After removing visa requirements for African nationals, Rwanda has announced a new visa system that will issue a 30-day visa to citizens of all countries upon arrival without prior application. Rwanda has announced a new visa regime that allows travellers from across the world to be issued a 30-day visa on arrival in Kigali, beginning 1 January 2018. The first …

The Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo will be conferred with the 2017 German Africa Prize on Wednesday (25 November) in Berlin. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will present the prestigious award to Opiyo at a ceremony that will be attended by members of the Berlin diplomatic community as well as high-ranking officials of the German government. The German Africa Foundation which …

Zimbabwe enters a new chapter of his modern history as its leader since its independence in 1980 resigns amid a deep political crisis that now seems peacefully resolved. Singing has replaced sighing on the streets of Zimbabwe with the news of President Robert Mugabe’s resignation on Tuesday. The country has been holding its breath since the veteran leader refused to bow …

Deportees from Libya reveal the horrors of the migrant slave trade as they arrive home. Ivorian migrants returning from Libyan detention centres have confirmed the sale of slaves in the North African country. A total of 155 returned to Abidjan on Monday night, each with a tale to tell. Trying to make their way to a new life in Europe, …

At least 50 people have died in north-eastern Nigeria’s biggest mass killing this year. A suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State, as the region faces a renewed insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The Adamawa Police said a young boy was responsible for the blast which occurred during the early morning Muslim …

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she would prefer new elections to leading a minority government. She expressed her preference an interview on the German public television ZDF on Monday following the collapse of attempts to form a three-way coalition. “I do not have a minority government in my planning but now we have to wait for the next few days …

Oury Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean refugee died under mysterious circumstances in a police cell in the city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. According to police accounts, the then 21-year-old African was arrested after leaving a discotheque early in the morning of the fateful day. He had been reported by a street cleaner who felt intimidated when he asked to …

An online campaign has been launched for the retrial of the controversial death of Oury Jalloh. The Sierra Leonean refugee died in police custody in the eastern German city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. In different court proceedings, the police have always maintained that the African killed himself by setting on fire the mattress on which he was shackled. …

Organisations of people of African descent have called for a public protest against the trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya on Saturday, 25 November. The event, named ‘Demonstration to End the Enslavement, Rape, Torture and Killings of Blacks in Libya’, will take place in front of the Libyan Embassy in Berlin. Organised by, among other organisations, Black Community Hamburg, Lampedusa …

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has taken Germany’s political parties to task after talks to form a new government broke down. The German president says coalition talks must continue amidst speculation there could be a new vote. Deutsche Welle’s Jefferson Chase (Berlin) reports. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not announce any concrete steps in a brief statement delivered in Berlin on Monday after …

A recent report by the German Federal Statistical Office has found that people with a migration background differ markedly from those without a migration background in key areas, such as education, employment and income, reports Chloe Lyneham/DW. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), which conducts regular reporting on integration, has found that the differences between persons with and without a migration …

Legendary Ivorian reggae musician, Alpha Blondy, known in private life as Seydou Kone, has waded into the debate for sub-Saharan African leaders to help protect their citizens wherever they find themselves. His recent call is on the African Union and the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, to take decisive action on migrant abuse in the North African country of Libya, …

A man who apparently burned to death in a German police cell in 2005 could not have lit the fire himself, according to new documents. A prosecutor who had defended police now says there should be a murder investigation. Ben Knight of Deutsche Welle reports. Oury Jalloh, who died in police custody in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2005, could …

CNN report showing trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya has sparked outrage in Africa and the global Black community, Sola Jolaoso reports. A grainy cell phone video showing unidentified African men being sold in an auction in Libya was obtained by CNN last month. One of the ‘slaves’ being sold is a Nigerian, whom the American news channel estimated to …

A new survey ranks Germany as having the best global image, reports Deutsche Welle. Germany has replaced the United States as the country with the best “brand image,” according to a new study of 50 countries released Thursday. The Nation Brands Index (NBI) survey by German-based market research firm GfK and the British political consultant Simon Anholt measured public opinion …

Italy’s southern city of Salerno held a mass funeral on Friday for 26 young women from Nigeria who drowned earlier this month trying to cross the Mediterranean. Twenty-six coffins were laid out in Salerno’s Monumental Cemetery on Friday morning, watched by a military guard, local politicians, rescue workers and journalists. A Catholic archbishop and a Muslim imam both said prayers. …

Nigeria’s hip-hop superstar Wizkid was the biggest winner at the 2017 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) held on Sunday in Lagos. Hosted at the seaside Eko Hotel & Suites on the high-brow Victoria Island, African stars from all over the continent graced the event which celebrated their achievements in the music business. Wizkid won three of the …

Reacting to the death of 26 Nigerian women who drowned in the Mediterranean on 5 November 2017 and the CNN video report showing Nigerians being traded as slaves in Libya, the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has called for tougher laws against human trafficking to bring “the needless deaths to an end”. The MEPN is currently carrying out an information campaign …

A night to remember for Sweden as they qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia but catastrophe for Italy. For the first time since 1958 the Azzurri will miss out on the finals – They failed to score in two legs against Sweden, enabling the Scandinavians to go through with a 1-0 aggregate playoff victory.. Italy’s Coach Gian Piero …

The new system will allow those entitled to benefits to directly collect cash at tills, rather than using distributors at job centres, reports Emma Beswick. Germany’s unemployed will soon be able to collect benefits at checkouts in certain supermarkets and chemists as part of a government bid to cut costs, according to newspaper WELT AM SONNTAG. Set to kick off …