WORLD

Police have detained six Nigerian in Ruhrgebiet who they allege have smuggled women into the country and forced them into prostitution. The police in the West German city of Oberhausen have arrested a couple from Nigeria who they alleged have smuggled women from Nigeria into the Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) in order to force them into prostitution. Also four more suspects …

The signatories to the landmark Paris climate treaty will meet for two weeks in Germany beginning tomorrow to prepare discussions on how to implement their promises. The 2017 UN Climate Change Conference opens on Monday (6 November) in the western German city of Bonn, with the aim of launching nations towards the next level of ambition needed to tackle global …

Eritreans living abroad have staged protests decrying the human rights situation back home. The protests held on Friday were originally planned for Washington, London and Stockholm. It comes in the wake of Tuesday’s rare protest in the streets of the capital Asmara against the government. Security forces used gunfire to disperse students who reportedly demanded the release of a school …

A new UN report has said that four in 10 people on earth will be African by 2100. This demographic change requires investment in health and education in order to avoid potentially staggering humanitarian crises. Elizabeth Schumacher of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. The population of Africa is set to soar, according to a study released by the United Nations Children’s …

By removing visa requirements for Singaporeans, Paraguay helped Singapore edge out Germany for the top spot in the Passport Index published by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital. Singapore was previously tied with Germany for the number-one spot. Paraguay recently removed its visa requirements for Singaporeans, giving citizens easy access to 159 countries, compared to 158 for German passport-holders. Historically, …

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he is “rethinking” his decision to name Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador after a global outcry. The 93-year-old leader was given the position, which is bestowed on personalities who highlight “important health issues,” at a WHO conference on non-communicable diseases in Montevideo, Uruguay, last week. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros …

The United States Department of State will restart the registration period for the 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery after it was marred by technical issues. The new registration period opens for electronic entries on 18 October 2017 at 6 p.m. GMT, and closes on 22 November 2017 at 6 p.m. GMT. The official website of the US Department of State issued …

John J Stremlau, a Visiting Professor of International Relations at South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand, writes on the emerging shape of US President Donald Trump’s policy on Africa. Africa’s leaders, along with everyone else interested in US-Africa relations, have waited eight months for US President Donald Trump’s administration to explain its Africa policy. We aren’t there yet. But in …

Mo Ibrahim, Sudanese-British business mogul who founded the telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998, has accused of individuals and companies from outside the continent of promoting corruption in Africa. The philanthropist and founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation spoke on the sidelines of the 2nd Africa Convergence summit held in the Moroccan city of Casablanca last weekend. Ibrahim, who was …

With an audience reach of 52 million in Africa, the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) has become the first international broadcaster to launch ‘Facebook Live Audio’. DW has been streaming live radio programs for Africa daily on the network’s Facebook platform in English, French, Hausa and Kiswahili in recent weeks. The live broadcast of audio content on Facebook has …

German movies, cultural and media workshops are part of celebrations marking 60 years of co-operation between Germany and Ghana, reports Isaac Kaledzi  from Accra. For Yibor Kojo Yibor, a Ghanaian cultural analyst, Saturday, 30 September’s event in Accra offered an opportunity for Ghanaians to reflect more on Germany’s culture and way of life. “I think that what is interesting for Ghanaians is …

Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to work together irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation to make Nigeria great again. Governor Dickson, who stated this in Atlanta last weekend at a dinner in his honour by Nigeria’s Consulate-General in America, Ambassador Kayode Laro, said Nigeria is a great country with great …

Nigeria’s separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has officially been tagged an illegal and terrorist entity by a Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja. The government, represented by the Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, had filed a suit against IPOB, praying the court to declare IPOB’s activities as illegal and amounting to terrorism. A further order was to …

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the European Union member states to contribute to Africa or face risks of migrant influx. Juncker said on Wednesday during the EU’s State of the Union Address that Europe could face a repeat of the 2015 high influx of migrants when the UN’s World Food Programme ran out of funds. “Our …

Thousands of Togolese nationals held demonstrations in about half a dozen cities around the world including the capital Lome where it turned deadly after clashes with security forces. The demonstrations, organised by the opposition Pan African National Party (PNP), were held simultaneously in Accra, Libreville, New York and Berlin on Saturday demanding the reinstatement of the 1992 constitution that limits …

A group of Nigerians has staged a protest outside the residence of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari. The protesters are demanding that the president return home to Nigeria or resign immediately due to an undisclosed ailment that has kept him out of office for more than 100 days.   The #ResumeorResign protesters gathered outside Buhari’s house on Friday. They had been …

One of the recipients of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is an organization that carries out diabetes enlightenment campaign in Africa. Femi Awoniyi writes on how a Diaspora initiative is making a positive impact in the continent. There are hundreds of African organisations in Germany working in different fields to make an impact not only on their community in …

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Mohammed Babandede, announced this week that from 1 January 2018, anybody without a National Identification Number issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will not be able to procure Nigerian passport. The condition applies to both first-time applicants and those renewing their expired passport, according to Babandede, who spoke in …

Two leading European countries are planning drastic measures to deal with migration from Africa through the Mediterranean. France says it wants to establish camps to vet migrants in Libya, Chad and Niger as Italy plans to deploy war ships to the Libyan coast to stop refugees and send them back. Italy’s cabinet on Friday (28 July) backed a plan by …

Two German army pilots have died after their helicopter crashed near Gao, eastern Mali. At the time of the crash, the helicopter was monitoring “confrontations.” The Tiger type army combat helicopter with two pilots onboard crashed for unknown reasons around 12:20 GMT/UTC about 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Gao in eastern Mali, the Bundeswehr said on Wednesday. “Onboard the …