Horst Seehofer, Germany’s designated interior minister, has said he has a “master plan for faster asylum procedures, and more consistent deportations.” He also said there was a need for a strong state to protect Germany’s liberal values. The incoming interior minister, who is head of the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), made the comments in an interview published on …

Sierra Leone’s elections body, the National Electoral Commission (NEC), on Sunday released provisional official results in respect to the presidential polls of 7 March 2018. Julius Maada Bio, the candidate of the main opposition SLPP, is leading the election with the majority of the official results released followed closely by the ruling APC candidate, Samura Kamara. With 75% of official …

Italian national footballer Mario Balotelli has harshly criticised the country’s first Black senator, Toni Chike Iwobi, who was elected on Sunday on the platform of the anti-immigration League (formerly known as Northern League) party. “Maybe I’m blind or perhaps they have not told him yet that he is Black. But shame!!!” the footballer posted on his Instagram page, which has …

A German court sentenced seven men and one woman to four to 10 years in jail on Wednesday for founding a far-right terrorist group responsible for attempted murder and bomb attacks on refugee shelters and politicians in the former Communist East. The individuals were members of the “Freital Group”, named after their base in the state of Saxony, a bastion …

The UK is to pay for a new wing in a Lagos prison to help expedite the transfer of Nigerian offenders from British jails. Up to £700,000 will be spent on a 112-bed annex in Kiri Kiri prison in the country’s largest city. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it would enable eligible Nigerian inmates serving time in the UK to …

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew to Ethiopia at the start of his first diplomatic trip to Africa on Wednesday, seeking to bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to China for aid and trade. He was due to visit the African Union where many officials are still smarting from US President Donald Trump’s reported dismissal of member …

German bus start-up Flixbus has announced that it will begin running two long-distance train services, in a challenge to the dominance of state-owned rail behemoth Deutsche Bahn. The “Flixtrains”, decked out in the trademark bright-green of the company’s low-cost buses, will travel from Hamburg to Cologne from March 24, while the Stuttgart to Berlin line will open in April. Prices …

The Italian populist parties, Five Star Movement and the League, achieved an historic result in the March 4 parliamentary elections, causing worries in Europe. Both groups want to bring in measures that would further restrict immigration. And surprisingly the League (formerly known as Northern League) has now presented a Nigerian-born member of the party as Italy’s first Black senator. Toni …

The Italian populist parties, Five Star Movement and the Northern League, achieved an historic result in the March 4 parliamentary elections. While it is still unclear what sort of coalition government will be formed, both groups want to bring in measures that would further restrict migration. The one thing that was certain about the March 4 elections is that the …

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an agency of the UN, has opened a centre in Benin City to provide information on how to migrate legally and rehabilitate returnees from Libya or Europe. Speaking at the opening of the Migration Resource Centre (MRC) on Monday, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said Nigeria was finding it tough to …

After months of political upheaval, Chancellor Angela Merkel is now set for the final step before her fourth term. Merkel told the press Monday morning that many issues required the government to “start working soon.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday (5 March) formally proposed Chancellor Angela Merkel be re-elected to her post, ending months of uncertainty following the German …

The German capital city saw a drastic increase in far-right crime last year with more than 1,942 incidents reported, the highest in ten years. Incidents of incitement, damage to property and public calls to criminal action accounted for most of the crime. The number of politically-motivated crimes in Berlin, however, declined by ten per cent compared to 2016. A total …

An Italian man shot an African street vendor to death on Monday 5 March in Florence, one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations, police said.  Police arrested the 66-year-old Italian who they said had fired six pistol shots at the 54-year-old Senegalese man as he was selling leather bags, umbrellas and trinkets near a bridge in the city. However, police said …

Israel’s deportation of Eritrean and Sudanese citizens to third countries “violates human rights and international law on refugees,” according to UN experts, who are calling on the Israeli government to review its policy. A group of UN human rights experts has said that the new Israeli policies for deporting Eritrean and Sudanese citizens present in its territory “violates human rights …

Sixteen candidates are campaigning to become Sierra Leone’s next president. It’s the first time more than two candidates have real chances of winning and a chance for a more diversified parliament. Sierra Leone heads to the polls on Wednesday March 7 as the second of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s constitutionally mandated two terms comes to an end. The ruling All …

Timothy Weah, son of the legendary African footballer and now Liberian president, George Weah, has made his senior debut with Paris Saint-Germain, nearly 23 years since his father’s last game with the French club. The 18-year-old striker on Saturday helped PSG win two goals to nil against Troyes, a win that restored the club’s 14 point advantage at the top …

Berliners turned out on Saturday to register their protest against a public demonstration by the right-wing extremist organization “Wir für Deutschland (WFD). The alliance Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin (Alliance for an open and tolerant Berlin), a joint effort of churches, trade unions, charities, Landessportbund Berlin and further actors of civil society, held a counter demonstration in the …

More than five months after Germans went to polls at the 24 September 2017 national election, Germany will finally be getting a new government. The final hurdle was cleared when the Social Democratic Party (SPD) members approved the coalition deal party leaders had negotiated with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU. Sixty-six percent of party members who voted supported a continuation …

The Italian interior ministry reports that some 5,247 migrants have arrived on the country’s coasts thus far in 2018, a 61 percent drop on the same period last year. A sharp drop has been seen in migrant landings in Italy in the first two months of the year. Between January and February 2018, some 5,247 migrants arrived in the country …

Asylum seekers and activists tell Al Jazeera how government-linked translators have infiltrated the immigration system in Europe. Elaine Allaby reports. Rome, Italy – It was a warm Mediterranean day in October 2013 when Meron Estefanos got the news. A boat had sunk off the Italian island of Lampedusa and several hundred refugees had drowned. In the end, the death toll …