The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Germany

  • Germany in the running to host Euro 2024

    Germany in the running to host Euro 2024

     

     

     

    The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed it will bid to host Euro 2024.

    A DFB proposal, featuring 10 stadiums to be announced later this year, was outlined in January, and a declaration of interest has now been submitted ahead of Friday’s deadline.

    DFB president Reinhard Grindel presented the declaration to UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis and said: “It was important to me to tell UEFA in person that we stand behind this application determined and united.

    “We are aware of the huge challenges a tournament of this size has. But we are confident to say that we can host a first-class and not too expensive tournament due to our great experience, infrastructure and the framework conditions we already have.”

    Euro 2016 in France was the first edition of the European Championship to have 24 finalists, with Germany’s previous hosting in 1988 coming for an eight-team tournament.

    The last major football tournament to be staged in the country was the 2006 World Cup.

    Germany will be up against Turkey, which confirmed its bid last month, with a joint-Scandinavian bid also tipped to enter the running.

  • German man found with 2.5 tons of weapons, ammunition

    A German man was on Friday discovered to be hoarding more than 2.5 tonnes of weapons and ammunition in the town of Pinneberg, near Hamburg in north-west Germany.

    The 2.5 tonnes of weapons and ammunition were discovered in his possession after the police raided his house.

    Police found 114 guns and 71,000 rounds of live ammunition during the raid, which was carried out as part of an investigation into a firearms violation, they said in a statement.

    “Dynamite, an array of knives, and chemicals for the production of ammunition were also found.

    “The man was taken into custody for attempting to obstruct the raid and released upon its completion,’’ the police said.

  • 12,000 Nigerians asylum seekers face deportation in Germany

    More than 12,000 Nigerians asylum seekers in Germany may be deported, it was learnt yesterday.
    The Global Head of Programme, Migration and Development at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Ralf Sanftenberg, made the disclosure yesterday when he visited the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
    Sanftenberg said: “We have over 37,000 Nigerians in Germany and more than 12,000 of them are asylum seekers.
    “There is a little chance for their applications to be moved and they may be forced to come back to Nigeria next year.”
    He said 99 per cent of them were likely to be denied asylum status because Nigeria is not among war countries.
    Sanftenberg explained that if they were willing to return voluntarily they would not be forced back or deported but would be assisted through a support programme organised by Germany.
    “We provide services for the retuning migrants in Nigeria, we can provide training for entrepreneurship.
    “We have provided for several other countries in the field of migration policy actually we want to find out to establish migrant services in Nigeria.
    “We are not focusing on returnees, what we are doing is to support the returnees to be reintegrated,” he said.
    Another member of the delegation, who is a consultant to the programme, Ms Stphania Alofokhia-Ghogomu, urged Nigerians seeking asylum in Germany to return home.
    Ms. Alofokhia-Ghogomu, who also a voluntary returnee, said she had spent half of her life in Germany and had to tome come back to contribute to development of Nigeria.
    She said she was helped by the German government to reintegrate when she came back.
    “And that is the situation, though if they chose to come back voluntarily they can get into the reintegrated programmes that are already available for them.
    “But the if they refused to come back voluntarily they will be deported, and if they are deported, they cannot go back to any EU countries in the next five years.
    “That is why it is advised to return voluntarily because they can always apply and go back to the place,” she said.
    Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa hailed German Chancellor Angel Merkel for the way she was addressing the challenge of illegal migrants.
    “So, we will look forward to seeing what you want to do in terms of setting up German migrant services in Nigeria,” She said.
    The presidential aide called on Nigerians facing deportation in Germany to come back home and take advantage of the opportunities provided by German Government to assist them.
    “For Nigerians in Germany who want to return, there is a better place for them at home to help them live a better live.
    “Germany has the ministry of internal affairs and have budget for the returnees, and there are services that will be provided through Germany that they can enjoy,” she said.

  • German Court sentences 16-year-old girl for terrorist attack

    German Court sentences 16-year-old girl for terrorist attack

    A German Court sentenced a 16-year-old girl to six years jail on Thursday for an attack on a Police Officer.

