News

Explainer: How Ethiopia’s federal system causes its political troubles

Yohannes Gedamu, scholar and university teacher, explains how Ethiopia’s federal system is responsible for the political turmoil in the country despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s efforts to liberalise the democratic space. For almost three decades Ethiopia’s federal structure – enshrined in the country’s 1994 constitution – has been defended by the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front. It’s …

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Protests mar Cameroon’s President Biya’s visit to Geneva

Saturday, 29 June 2019 has gone down in history as the day citizens of an African country protested angrily in Europe against their visiting president to the notice of the international media. About 250 Cameroonian exiles carried out a protest action in front of the luxurious InterContinental Hotel, where President Paul Biya and his wife were staying, in the Swiss …

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Germany: African teams to battle for glory in Bremen

All roads lead to the city of Bremen on 7 July when the 13th African Football Cup 2019 kicks off. A total of 16 national teams representing their countries of origin in Africa will lock horns for the prestigious trophy over five Sundays. The participants in the tournament, organised by the Pan-Afrikanischer Kulturverein e.V. (Pan-African Cultural Association), represent members of …

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US places entry visa ban on ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, Gambian Fatou Bensouda has been hit with a visa ban by the United States government over her office’s decision to probe alleged war crimes by Americans. She has been investigating US forces and their allies in Afghanistan, a move that United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cautioned last month and said could …

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Germany: Missing Kenyan woman found dead

The search for the 32-year-old Kenyan woman, who was declared missing in April has ended with the tragic discovery of her decomposed remains in a forest. Rita Awour Ojunge, mother of two, was reported missing on 7 April by her husband in the town of Hohenleipisch, in the state Brandenburg. The police on Tuesday announced that after many weeks of …

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Don’t bribe any Nigerian embassy staff, Minister Mohammed Anka warns

An appeal has gone out to Nigerians living in Germany to desist from paying bribes to access service at their country’s embassy. The appeal was made by Alhaji Mohammed Bello Musa Anka, Minister in charge of the Consular & Immigration Section at the embassy, while speaking in Dortmund at the annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany …

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Nigerian Diaspora Germany elects new executive body

The German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) has elected a new executive committee. The election was part of the body’s annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, 22 June in the city of Dortmund. Dr RosaLyn Dressmann was elected to lead the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany (NIDOG) as President for the next two years at …

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IOM, EU facilitate return of 14,036 Nigerians from Libya, France, other countries

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said a total of 14,036 Nigerians have voluntarily returned home under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme which began in April 2017. The Nigerians, who were stranded in Libya, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ireland, France, Gambia, Austria, Poland, Morocco and Liberia, were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European …

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19-year-old Nigerian shot dead in London

They wave of violence among Black youth in the British capital continued to claim lives when Eniola Aluko, 19, was on Friday shot dead at Plumstead, London. According to UK’s Metropolitan Police, the young Nigerian, who is from Thamesmead, died after sustaining gunshot wounds to the neck and chest. Metropolitan Police said they were called to the scene, a car …

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How Continental Free Trade Area will shape Africa’s future

The historic African Continental Free Trade Area agreement went into force on 30 May 2019. Creating the regionally integrated Africa of our dreams, will require political will, policy changes, and private and public sector partnerships, argues Dr Victor Oladokun, Director of Communication, African Development Bank. In 2018, the fictional country of Wakanda in the blockbuster movie Black Panther, was ranked …

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Germany opens new doors for legal immigration

The Federal Parliament has passed two laws to regulate immigration from non-EU countries into Germany. One of the laws provides more opportunities for people to come to Germany to work and receive training while another amends the regulations affecting asylum-seekers. In a major step to modernise and liberalise its immigration system, the German parliament (Bundestag) passed into law a bill …

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Germany issues highest number of Blue Cards in the EU

Seven years after the introduction of the EU Blue Card, Germany has awarded 104,000 such residence permits to highly-skilled non-EU immigrants. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said in Nuremberg on Tuesday that about 27,000 visas were issued in 2018, a 25.4% jump over 2017, and more than any previous year. 11,738 of the Cards issued in 2018 were …

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Germany: MP Karamba Diaby speaks out on the SPD crisis

The leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Andrea Nahles, resigned under pressure on Sunday after the poor result of her party in the EU elections. The SPD scored 15.8% of the popular vote, an 11.4-percentage-point drop from 2014’s EU elections, finishing behind its coalition partners, the Chancellor Angela Merkel-led CDU/CSU (28.9%), and the Greens (20.5%). It’s …

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Africans and Germans arise for Christ in Speyer

Arise Africa is a one-day program, first held on 1 May 2017, where Africans unite with Germans in a gathering to rededicate themselves to the teaching of Jesus Christ and to take up the task of spreading His word in Germany. The event, whose theme two years ago was ‘Be a blessing for the land’, was organised by Pastor Frank …

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Germany: SPD leader resigns after bad EU elections result

Leader of the German Social Democrats (SPD), Andrea Nahles, resigned on Sunday after the poor result for her party in the EU elections, where the SPD came third behind Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU and the Greens. Nahles became the SPD’s first female leader in April 2018 when she replaced former EU Parliament president, Martin Schulz. Merkel has pledged the coalition …

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Experts chart way forward for Africa in Dortmund

Participants from different walks of life gathered for two days (24-25 May) in the western German city of Dortmund to commemorate the 2019 Africa Day. The Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) on 25 May 1963. The event, celebrated in the city by AfricanTide Union for the ninth year, brought …

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