awoniyi270514

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Do I always have to have my identity card with me?

Most people carry their identity card (Personalausweis) in their wallet at all times. After all, it is an identity document that must be shown both when demanded by the police and when collecting items from the post office or making payments by credit card. But does this also mean that you must always carry the ID with you? In Germany, …

Read More »

Germany: How Berlin wants to hire more migrants into its public service

Integration Senator Breitenbach wants people with a migration background to be better represented in the civil service. She proposes a migrant quota of 35 per cent in public administration. ———- Berlin’s Integration Senator Elke Breitenbach, a member of the Left party, wants more people with a migration background to work in the civil service. A new draft law provides for …

Read More »

Nigeria: Government extends deadline for NIN-SIM linkage

The Federal Government has extended the deadline for people to link their National Identification Numbers (NINs) to their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by one month. This was announced on Friday in a statement jointly signed by the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head of Corporate Communications at the National …

Read More »

Nigerians angry at Buhari’s medical trip to UK

Nigerians are furious that President Muhammadu Buhari has travelled to London for a ‘routine medical check-up’ and are venting their anger online. A statement from the presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, had informed Nigerians on Monday that President Buhari would be travelling to London on Tuesday but he did not reveal Buhari’s condition. Adesina however assured Nigerians that the president would …

Read More »

Three ways Samia Suluhu Hasan can be a successful president in Tanzania – Prof Monda

Prof. David Monda of the City University of New York in this opinion piece outlines the major challenges that the new president of Tanzania faces and how best she should address them and make the country work better —– An old Swahili proverb states, “Hata kiporo ni ugali – Even yesterday’s ugali, is still ugali”. While the legacy of President …

Read More »

Germany: New laws and regulations in April

Like at the beginning of every month, new legal changes enter into effect in April 2021, affecting, for example, income support for self-employed persons, short-time work benefits, driving licence and minimum wage for care workers, among others.Here’s what you should know: ——— Simplified access to basic income support extendedDue to the ongoing economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal …

Read More »

African Continental Free Trade Area and UNDP announce new partnership

The AfCFTA Secretariat and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a strategic partnership to promote trade as a stimulus for Africa’s socioeconomic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and as a driver of sustainable development particularly for women and youth in Africa, in line with the SDGs and Agenda 2063 common vison for the continent. The agreement was sealed yesterday by …

Read More »

Nigeria: IOM Launches “Blue Bus” campaign against Human Trafficking

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has launched a new project in Abuja, Nigeria, to raise awareness of the scourge of human trafficking among populations at risk in migration prone areas across the country. The 23 March launch marked the tenth anniversary of the Nigeria–Switzerland Migration …

Read More »

ZDF shows film about König Bansah and his daughter

ZDF will broadcast the new documentary film König Bansah und seine Tochter (King Bansah and his daughter) on 29 March. The film takes viewers to Ludwigshafen, where Togbui Ngoryifia Kosi Olatidoye Céphas Bansah lives and runs a car repair workshop, and on a journey to Africa, where he’s a chief who is active in the development of his community. König …

Read More »

Germany now requires negative Covid-19 test from all air passengers arriving

A coronavirus test for air travellers before returning to Germany by plane became mandatory on 29 March. “Testing prior to departure will reduce the likelihood that infected persons will travel and infect others during the flight or cause an additional entry of SARS-CoV-2 infections into Germany,” the federal ministry of health had announced. Previously, only travellers from high-risk areas were …

Read More »

A quarter of users in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria attacked by malware – new Study

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 23, 2021/ — There is a common misconception that the most dangerous threats to encounter on modern users’ digital journeys are likely to appear during Internet surfing. The reality however, based on the most recent analysis of cyberattacks in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria in 2020 by Kaspersky experts demonstrates that users are in fact more likely …

Read More »

Maisha wins Award for empowering African women in Germany

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has been honoured with yet another award for its efforts for the empowerment of African women in Germany. Maisha, founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner, was recently bestowed with the “Corporate Livewire West Germany Prestige Award 2020/21” for being the best “Self-Help Group of the Year”. The organisation was honoured especially for …

Read More »

Germany finalises plan to improve integration in next 10 years

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalised a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade. Kathleen Schuster/DW reports Getting a job might have been once been considered enough to be successfully integrated into society as a foreigner. For Germany, …

Read More »

Nigeria, Switzerland celebrate 10 years of Migration Partnership

Nigeria and Switzerland have commemorated the 10th anniversary of a partnership on migration between the two countries. To mark the event, a mobile information campaign bus and a brochure on the “10 Years Migration Partnership Between Nigeria And Switzerland” were launched at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, on Tuesday. The Blue Bus, a “one-stop office for Public Enlightenment and …

Read More »

Migrant arrivals to EU drop 40% in first months of 2021

The EU’s border protection agency Frontex says the number of irregular border crossings at Europe’s external borders dropped by 40 percent in the first two months of 2021, compared to the same period last year, to 12000. For example, the number of illegal border crossings in February reached 4 650, about half the figure from the same month of last …

Read More »

McLaren signs promising young Nigerian-American driver

Formula1 team McLaren has signed Ugo Ugochukwu, a promising teenage driver who was recently crowned FIA European karting champion. The agreement provides McLaren Racing with an option on Ugochukwu services into the future, supporting the driver’s development and evolution as he progresses through the junior categories of motorsport. McLaren, in press release, said: “McLaren Racing today [22 March 20221] announced …

Read More »

Exclusive Interview with Kenya’s new Ambassador to Germany

Follow the rules, work with us, His Excellency Thomas Amolo appeals to Kenyans in Germany The African Courier interviewed Kenya’s new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Germany, His Excellency Thomas Boniface Amolo, after he presented his Letter of Credence to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Thursday, 11 March. In the exclusive chat, Ambassador Amolo, who is also concurrently accredited …

Read More »

Grammys for Burna Boy, Wizkid a global endorsement of Afrobeat – Nigerian minister

A Nigerian minister has described the Grammy Awards of music stars Burna Boy and Wizkid’s as endorsement of Afrobeat genre of music Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, on Monday, while congratulating the music stars for their feats, said that Afrobeat genre of music had propelled Nigeria’s increasing prominence of the music world. In a statement issued by …

Read More »

Facebook moves against Vaccine misinformation

Facebook Inc has announced that it had started adding labels to posts that discussed the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and would soon label all posts about the vaccines. The social media giant would as well as launch a tool to help people find available vaccine sites nearby. The social media company, which has been criticised by lawmakers and researchers for …

Read More »