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Tag: Germany

  • Zamfara PDP Chairman dies in Germany

    Zamfara PDP Chairman dies in Germany

    Alhaji Ibrahim Mallaha, Chairman of Zamfara chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has died on Sunday in Germany.

    This was confirmed in Gusau on Monday by Yusuf Idris, Director-General to Gov. Bello Matawalle on Media, Communications and Public Enlightenment.

    Idris said Mallaha died as a result of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Germany where he was on support machine over kidney related ailments.

    The deceased left behind four wives, many children, grand and great grand children.

    A major cotton farmer and contractor, Mallaha was the state Deputy Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) between 2003 and 2007 and state Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), from 2007 to 2008.

    He joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to become its state chairman between 2008 and 2011 and was re-elected in 2018.

    Mallaha who was a Kingmaker in Gusau Emirate Council, died at the age of 59.

  • Why I chose Nigeria over Germany – Akpoguma

    Why I chose Nigeria over Germany – Akpoguma

    Hoffenheim defender Kevin Akpoguma has revealed the potential in the Nigeria national team swayed him to switch his allegiance away from Germany.

    The defender, born to a German mother and a Nigerian father, has featured in a number of games for Germany at youth level.

    He made the affirmation a few days after Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr revealed how he had convinced the centre-back to represent the three-time African champions.

    “I decided for Nigeria because I see a lot of potential in the team, in the country,” Akpoguma told the Super Eagles media team in an Instagram conversation.

    “We have top players like Sammy [Chukwueze], Victor [Osimhen], Wilfred Ndidi, [Alex] Iwobi – they are top players, they are playing in top leagues.

    “If you put all of them together you’ll have a great team, for me, it is a big honour to play with these guys.

    “It’s not like you are German-born and want to play for Nigeria, everything is going automatically, I have to prove myself on the pitch.

    “It’s not like you just come from Europe and you are directly in the side, you have to train hard to be successful as a team. That’s what I like about the team and that’s why I decided to play for my fatherland.”

  • Rudiger tried everything to leave Chelsea – Low

    Rudiger tried everything to leave Chelsea – Low

    Germany manager Joachim Low admits Toni Rudiger tried everything to leave Chelsea.

    The 27-year-old defender has fallen out of favour under manager Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge and was linked with a move away before Monday’s transfer deadline, with Tottenham, Roma and AC Milan all showing an interest.

    “I was in constant contact with Toni Rudiger, he was keeping me in the loop,” Low said. “He had three or four options over the weekend but unfortunately, nothing materialised – he can try again in the winter.

    “He can put in a great performance even without a few weeks of match practice. I’ve been walking the path with him over the past few years and we’ve had a dialogue since the very beginning. His development over the past four or five years has been great.

    “He has established himself as a top international player. In terms of athleticism, dynamism and tough duels, he maintains his top level for a few weeks even without match practice.

    “He tried everything to leave Chelsea because the European Championship is very important to him. I think he’ll try to leave again in the winter. He’s doing everything he can to stay in his best form.”

  • Havertz leaves Germany squad to seal Chelsea move

    Havertz leaves Germany squad to seal Chelsea move

    Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Kai Havertz is set to sign for Chelsea in a deal worth about £71m, including add-ons.

    The 21-year-old Germany international has been given permission to leave the national squad’s training camp and will travel to London before having a medical.

    Havertz will become Frank Lampard’s sixth major signing of the summer.

    The deal is expected to be completed within 24 hours.

    Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga remains Chelsea’s record signing when he joined from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 for a £71m fee.

    Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said he was “grateful to the national coach that Kai can now sort things out with our support on site in London”.

    Havertz, who has seven caps, was an unused substitute in Germany’s 1-1 Nations League draw with Spain on Thursday, with the German team set to face Switzerland on Sunday.

    Last week, the Bundesliga side’s head coach Peter Bosz said he “doesn’t expect Havertz to train with us again”.

    Last season Havertz scored 18 goals in 45 appearances for Leverkusen, including seven in nine games after the Bundesliga season restarted.

  • Officials apprehend woman with husband’s bones at German airport

    Officials apprehend woman with husband’s bones at German airport

    A 74-year-old Armenian woman was stopped at Munich airport and human bones were found in her luggage, German federal police said on Tuesday.

    Officials found the remains in a wooden box, and subsequently called on customs officers, a doctor and the public prosecutor to examine the strange case.

    Together with her 52-year-old daughter, the woman wanted to fly the bones from her home in Greece to Armenia, via Munich and Kiev.

    The deceased was to be laid to rest in his former home country. Documents showed that the man had died in 2008 and was buried at his place of residence near Thessaloniki.

    However, federal police found the transfer of the remains to be lawful, and the public prosecutor also saw no grounds for a criminal investigation. The women were then allowed to continue on their journey, together with the bones.

  • Germany rejects Trump’s proposal to invite Russia into G7

    Germany rejects Trump’s proposal to invite Russia into G7

    Germany has rejected a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin back into the Group of Seven (G7) most advanced economies, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a newspaper interview published today.

    Trump raised the prospect last month of expanding the G7 to again include Russia, which had been expelled in 2014 following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

    But Maas told Rheinische Post that he did not see any chance for allowing Russia back into the G7 as long as there was no meaningful progress in solving the conflict in Crimea as well as in eastern Ukraine.

