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European governments are increasingly focused on detaining irregular migrants and returning them to their home countries. But PICUM, a Brussels-based NGO, says they are illegal measures that won’t deter asylum seekers. Marion MacGregor reports European countries have been stepping up efforts to stop asylum seekers from entering or remaining in the territory. The UK government is continuing to push ahead …

Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled with a trade delegation to Ethiopia and Kenya from 4 to 6 May 2023. Many important issues, including combating climate change, current conflicts in the continent and economic cooperation, were discussed in his meetings with with political leaders as well as representatives of the business community, civil society and culture. A special report on the Chancellor’s …

A majority of Germans think immigration brings more disadvantages than advantages, according to a new survey. Half of those polled said they’d like Germany to take in fewer refugees than it currently does. Sabine Kinkartz of DW reports German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, a Social Democrat, is calling for a change in the EU’s migration policy to limit refugee numbers. …

President Muhammadu Buhari has reappointed Dr (Ms) Abike Dabiri-Erewa for a second term as the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). The notice of her reappointment was contained in a letter written by the President to the Senate requesting the Upper Chamber to confirm her reappointment. In November 2018, the President first named Ms Dabiri-Erewa as NiDCOM chair. She …

Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, has blamed corrupt officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for the delays in the issuance of international passports to Nigerians. He made the revelation in response to the outcry of Nigerians, both home and abroad, over the difficulties they go through to obtain passports. Aregbesola, who was speaking at the opening …

A 31-point communiqué released at the end of the two-day Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS), which took place on 27-28 April in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja, details practical steps to drive an effective engagement between Africa and its Diaspora. The Communiqué, presented by the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the event, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said the African Diaspora …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Africa for the second time since he assumed office. In May last year, he visited Senegal, Niger and South Africa in a three-day tour. This time, the German leader will travel with a trade delegation to Ethiopia and Kenya from 4 to 6 May 2023. In Addis Ababa, Chancellor Scholz will meet with the …

Tijani Abdulkabeer is a Nigerian freelance journalist who covers solutions, accountability in governance, social justice, business, education, environment, humanitarian crisis and more. In this special report for the International Centre for Journalists, he details how deliberate campaigns of disinformation were waged by agents of political parties to influence voters’ decision at the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, a strategy that endangered …

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Africans home and abroad to connect and create a common front through strategic frameworks to address the challenges arising in the new world order. This was stated during his keynote address at the second edition of the Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS) which opened on Thursday in Abuja. Speaking through his representative Mu’azu Jaji …

Six members of the European Parliament’s Development Committee (DEVE) visited Kenya recently to consult with Kenyan government, civil society and business community on the impact of the humanitarian crisis caused by the cumulative effect of climate change, drought, food insecurity and its corollary famine, on the country’s economy. Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana MEP, head of the delegation, writes on what the …

Ade Bantu (right) and Harry Belafonte/Photo: Courtesy of Ade Bantu Tributes are being paid across the world to the African-American entertainer and rights icon Harry Belafonte, who died in New York on Tuesday at the age of 96. Ade Bantu, the Afro-German musician and rights activist who once met Belafonte, has penned a moving tribute to the Black singer, actor …

As from 1 January 2024 at the latest, Kosovo passport holders will be able to enter the European Union (EU) and the Schengen area twice a year for 90 days without a visa. Following agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on a proposal by the Commission, passport holders from Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU …

The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police (PSFU) in Lagos has arrested a suspected female fraudster for allegedly defrauding a 50-year-old German man of US$220,000 (about 200,000 euros), after promising to marry him. The police spokesperson, SP Eyitayo Johnson, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday (19 April 2023), said the 21-year-old suspect lured the victim on …

Nigerian human rights activist, lawyer and writer Chidi Anselm Odinkalu* writes on the democratic backsliding in Africa as military officers increasingly seize power and elected leaders elongate their tenure by arbitrarily changing the constitution. And he analyses the causes of the unsavoury trend and what it portends for the continent — Macky Sall, Senegal’s president since the beginning of April …

Nigerians living in the diaspora are determined to influence the government that will succeed the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who will step down on 29 May. The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) is currently collating ideas from its chapters worldwide to enable it formulate a paper which the group will hand over to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu who will …

Italy declared a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday for the next six months following the exceptional increase in migrants continuously arriving via the Mediterranean routes. On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared a national state of emergency on immigration after the Civil Protection and Sea Policies Minister Nello Musumeci proposed it. The decision …

The German government has expelled the ambassador of Chad, Mariam Ali Moussa. According to the Foreign Office, the diplomat must leave Germany within 48 hours. The move comes three days after Chad expelled German Ambassador Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke. “In response to the unfounded expulsion of our Ambassador to Chad, we today summoned the Chadian Ambassador in Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, …

Some 1.5 million German households are spending more than half of their income on rent, according to a study. Poorer people and city dwellers face the biggest burdens. A special report by DW German tenants have to set aside large chunks of their household incomes to pay landlords, with 3.1 million households facing a rent burden of 40%, according to …

A podium discussion on the situation of third-country nationals who fled the war in Ukraine took place recently in the East German city of Halle. There are currently about 38,000 refugees from Ukraine without Ukrainian citizenship in Germany. The objectives of the event, organised by AWO Akademie Mitteldeutschland, were to reflect on the racist experiences of the African refugees, spotlight …

Geneva, 3 April 2023 – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is launching “Focus Africa” to strengthen aviation’s contribution to Africa’s economic and social development and improve connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers. This initiative will align private and public stakeholders to deliver measurable progress in six areas. “Africa accounts for 18% of the global population, but just 2.1% …