests from Europe, North America and Africa and 15,000 self-invitees from all parts of Germany, who lined the route of the couple‘s triumphant ride through the town of Trittenheim, state of Rhineland Palatinate; with dozens of press, radio and TV journalists, including some in an helicopter hovering over the idyllic town, who turned the …

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Towards Wakanda – Chadwick Boseman’s passing and the power of Afrofuturism

Chadwick Boseman, who played T’Challa in the blockbuster movie Black Panther, died on 28 August of cancer. He was 43. The film’s vision of Afrofuturism and the technologically advanced civilisation of Wakanda resonated with audiences worldwide, who helped propel Black Panther to more than $1.3 billion in global revenue. Since the death of Boseman, the Black world has been talking again …

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Ghana resumes international flights after 5 months of Covid-19 break

Ghana reopens air borders to international travel on 1 September after closing them in March to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Delivering his 16th address to the nation since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic on Sunday, President Akufo-Addo announced that government had decided to re-open the airport because public health officials can now conduct rapid tests to enable …

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Nigeria’s Enugu International Airport Reopens amid Fanfare

After more than a year of closure for rehabilitation and reconstruction works, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu in southeastern Nigeria was reopened for operations on Sunday. The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) shut down the airport on 24 August 2019 for repairs following outcry over its deplorable state, especially its runway. Speaking during the official reopening on Sunday, …

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Nigeria bans flights from EU countries as international operations set to resume

When Nigerian airports resume international operations on 29 August, flights from EU countries would not be allowed. The decision was announced on Thursday in Abuja by the country’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika. According to him, Nigeria is enforcing the principle of reciprocity in granting permission to airlines to resume operations in the country. This means that countries that ban …

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Nigeria to resume international flights on 29 August, Aviation minister announces

Nigeria will resume international flight operations on August 29, the Federal Government has announced. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the announcement on Monday in Abuja at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. He explained that the process for the resumption of international flights in the country would be similar to that of the domestic flight …

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Cologne: Cinematic offer from Africa in the era of Covid-19

Things are different this year for well-known reasons. With the AFRIKA FILM TAGE (AFRICA FILM EVENTS), FilmInitiativ e.V. presents a stripped-down version of the traditional African Film Festival Cologne, a sort of cinematic offer from Africa and its Diaspora in the era of Covid-19. From 17 to 24 September, the organisation presents a programme tailored to corona safety guidelines and …

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Nigeria get set to resume international flights

The Federal Government of Nigeria has begun the process of restarting international flights. In a briefing on Thursday by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the PTF National Coordinator, Sani Aliyu, said approvals have been given for aviation authorities to commence the process for the resumption of international flights. Aliyu said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation …

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Book: The Strong Black Girl

Garden City is a new children’s book. It tells the story of Ama Tricie, a Black girl determined to change the world one idea at a time. After a series of ups and downs, she realises that all you need to do is to believe in yourself and everything else will fall in place. Have you heard that saying, “Children …

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Kenya, Rwanda resume international flights under strict Covid-19 rules

Kenya handled its first international flights on Saturday since they were suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rwanda on the same day reopened its airport for foreign travel. Kenya Airways’ first flight took off from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to London while RwandAir, the country’s flag carrier, restarted flights from Kigali International Airport to Dubai in …

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Flora Nwapa: Mother of modern African literature

The novel Efuru established Nigerian author Flora Nwapa as the first African woman to publish a book in English. Her work set the stage for the emergence of female writers in Nigeria and other African countries, writes of Sam Olukoya in the German international broadcaster DW’s series “African Roots”* —— When did Flora Nwapa live? Flora Nwapa was born in …

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