The Uganda Embassy in Berlin has announced that it is henceforth closed to the public until the 1 April. However, the Embassy will be reachable by phone during the shutdown. The decision was taken due to the ongoing corona crisis to protect the Embassy’s staff and visitors. The Embassy said in the statement: “The Uganda Embassy in Berlin will remain closed to …
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Germany adopts unprecedented measures to curb coronavirus pandemic
The federal and state governments have adopted several drastic measures to slow down the increasing infection rate of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country. The measures order unprecedented restrictions on public life in the country. In a national TV address on Monday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the federal government and the governments of the 16 federal states have agreed to …
Read More »Amma Darko: African women writing back
Our contributing editor Alexander Macbeth writes on how the Ghanaian novelist focuses on the experience of women from their perspective, exposing how male authors have long neglected the true desires and challenges of the continent’s women. Amma Darko’s tales of wise grandmothers, resilient daughters and strong-willed victims, often caught in difficult circumstances, have made her a favourite on both sides …
Read More »Finding humour in racism – A bizarre encounter in Vienna
To mark the European Action Week against Racism (16-29 March), civil society groups, educational institutions and city governments are carrying out activities to protest against racism and celebrate the diversity that enriches European societies. To commemorate the week, our contributing editor Sarah Udoh-Grossfurthner, writing from Vienna, narrates a story that will make you laugh and then feel pity for racists. …
Read More »African Bank to help Sierra Leone restore self-sufficiency in rice production
Sierra Leone will look to the African Development Bank to stimulate agribusiness development in the country with a focus on rice production, President Maada Bio told a visiting delegation led by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. Adesina began a two-day visit to Sierra Leone on Wednesday, during which he held meetings to discuss curbing malnutrition, creating skills and jobs for young …
Read More »Opinion: Will 2020 be a pivotal year for Africa-EU relations?
In this opinion piece, Albert Mashika (Caritas Africa) and Maria Nyman (Caritas Europe) take a look at the relationship between the EU and Africa in view of the upcoming EU-AU Summit in October. They explain why they think that the European Commission’s proposed new strategy on Africa overlooks the huge and often negative influence that EU member states and companies …
Read More »70% of Nigerian irregular migrants from Edo State, says UNHCR
Seventy per cent of people irregularly migrating from Nigeria are from Edo State, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. UNHCR’s Senior Liaison Officer, Amah Assiama-Hillgartner, stated this in Benin, the state capital, during the agency’s Telling the Real Story (TRS) meeting on Thursday. She described Nigeria as the country of transit and trafficking of irregular emigrants, …
Read More »Turkish Airlines clarifies cancellation of Nigeria flights
Turkish Airlines has issued a press statement on the suspension of its flights to and from Nigeria. The airline had on Tuesday said it had cancelled “several” of its flights to to its destinations in the country ( Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt) due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Turkish has now clarified the situation to his passengers in a letter …
Read More »Afro-German literature as tool for building the Black community
African Diasporas is a scholarly examination of the Afro-German literature through a comparison with African-American literature and the role it has played in the creation of a Black community in Germany. Literature has been the chief tool of people of African descent in Germany in their efforts to reclaim their African heritage and carve an identity for themselves. Through a …
Read More »Berlin establishes Central Office for Hate Crimes
Last year, far more right-wing extremist and racist attacks were registered in Berlin. A new central office to prevent and respond to hate crimes in the federal capital The number of right-wing extremist and racist attacks in Berlin continued to increase in the past year. A total of 390 attacks were registered, as the victim advisory centre Reach Out announced …
Read More »Black and Successful in Germany – Many are making it!
Written by actress, model and TV presenter Dayan Kodua, the first woman of African descent to win a state beauty contest in Germany, this book is on Black success stories in the country. Melanie Scheuenstuhl reviews the pictorial band of 25 personalities – politicians, designers, physicians, artists, chefs, lawyers, policemen and bus drivers, who tell their very personal stories of …
Read More »Germany: Court allows reduction in asylum-seeker’s benefits to make them leave
According to a ruling by the Osnabrück Social Court (Sozialgericht), asylum-seekers can have their cash benefits cut if they have already applied for asylum in another EU country Cities and counties may reduce cash benefits to an asylum-seeker according to a ruling by the Osnabrück Social Court if they have already applied for asylum in another country. The court in …
Read More »Facebook invites African applicants for sponsorship programme
Facebook is inviting applications from sub-Saharan Africa for its Community Accelerator programme. Up to $3 million in total will be awarded to 80 programme participants worldwide JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 10, 2020/ — In line with its mission to give people the power to build community around the world and its commitment to supporting the community leaders who drive change, …
Read More »Berlin-based DJ Aisher challenges men in their domain
Deejaying used to be a male-dominated affair. Not any more as women are gradually joining the fray. Philly Ojalla aka DJ Aisher, as she is popularly known by her fans, is giving male DJs a run for their money. She stole the show at the Battle of the DJs contest in 2016 in Frankfurt, pulling the biggest crowd to the …
Read More »Illegal in Berlin: How the dream of a better life goes awry
A book about the migration experience of a young African shows how the search for the Golden Fleece could end in disaster Illegal in Berlin is the story of Tony, a 26-year-old university educated man, who leaves his native Nigeria, abandoning a job as an engineer with an oil company, to seek the realisation of his dream of a better …
Read More »German court rules against lesbian Ugandan asylum-seeker’s deportation
In Uganda, LGBT+ people face life in prison as well as violence and discrimination in private and public life. Following a deportation trial, German authorities have granted refugee status to a Ugandan lesbian. A hearing at a Bavarian courthouse on Monday over the asylum application of a lesbian woman from Uganda was thrown out after she was granted her refugee …
Read More »Book: How non-native residents see Germany
This is a book with the express intention of examining German culture through the eyes of foreign residents. If it was to be authentic and representative, it would have to involve people who had settled, lived, worked and experienced life in Germany in all its possible variations. It would have to talk about how they perceive their new country and …
Read More »Frankfurt university makes African literature more visible on the net
The Senckenberg Library of the University of Frankfurt runs a web-based library for Africa. The Internet library on sub-Saharan Africa ilissAfrica (www.ilissafrica.de) offers useful material on African history and culture, with special emphasis on the German colonial history in Africa. In an exclusive interview with our correspondent Muhammed Faisal Garba, the librarian of ilissAfrica, Nadia Cohen, talks about the objectives …
Read More »Nigerian embassy in Germany shuts down temporarily
The Embassy of Nigeria in Berlin has announced the suspension of its consular services. A statement published on the website of the embassy reads, “This is to inform the general public that all Consular Services of the Embassy will be temporarily suspended for two weeks from Monday, 09.03.2020 to Sunday, 22.03.2020. “The temporary closure of the Consular Section is to …
Read More »Nigerian pastor, wife jailed in UK for 34 years
A self-proclaimed pastor was sentenced to 34 years imprisonment in Birmingham, UK, on Friday, after he was convicted of a series of rape and sexual abuse of children and adults over a period of twenty years. Michael Oluronbi, 60, was convicted of 15 counts of rape, seven counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault at a trial that …
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THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.