News

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 …

With the traditional words “I swear to uphold the obligations of my office” which he has become familiar with over the past 13 years, Collins Nweke, a Nigerian-born Belgian politician swore an Oath of Office for a third term on Tuesday 2 January 2019 at the Ostend City Council Belgium. Having made history as the first non-Belgian-born person to occupy …

Nigeria will vote on 16 February in the country’s fifth presidential election since the restoration of democracy in 1999. Olalekan Waheed Adigun, the author of the fast-selling book Witnessing The Change, analyses the factors that will decide the crucial election, mainly a battle between  incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling APC and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the main …

Various new or tweaked Swiss laws, governing a range of issues from foreigners to online shopping, entered into force on 1 January. One of them affects the Foreigner’s law. Foreigners living in Switzerland now have to meet certain criteria of good behaviour, for example respect for public security and order and constitutional values, before their residence permits are granted or …

Gabon’s government has announced that a group of soldiers who seized the national radio station in an apparent coup attempt early on Monday have been arrested. The “situation is under control”, government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told Radio France Internationale (RFI), just hours after the soldiers announced they were “restoring democracy” in a message on state radio. Four of the five …

As I write this article, 49 migrants, mostly Africans, are stranded at sea. They had been rescued in the Mediterranean by the humanitarian organisation Sea Watch about two weeks ago but no European country is ready to allow the migrants to disembark at its port. Last year, about 112,000 migrants found their way irregularly through the Mediterranean to Europe while …

The Israeli government has issued a notice for thousands of African migrants to leave the country or face imprisonment. Rights group kick against controversial plan. Israel will force tens of thousands of African migrants to leave over the next three months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that the Israeli government will …