More and more Germans are worried about not being able to make ends meet when they retire, a new study has shown. Rising energy costs and low interest rates are also feeding fears of financial insecurity. More than half of all Germans are afraid of being financially insecure in old age, German newspaper Die Welt has reported, citing a study …

Many new laws and legislative changes, affecting employees, the unemployed, families and retirees, came into force on 1 January 2019. The African Courier takes us through some of the most important changes that we should know. Minimum wage rises The statutory minimum wage (der gesetzliche Mindestlohn) rises from 8.84 euros to 9.19 euros on 1 January 2019. From 2020, employers …

Participants from different African countries and the diaspora gathered in Accra between 8-13 December to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first All-African People’s Conference (AAPC). The event marks the 1958 congress, which also took place in Accra and that brought together freedom fighters from all over Africa, including independent and colonised states, to strategise on how to free the …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the newly-built international terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The terminal is said to be the biggest in West Africa and it has the capacity to process at least 15 million passengers annually. While commissioning the facility on Thursday, the President said the federal government was committed to making Nigeria an aviation …

As Nigeria continues the battle against irregular migration, a German Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), has advised Nigerian government to focus on economic development to end the menace. Mr Vladimir Kreck, Country Representative of KAS, advised the government on Wednesday in Abuja during a workshop on “Migration- current trends part two’’. Kreck said that poverty and unemployment were identified as …

Anthony Joshua, world heavyweight boxing champion, has been presented with an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to sport. The British-Nigerian received the honour from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. The investiture marks the latest accolade Joshua has collected after he was also given an MBE in 2013. …

Leaders from Africa are meeting their European counterparts at the Africa-Europe High-Level Forum in Vienna. The 2-day meeting (17-18 December), with the theme  “Taking cooperation to the digital age”, aims at assessing “how current partnerships between Africa and Europe contribute to this goal, complementing the ongoing implementation of the joint declaration of the 2017 Abidjan Summit between the African Union …

The integration of refugees in Germany has been more successful than expected, according to the head of the country’s employers’ association. “Of more than a million people who have come to Germany especially since 2015, up to 400,000 will soon have a training position or a job,” said Ingo Kramer, the President of the Confederation of German Employers (Bundesvereinigung der …

The European Parliament in Strasbourg has approved a proposal to introduce European humanitarian visas with the objective of reducing the death toll and improving the management of refugee flows. The legislative initiative was approved on Friday by 429 MEPs against 194 and 41 abstentions (absolute majority). A similar proposal had failed in November to reach the absolute majority due to …

The electioneering campaign for Nigeria’s next general polls hots up as the vice-presidential candidates of the leading five parties square up in a televised debate today (Friday, 14 December) at 7 pm. Those to participate at the debate, organized by the Nigeria Elections Debate Group and the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, are Prof Yemi Osinbajo of the ruling APC, Peter Obi …