Twelve African EdTech Companies Named as First Fellows at Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT. Pan-African group will receive support to scale up EdTech innovations that improve teaching and learning in secondary education KIGALI, Rwanda, 1 February 2020,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) today announced …

The European Union has warned that it could impose restrictive visa implementation rules on Nigeria, if it failed to co-operate in the readmission of its nationals deported from EU member countries. A restrictive visa regime would make obtaining visas to EU countries more difficult for Nigerian applicants. The EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Virginie Battu-Henriksson, said …

The mass murder in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt, where on Wednesday a 43-year-old German man gunned down nine people at shisha bars, is the latest albeit most shocking incident in the increasing racist violence in the country. The murderer, identified as Tobias R, also shot his mother before killing himself. “On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had …

The Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Germany, HE Gina Ama Blay, opened her country’s new honorary consulate for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Dortmund on Tuesday, 18 February. The consulate is located in the building housing the headquarters of Auslandsgesellschaft – a German organisation that promotes international understanding. The president of Auslandsgesellschaft, Klaus Wegener, represents Ghana …

A one-day Workshop christened Diaspora Voting Initiative held in Abuja on Monday, 17 February. Organised by the UK-based Nigeria Diaspora Voting Council, the event was attended by Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President who represented Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives: Hon. Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO …

The EU is rolling out a new naval operation in the Mediterranean to crack down on arms-smuggling into Libya, the latest effort to reduce the influx of weapons into the country and bring the civil war to an end. EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to launch a new military mission off the Libyan coast to enforce a UN arms …

Members of the Black community in Germany will hit the streets of Hamburg on Saturday, 29 February to protest against the controversial decision of a court that describing people of African descent as “neger” (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report ) is not necessarily derogatory. “We, who are referred to by this word, say: ‘The N*word is …

“Why is the world silent over Anglophone Cameroon while men, women and children are killed in the most gruesome manner – shot, hacked, sometimes burnt alive in their homes just because they seek equality?” former President John Jerry Rawlings of Ghana wrote on his Facebook page and Twitter handle on Tuesday (18 February). “Why will Facebook, Twitter and other social …

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, have thrown their weight behind the enfranchisement of Nigerians living in the diaspora. At a sensitisation workshop on diaspora voting, held in Abuja on Monday, Prof Osinbajo, who delivered a keynote speech at the event, said: “The issue of diaspora voting is a significant one, considering …

The Embassy of Nigeria to Germany has called on applicants who had scheduled appointments for the issuance of passport to reconfirm their appointments with the mission. A statement, dated 13 February 2020, signed by the Head of Chancery, Mrs Foluke Atanda, said: “I am directed to inform that the Embassy of Nigeria, Berlin, is upgrading its appointment scheduling portal for …

Alarmed by a rapid spread of Lassa fever, the Nigerian Academy of Science is calling on government to declare a national health emergency. Dr Doyin Odubanjo, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Academy of Science, explains the background to the current outbreak of the disease and what needs to be done to contain it. ———- How serious is the current Lassa fever outbreak …

Afrolynk is a Berlin-based company that promotes increased African-European business relationship with a focus on technology as the chief driver of integration. The social enterprise, which is present in 8 African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, supports young entrepreneurs with free online courses for the development of their skills. The company, which organises …

The power-sharing deal signed in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar has already been extended twice – in May 2019 and November 2019 – delaying the formal end to a war that has killed nearly 400,000 people, displaced millions, and pushed tens of thousands to the brink of starvation. The new deadline is 22 February. Unresolved …

Agitation for Nigerians living outside their homeland to be allowed to participate at the country’s elections has suffered a setback. Nigerian legislators on Friday (14 February) dismissed the agitation because the country is not ready for diaspora voting. The Senate, during a debate on the issue, said certain conditions had to be met before Nigeria could allow its citizens living …

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent visit to Angola and South Africa seeks to boost trade and political relations with the continent in continuation of the government’s policy to increase German engagement in Africa. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, accompanied by top government officials and senior business executives, paid a state visit to South Africa and Angola from 5 – 8 February. Her …

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Ghana and Zambia have licensed an Ebola vaccine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Registration of the vaccine is expected in additional countries in the coming weeks. The licensing of the vaccine means that the manufacturer can stockpile and widely distribute this vaccine to African countries at risk of Ebola virus …

The death toll from the epidemic virus, which WHO has named COVID-19, has neared 1,400 cases, almost exclusively in China where it was first identified.

Sudan has promised to hand over ex-President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to face genocide and war crimes charges, BBC has reported. The new transitional government was reported to have agreed to hand over all actors in the war wanted by the ICC during peace talks with Darfur groups. “Justice cannot be achieved if …

Google has announced the continuation and expansion of its Google News Initiative Fellowship in Europe. The scheme connects students and recent graduates who want to explore the intersection between journalism and technology with news organisations. The successful candidates will kick off their careers in the news industry by spending 8 weeks in Summer working with experts in newsrooms and creating …

Tuesday, 11 February 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years of incarceration by the then South African apartheid regime. Liberian peace activist Leymah Roberta Gbowee delivered a lecture at an event organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to commemorate the historic day in Cape Town’s City Hall. Ms Gbowee, who was awarded the …