News

Dr. Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, a member of the Green Party, has been elected into the European Parliament. The politician, who is originally from Senegal, was one of the 21 Green candidates elected from Germany at the elections on Sunday. With her election, she has become the first German member of the parliament with African origin. Announcing her victory on her Facebook …

With over 30 million Africans living outside of their home countries, migration will play a big role in shaping Africa’s future, write Akinyi Ochieng and Gregory Thwaites* While the vibrant and growing diaspora communities in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and France are gaining in visibility, it is communities of Africans within Africa that will have the …

A call has gone out to Africans living in Germany to turn out to vote at the European and communal elections on Sunday (26 May). The call was made by Irene Appiah, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Hamburg, while speaking recently during an interview with Radio TopAfric. Ms Appiah, a lawyer who works with the Hamburg …

Hundreds of millions of citizens will elect a new European Parliament – the EU’s only directly elected institution – from 23-26 May 2019. The elections, which hold every five years, give all adult EU citizens the opportunity to select who will represent them in the continental legislature. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) currently represent more …

A week before the European elections, tens of thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to demonstrate against nationalism and for a Europe of solidarity. With its motto “A Europe for all”, rallies also took place in other German and European cities. One week before the European elections, thousands of people protested peacefully against nationalism and exclusion in central Berlin on …

From Wednesday (15 May) the price for phone calls across EU member states cannot cost more than 19 cents-per-minute and text messages six cents each, excluding VAT, according to new limits introduced by Brussels. This price does not include VAT, which varies depending on the EU Member States of the calling operator (EU Member States’ rates of VAT range between …

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has won South Africa’s parliamentary elections with 57.5 percent of the vote, the electoral commission has announced. The ANC finished ahead of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 21% and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 11%. The election result, which gives the ANC 230 seats in the 400-member parliament, means that President Cyril …

The day that commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) in Addis Ababa on 25 May 1963, will be marked this year for the 10th consecutive time in the western German city of Dortmund. The African Unity 2019 conference, taking place on 24-25 May and organised by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union e.V., will bring …

The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Abike Dabiri-Erewa as the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian citizens in Diaspora Commission. The letter seeking confirmation of her appointment was sent to the Senate in November 2018. Ms Dabiri-Erewa, currently the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has now become the first head of the Commission. …

A 50-year-old German, Robert Mionskowski, has done what many would hold for a crazy adventure. He rode his BMW motorbike from the German city of Hannover to Accra – a daredevil mission that took him three weeks. Mionskowski undertook the unusual trip to visit his son who is volunteering in Volta Region’s Vakpo. “Riding a motorbike gives me a sense …

One in three foreigners seeking to join a spouse in Germany is unable to do so because they fail to pass a basic language test. The failure rate was especially high for applicants from Iraq. Nearly a third of foreigners seeking to join their spouses in Germany fail to pass a German language test in their homeland, preventing them from …

Introduction The 2nd Nigerian Global Diaspora Conference held at the Royal Event Centre, Almere, Netherlands, from Thursday 24 to Saturday 27 April 2019 under the theme “Mobilizing Diaspora Human Capital & Providing Policy Framework for a United Homeland Engagement-Post Diaspora Commission”. The event, a follow-up to the Nigerian Diaspora Global Development Conference held in London in July 2018, sought to …

A call has gone out to all Nigerians living outside their homeland to regard the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) as their umbrella body. Kenneth Gbandi, chairman of NIDO Europe, made the call at the 2nd Nigerian Global Diaspora Conference, which took place recently in Almere, Netherlands. Addressing the summit, a follow-up to the Nigerian Diaspora Global Development Conference held …

The newly-elected governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, has assured indigenes of the state that his door would be opened to them when he assumes office. Speaking at a reception in his honour in Großkrotzenburg (near Frankfurt) on Saturday, Ihedioha, who will be sworn in on 29 May for a 4-year term, said the situation of Imo State requires …

The African Union (AU) will unveil a unique African passport in February, lifting travel barriers and fulfilling an important part of the organization’s cherished pan-African ambitions – free movement of its peoples. AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat is confident that the African passport move will succeed. He said that details about implementation will be announced at the 32nd summit …

Malta allowed the 49 migrants stranded on two humanitarian rescue ships since last month to disembark at its port on Wednesday. The Sea-Watch 3 ship, which is run by a German humanitarian group, picked up 32 people from a boat off the coast of Libya on December 22. Another German-run organisation, Sea-Eye, rescued 17 others a couple of days later …

British historian, broadcaster and film-maker David Olusoga has been appointed by the University of Manchester as a Professor of Public History, the institution announced on Tuesday. Olusoga, who co-presented the BBC’s landmark series Civilisations in 2018, is one of the UK’s foremost historians whose main subject areas are empire, race and slavery. Olusoga was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian …

It’s a double win for Egypt on Tuesday, which had made headlines earlier in the day for securing the hosting rights for the Africa Nations Cup 2019, as its star forward Mohamed Salah was voted the African Footballer of the Year for the second successive year. Salah beat fellow nominees, Liverpool team mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang …

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in Gambia started hearing testimonies from witnesses on Monday, as it set about investigating rights violations committed by the regime of Yahya Jammeh. Modelled on South Africa’s investigation into its apartheid era, the commission will hold hearings into Jammeh’s 22-year era of oppression which ended in 2016 after he was forced from power. …

The Rwandan government has begun enforcing a ban on cosmetics products used for lightening or “bleaching” skin. The creams are being removed from shelves across the country as the government cracks down on the sale of the harmful cosmetic product. Many observers however fear that the ban in Rwanda may encourage women to buy unregulated products which could put their …