Germany’s federal parliament has voted by a wide margin to legalise same-sex marriage. The Bundestag voted by 393 to 226 on Friday (30 June) to give full marital rights to homosexual couples and allow them to adopt children. The vote came after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her mind and said members of her ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc should follow their …
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June, 2017
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30 June
Germany to fine social networks €50mn over hate speech, fake news
The German Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has voted to fine social media networks up to €50 million if they fail to remove hateful content or fake news. The networks will be given 24 hours to block or delete any inappropriate content. “Freedom of speech ends where criminal law begins,” Justice Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that the measure …
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29 June
Why the G20 Africa initiative is not a quick fix
One key element of the partnership of the world’s leading twenty economies with African states conceived by Germany, which currently holds the G20 presidency, is the Compact with Africa (CWA). Its aim is to promote private investment and investment in infrastructure in the participating countries. Drafts for agreements with five African countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia …
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29 June
Facebook hits 2 billion monthly users
Facebook as at Tuesday, 27June 2017 had officially registered two billion monthly users, its founder and chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, has confirmed. Zuckerberg broke the news on his Facebook wall stressing that the network was making progress in connecting the world. The company reached the billion mark in October 2012, he further confirmed in response to a comment. Facebook …
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29 June
Pope appoints first Malian cardinal
Archbishop of Bamako, Jean Zerbo, has been elevated to the position of cardinal by Pope Francis. He becomes the first ever Catholic cardinal from the Muslim-dominated West African country. The 73-year-old, who has been Archbishop since 1998, was at the Vatican on Wednesday (28 June) for the ceremony elevating him. He helped negotiate a peace agreement between the government and …
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27 June
AfDB’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, named World Food Prize winner
The president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has been named the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate. Adesina, whose name was selected on Monday, becomes the 46th recipient and the sixth African to be so honoured. The award was announced in Washington D.C. by the World Food Prize Foundation in recognition of Adesina’s achievements in the agriculture sector …
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27 June
Opinion: How Kenya could deal with its politics of ethnicity
Daisy Maritim-Maina* explains why there are such bitter contests every election cycle in the East African country and she suggests how to create a sustainable, vibrant democratic culture where the voters look beyond ethnic affinity. In 1992 Kenya held its first multi-party election in 26 years. Since this re-introduction of multipartism, the “politics of tribe” has been blamed for the …
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24 June
Why Nigeria desperately needs to bring back vocational training
Dr Daniel Yakubu Kutchin, a Germany-based computer specialist, argues that the time has come for Nigeria to prioritise vocational education in the face of acute skills shortage in manufacturing and the trades at a time of high unemployment among young people. ——————————————– By Dr Daniel Yakubu Kutchin The Nigerian Education system still follows somewhat loosely the Commonwealth Education system. It …
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24 June
Nigeria has highest rejection rate of African asylum applications in Europe
Spain is one of the countries in Europe with the lowest rate of acceptance for persons seeking refugee protection while Nigerian nationals have the highest rejection rate of asylum applications made by Africans in Europe, reports show. According to the annual report by Spanish NGO National Commission for Aid to Refugees (CEAR), Spain is among the European countries with the lowest …
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23 June
All set for African Music Festival in Emmendingen
The rhythmic pulse of Africa has been beating in the middle of a city on the edge of the Black Forest since 2001. On the first weekend of August, Emmendingen will once again be the focus of African culture and, above all, the music of the continent. The African Music Festival will kick off on Friday, 4 August with the …
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