News

Former Foreign Minister and presidential candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to be elected as Germany’s new ceremonial head of state on Sunday. As president, the 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the country abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation. For the Social Democrats (SPD), his appointment raises the party’s …

The death of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi at a critical moment in the DR Congo’s history is an irreparable loss for a country trying to navigate a constitutional crisis without descending into bloodshed. The best way to honour Tshisekedi is to continue the fight for democracy in the country, argues Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the historic leader …

Germany’s federal and state governments have agreed to a plan to quickly deport rejected asylum-seekers. Although deportations are a state matter, the federal government has made it clear it wants to play a bigger role. Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states in Berlin on Thursday (9 February) and agreed to a plan that will speed …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Europe will hold a conference in the German city of Hamburg on 17-18 February. According to Kenneth Gbandi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of NIDO Europe, the event will discuss how to reposition the group for greater effectiveness. International brand management expert Charles O’Tudor will deliver a keynote speech at the two-day …

Two Muslims suspected of planning terror attacks in Germany have been arrested during widespread raid against radical Islamists. Police in the town of Göttingen, the state of Lower Saxon (Niedersachsen), arrested the two men suspected of plotting a terror attack on Wednesday evening, officials announced on Thursday (9 February). The men arrested, a 27-year-old Algerian and a 23-year-old Nigerian, are …

About 400 Africans and German sympathisers turned out on Wednesday (8 February) to protest against the police shooting of Augustine Akwasi Obenga in Hamburg a week ago. The demo started from the central train station and proceeded through the Lampedusa Tent in Steindamm and back to the train station. Protesters spent about three hours in the biting cold to register …

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has announced that it was investigating former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko for possible crimes against humanity. Sonko, who is seeking asylum in Switzerland, was a top figure in the repressive regime of ousted president, Yahya Jammeh. Sonko was arrested on 26 January in an asylum centre in Berlin following a case of …

More than 12,000 Nigerian asylum seekers in Germany face deportation, it was disclosed yesterday (7 February). The Global Head of Programme, Migration and Development at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dr Ralf Sanftenberg, made the disclosure when he visited the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa in Abuja. Sanftenberg …

Kwesé TV, Africa’s newest satellite network has launched. The Kwesé Network’s Pay-TV satellite service started broadcasting on 30 January 2017, beaming Kwesé’s full suite of entertainment and sports programming to households in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, which make up the first phase of the Kwesé TV rollout across Africa – other countries will be announced in due course. Having already …

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has expressed his hopeful optimism for Africa. He spoke of the continent’s promise and vast potential at a press conference on 31 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after attending the 28th African Union Summit. For the record, below is the full text of his remarkable statement: Far too often, the world …

Cameroon came from behind to beat Egypt 2-1 and seal a fifth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in a thrilling final. Vincent Aboubakar came off the bench to score a late goal to steer Cameroon to a 2-1 victory over Egypt in the final of the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Libreville on Sunday (5 February). The victory …

One of the commanders of the ECOWAS Military Intervention in the Gambia (ECOMIG) force has revealed the reason why ex-leader Yahya Jammeh finally decided to leave the country after weeks of obstinacy, which allowed the newly-elected president, Adama Barrow, to take office. The commander of the Nigerian Air Force’s contingent deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition …

Administered by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in co-operation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the initiative aims to financially reward asylum applicants if they are willing to return to their homelands. About 40 million euros ($43 million) has been set aside for payments

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday (1 February) signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly, with a pledge to ensure its full implementation to eradicate kidnapping once and for all in the State. The Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping Law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom. …

No fewer than 41 Nigerians, which included 33 males and 8 females,  deported from the United Kingdom to Nigeria arrived Lagos today (1 February). The deportees arrived at the cargo terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja in an unmarked Airbus aircraft which touched ground at exactly 7:40 a.m. According to the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria …

Efforts by the West African force deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition have yielded a big success. General Francois Ndiaye, who leads the force of the Economic Community of West African States Military Intervention in Gambia (ECOMIG), said on Monday (30 January) that it had recovered arms and ammunition stored in ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s private residence …

After cutting off the English-speaking regions from the Internet, targeting media outlets and stripping Cameroon’s beauty queen of her crown for speaking her mind, the government has now set its sights on journalists, reports Cristina Krippahl. The Cameroonian government seems especially worried that word gets out into the world about the situation in Anglophone regions. Journalists working for the international …

African Union (AU) leaders, attending the ongoing 28th Summit of the organization in Addis Ababa, have elected Chad’s Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat as the new chairman of the AU Commission, succeeding South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The 56-year-old seasoned diplomat beat his Kenyan counterpart, Amina Mohamed, after seven rounds, an indication of how keen the race was. Five candidates vied …

  Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have nominated Martin Schulz as their chairman and chancellor candidate for the country’s next elections. The former European Parliament president was unanimously chosen by the party’s executive committee on Sunday (29 January) to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel of the centre-right CDU at the next general polls on 24 September. Accepting the nomination in front …

  President Adama Barrow of The Gambia has promised to run a transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption. Addressing his first world press conference on Saturday (28 January) in Banjul, Barrow vowed that he would demand “complete financial transparency” from members of his government. He said his ministers would have to declare their assets before assuming office. The president …