WORLD

Global wildlife populations have fallen a staggering 58 percent between 1970 and 2012, according to a report by the WWF and the Zoological Society. It says human activities are overwhelming the environment and if this continues, the numbers will fall by two-thirds by 2020. The Living Planet Index looked at 3,700 different species of birds, fish, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. …

During his visit to Berlin last week, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke in an exclusive interview with Deutsche Welle’s Phil Gayle. The Nigerian leader talked about the Niger Delta millitants, corruption, the judiciary and the fate of the remaining Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. He also said his wife should stay out of politics. DW: First of all, congratulations on …

During an official state visit to Germany, President Muhammadu Buhari called for closer economic ties. But faced with an economic downturn in Nigeria, German companies point to major hurdles to investment, reports Naomi Conrad. In the end, it took two attempts: As Chancellor Angela Merkel struggled to pronounce Muhammadu Buhari’s name at a joint press conference in Berlin, the Nigerian …

  President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria begins a three-day (13-15 October) official visit to Germany today. He is expected to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues of shared interests between Nigeria and Germany, including co-operation on security, the humanitarian situation of internally displaced persons and rehabilitation of the North-East ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency, as well as trade …

German chancellor Angela Merkel and her foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have been visiting Africa at the same time. Top of their agendas were migration, security and investment. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described Nigeria as the “powerhouse” of Africa as he embarked on his one day trip to the country. Nigeria was not only rich in natural resources, but also the most …

Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has called on African leaders to stop migration to Europe and fight back against Islamic extremism. She vowed to help with development aid and military equipment to ensure peace and prosperity in Africa. Germany will also make Africa a priority of Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017. Merkel visited Mali, Niger and Ethiopia during a three-day tour, …

Nigerians in Germany are expected to head to Hamburg in large numbers this weekend for the annual celebrations of their country’s independence anniversary organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany. An Award Ceremony & Dinner will round up the NIDO Germany Day 2016 in the Merchant City on 1 October. It will be the culmination of the two-day …

Global protests move Biafra conflict back into spotlight

During his trip to New York to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly and the 2nd annual United States-Africa Business Forum, President Muhammadu Buhari took time off his busy schedule to meet a selected group of Nigerian professionals in New York. Temi Douglas reports. They converged from different parts of the United States of America, top rate professionals all, …

Libyans who mounted a revolution against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi now miss the stability provided by the old order because of the savage violence into which the country has descended, RT reports. The testimony has emerged in a number of on-the-ground interviews carried out by the Daily Mail and comes only days after a Commons Defence Committee report placed blame for …

As the 2016 general elections draw nearer the first line of Ghana’s national anthem, “God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong”, is the prayer on the lips of every Ghanaian. And Ghanaians living in Germany are no exception as they look forward to the polls, which are to hold on 6 December. Organised by the …

Ghana has begun to offer visas on arrival to citizens of all 54 African Union member states. Ghana is now the third country in the continent after Mauritius and Rwanda to allow visas on arrival for all Africans. Ghana’s new visa policy is big news in Africa because travelling in the continent is not easy for Africans. “Nationals from African …

Africa’s future rests in the hands of its youth – and every effort must be made to ensure they thrive, philanthropist and entrepreneur Bill Gates said in South Africa on Sunday, 17 July. Delivering the 2016 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the University of Pretoria (Mamelodi campus), Gates said he was optimistic about the future of the continent – because …

Berlin has officially referred to colonial-era crimes committed by German troops in today’s Namibia as genocide. The government has been criticized, however, for holding talks with Namibia without survivors’ descendants. For decades, Germany’s parliament and governments tried their level best to avoid this dark chapter of German colonial history. Daily newspaper “Frankfurter Rundschau,” reported on 12 June, however, that for …

Clashes have resumed in South Sudan’s capital Juba between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and ex-rebel leader Riek Machar. Former UN diplomat Peter Schumann tells DW the fighting may escalate into a full-scale war. South Sudan’s presidency on Friday put the death toll from the clashes at 270, although it is thought to be much higher by now. The …

A new youth exchange scheme known as the German African Youth Initiative (Deutsch-Afrikanische Jugendinitiative – DAJ) was launched in Bonn on 1 July by German Development Minister Gerd Müller and the Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union (AU) Martial De-Paul Ikounga. Dirke Köpp, head of DW’s French for Africa service, spoke to the minister about …

  Ethiopia is to be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years. The country may spread peace while on blue helmet missions abroad, but critics complain that political space at home is contracting. The vote at the UN General Assembly electing Ethiopia as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council turned out to be largely …

Despite Africa having 65 per cent of the unused arable land in the world, the continent cannot feed itself. According to the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, Africa imports food worth US$35 billion annually, when the continent should have been a next exporter of food. Dr Adesina, who was speaking at the 7th Africa Agriculture Science …

How former Nigeria’s national trainer, who suddenly died on 8 June, defeated prejudice against African coaches in Africa Tragedy struck African football in the early hours of 8 June when Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, former coach of Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, suddenly died at 54 in Benin City. The former international football player and coach had lost his wife …

Famous German humanitarian Rupert Neudeck, who died on 31 May 2016 at 77, points out what he considers the major impediments to African development in his book The strength of Africans and he explains why Western development agencies cannot be helpful to a continent that is so rich in natural resources. In his book Die Kraft Afrikas – Warum der …