The European Union is to double the budget allocated to a multi-national force in West Africa’s Sahel region as part of a declared mission to crack down on Islamist militancy and human trafficking there. Europe fears that growing instability in the Sahel region of Africa — an arid land mass lying to the immediate south of the Sahara Desert and …

The economy of many African countries are booming. How can German small and medium enterprises profit from this success? The 5th German-African Business Forum  NRW (das 5. Deutsch-afrikanische Wirtschaftsforum NRW) will deal with this question on Tuesday 27 February 2018 in the western German city of Dortmund at which President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana will deliver a keynote speech. Under …

Pope Francis has declared a day of fasting and prayer for crisis-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Both countries have been dogged by security and humanitarian crisis over the past few years. The Holy Father has thus called for spiritual intervention asking the faithful to fast and pray on February 23 for peace. The event is also aimed …

Landing of South Atlantic Undersea Cable in Brazil signals new chapter in Africa-America’s Telecoms Angola Cables, a telecommunications multinational, has reported that the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) has made landfall at Fortaleza on the Brazilian coast. Company CEO, António Nunes, said that the arrival and installation of SACS on the Brazilian coast was “an important strategic milestone for the …

Fela Durotoye, a consulting guru, leadership coach and public speaker, says he will be running for president, come 2019. It’s a move that will excite the political terrain in Nigeria, clamouring for a new generation of leaders to transform Africa’s most populous country. The 46-year-old declared his intentions on Thursday in Lagos, adding that he had researched all the national …

Liberia’s President George Weah joined fellow African football great Didier Drogba and emerging French youngster Kylian Mbappé in Paris, to launch a platform that will support sports in Africa. Hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, the three great strikers committed themselves to supporting the French initiative. Sport can be “a strong and dynamic vector for Africa”, stressed Macron at the …

Dozens of Sweden’s largest and most influential companies have released a statement, appealing to the government to stop the deportation of qualified migrant workers. Among the signatories are H&M’s chairman and the CEO of Ericsson. Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri has published an open letter that argues that the expulsion of foreign workers “hits business” and that “Swedish companies have …

The Government of Ghana has announced that some 500 young Ghanaians have been left stranded in Dubai. The 500 were sent to the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by fake recruitment agencies to take up non-existing jobs. Information Minister Mustapha Hamid however said government is collaborating with authorities in the UAE to repatriate them. …

A court in Munich has fined a 58-year-old man €208,000 for passing calf liver (Kalbsleber) as lower-cost fruit at a grocery store. The court said the fine was justified since the man earned tens of thousands of euros a month. A 58-year-old man has been given a record-breaking fine for theft at a Munich supermarket, the Munich District Court has …

A postal vote among some 450,000 German Social Democratic Party (SPD) members has begun in order to get their approval for another ‘Grand Coalition’ led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Deadline for voting is 2 March with the result expected on 4 March. SPD’s youth and left wings are fiercely opposed to another governing coalition with Merkel. “We were against this …

Liberia’s new President George Weah on Tuesday pledged to fight endemic corruption as he spoke about conditions in his “broke country” on the first day of an official visit to Paris. The former international football star, who took office on January 22, is faced with a dire economic situation in Liberia following two civil wars and a deadly Ebola epidemic …

Flu has already claimed 102 lives in Germany since December 2017 – This is what you should know and how you can protect yourself. The flu wave continues to spread nationwide. The Robert Koch Institute warned in January about the influenza virus spreading from Australia to Europe. Since then, more and more cases of the illness have been detected. It …

Ethiopian Aviation Academy (EAA) Addis Ababa has been ranked among the top World Aviation Training Centres by Aviation Voice, a global aviation news provider engaged in the ranking of global aviation training centres. The ranking is against 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced ranking covering the full range of a training centre’s areas of …

The BBC has launched its new Igbo and Yoruba services, as part of an expansion in local languages aimed at more in-depth reporting of countries around the world. The digital-only services went live online and on social media on Monday (19 February), joining a platform for Pidgin speakers that was launched last year and has attracted widespread interest. The Igbo …

A monument will be erected in honour of Bob Marley in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 1980, the world-renowned reggae icon performed during the Independence Day celebrations of the country. On 17 April 1980, Marley took to the stage and launched the young country of Zimbabwe into revolutionary reggae songs. For many Zimbabweans, it’s a night they still reflect on with much …

Residents of Berlin’s multicultural district of Kreuzberg turned out in large numbers on Saturday to confront a march of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). Protestors clashed with police during the heated counter-demonstration against the far-right party.   Several arrests were made when demonstrators tried to obstruct AfD supporters as they marched through Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin known for …

The leadership of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe (NIDOE) was in The Hague on Thursday (15 February) in continuation of its consultative tour of Nigerian diplomatic missions in Europe. The members of the body’s Central Executive Council, led by the chairman of NIDOE, Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, were warmly received by Nigeria’s ambassador to the Netherlands, His Excellency Oji Nyimenuate …

The President of the German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Kenneth Chukwudi Alaekwe, has passed away. He died at the age of 55 on Saturday 17 February 2018 at a Berlin hospital after a brief illness. Kenneth is survived by his wife Ulla and son Henry. At the time of his death, Kenneth was Director for Conference …

Namibia has as once again been accorded the top position of having the best roads in Africa by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The results were released via the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2017/18, which tracks the performance of approximately 140 countries on 12 pillars of competitiveness, including the quality of road infrastructure development. The development of road infrastructure …

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu stepped down as an ambassador for Oxfam on Thursday, citing disappointment at the British aid agency’s embroilment in a sex scandal involving staff in Haiti after a massive 2010 earthquake. Employees of Oxfam International, which groups about 20 national and regional branches in 90 countries, have been accused of raping women in South Sudan, …