THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Voters in Sierra Leone flocked to the polls on Saturday to elect new president in a hotly contested run-off vote between opposition leader Julius Maada Bio and ruling party candidate Samura Kamara. Bio, of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won a razor-thin victory in the first round of voting on March 7 with 43.3 per cent, while his …
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March, 2018
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29 March
Germany records highest birth rate since 1973
Germany recorded a bounce in the birth rate in 2016, official statistics show. The country hit a 43-year high helped along by large numbers of recently-arrived migrants. The latest figures are part of an upward trend for Germany, Europe’s biggest country by population, which has suffered from low birth rates since the 1970s. Some 792,131 children were born in Europe’s …
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29 March
Trump ends special status for Liberian immigrants in US
President Donald Trump has said that several thousand Liberians who have been living in the United States under a temporary immigrant status will have one year to return to their country or they will face deportation. The president said in a memo on Tuesday to the secretary of state that he was formally ending a program that has allowed Liberian …
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28 March
Ethiopia gets first Muslim leader in its history
Ethiopia’s ruling coalition has elected a new leader in the person of Dr Abiy Ahmed. He will eventually become Prime Minister of the country, its first Muslim leader ever. The change in leadership follows the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn last month. He was the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step down; previous leaders have died …
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27 March
UN ends 15-year peacekeeping mission in Liberia
The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has successfully completed its mandate after almost 15 years of supporting the West African nation in its transition to peace and democracy. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, at a ceremony on 16 March in Monrovia attended by President George Weah, said the completion of UNMIL’s mandate was a pivotal moment for the history of …
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27 March
Sierra Leone: Supreme Court postpones presidential runoff
Sierra Leone’s presidential runoff vote has been postponed to Saturday, March 31 by the Supreme Court, the elections body announced late Monday (March 26) in an official statement. The original date was Tuesday, March 21 but a High Court injunction affected the electoral body’s preparation leading to the four-day extension. Lawyers for the Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) approached …
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27 March
Angola charges son of former president with $500 million fraud
The son of Angola’s ex-president, José Filomeno dos Santos, has been charged with fraud relating to the illegal transfer of $500 million to a British bank out of an account belonging to the country’s Sovereign Fund, the prosecutor general’s office said on Monday. Dos Santos is the highest profile figure to be charged since President Joao Lourenco succeeded former leader …
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26 March
Nigerians to gather in London for Diaspora Day 2018
Nigerians in the Diaspora will converge on the British capital in July to mark this year’s Diaspora Day, the first time the event will be held outside Nigeria. The Governing Council of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide (NIDOWW) has announced that the Nigerian Diaspora Day will take place on 26-28 July in London. It’s the first time that the …
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26 March
Spanish police arrest 89 Nigerians, break up sex trafficking gang
Spanish police have arrested 89 persons and broken up what they said was a sex trafficking ring. Spanish police have rescued 39 women and girls smuggled in from Nigeria and trafficked into sex work by a notorious Nigerian gang. Europol says the victims were kept in “squalid conditions in caves” and intimidated with voodoo threats. According to the BBC report, …
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26 March
Sierra Leone: Court halts presidential run-off, opposition cries foul
Uncertainty clouds Sierra Leone’s presidential election run-off, scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, as different institutions offer conflicting statements as to whether it will be held or not. In a controversial ruling issued on Saturday (24 March), a high court in Freetown restrained the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and its chair from organizing the polls pending hearing of the case before …
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