The big Brexit talks have kicked off in Brussels, with both sides sitting down for their first official discussions over the UK leaving the EU. At stake is how to untangle over 44 years of a complex relationship that is enshrined in thousands of pages of legal texts. It will need to be resolved in less than two years, with …

Getting an apartment which they desire and can afford could be a big problem for Africans living in Germany because of discrimination. A study has now confirmed that indeed you may not even be called for viewing, the first step in the apartment-seeking process, if your name sounds non-German. People with foreign sounding names are discriminated against when they are …

UN Secretary General António Guterres declares open the first World Solidarity Summit on Refugees on Thursday in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Among the heads of state and about 500 dignitaries attending include Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Guinean President and Chairman of the African Union, Alpha Condé, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Gabonese President Ali Bongo, Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Ethiopian Prime …

There is a lot of false information circulating on the internet about life in Germany, giving a wrong impression to refugees and potential migrants. In the DW series “Fact check: rumours about Germany”, the German international broadcaster responds to these rumours and provides you with verified facts and figures! Manasi Gopalakrishnan / © DW

Many migrants who arrive in Germany find it difficult to navigate the country’s bureaucracy and start living a normal life. But a new organization is helping migrants find a friend who can help them settle in the country, reports Manasi Gopalakrishnan. Bassel Wali (above right) first heard about ‘Start with a Friend’ from another refugee. The 23-year-old, who withstood the …

The United Nations has praised Germany as a “humanitarian frontrunner” in the resettling of refugees, but German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warns that the country can’t face the challenges alone. The United Nations’ refugee agency on Tuesday honoured Germany for being a “humanitarian frontrunner” in helping to tackle the world’s refugee crisis as it marked World Refugee Day. The day …

Conflict or persecution forced a record 65.6 million people worldwide to flee their homes by the end of 2016. That equates to one person displaced every three seconds.  The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released the figure on Monday (June 19), the eve of World Refugee Day. Syria and Afghanistan remain the biggest sources of refugees, with 5.5 million and 2.5 …

As many as 126 migrants are feared dead after their boat sank off the coast of Libya last week, the UN’s migration office said on Monday. If confirmed, the deaths will bring the number of migrants killed in the Mediterranean to nearly 2,000 this year. According to four survivors who were brought to the Sicilian port of Palermo after being …

Muslims held a peace march in Cologne on Saturday in protest at the number of deadly Islamic extremist attacks that have hit Europe in recent years. The protesters marched under the slogan “Not with us.” “I am from a Muslim family and I don’t want people to say in our name who is a believer and who is not. And …

Since the beginning of May this year, social networks across Africa and its Diaspora have been saturated with photos and videos showing horrified people demonstrating the presence of plastic in food items, like rice and eggs. Yet most of these videos don’t have a grain of truth (or plastic) in them. Alexandre Capron, a French journalist and member of the …

Kenyans will go to the polls on 8 August and the country is expectedly already agog with election campaign rallies. Joseph Wandera writes on the factors that will determine the outcome of the general election. After accepting his nomination as the presidential candidate of the main opposition coalition recently, Raila Odinga likened himself to Joshua, the Biblical figure who led …

Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently paid a 3-day visit to Germany to attend the G20 Africa Partnership Conference. He also met the Ghanaian community in the country during the visit. Our correspondent Nelly Sarpong reports on the meeting in Berlin. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana paid an official visit to Germany on 11-13 June mainly to participate …

Ethiopia is the fastest-growing economy in 2017, according to the World Bank’s latest edition of Global Economic Prospects. Ethiopia’s GDP is forecast to grow by 8.3% in 2017. By contrast, global growth is projected to be 2.7%. The East African country’s accelerating growth comes on the back of government spending on infrastructure. With a GDP of US$69.22 billion (2016 est.), …

Eritrea has declared its support for Saudi Arabia and its allies in the ongoing Gulf diplomatic crisis that started last week after Gulf nations cut ties with Qatar for allegedly supporting extremist groups. The Eritrean government said in a statement that its decision is in the right direction to realise regional peace and stability. “The decision by Gulf nations is …

People smugglers and criminal gangs in Libya are using social media to broadcast the abuse and violence they inflict on African migrants in their captivity and demand ransoms from their families back home, according to the United Nations. In a video posted on Facebook, hundreds of emaciated Somalis and Ethiopians, including several children, are seen huddled in a concrete room …

Over 70 Ghanaian immigrants were deported from the United States on Wednesday for visa-related offences including staying illegally and over staying their visas. The all-male deportees arrived at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport in handcuffs, local media report. The deportees initially refused to disembark from the plane in protest over their inhumane treatment including shackling hands and legs before and during …

African leaders met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 12-13 June 2017 in Berlin at the conference G20 Africa Partnership – Investing in a Common Future, where the world’s most powerful economies discussed the initiative to promote increased private sector investment in the continent. The German presidency of the G20 regards the Africa Partnership as one of its important projects. …

People travelling to other EU member states will no longer have to pay extra fees when they use their mobile telephones. After a decade-long battle with telecoms operators, the EU has on Thursday (15 June) officially scrapped roaming fees on calls, data and text messages, sent or received on mobiles. Frequently Asked Questions on Roam like at home  In which …

A District Court (Landgericht) in the western city of Aachen has ordered the operator of a fitness studio chain to pay a compensation of 2,500 euros to an African as damages for discriminating against him. The man had been repeatedly refused membership in a fitness studio in Aachen owned by EasyFit in a way the court found to have contravened …

Nigeria’s Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill (also known as budget) into law late Monday. The signing of the record 7.44 trillion naira ($23 billion) budget took place at the presidency in the presence of the heads of the legislature, the minister of budget planning, the finance minister and other top government officials. Osinbajo had …