New figures show there were nearly ten attacks on refugees and refugee accommodation every day in Germany in 2016. The country’s opposition says the government is not doing enough against right-wing violence. There were 3,533 attacks on refugees and refugee hostels across Germany last year, the Funke Media Group reported on Sunday. The attacks left 560 people injured, among them …

The two Germans kidnapped by unknown persons in the northern state of Kaduna last week have been released. The two archaeologists, Professor Peter Breunig, and his colleague, Johannes Buringer, were freed on Saturday night, according to Nigeria’s online daily PREMIUM TIMES. “Yes, they were released last night (Saturday) by their kidnappers. No ransom was paid,” a senior police officer was …

More than 20 million people are at risk of dying from starvation within six months in four separate famines, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. Conflicts in Yemen, northeastern Nigeria and South Sudan have devastated households and driven up food prices while a drought in Somalia has ruined the agricultural economy, the global organisation said. In Yemen and South …

Almost half of all Kenyans can’t afford to consult a doctor when they fall sick. A team of young Kenyan IT specialists came up with a prize-winning plan to change that, reports Daniel Pelz. Ethredah Chao had just 72 hours to find a solution to one of Kenya’s biggest problems. “Almost half of the Kenyan population lives below the poverty …

Kenyan airlines have been granted security clearance by US authorities for direct flights to the United States, Kenya’s minister of transport said on Thursday, having improved infrastructure at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Kenya now has Category 1 security and safety status and hopes that will allow it to boost trade with the U.S. and increase its share of American …

Donors at a one-day conference have pledged a third of the UN’s humanitarian appeal for the Lake Chad region, which has been described as one of the fastest growing displacement crises in the world. More than half of the region’s population is in need of humanitarian aid. Donor nations meeting in Oslo on Friday pledged $672 million (634 million euros) …

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) has set up telephone counselling service for refugees and asylum-seekers who are willing to voluntarily return to their home countries. The call centre service is offered in English and German. According to the BAMF, asylum-seekers, refugee aid organisations, public institutions and volunteers can use the counselling …

The gunmen who abducted German archaeologist, Prof. Peter Breunij, and his associate, Johannes Buringer, in Jenjela village in Kagarko Local Government of Kaduna State, have demanded N60m (180,000 euros, official rate) as ransom. The kidnappers, according to a source at Jenjela village, said the abductors called the line of the camp supervisor around 11.00 am and demanded N30m ransom for …

Germany has unveiled a new national passport with improved security features. The new passport has a new design as well and is slightly smaller than the previous one. The redesigned identity document, which features a security mark in the shape of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, was shown to the public for the first time on Thursday in Berlin. “The new German …

“We have seen that a lack of information or false information is one of the main problems that leads to illegal migration.”

Authorities in northern Nigeria say unknown gunmen have kidnapped two German nationals from a village in Kaduna state in northwestern Nigeria. Assistant Superintendent  of Police Aliyu Usman from the Kaduna Police Command confirmed that gunmen took archaeologist Peter Breunig and his associate Johannes Behringer from Jenjela village in Kaduna state on Wednesday morning. Usman said police were working with villagers …

“We are being stared at strangely and we are being verbally abused,” says Pastor Thaddeus Ejiofor Eze as mood changes in town against Africans The Nigerian asylum-seeker suspected of killing Soopika P., a refugee aid worker, in the western German town of Ahaus on 11 February has agreed to be swiftly extradited to Germany from Switzerland. According to Martin Botzenhardt, …

"The trafficking of migrants for organs has also been reported."

He debunks the argument of the German government that the Nigerian asylum claims are not credible, arguing that there are enough grounds to allow them to stay just as the Syrians are granted residency.

Human rights experts began on Monday (20 February) the first United Nations investigation of the situation of people of African descent in Germany. Black community representative, Elisabeth Kaneza, is calling on Africans to come out and meet the UN experts, who are scheduled to hold Town Hall Meetings in five cities across the country. In Germany, people of African origin …

Gambia’s new president, Adama Barrow, unveiled the key programmes of his government at the country’s 52nd independence anniversary celebrations on Saturday. Mr Barrow, 52, who was elected in last December’s election, was also sworn-in as Gambia’s third president at the event, attended by thousands of citizens and graced by foreign guests, including several African heads of states. Below is the …

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) would be allowed to examine refugees’ mobile phone records to establish their true identity under a proposed law. The bill aims to prevent refugees from giving false identities, reports Kate Brady. According to information published by three German media outlets on Sunday, a new draft legislation …

Today the number of foreigners has increased now. In the 1970s and 80s we were not so many. I remember being called “Kunta Kinte” in the suburb of Aachen where I used to live because I was the only Black guy around.

The trial has begun of three activists on charges branded by a defense lawyer as “hyper-political.” They relate to protests in the English-speaking regions over the marginalization by the majority Francophones. The trial of three civil society figures and political activists – Felix Agbor Balla, Fontem Aforteka’a Neba and Mancho Bibixy – has opened in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.  The three …

In his first novel “Season of Crimson Blossoms” Abubakar Adam Ibrahim speaks openly about female sexuality, broaching a taboo subject in conservative northern Nigeria. Gwendolin Hilse reports. “Because they were alone in the house and she had always wanted to do it and couldn’t contain herself, she groaned out loud. With his tongue, he had set free something deep inside her. …