When the coronavirus pandemic spread in early 2020, economies around the world closed down and most people were relegated to remote work. But for the young African professionals taking part in the latest AFRIKA KOMMT! programme, the pandemic brought the additional challenge of being in a foreign country and taking part in a highly competitive programme. According to Ilka Wiskemann, …

The UN, US and EU have joined the growing international condemnation of the massacre of peaceful youth protesters in Lagos, Nigeria, on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, called for an end to police brutality and attack on #EndSARS protesters. The UN chief, who said he was following the developments in the country, …

The federal state of Berlin is offering financial support to religious communities suffering from the impact of the corona crisis. Many churches and mosques are in financial distress due to pandemic-related restrictions and the resulting drop in donations they receive from members. Small religious communities engaged in social and integration issues could apply for funding for their rent, incidental rental …

In South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, APT groups are exploiting the current uncertainty around COVID-19 to steal sensitive information LAGOS, Nigeria, October 21, 2020/ — Despite research showing an overall decrease in certain malware families and types in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in H1 2020 (36% decrease in South Africa, 26% decrease in Kenya and a 2.7% decrease in Nigeria), Kaspersky …

The Minister of State for Integration, Annette Widmann-Mauz, has said that the coronavirus pandemic was hitting people with a migration background and refugees particularly hard. They often work in sectors that are particularly affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic, the Ms Widmann-Mauz said at the 12th Integration Conference, which took place on Monday and that focused on the …

  The youth protests against police brutality in Nigeria turned bloody on Tuesday, when soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters in cold blood. No official figures of the casualty have been released by the police, but many are believed to have been killed. Security operatives had stormed the scene of the #EndSARS protest in the Lekki Toll Gate Area of …

Chief (Dr) Uche Iro, a Germany-based entrepreneur, established The Strivad Foundation (TSF), a global non-governmental, non-political and non-profit charitable organisation, to channel his efforts towards the development of his home country, Nigeria. A successful businessman, Dr Iro’s companies include PhysioCenter-Stuttgart GbR (Germany), FitGym Healthcare Services GmbH (Germany), Strivad Ventures Limited (Germany/Nigeria), Iro Investment Group International Inc. (Nigeria/ Europe/ USA/United Arab …

Having looked at the men who have influenced the rise and popularity of Afrobeats in the world today, this second part of the report, Yemi Babalola focuses on the female artists who have made their mark and deserve to be applauded. ——- As mentioned in the first part of this report, Afrobeats is a combination of jazz, funk, Ghanaian highlife, …

Young people in Africa continue to be frustrated by their exclusion and exploitation in political processes. In order to build a mutually beneficial Europe-Africa Partnership that enhances youth trust in political processes, Zigwai Tagwai and Merryl Omondi* have come up with a few concrete points on building inclusive democracies VENRO, the Association of German Development and Humanitarian NGOs, has been …

Riding on Labour’s biggest victory in 50 years, Ibrahim Omer has become the first elected member of New Zealand’s parliament of African origin. The Eritrean-born new MP tweeted on Sunday after his historic victory, at which his party won almost half of the votes, had become clear: “This is a win for the low paid workers. It is a win …

Theodor Michael, the grand old man of the Black community in Germany, died at the age of 94 on 19 October 2019. Michael, who was born on 15 January 1925 as the youngest of four children to a father from Cameroon and a German mother, was one of the oldest living Germans of African descent at the time of his …

Theodor Michael, who died on 19 October 2019, in this interview* conducted in September of 2003 at his home in Cologne talked about his eventful life and he gives counsel to people of African descent in Germany — What does it mean to be an elderly Afro-German reflecting on the time you were growing up? Theodor Michael: We Blacks were …

Bob Hooda, writing from Dresden, says a court ruling in a case of physical assault against an immigrant in the eastern German city reveals institutionalised racism within the judiciary of the state of Saxony On 29 July 2019, a 30-year-old Pakistani was first insulted by supporters of Pegida, a pan-European, anti-Islam, far-right political movement, and then given a bloody nose …

The BVerfG ruled that the woman's asylum request, which she submitted in 2016, was "patently well-founded" considering her status as the descendant of members of the slave caste

As the number of new coronavirus cases spikes in Germany, the federal government has reached out to migrant organisations in the country to seek their support for its containment efforts. On Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Minister of State for Integration, Annette Widmann-Mauz, and Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn parleyed with representatives of migrant organisations and religious communities at a video …

The coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Germany. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country’s centre for public disease control and prevention, reported a new record of 7,334 new infections within one day on Friday (16 October). A day earlier, 6,638 new cases were registered in the country, the highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic. In view of rising …

About 220,000 applications for regularisation in Italy have been submitted by resident foreigners without papers since 1 June, when the scheme was launched as part of COVID-19 economic rejuvenation measures, according to Deputy Interior Minister Matteo Mauri. The minister made the revelation on 13 October after a meeting at the prefecture of Foggia in the region of Puglia, where he …

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement was initially scheduled to enter into force in July 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commencement of the implementation of the continental deal has been postponed until January 2021. NJ Ayuk*, international legal practitioner and founder of one of Africa’s most successful law chambers, explains why the global health …

Retail shops have been subject to increased hygiene and social distancing rules since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March. These range from obligation to wear face mask, plexiglas panels at the checkout and distance markings on the floor to entrance restrictions. How do we protect ourselves when we go shopping is one of the questions we’re confronted with? …

To counter misinformation circulating in the country, the Federal Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration – Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration – runs an online portal to provide information about the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in English, French, Turkish and other languages. “By obeying certain rules, every individual can help protect the elderly and people with pre-existing …