Footballer Mesut Özil has quit the national team amid the fallout from meeting Turkey’s president and Germany’s World Cup exit. In a strongly worded statement, Özil said he would “no longer stand for being a scapegoat.” Matt Pearson reports. Mesut Özil said on Sunday he will no longer play international football for Germany following the fallout from his meeting with …

Wednesday 18 July marks the 100th birthday of Nelson Mandela. Events took place across the globe to mark the milestone, honouring an international icon for democracy, freedom and peace. It has been a century since South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon and the first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, was born. South Africa on Wednesday marked the Nelson Mandela’s birthday with a …

Social media giant, Twitter Inc., has announced the appointment of Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to its board of directors. Also appointed is former World Bank chief, Robert Zoellick, as the microblogging site reshuffled its board, Twitter said Thursday. According to the Executive Chairman of Twitter, Omid Kordestani, Okonjo-Iweala would be an incredible asset for the company as …

Nigeria’s aviation minister announced at the Farnborough Airshow International, a biennial major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow in the UK, that the country’s new national airline will be called Nigeria Air and will launch in December. He also explains how the country is planning against the failure of the new carrier. Minister of …

Ethiopia has appointed an ambassador to Eritrea for the first time in 20 years, the latest in a series of peace moves between the neighbours. “Redwan Hussein has been appointed as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Eritrea — the first for 20 years, the foreign ministry said,” according to Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation. The announcement on Thursday follows a flurry of …

Nigeria-Austria Business Forum 2018 took place recently in Vienna and was attended by businesspeople from countries and Nigerian government officials, including Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State. The second Nigeria-Austria Business Forum took place on 28 June 2018 in Vienna, Austria, and it was dedicated to deepening trade ties between both countries. The event was jointly organised by the Embassy …

Germany’s federal cabinet wants to add three Maghreb states and Georgia to a list of “safe countries of origin.” But will the change pass Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, where it failed last year? Timothy Jones and Jefferson Chase report. The German government will put forward legislation declaring Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Georgia “safe countries of origin.” The …

A peaceful demonstration was held yesterday at the premises of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague where President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria delivered a keynote speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the court. The protesters, under the aegis of Nigerian National Association-The Netherlands (NNA-NL) who gathered outside the premises of the court, condemned the leadership of the …

Just before leaving on his visit to Africa this week, his first trip to the continent since leaving office, former US President Barack Obama revealed his favourite books on Africa. He wrote: “Over the years since, I’ve often drawn inspiration from Africa’s extraordinary literary tradition. As I prepare for this trip, I wanted to share a list of books that …

Hundreds of Nigerians resident in The Netherlands and their supporters will hold a peaceful demonstration at the International criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, venue of one of President Buhari’s events while in The Netherlands. The Nigerian leader is currently on a 3-day visit to the country. A release from the organizers direct all Nigerians to assemble at Oude Waalsdorpweg …