    The prosecutors described it as the first assault ordered by Islamic State in the country.

    The teenager, identified as Safia S, was 15 years old when she slashed the police officer in the neck with a vegetable knife at the main railway station in Hanover in February 2016.

    The 34-year-old policeman was severely injured but survived the attack.

  • Ex-Governor Kure dies in Germany at 60

    Ex-Governor Kure dies in Germany at 60

    A former Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure, is dead. He was 60.

    According to a family source, Kure died in Germany during a treatment for kidney-related ailment.

    The source said Kure was flown abroad three weeks ago following the relapse of his ailment.

    He was governor between 1999 and  2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He was also the 12th governor of the state and the third civilian governor after Emir Awwal Ibrahim(1979-1983) and Dr. Musa Inuwa(1992-1993).

    The Chief Press Secretary to the former governor, Alhaji Mahmud Abdullahi, confirmed his boss’ death last night.

    Abdullahi said arrangements were being made  to bring his body home for burial.

    Born on February 26, 1956, the late Kure is survived by wife, Zaynab Kure , a senator between 2007 and 2015, six children; two daughters and four sons.

    He was the Director of Engineering Services in the Federal Capital Territory before joining politics. A foundation member of the PDP, he became a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) after leaving office.  He introduced Sharia law in Niger State in May 2000.

    Chairman of the PDP in Niger State Mr. Tanko Beji, and former Governor  Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu yesterday extolled the late Kure’ virtue.

    Beji described his death as sad adding: “We cannot query God.”

    He said the late governor had contributed immensely to the socio -political development of Niger State.

    “He has left an indelible mark on the sand of times. May his soul rest in peace”.

    Aliyu said “ I find it difficult to come to terms with the reality that my brother, my friend, has left us so soon. I have been in touch with his wife since he travelled outside the country for treatment. I never knew his time was near.

    “Niger state has lost an illustrious son, Nigeria has indeed lost a great human asset. My brother Kure died at a time his contribution was needed. He was a peacemaker, a role model and a bridge builder. May Aljannah Firdaus be his abode. May Allah condole his wife, children and the entire Niger State.”

    The Niger State government yesterday declared a three-day mourning for the former governor

    According to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa,, flags will fly at half-mast throughout the period.

    The Commissioner said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had also declared a work-free day on the day of the former governor’s body will be interred so as to accord him a befitting burial.

    The statement said the government would miss his wise counsel

    Vatsa cited the intervention of the former governor during the recent labour crisis in the state, saying the move showed him as an elder statesman whose main concern was for the good, progress and unity of the state.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, have has described the death of former Niger State Governor Abdulkadir Kure as shocking and unexpected..

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan  Dogara said the death of the former governor, who he described as a progressive, is a big loss to the country.

    It reads: “Dogara described the late politician as a progressive and seasoned technocrat whose experience and wisdom would be missed.

    “The Speaker also extended his condolence to Kure’s immediate family and prayed God to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss”.

    In Condolence to the Family, the government and people of Niger State, Gen. Babangida said: “My amiable Friend and Companion is gone. We that were left behind are on transit sooner or later.

    “The sudden death of former Governor of Niger State, Engineer, Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure, this afternoon in Germany comes to me in a great shock but as a believer, All souls must taste dead sooner or later”.

    He prayed for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for the late Kure and urged the family, people of Niger State and Nigeria at large to take heart and pray for him in his journey to the great beyond.

  • German minister wants police overhaul after Christmas market attack

    German minister wants police overhaul after Christmas market attack

    Germany must grant federal police more powers to counter threats like terrorism and cyber attacks, Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said on Tuesday, two weeks after a failed asylum seeker rammed a truck into a Christmas market and killed 12 people.

    In his most detailed response yet to the Dec. 19 attack, de Maiziere said Germany lacked laws that other countries had, and police and intelligence bodies were too fragmented.

    “Our state must be better prepared for difficult times than it has been,” de Maiziere said at the start of an election year in which immigration and security will be at the top of the political agenda.

    “The Federal Government needs to be able to steer all security authorities where the central government and the states work together on national security,” he wrote.

    Each of the 16 federal states has its own police force and intelligence agency, and the country’s worst attack in more than 35 years has reignited debate about how best to prevent information from falling between the cracks.

    After the Christmas market attack, it emerged that Tunisian suspect Anis Amri had spent nearly a year and a half in Germany, using various names and moving between different parts of the country despite being identified as a security threat.

    For several days he evaded an intensive search, crossing three international borders before being shot dead in Italy.

    De Maiziere said the federal police agency should lead national manhunts, and a discussion about centralising intelligence agencies was needed.

    Better coordination was also required to monitor several hundred individuals believed to pose a threat, including many who have returned from Syria and Iraq.

    The minister said Germans should not fear to install more video cameras in public places to help prevent and solve crimes.

    Germans have an aversion to such measures after mass snooping under the communist East German Stasi and the Nazis.

    He also said failed asylum seekers who were viewed as a danger should be held until they could be deported.

    Amri, whose attack was claimed by Islamic State, was due to be sent home

     

  • Nearly 20,000 migrants turned back from Germany in 2016

    Nearly 20,000 migrants turned back from Germany in 2016

    German police are on track to turn away some 20,000 migrants this year at the country’s borders, airports and sea ports, local media reported on Wednesday.

    From January until the end of November, 19,720 people were stopped from entering the country, the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung (NOZ) reported, citing numbers from the German Federal Police.

    Statistics for December are yet to be compiled, the newspaper said.

    The 2016 number marked a more than 100 per cent increase in comparison to 2015 when 8,913 migrants were stopped from entering the country over the course of the whole year.

    Despite the overall increase, the newspaper reported that the number of people turned away by police has been going down in recent months.

    This is partly due to the fact that Germany’s border controls now only take place at the border to Austria, NOZ said.

    Afghan asylum seekers were turned back most often, with 3,695 people affected in 2016 so far. In addition, 2,142 Syrians, 1,794 Iraqis and 1,237 Nigerians have been stopped from entering Germany so far this year.

    Despite being part of the control-free Schengen area, Germany decided in November to extend border controls at the Germany-Austria border until February.

    German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that Germany had to take the step until the European Union was able to sufficiently control its external borders.

  • 100,000 euro bounty placed on Berlin attack suspect

    100,000 euro bounty placed on Berlin attack suspect

    German authorities on Wednesday named the suspect in the Christmas market truck attack as Anis Amri and offered a reward of up to 100,000 Euros (104,000 dollars) for information leading to his arrest.

    The 24-year-old Tunisian, who had three aliases and came to Germany in July 2015, is the subject of a Europe-wide manhunt as the main suspect in the attack, which killed 12 people and injured another 48.

    He was described in official papers as 1.78 metres tall, weighing about 75 kilogrammes with black hair and brown eyes.

    Amri was already under investigation in Germany on suspicion of planning a serious act of violence.

  • Nigeria to get 3m euros from Germany for military equipment

    Germany is to provide Nigeria with three million Euros for the procurement of surveillance equipment, mobile medical care unit and other support services for the country’s armed forces .

    The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, stated this yesterday at a joint news conference with German Defence Minister Ursala Von dar Leyen, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Abuja.

    The German minister was in Abuja to hand over some military equipment donated to Nigeria.

    Dan-Ali said the money would be provided through the extension of the German Technical Advisory Group Agreement for three years – 2017 to 2020.

    The minister said under the existing agreement between the two countries under the group, 2012 to 2016, Germany had donated two mobile care units with extensive care unit facilities to the country.

    Also donated to the country by Germany, according to Dan-Ali, are Vallon metal detector/Improvised Explosive Device and Explosive Ordnance Disposal equipment, as well training of personnel and maintenance of the device.

    He said Nigeria had also received three Mobile Tactical Ground Surveillance Radar systems from Germany for border security in the Northeast.

    The minister thanked Germany for the assistance it had extended to the Nigerian armed forces so far to enhance their capacity to fight the Boko Haram terrorists.

    “As we are all aware, terrorism is a threat to the existence of humanity and its development. We must, therefore, continue to stand resolute and united in our fight to stamp terrorism out of the planet,’’ Dan-Ali said.

    The German defence minister who handed over the equipment to Dan-Ali, noted that combating terrorism was both “difficult and dangerous.’’

    “Everywhere, the terrorists live bloody trail of destruction and death and time and again, they single out the most vulnerable of their targets like children just like the Boko Haram does in Nigeria.

    “This is why it is in our common interest that the population at home in my country, as well as here in Nigeria is safe so that the economy can grow again.

    “Because that is the basis for jobs and prosperity so people can believe in the future in their homeland,’’ Leyen said.

    According to her, terrorists abuse religion for their evil purposes. Terrorists spread terror and violence all over the world, in France, Belgium, Aghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Germany and here in Nigeria.

    Leyen said the objective of the cooperation between her country and Nigeria was to assist the country to “conduct crisis prevention, crisis management and peace building operations.’’

    “To complement this, Germany is focusing on practical, very concrete issues – the capability and equipment the Nigerian servicemen need most urgently such as the protection against the many IEDs place by the Boko Haram.’’

    She noted that Nigeria was fighting a hard but most important fight, promising the support of her country.

  • Nigeria to get 3m euros from Germany for military equipment

    Nigeria to get 3m euros from Germany for military equipment

    Germany is to provide Nigeria with three million Euros for the procurement of surveillance equipment, mobile medical care unit and other support services for the country’s armed forces .

    The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, announced this on Sunday at joint news conference with the German Defence Minister, Ursala Von dar Leyen, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Air port, Abuja.

    The Germany defence minister was in Abuja to hand over some military equipment donated her country to Nigeria.

    Dan-Ali said that the money would be provided through the extension of the German Technical Advisory Group Agreement for three years, 2017 to 2020.

    The minister said that under the existing agreement between the two countries under the group, 2012 to 2016, Germany had donated two mobile care units with extensive care unit facilities to the country.

    Also donated to the country by Germany, according to Dan-Ali are Vallon metal detector/Improvised Explosive Device and Explosive Ordnance Disposal equipment, as well training of personnel and maintenance of the device.

    He said Nigeria had also received three Mobile Tactical Ground Surveillance Radar systems from Germany for border security in the North East.

    The minister thanked Germany for the assistance it had extended to the Nigerian armed forces so far to enhance their capacity to fight the Boko Haram terrorists.

    “As we are all aware, terrorism is a threat to the existence of humanity and its development. We must, therefore, continue to stand resolute and united in our fight to stamp terrorism out of the planet,’’ Dan-Ali said.

    In her remark, the German defence minister, who handed over the equipment to Dan-Ali, noted that combating terrorism was both “difficult and dangerious.’’

    “Everywhere, the terrorists live bloody trail of destruction and death and time and again, they single out the most vulnerable of their targets like children just like the Boko Haram does in Nigeria.

    “This is why it is in our common interest that the population at home in my country, as well as here in Nigeria is safe so that the economy can grow again.

    “Because that is the basis for jobs and prosperity so people can believe in the future in their homeland,’’ Leyen said.

    According to her, terrorists abuse religion for their own evil purposes. Terrorists spread terror and violence all over the world, in France, Belgium, Aghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Germany and here in Nigeria.

    Leyen said that the objective of the cooperation between her country and Nigeria was to assist the country to “conduct crisis prevention, crisis management and peace building operations.’’

    “To compliment this, Germany is focusing on practical, very concrete issues – the capability and equipment the Nigerian servicemen need most urgently such as the protection against the many IEDs place by the Boko Haram.’’

    She noted that Nigeria was fighting a hard but most important fight, assuring the support of her country. (NAN)