News

The family of former United Nations Secretary General have published a tribute to the man hailed as a reformer at the global diplomacy outfit.  It is published on the website of the Kofi Annan Foundation and produced here below. On 18 August, the world lost a leader and a statesman: Kofi Atta Annan. And we lost a brother, a husband, a …

African leaders are in the Chinese city of Beijing for a high-level summit hosted by the Chinese government. The Forum for Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC)  Summit is a meeting between the two partners and is largely premised on ways to increase diplomatic, economic and bilateral ties. It officially kicks off on September 3 through to September 4. This year’s edition is themed …

Almost 20,000 people have marched through Berlin and Hamburg demanding that Germany take in more migrants stranded at sea. Sunday’s marches were organized in response to the violent anti-migrant protests in Chemnitz. Up to 16,000 people marched through the northern German city of Hamburg on Sunday, urging officials to open up the city’s ports to stranded migrant rescue ships in …

Protests by some residents in a Paris neighbourhood resulted in the postponement of the opening of a migrant reception centre for hundreds of migrants in the French capital. The Paris prefecture has postponed the opening of a migrant reception centre for hundreds of migrants in Paris in the arrondissement of Montmartre, after residents staged a protest. Residents said they were …

Namibia marked the return by Germany of the remains of indigenous men and women killed during the colonial era, with a traditional ceremony in Windhoek’s Parliament Gardens on Friday. The personal apology by the German official who travelled to Windhoek for the ceremony falls far short of what the Herero and Nama demand. But the descendants of the victims appeared …

In what is akin to a giant step since its founding in 2000, the London-headquartered Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), has opened a liaison office in the nation’s capital Abuja, signalling its intention to play a more robust role in national affairs. The brief ceremony, marking the event on Monday, was attended by among others Prof Nick Eze, CEO …

Muslims are celebrating Eid el-Kabir (known also as Eid al-Adha) as more than 2 million pilgrims carry out the final days of Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Muslims across the world are celebrating the festival of Eid el-Kabir, which coincides with the final rites of the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. While many will celebrate on Tuesday, millions of others, including in …

“For people wishing to study in Germany, it is not difficult to get a visa. It is easier than you think. It requires filing the details or you can just go to our website,” – Mr Bernhard Schlagheck, German Ambassador to Nigeria,  July 2017 ————————————————– One of the legal ways to migrate to Europe is to go there to study. …

The Swiss Federal Council has adopted new regulations that would require foreigners residing in Switzerland to meet certain criteria of good behaviour before their residence permits are renewed. The seven-member executive body adopted the new regulations on Wednesday (15 August) as part of the revision of the Act on Foreign Nationals. The new rules will enter into force in 2019. …

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres opened the floodgates of tribute for one of his predecessors, Kofi Annan, who died yesterday aged 80 after a short illness in Geneva, Switzerland. Guterres described Annan, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 2001, as a guiding force for good. Guterres in his tribute said: “it is with profound sadness that I learned …

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila will not stand for re-election in December, a government spokesman has announced. Kabila’s ruling coalition nominated former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as its presidential candidate, Lambert Mende, the government spokesman, said on Wednesday. The move put an end to years of speculation on whether Kabila would defy terms limits.  The government …

An increasing number of naturalized Germans are no longer required to renounce their original citizenship before receiving a German passport. Exceptions for EU citizens and refugees have led to more naturalized Germans holding two passports in recent years. Some nations prohibit or make it difficult for nationals to give up citizenship when becoming German. Chase Winter reports.    An increasing number …

The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has announced the appointment of former Nigerian winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, as the new head coach of the national team, Taifa Stars. Amuneke signed a two-year contract with the TFF on Monday. “I am happy to start this new job and work hard so that we can achieve a lot together,” Amuneke, who was most recently …

Former Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, may have left office over a year now but news about him still command a lot of attention. Jammeh in a recently-leaked tape talks of staging a comeback to the country he ruled for over two decades until January 2017. His mothers’ death this week in exile and the subsequent repatriation of her remains to …

The parties to the South Sudan conflict have signed an agreement on the outstanding issues on governance and security geared towards restoring peace in Africa’s youngest nation. South Sudan’s warring parties have reached a power-sharing deal to end a civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in the world’s youngest country. President Salva Kiir …

More than half of Germans surveyed in a monthly poll classify racism as a major social ill. At the same time, those polled say social issues are more important than asylum and refugee matters. Jefferson Chase (Berlin) reports.  German society is still struggling with racism. That’s one of the major conclusions from the Infratest-Dimap “Germany Trend” poll for August, which was …

A new phase of the campaign to raise public awareness on the dangers and risks of irregular migration in Nigeria by the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has commenced. Round of dialogue with multipliers such as journalists, youth groups, women associations, students, artists and religious and traditional leaders, to hold in Abuja, Enugu, Lagos and Benin-City. Despite last October’s CNN …

Seven migrant transfer centres have begun operation in Bavaria. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer hopes to use them to bundle and accelerate asylum procedures.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been elected to preside over the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community West African States (ECOWAS). He replaced Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé. The leadership of the bloc revolves annually among heads of state of the member countries. Buhari was chosen to lead the regional political bloc at the end …

Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba returned home on Wednesday after a decade in prison in The Hague for a presidential run expected to pose a stiff challenge to President Joseph Kabila or his successor in December’s election. Bemba, whose war crimes convictions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) were quashed on appeal in May, touched down at Kinshasa’s N’Djili airport …