WORLD

Refugees arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean should be sent back to Africa, and the current migrant policy must end, Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), a junior partner in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition, demanded in a leaked policy paper. “The existing policy of automatically bringing to Europe all people rescued in the Mediterranean must be broken,” urged in an …

More than 5,000 migrants are thought to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016, a record figure described as “a devastating milestone” by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). On Thursday, 23 December alone, some 100 mainly West Africans were feared to have perished making the treacherous crossing to Europe. To save lives, the UNHCR says legal entry for those …

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani reports on the trafficking of young women from Nigeria to Italy which, according to international migration organisations, has significantly increased in the past two years. The report, sponsored by Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change, exposes the intricacies of the sex trade. EDO, …

Berlin-based daily newspaper TAZ claims that European industrial and arms companies will be among the beneficiaries of plans to grant financial aid to African countries that  keep migrants away from Europe, take back failed asylum-seekers and introduce biometric controls at their borders. “The funds which African countries have been promised to help them fight migration will find their way, first …

An extra-ordinary meeting of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide, consisting of its chapters in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, took place on 4 December. The meeting evaluated the current efforts to establish a Diaspora Commission and offers its views on this development. Below is the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting: ——————————————– Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation Continues …

New UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed as Deputy Secretary-General. “I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet. I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor …

Reuters – The European Union, under an agreement published on Monday, will provide funds to Mali to help it create jobs and strengthen border management in return for the African country’s aid in fighting people smugglers and accepting deportees from Europe. The Mali agreement comes as the EU is stepping up migration collaboration with countries of origin and transit in …

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named a Nigerian, Adebayo Ogunlesi, as a member of an advisory council that will help the incoming president implement “his plan to bring back jobs and Make America Great Again.” Ogunlesi is the Chairman and Managing Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm with more than $35bn in assets under management. He has …

"I have tiny arms – they did not develop properly during my mother’s pregnancy. But even as a kid I was aware that my disability would not hold me back – on the contrary it would be the engine to push me forward."

World AIDS Day, marked on 1 December every year since 1988, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and mourning those who have died of the disease. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control. Here are …

A landmark HIV vaccine trial was launched in South Africa on the eve of World AIDS Day on 1 December. Scientists hope it will help eradicate the disease. Science has been trying in vain for 30 years to find a vaccine for HIV. But for the first time since the virus was identified in 1983, there is hope that a …

For granting visa-on-arrival to all Africans in their respective countries, Ghana’s President John Mahama and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame have been bestowed an award for African Leadership and Excellence by Humanitas Afrika. According to the African-Czech organisation based in Prague, “Boundaries and borders barricading African countries into sovereign states as in present-day Africa is no doubt a legacy borne out …

As the world mourns the death of the Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, it’s fitting to recall the pivotal role Cuba played in ending Apartheid and why Castro was one of only five world leaders invited to speak at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. While Angola won its independence from Portugal on 15 January 1975, internal political conflicts escalated between the People’s …

Kenneth Gbandi was elected the new chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) at the body’s annual general meeting in Athens, Greece, on 11 November. The Germany-based migration expert, communal politician, business consultant and media entrepreneur spoke in an exclusive interview with Femi Awoniyi on the challenges facing NIDOE and how he plans …

Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s Public Protector who famously took on President Jacob Zuma over the use of taxpayers’ money to upgrade his country home, was honoured at a lavish ceremony on Wednesday in Berlin. Ms Madonsela, who resigned from the office only last month after completing her 7-year term, received the prestigious Africa Prize awarded annually by the German Africa …

Out of more than 160 nations assessed, Germany was ranked first, followed by Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland (equal fifth).

The American election has ended with an outcome unexpected and undesired in most parts of the world. Since almost all opinion polls did not reckon with a Trump’s victory, almost no efforts were made to analyse the likely impact of a Trump presidency on African relations. This is why journalists across Africa and its Diaspora are just getting started scrutinizing …

Climate change is once again the focus of global diplomacy as the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP22,’ is underway in Marrakech, Morocco. The convention is being held just four days after the Paris Climate Agreement entered into force and aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the temperature rise this …

Deutsche Welle (DW) has unveiled the new format for its AfricaLink radio program. The show is being relaunched as “social radio”. The content of the new format brings together conventional radio programming and social media.0-minute radio show will bring listeners’ broadcast content Monday through Friday at 16:00 UTC, featuring currents affairs from Africa, Germany and the rest of the world. The African editorial …

With restrictions on migration tightening in Europe, many would-be asylum seekers from Ethiopia are choosing to return home. An organization funded by the European Union is helping them to return to their country. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in the last couple of months thousands of illegal Ethiopian migrants have been forced to return home from countries …