EUROPE

Our Moscow correspondent Kester Kenn Klomegah reports on a global women conference held last week in St. Petersburg and at which leading African female leaders took part Women play an increasingly important role in resolving issues that society and the state encounter and in the modern world, they should not face the choice between family and self-fulfillment, Russian President Vladimir …

A group of twelve activists of the Black Lives Matter movement in Nuremberg, Germany, travelled to Strasbourg at the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana (MEP), last week as part of the European Youth Event 2021. Here’s a report of the visit. At the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Germany on the platform of the Green …

The Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has been regularly ranking the world's most travel-friendly passports since 2006

To facilitate the entry of labour migrants into the European Union, the EU Parliament has eased the rules governing the issuance of the Blue Card, which gives highly-skilled workers from outside the EU the right to live and work in any EU country with the exception of Denmark and Ireland. The Parliamentarians adopted the reform of the Blue Card scheme …

Osaze Osemwingie-Ero, a former Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, has cried out over the plight of over 300 Nigerian youths, whom he says, are ‘illegally’ detained in Italian prisons for contrived charges on mafia-related offences. At a meeting with officials of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Wednesday, Mr Osemwingie-Ero, disclosed that he learned …

Collins Nweke is a Councillor in the Belgian town of Ostend. The Nigerian-born communal politician narrates his experience of fighting poverty in his community and he reveals the institutional practice that has deliberately kept many families from accessing state support due to them ———– By Hon. Collins Nweke* We had our first son shortly after moving to Belgium. By the …

The Belgium Luxembourg Nigeria Chamber of Commerce (BLNCC) will hold a reception for Nigeria’s new Ambassador to Belgium, HE Obinna Chiedu Onowu, on Friday, 3 September. “Envisioned as a semi-formal, yet convivial event the Ambassador Meet & Greet is a forum for the new Ambassador to meet business leaders in the first instance but also other relevant stakeholders and interest …

The Nigerian High Commission in London has been closed for 10 days after two officials tested positive for COVID-19. The High Commission stated this in a statement on Thursday night. “This afternoon, the Head of Immigration Section and two other officials went for a meeting at the Home Office,” it said in the statement. “At the entrance, COVID test was …

A Nigerian, Yekemi Otaru, has been named Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). The university, with origins dating back to 1897, made this known via a statement on its website. Ms Otaru will formally take up the role of Chancellor at the UWS on 1 September 2021, succeeding Dame Elish Angiolini. The 42-year-old holds four degrees …

By Aaron Gates-LincolnWriter at Immigration Advice Service and Immigration News The UK immigration system is a harsh and brutal environment for all migrants. It is designed to be a treacherous journey through a cruel and intricate jungle of tests, detention, interrogations and application processes; all trying to prove authenticity and deservedness. However, it is clearer now than ever that LGBT+ …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Worldwide has denied ever having endorsed the Governor of Kogi State for the presidential elections of 2023. The officially recognised umbrella body of Nigerians residing outside their homeland issued the statement to disown claims being made by some persons purporting that NIDO had endorsed the presidential aspiration of the governor. A statement dated 6 …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) holds a virtual conference on Saturday, 5 June 2021 on how to better engage the youth in national development. The event, with the theme “Diaspora Engagement Master-Class & Youth Inclusion”, will be addressed by, among others, Dr Bashir Obasekola, Chairman of NIDOE; Kingsley Aikins, CEO, Networking Institute Ireland; Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist, PwC …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Green Member of the European Parliament representing Germany, praises the appointment of Michaela Moua as the first Anti-Racism Coordinator at the European Commission, and what she expects from the history-making appointee ——- Cultural Diversity in the European Institutions The European Commission has appointed Michaela Moua as its first anti-racism coordinator. I am delighted that she has been …

The European Commission has appointed a former professional basketball player, Michaela Moua, as its first-ever Anti-Racism Co-ordinator, adding that the newly created post was in line with its anti-racism action plan. Ms Moua, a Finnish national of African origin, said she was “extremely excited about this opportunity to achieve real justice” in her reaction to the appointment, which was announced …

The European Union has spoken out in defence of Spain, after thousands of migrants from Morocco entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in north Africa. “Europe expresses its solidarity with Ceuta and Spain,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday (18 May), in a tweet. At least 6,000 migrants, including mothers cradling children and whole families, reached …

New entry regulations that make life easier for travellers entered into force on Thursday. The new regulation is the most far-reaching relaxation of rules for arriving passengers since the beginning of the pandemic in Germany last year. The federal cabinet passed the new rules, which are also intended to standardise the regulations of individual federal states and make travelling within …

The Blue Card, Europe’s answer to the US Green Card, is a work permit allowing high-skilled non-EU citizens to work and live in any country within the European Union, excluding Denmark and Ireland, which are not party to the scheme. Kai Dambach/InfoMigrants explains how it works. The EU Blue Card is a residence permit issued to highly qualified persons from …

Chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded the European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma for her advocacy against antiziganism. “We must outlaw antiziganism just as we outlaw anti-Semitism,” Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, said in his address at a ceremony which took place in Mannheim on Wednesday. He pointed to the …

In pursuit of its goal of more inclusiveness and widening its horizon, the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), under the leadership of Dr Bashir Obasekola, has appointed several Ad-Hoc Committees to help it achieve its objectives. The Committees are: 1. Ad-Hoc Committee on Youths inclusion Mandate and objectives: Inclusion of the youth is paramount for NIDOE to continue as …

The Austrian chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) has elected Mrs Subrinah Ego Dolischka as its first female chairperson. The NIDOE-Austria general election, conducted virtually on 27 March 2021, was well organised by the electoral committee under the chairmanship Engr Oluyemi Ogundele, a former chairman of the organisation. The committee adopted the E-voting method due to the …