President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, paid a 2-day State Visit to the Swiss Confederation on 28-29 February. It’s the third time in history that Switzerland organised a State Visit for a leader from Sub-Saharan Africa. The Ghanaian leader and his delegation were received by Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga and her ministers, and both parties held talks on a …

After days of uncertainties over the rapidly spreading coronavirus, the organisers of the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin has cancelled the event, which was to hold from 4-8 March. “With more than 10,000 exhibitors from over 180 countries ITB Berlin is extremely important for the world’s tourism industry. We take our responsibility for the health and safety of our visitors, …

Fears about coronavirus are now also beginning to affect migrants and refugees: the German interior ministry is taking measures to contain the virus — including a suspension of all returns to and from Italy under the Dublin regulation. Sertan Sanderson reports Germany has suspended the return of migrants to or from Italy under the provisions of the Dublin Regulation for …

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, 28 February. It’s also the first case of the disease registered in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the statement, the case involves an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and just returned from Milan, Italy on 25 …

The International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin will hold from Wednesday to Sunday, 4 to 8 March, on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds ICC. ITB is the world’s leading travel trade show. Last year, the event attracted a total of 10,000 exhibitors from 181 countries and 160,000 visitors. Countries, cities and regions, tour operators, airlines, online booking portals and hotels, and many …

"After ten years of preparatory work by civil society, there will finally be a place at the end of the year where Berlin will be developed into a globally just city"

Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé has won a fourth term in power, the national electoral commission declared on Monday. According to preliminary results, he received 72% of the vote, defeating six other candidates. Gnassingbé’s closest rival and main opposition leader, Agbéyomé Kodjo, clinched only 18% of the popular vote cast in the election. The final results are expected to be announced …

On 4 March 2020 in Brussels, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group will host the ECR-Africa Summit to discuss policy options about governance, participation of women, foreign direct investment and the digital economy to develop a stronger relationship between the EU and Africa. Guest speaker is the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo. The ECR’s co-chair Ryszard Legutko MEP, who …

Berlin Critics’ Week, an independent event about film criticism which yearly takes place during the Berlinale festival in Berlin, showed two films on Sunday (23 February). One of the films is The Lost Okoroshi, the second feature of Nigerian director Abba T. Makama, while the other is the Brazilian entry Seven Years in May by Affonso Uchôa. Set in the …

On 14 February 2020, the Council of Europe´s Education Department launched a toolkit aimed at integrating refugees as teaching staff or visiting experts into higher education institutions. The “CoLAB Toolkit” presents inclusive practices on how to best integrate refugees based on their competences and qualifications into the academic environment. The toolkit is based on the lessons learned from the project CoLAB implemented …