Diamond Platnumz, who is billed to perform in Berlin on Saturday (7 September), has waded into the debate on the xenophobic attacks against African immigrants in South Africa. Speaking at a press briefing in the German capital city on Friday, the visiting Tanzanian artist expressed his sadness at the developments. “It’s not good for Africa. It’s not good for Africans …

African leaders have been paying tribute to Robert Mugabe, who died in the early hours of Friday. His 37-year-rule in Zimbabwe made him one of the continent’s longest-serving leaders. Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, on Friday, described the death of Mugabe as a “big loss”. Zimbabwe president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, had announced that Mugabe, 95, died in Singapore. He …

Adams Oshiomhole, the chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for the nationalization of South Africa-owned companies operating in Nigeria. Among the South African companies Oshiomhole wants the federal government to immediately nationalise are MTN, a multinational mobile telecommunications company operating in many African, European and Asian countries, Stanbic Bank and the direct broadcast satellite service DStv. …

A two day strike by British Airways pilots looks set to go ahead next week, with airline and union positions as far apart as ever. The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it could call off the strike planned for September 9 and 10 if the airline agrees to restart negotiations. BALPA said it has put a new proposal to …

Zimbabwe’s ex-president, Robert Mugabe, has died after battling ill health for years, his family has announced. The former leader, who  is believed to have died in the early hours of Friday,  had been in hospital in Singapore since April. Mugabe governed his country from its independence in 1980 until he was ousted in a military coup in November 2017, ending …

A Nigerian airline has offered to evacuate Nigerians wishing to leave South Africa as the country’s diplomatic missions shut down in Nigeria. Raphael Adenaike reports. Air Peace, Nigeria’s biggest airline by fleet size, has offered to bring Nigerians living in South Africa back home. The airline announced the offer on Wednesday as a fallout of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals …

Diamond Platnumz has arrived in Berlin to keep date with his fans on Saturday.  East Africa’s king of pop breezed into town from New York City on Wednesday night. Platnumz will perform at the prestigious Columbiahalle in Germany’s biggest city on Saturday, 7 September. The concert, tagged #SIMBAinBERLIN, is taking place exactly a week after Nigeria’s superstar 2Baba Idibia, aka …

A day after Nigeria’s foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, summoned Bobby Moroe, the South Africa High Commissioner to Nigeria, to his office following xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, Africa’s most populous country has now withdrawn its ambassador, Alhaji Kabiru Bala, to Pretoria. The latest diplomatic action was taken amidst attacks on South African-owned businesses operating in Nigeria. Abuja …

Twenty Nigerians were deported to their home country on 19 August. Our correspondent Raphael Adenaike was at the Lagos airport when the deportees arrived and they narrated their personal ordeals and experiences with the German police, immigration officials and medical doctors as well as the Nigerian Embassy to Raphael (read article here). Raphael also spoke with pro-refugee activists in Lagos …

As British politics grapples with how to handle Brexit, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson against going ahead with his decision to suspend – or prorogue – parliament. Going forward with the controversial plan, an attempt to stop MPs from preventing the UK from leaving the European Union without a deal, would be setting a bad …