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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 …

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 …

The European Union on Thursday announced plans to tie the issuing of visas to the willingness of third countries to take back their nationals whose asylum applications have been rejected by member states of the bloc.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …