May, 2025

• 30 May

  EU states push for reinterpretation of human rights convention to limit refugees’ numbers

  

  The leaders of nine EU countries — Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — have issued a joint letter urging a rethinking of how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies to migration. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen led the initiative, which calls for greater national discretion …

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• 30 May

  The queen of kora dazzles Berlin audience

  

  Sona Jobarteh performed to a packed hall of music lovers at the Berlin Philharmonic on Thursday — and she did not disappoint. The queen of kora delivered an electrifying performance that transformed the evening into a celebration of African music. The audience was fully engaged, singing along, echoing her choruses and many abandoning their seats to dance for most of …

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• 30 May

  Belgium: The case for honouring Patrice Lumumba in public space

  As Africa prepares to commemorate the centenary of Patrice Lumumba’s birth, Collins Nweke* reflects on the enduring struggle to name a public square in Ostend after the iconic Congolese independence leader, who was born on 2 July 1925. Nweke, a Nigerian-Belgian public intellectual and former councillor in the Belgian port city, recounts the resistance he faced in his efforts to …

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• 30 May

  Special: Confronting Racism against Black Children in German Schools

  

  This special report confronts an urgent and painful reality: the systemic racism endured by Black children in German schools. What should be spaces of growth and belonging too often become arenas of exclusion and trauma. Through meticulous research, this report illuminates the structural nature of this problem and offers a bold framework for change. It is based on the visionary …

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• 24 May

  Maisha’s Blueprint: Combating Diabetes in the African Community

  

  Diabetes is one of the fastest-growing non-communicable diseases worldwide, affecting all segments of the population and contributing to rising mortality rates. In Germany alone, the German Diabetes Centre estimates that around 8.5 million people are living with diabetes, the vast majority with type 2. An additional 2 million people are believed to be undiagnosed, meaning the total number of the …

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• 24 May

  Nigeria and Germany to deepen strategic partnership on economy and migration

  

  Foreign Ministers Yusuf Tuggar and Johann Wadephul have reaffirmed both nations’ commitment to sustainable development, legal migration frameworks and economic cooperation during their meeting in Berlin, as Nigeria seeks to position itself as a vital partner of Germany in Africa  Nigeria and Germany have reaffirmed their long-standing bilateral relationship with renewed commitments to cooperation across strategic sectors including energy, trade …

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• 24 May

  The Beauty and Burden of Diversity in Europe

  

  In this powerful reflection, Collins Nweke* takes us on a deeply personal journey through Europe’s evolving relationship with diversity. Drawing on his lived experiences as a Nigerian-born Belgian public servant, father and now grandfather, he explores the shift from multiculturalism – living side by side, to interculturalism, where mutual transformation takes root.  Upfront I want to say that it would …

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• 20 May

  Sona Jobarteh brings magical Kora sound to Berlin and Bremen

  

  Acclaimed Gambian-British artist Sona Jobarteh is set to captivate audiences in Berlin and Bremen with her soul-stirring music on 29 May and 31 May, respectively. A master of the kora, a 21-string West African harp, Jobarteh is not only a virtuoso instrumentalist but also a singer, composer and passionate advocate for African cultural identity. Sona Jobarteh hails from one of …

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• 19 May

  Pope Leo XIV inaugurated amid prayers for peace and hope from Africa

  

  Pope Leo XIV was officially inaugurated on Sunday in a solemn Mass at St. Peter’s Square, attended by over 200,000 people, including dignitaries from across the globe. As he begins his pontificate, Pope Leo—born Cardinal Robert Prevost—called for global peace and solidarity with war-affected communities, particularly in Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine. “In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot …

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• 15 May

  Last Afro-German eyewitness to the Nazi era dies

  

  Marie Nejar, the last known surviving Afro-German eyewitness to the horrors of Nazi Germany and a revered voice in Afro-German history, has passed away peacefully in Hamburg at the age of 95. Her death on Sunday (11 May) marks the end of an era — not only as a survivor of a time that tried to erase her identity, but …

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