    Russia itself could make the biggest contribution to becoming part of the G7 format again by contributing to a peaceful solution in the Ukraine conflict, Maas said.

    Russia is still part of the G20, a broader grouping including other emerging-market economies.

    “G7 and G20 are two sensibly coordinated formats. We don’t need G11 or G12 anymore,” Maas said in reference to Trump’s proposal to invite not only Russia, but other countries to G7 meetings.

    Maas described the relationship with Russia as “currently difficult” in many areas.

    “But we also know that we need Russia to solve conflicts such as those in Syria, Libya and Ukraine. That will not work against Russia, but only with Russia.”

    Germany, which took over the rotating six-month EU presidency on July 1, has taken on a mediating role in the conflict in Libya as well as in Ukraine.

    “But Russia also has to make its contribution, which is very slow in Ukraine,” Maas said.

  • Rudiger speaking with Havertz about Chelsea move

    Rudiger speaking with Havertz about Chelsea move

    Chelsea defender Toni Rudiger is in contact with Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz about a move to Stamford Bridge.

    Havertz, rated at £90million, is the Blues’ top remaining summer target after they landed £53m striker Timo Werner from RB Leipzig and Ajax wizard Hakim Ziyech for £37m.

    Bild journalist Christian Falk claims “agent Rudi is on a new mission”.

    He added in a tweet: “True: @ToniRuediger is in contact with Havertz since a couple of weeks and tries to convince him.”

    The 21-year-old already has seven full caps, having also provided 17 goals and nine assists for fifth-placed Bundesliga side Leverkusen this season.

    Rudiger has admitted he spoke with Werner before he agreed to join Chelsea last month.

  • 130 persons test positive for COVID-19 in refugee home

    130 persons test positive for COVID-19 in refugee home

    One hundred and thirty people have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at accommodation for asylum seekers in western Germany, officials said on Monday.

    A spokeswoman for the district government of Cologne said that the remaining 170 residents at the shelter in the town of St. Augustin, around 30km south-east of Cologne, have been confirmed negative in tests.

    “As in all state accommodation facilities, the highest hygiene standards are being implemented,’’ she said.

    According to the spokeswoman, the residents are now being housed separately, depending on their test results, with outdoor areas also segregated.

    Asylum seekers have been instructed to eat only in their rooms.

    In order to reduce numbers at the facility, where families and individuals in the early process of applying for asylum in Germany are housed, some who tested negative have been relocated to other accommodation.

    The state of North Rhine Westphalia, where St Augustin is located, has already seen two major COVID-19 outbreaks at refugee accommodation facilities.

  • German state to fine face mask violators up to 5,000 euros

    German state to fine face mask violators up to 5,000 euros

    The Southern German State of Bavaria on Friday said arrangement had been concluded to impose fine of up to 5,000 euros (or 5,393 dollars) for violating anti-coronavirus mask rules.

    The highest penalty is reserved for shop owners who do not ensure that their employees are wearing the required mouth-and-nose coverings, measures set to come into effect on Monday.

    People who go into shops or travel on public transport without such a mask will face fines of 150 euros, as set out in an updated catalogue of fines.

    Meanwhile, all the 16 Germany’s federal states had since made face coverings mandatory in public to varying degrees in a bid to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    In Bavaria, Germany’s worst-hit state, with almost 40,000 cases of infection and more than 1,500 deaths, the rules apply to anyone aged 6 and above. A scarf is also permitted as a face covering.

    However, in all, there had been around 150,000 cases recorded in Germany with 5,265 deaths.

    The country had gradually commenced easing of restrictions, with retailers allowed to re-open and some pupils gradually returning to school, though Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned that the country’s progress in fighting the virus was still fragile.

  • Horror: 15-year-old girl faces trial after killing 3-year-old half-brother, stabbing him 28 times

    A 15-year-old girl on Monday went on trial in Germany for killing her 3-year-old half-brother, with prosecutors saying she stabbed him 28 times in November with a knife as he was sleeping.

    The case had horrified people across Germany in 2019. A key question in the trial is why the girl acted as she did.

    “My client wants to know this too and thus cooperated with the psychiatric expert,’’ defence lawyer Helmut Woehler told dpa on Monday.

    The court proceedings are taking place behind closed doors because she is a minor.

    The killing allegedly took place in the family flat in the north-western town of Detmold, the parents were not home at the time.

    Relatives found the body of the boy and notified the police, the girl was found the next day some 9 km away, in the town of Lemgo.

    She did not resist arrest and was calm at the time, according to prosecutors. She is believed to have spent the night outdoors and walked to the neighbouring town on dirt roads.

    The girl identified herself as the perpetrator after her arrest but said she was suffering from memory loss.

    The psychiatric expert is among the about 20 witnesses expected to testify at the trial.

    He has been asked to comment on the defendant’s developmental stage and her criminal responsibility.

    She faces up to 10 years in jail if she is found guilty of murder.

    The girl continues to be rather introverted, but has become used to life in jail and is attending school there, Woehler said.

    The court has scheduled three further trial dates this month.