The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he is “rethinking” his decision to name Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador after a global outcry. The 93-year-old leader was given the position, which is bestowed on personalities who highlight “important health issues,” at a WHO conference on non-communicable diseases in Montevideo, Uruguay, last week. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros …

Pro-independence government chief of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, says the region won’t accept Madrid’s moves to impose direct rule. “The institutions and the people of Catalonia cannot accept this attack,” he said in an official statement following Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s announcement that he plans to curb the powers of the Catalonia’s parliament, sack its government and call an election …

We have just been informed that the concert has been cancelled. We apologise to our readers. ————————————— The Nigerian singer Chidinma will perform today, Saturday, 21 October in Frankfurt. The petite superstar will present her new single “Fallen in Love” live on stage in the prestigious Güneş Theater. Hundreds of Chidinma|s fans from across Germany are expected to converge on …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 21 October 2017. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

Political violence in Togo claimed more victims this week. On Wednesday at least four people were shot dead in clashes between security forces and protesters in the West African country’s two biggest cities. On Tuesday, two soldiers and a teenager died. The deaths came amid unrest following the arrest of an imam with close ties to the opposition, and against a …

A rejected asylum seeker accused of raping a girl in front of her boyfriend at a nature reserve in April has been sentenced to more than 11 years in jail. A 31-year-old man from Ghana was found guilty of rape by a court in Bonn on Thursday (19 October) and was sentenced to eleven and a half years in custody. …

Sierra Leoneans will go to the polls in 2018 to elect a new president. Incumbent Ernest Bai Koroma is not eligible to stand after serving two consecutive terms. Koroma came to power in 2007 under the aegis of the All People’s Congress (APC), he won a second term in November 2012. The two main candidates aiming for Bai Koroma’s seat …

Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) on Thursday released the full results of the 10 October general election. The body further confirmed a run-off vote between the two top candidates for the presidency, which it has set for 7 November. Ex-football star George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) will face current vice-president, Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity …

Thousands of Somalis led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed have staged a demonstration in Mogadishu following Saturday’s terror attack. Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Mogadishu on Wednesday in defiance of Saturday’s blasts that claimed more than 300 lives. Somalia’s deadliest attacks to date reportedly came in retaliation for a joint raid by the country’s government and the US …

Nigerians from across Europe will converge on the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on 9-11 November for the annual general meeting or AGM of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE). The congress will deliberate on the state of the organisation and on issues important to the Nigerian Diaspora generally. Moreover, NIDOE members will discuss developments at home as they affect the …