EUROPE

EU countries granted citizenship to around 995,000 people in 2016, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on Monday (9 April). In 2016, around 995 000 persons acquired citizenship of a Member State of the European Union (EU), up from 841,000 in 2015 and 889,000 in 2014. Of the total number of …

A spike in violent crime in London saw more murders committed in the city in February and March than there were in New York, new figures show. London’s monthly murder rate has overtaken New York City’s for the first time in modern history, according to new figures from the Metropolitan Police and the New York Police Department. In February, 15 …

Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial for allegedly misusing his influence to spy on an investigation into his 2007 presidential bid. It was claimed the campaign was funded by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. France’s financial prosecutor has confirmed that the former president will stand trial for influence peddling, according to Reuters. He’s accused of securing leaked details of …

Germany recorded a bounce in the birth rate in 2016, official statistics show. The country hit a 43-year high helped along by large numbers of recently-arrived migrants. The latest figures are part of an upward trend for Germany, Europe’s biggest country by population, which has suffered from low birth rates since the 1970s. Some 792,131 children were born in Europe’s …

Nigerians in the Diaspora will converge on the British capital in July to mark this year’s Diaspora Day, the first time the event will be held outside Nigeria. The Governing Council of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide (NIDOWW) has announced that the Nigerian Diaspora Day will take place on 26-28 July in London. It’s the first time that the …

Spanish police have arrested 89 persons and broken up what they said was a sex trafficking ring. Spanish police have rescued 39 women and girls smuggled in from Nigeria and trafficked into sex work by a notorious Nigerian gang. Europol says the victims were kept in “squalid conditions in caves” and intimidated with voodoo threats. According to the BBC report, …

In the first major speech of her new term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a conciliatory tone on immigration while offering an inclusive message on Islam. “Germany can do it,” she said, and “we are all Germany.” Jefferson Chase reports. Wednesday 21 March was the first time Angela Merkel addressed the Bundestag after the unprecedentedly long and difficult process of …

“We make a living by what we get, and we make a life by what we give,” – Winston Churchill Family, friends and associates of Kenneth Alaekwe, who died recently, gathered in Berlin on Saturday to bid him farewell. The late president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany passed away on 17 February at the age of 55 …

New Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said Islam is not part of German culture. His comments underscore his efforts to push the government to the right. Rebecca Staudenmaier reports. Germany’s new government may now finally be in place, but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s grand coalition appears to be off to a rocky start. On Thursday, newly inaugurated Interior Minister Horst Seehofer …

Frankfurt police have praised the actions of a man who thought he stumbled across the fortune of a lifetime and still turned it over to the authorities. In the early hours of Monday morning, a 56-year-old bakery worker came across an astonishing find, police said in a statement on Tuesday (13 March). Sitting in a food waste bin, the man …

Facebook has banned a far-right UK party that came to global attention after US President Donald Trump retweeted some of its anti-Islamic posts. The social media giant said it had blacklisted Britain First for repeatedly violating rules designed to stop the incitement of hatred against minority groups. It comes a week after the group’s leader and deputy — Paul Golding …

A memorial church service for Kenneth Chukwudi Alaekwe, who passed away recently, will hold on Saturday 17 March in Berlin Schöneberg. The president of the German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) died on17 February at the age of 55 in a Berlin hospital after a brief but serious illness. Kenneth is survived by his wife Ulla and …

Italian national footballer Mario Balotelli has harshly criticised the country’s first Black senator, Toni Chike Iwobi, who was elected on Sunday on the platform of the anti-immigration League (formerly known as Northern League) party. “Maybe I’m blind or perhaps they have not told him yet that he is Black. But shame!!!” the footballer posted on his Instagram page, which has …

The German capital city saw a drastic increase in far-right crime last year with more than 1,942 incidents reported, the highest in ten years. Incidents of incitement, damage to property and public calls to criminal action accounted for most of the crime. The number of politically-motivated crimes in Berlin, however, declined by ten per cent compared to 2016. A total …

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 …

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 leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), Martin Schulz, resigned from his post on Tuesday. His resignation went into effect immediately. “With my resignation from office and decision not to participate in the government, I want to bring the personnel debate in the SPD to an end so that the members can really concentrate on what is in the …

Six African immigrants were injured after a gunman opened fire on them on 3 February in the central Italian city of Macerata in a racially-motivated attack. Of the six known victims, three are from Nigeria, including one woman, while the rest are from Mali, Ghana and the Gambia. A week after the attack, thousands turned out in an anti-fascism demonstration …

Thousands of anti-fascist demonstrators rallied on Saturday in the Italian cities of Rome, Milan, Palermo and Macerata, where six Africans were injured in a drive-by shooting a week ago. Protesters warned against a revival of neo-fascist sentiment during the campaign for next month’s national election with right-wing politicians exploiting the issue of migration to poach for votes.   The 3 …

At least six African immigrants were injured after an Italian gunman opened fire on them on Saturday in the city of Macerata in a racially-motivated attack, according to police. At least one is said to be in a serious condition. The gunman has been named as Luca Traini who had stood as a candidate for the anti-immigrant Northern League, which …