News

Thousands rallied in Berlin on Saturday against racism, xenophobia and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in one of the country’s biggest rallies of recent years. Organisers put the turnout at 242,000 people, who came from across Germany. The demonstration followed neo-Nazi anti-immigration protests in several eastern cities during the summer. The protests, organised by a broad alliance of associations, …

A Nigerian-born man, who became a local celebrity in a small Russian steel-casting city after marrying a local woman and moving in, has died under murky circumstances, the Russian news organisation Russia Today has reported. Gabriel Segun Ajayi, 32, was reported dead by the local authorities on Monday (15 October), triggering a police investigation. His wife Natalia, 50, said her …

Pierre Kompany, father of the Belgian national footballer Vincent Kompany, has been elected mayor of Ganshoren, a commune in the north-west of Brussels. The father of Vincent Kompany, the captain of Manchester City and a star of the Belgian national football team, has been elected as Belgium’s first first sub-Saharan-born mayor, in what has been described as a “historic” moment …

Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), recorded a disaster in regional elections on Sunday (14 October). The CSU – led by Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, which has governed the wealthy German state since the Second World War, lost its absolute majority in the regional parliament, as it struggles …

Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has reportedly indicated a drop in irregular migration numbers. He had made a tough stance on irregular migration a hallmark of his Interior Ministry. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer last week said he does not expect Germany to see as many irregular migrants and refugees this year as projected. Earlier reports estimated that up to …

Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 8-10 November in Vienna, Austria. In addition to addressing issues of concern to Nigerians in diaspora, the event will discuss the outcome of the first-ever Nigerian Diaspora Global Project & Investment Summit UK, which took place in July 2018 in London. The objective of the conference …

With the emergence of the presidential candidates of the political parties participating at the next general election in Nigeria, all is now set for the poll which analysts say will be tough. While it’s generally assumed that the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, would field President Muhammadu Buhari again at the February 2019 polls, the battle for the ticket of …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 13 October 2018. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. The Nobel Committee received more than 300 nominations for this year’s Peace Prize. The award, worth more than a million dollars, has been given …

According to the latest report of the European statistical agency Eurostat, 16.7 million men and women in the 28 member countries of the EU were unemployed in August 2018. Compared with August 2017, unemployment fell by 1.9 million in the bloc. The lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5 %), Germany and Poland (both …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are the world’s most popular leaders, according to a new study. The survey was conducted among 26,112 respondents in 25 countries from May 20 to August 12 by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, Washington-based think tank. The most trusted international leader was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who claimed the confidence …

South African schools will teach Swahili alongside other non-African languages such as Mandarin, French and German. Proponents hope it may one day become a lingua franca for the African continent. Thuso Khumalo of Deutsche Welle reports. One of Africa’s most widely recognized languages, Swahili — also known as Kiswahili — will soon be taught in South African classrooms, in a …

A robust manufacturing sector is broadly understood as a fundamental path to economic growth and development. Despite their manufacturing potential and promising trajectories, most African countries have remained relatively dearth of factories, writes Professor Landry Signé. How to unlock the manufacturing and industrialization potential in Africa? The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa …

Anti-racism demonstrators in Hamburg called for safe migration routes and an end to right-wing extremism. The march comes after the eastern German town of Chemnitz experienced several anti-immigrant protests. Thousands of demonstrators attended a parade against racism in the northern German city of Hamburg on Saturday, police said. The “United against Racism” parade, a collaboration between more than 450 organizations …

Germany’s Social Democratic and Green party are haemorrhaging support from people with migratory backgrounds. The main benefactor is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Union bloc, but the anti-migrant AfD has also seen gains. David Martin reports from Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc has become the most popular party among German citizens with migratory backgrounds, according to a report published on …

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court has ruled that Ousman Sonko, a former interior minister of Gambia suspected of human rights abuses, must remain in Swiss detention until January 2019. In a decision published on Monday, the Bellinzona-based court rejected Sonko’s appeal challenging his detention. According to the court, various people have been interviewed as witnesses or informants. Their statements confirmed the …

Members of the Black Community from across Germany and Europe will converge on the city of Nuremberg on Saturday (22 September) for the second edition of ‘Night of the African Living Legend Award & Recognition’. Organised by the African German Information Centre (AGIC) Hamburg, the event’s aim is to shine the spotlight on people of African descent in Germany and …

With his performance, the 33-year-old beat the previous record set by fellow Kenyan runner Dennis Kimetto in 2014. Two hours, one minute and 39 seconds. That’s how long, or little, it took Kenyan superstar runner Eliud Kipchoge to cover the 42.2km of the Berlin Marathon – and smash the world record in the process by a staggering 78 seconds.   …

Rwandan Stories of Change held an international conference at the University of St Andrews on the 6th of July 2018. We brought together scholars from across the Humanities and Social Sciences to explore how Rwanda has changed since the genocide of 1994. Chijioke Kizito Onah, Masters Student of Anglophone Literatures, Cultures and Media, Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany, recently attended …

Germany replaced the United States as the country with the best global image in a survey of 50 countries, according to the 2017 Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index. Simon Anholt, founder of the Index, talks about Germany’s image – and the responsibility that it creates. Germany was ranked number 1 in the most recent Nation Brands Index (NBI). What were the reasons …