EUROPE

Spain jails Catalan separatist leaders, declares Puigdemont wanted

The Catalan crisis took a new judicial and international turn on Thursday (2 November) when eight former regional ministers were jailed. The Spanish general prosecutor also issued an international arrest warrant and an EU arrest warrant against ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who is charged with rebellion, sedition and embezzlement over last week’s declaration of independence of the region. Puigdement risks …

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German court jails Somali for fighting alongside Al-Shabaab

A Frankfurt court has sentenced two men to jail in separate cases for joining Islamist fighters in Somalia and Syria. A Somali-born German national, identified only as 29-year-old Abshir A., was found guilty of membership of a foreign terrorist group for fighting alongside Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants. The court in the western German city on Friday (27 October) handed him a …

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African Ahmadiyya Muslims hold peace conference in London

The Pan-African Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (PAAMA) UK hosted its first ever Africa Peace Symposium on Saturday 21 October at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in London under the guidance and tutelage of His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Worldwide Spiritual and Administrative Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The event which had Unity in Diversity as its theme and was …

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Pope Francis decries low birth rates in Europe

Europe is suffering from “dramatic sterility,” the pope has said, urging Christians to preserve their moral values and “revitalize” a continent that is increasingly being characterised by a plurality of cultures and religions. Pope Francis on Saturday decried low birth rates in Europe and urged more help for young people preparing their future path in society. “A Europe that rediscovers …

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Spain: Deposed Catalan leader calls for peaceful resistance to Madrid

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who was fired by the Spanish government over the region’s declaration of independence, has called on the people to non-violently resist Madrid’s takeover bid. In a televised address on Saturday, Puigdemont said Madrid’s decision to suspend the autonomy of the province and appoint Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria as Catalonia’s provisional head goes …

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Spain to impose direct rule in Catalonia

Pro-independence government chief of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, says the region won’t accept Madrid’s moves to impose direct rule. “The institutions and the people of Catalonia cannot accept this attack,” he said in an official statement following Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s announcement that he plans to curb the powers of the Catalonia’s parliament, sack its government and call an election …

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African Youth Education Awards ceremony holds in Hamburg

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 21 October 2017. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

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Spanish leader opens small window for talks on Catalan independence

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opened up to a possible reform of Spain’s regional system on Wednesday (11 October), while threatening to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if the region’s leaders confirmed Wednesday’s declaration of independence. After an emergency cabinet meeting in the morning, Rajoy gave the Catalan government five days to “confirm whether or not it has declared independence.” On Tuesday …

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Catalan leader postpones independence declaration

In a much awaited speech nine days after the 1 October independence referendum, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said that the region “has won the right to be independent”, but stopped short of unilaterally declaring secession from Spain in a plea for dialogue. “The ballot boxes, the only language we understand, say yes to independence. And this is the route …

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Defenders of Spain’s unity fight back

Hundreds of thousands demonstrated over the weekend in Spain against Catalonia’s independence and for a dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona, while pressure is mounting on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont not to declare independence on Tuesday (10 October). Between 350,000 and 900,000 people – according to diverging figures from organisers and Catalan authorities – took to the streets of Barcelona on …

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Spain: Catalonia to declare independence in a few days

Catalonia’s leader, Carles Puigdemont, said Tuesday (3 October) that the region will soon declare independence, while the Spanish King accused Catalan leaders of breaking up the country. The region will declare independence 48 hours after all the official results are counted, Puigdemont told the BBC in an interview, adding that this will happen “over the weekend or the beginning of …

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Showdown in Spain! Catalonia’s separatists claim victory after violent day

Despite Spanish government’s efforts to stop the referendum, Catalans overwhelmingly voted for an independent homeland on Sunday. The conflict between Madrid and Barcelona has now reached a decisive stage, report Helena Spongenberg and Eric Maurice. Catalan separatist leaders will press ahead with the region’s independence in the wake of a referendum on Sunday (1 October), which the Spanish government said …

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Interview with new Nigerian ambassador to Germany

Nigeria’s new ambassador to Germany, Hon. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, discusses taking up the post in Berlin, which has been vacant for three years, and how the growing relationship between the two countries can be strengthened further. Ambassador Tuggar also talks about his aim to encourage more German investment in Africa in the exclusive interview with the German international broadcaster Deutsche …

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Cyprus rakes in billions selling EU citizenship

Cyprus is at the centre of controversy surrounding the issuing of EU passports to wealthy foreigners, reports Emma Beswick According to UK newspaper, The Guardian, Cyprus received over 4 billion euros since 2013 by granting “golden visas” to the super rich, in exchange for cash. Applicants have to invest 2 million euros in property, or 2.5 million euros in companies …

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German police smash EU-Nigeria fake marriage syndicate

German police on Tuesday said they had broken up a fake marriage ring that paired Portuguese women with Nigerian men who paid thousands of euros for a chance to gain EU residency. Police arrested five suspects, including four women, as they carried out raids in more than 40 locations across the German capital, Berlin police and prosecutors said in a …

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Ambassador Udo kick-starts new era in Nigerian-Belgian relations

Collins Nweke, Belgian politician of Nigerian origin, writes on the expected changes in bilateral relations between Nigeria and Belgium as the new Nigerian ambassador to Brussels assumes office. Nigeria and Belgium have a 56-year diplomatic relations. When the new Ambassador of Nigeria to Belgium presented her Letters of Credence to His Majesty, Phillipe I, King of the Belgians today, Wednesday …

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German killer nurse murdered at least 90 patients – police

A male nurse who was jailed for life two years ago for killing two patients with lethal drug overdoses murdered at least 90 patients in total, police said Monday, calling it post-war Germany’s worst killing spree. Niels Hoegel, 40, was jailed in February 2015 for two murders and four counts of attempted murder or causing bodily harm on intensive-care patients …

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Spain’s Muslims demonstrate against terrorism following Barcelona attack

Hundreds of Muslims gathered just meters away from where the Barcelona terror attack of last Thursday took place to protest against Islamic-inspired violence. Spain was hit by its worst terrorist attack in more than a decade on 17 August, when a van driver rammed into dozens of people enjoying a sunny afternoon on one of Barcelona’s most famous thoroughfares, killing …

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Visa-free travel for EU visitors to UK after Brexit

Britain is reportedly planning to allow visa-free travel to the country for people from the European Union after Brexit. There has been no official announcement but British media, quoting unnamed government sources, say visitors won’t face any new constraints. However, people who want to work, study or settle in the UK will need to comply with future migration rules once …

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Italian woman refused job for having African boyfriend

An 18-year-old Italian woman who applied for a job at a local shop was reportedly refused the position because she is in a relationship with an African man, according to Italian media. Chiara Del Gaudio applied for the job in Torino, Piedmont region, after seeing an advert posted on the internet and was soon contacted by the shop’s owner, according …

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