Berlin rejected almost one in every 20 citizenship applications in 2025, as the city’s immigration authorities combine faster digital processing with significantly tougher checks aimed at combating fraud. According to figures released this week by the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), 4.9 percent of all naturalisation applications reviewed last year were refused. At the same time, the authority approved a record …

African-American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson died on 17 February. The Baptist minister and two-time US presidential candidate was a towering moral voice whose powerful oratory helped shape the civil rights movement in the decades following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Widely regarded as one of the most respected global moral figures of the past 70 years, Rev …

The European Union and India formally signed a far-reaching Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at a high-level summit on 27 January 2026 in New Delhi, after almost two decades of intermittent negotiations. Once ratified by the European Parliament, EU member states and India’s institutions — a process expected to run through 2026, with entry into force likely in 2027 — the …

Brussels, 24 February 2026 — The European Union has adopted a controversial revision of its asylum and deportation rules that will allow member states, including Germany, to deport asylum applicants to countries outside the EU — even when they have no personal connection to those states. The decision, finalised by EU governments this week in Brussels, forms part of the …

Every household in Germany pays the Rundfunkbeitrag, a compulsory monthly licence fee for public broadcasting. In 2026, the fee remains €18.36 per month. This fee serves to finance public broadcasting service based on a contributory model. Who can be exempted? For people with good incomes, €18.36 per month may not matter much. But those living on social security support, every …

Berlin-based independent bookshop Buchhandlung InterKontinental has once again been awarded the coveted Deutscher Buchhandlungspreis for 2025, marking its third recognition (previously honoured in 2021 and 2023). The award, announced on Tuesday (10 January), underscores InterKontinental’s continuing influence in Germany’s cultural and literary landscape. Located in the heart of Berlin’s district of Friedrichshain, InterKontinental has built a unique reputation as Germany’s …

Since the beginning of 2026, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has suspended all new admissions to integration courses under Section 44, paragraph 4 of the German Residence Act (AufenthG). The circular, sent to course providers on 9 February, clarifies that this freeze affects asylum-seekers, tolerated residents (Geduldete), Ukrainians with temporary protection and EU citizens, who had previously …

Mozambique has officially launched a new digitally enabled e-Visa platform, marking a major step in the country’s tourism drive and broader digital transformation agenda. The system is designed to simplify travel procedures, modernise border management and make the country more accessible to international visitors, including an increasing number of travellers from Germany. The platform, introduced under the government’s Visit Mozambique …

The Berlin-based German-African Initiative for Development and Integration (GAIDI) gUG is intensifying its strategic engagement against irregular migration by partnering with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria, one of the main countries of origin of irregular migrants to Europe. This commitment was underlined by Femi Awoniyi, Director of GAIDI, during his keynote address at the first 2026 meeting of the …

Germany’s population fell in 2025 for the first time in several years, underlining the country’s deepening demographic challenges and the growing importance of migration policy for its economic and social future. According to provisional figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), around 83.5 million people were living in Germany at the end of 2025—about 100,000 fewer than a year …

Civil society organisations in Lagos State have renewed calls for closer coordination and stronger partnerships to address irregular migration and promote dignified, legal mobility. Members of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) made the appeal when they held their first coordination meeting of 2026 in Lagos recently. The meeting, held on 22 January at the Denny Social …

When Berlin-based freelance journalist Wolfgang König recently travelled to New Orleans, he found himself drawn not only to the city’s famous music clubs and historic streets, but to a modest open space whose global significance is easy to overlook. In this reflection, König traces the remarkable history of Congo Square — a place where African traditions survived enslavement, shaped the …

Afrobeat pioneer and cultural icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has made history by becoming the first African artist to receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The honour was bestowed at a special ceremony held on 31 January 2026, ahead of this year’s Grammy Awards, nearly three decades after Fela’s death in 1997. Members of the Kuti family, including Fela’s children, accepted the …

Lace Relations follows an expansive journey that begins in the bustling textile markets of Lagos, Nigeria, moves on to embroidery workshops in Lustenau, Austria, and reaches back to the historical roots of Europe’s prosperity. Centered on women, power dynamics and the global textile trade, the film exposes the colonial legacies that still influence Europe’s relationship with its neighbouring continent. Sarah …

The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) is one of the world’s most important film festivals, standing alongside Cannes and Venice as a key meeting point for global cinema. Held every February, the Berlinale is not only prestigious but also unique in scale: with more than 400,000 cinema tickets sold each year, it is widely regarded as the largest public film …

New admissions to federally funded Integrationskurse (integration courses) have been suspended, leaving many refugees and migrants unable to begin essential German language and cultural orientation classes. The freeze, implemented quietly by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) at the end of 2025, remains in place with no clear timeline for resumption. Integration courses are government-supported programmes designed to …

Spain has taken a bold step toward legalising the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, marking a sharp contrast to increasingly restrictive migration policies elsewhere in Europe. Announced in late January 2026, an extraordinary regularisation scheme aims to grant legal residence and work rights to migrants already living in the country without authorisation—among them many Africans who arrived …

In a landmark judgment that strengthens protection against discrimination in Germany’s housing market, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that real estate agents may not reject housing applicants because of their names. Turning down a prospective tenant solely because their name sounds “foreign,” the court, which is the country’s highest court on civil matters, held, constitutes unlawful ethnic …

From 1 February 2026, Germany will apply a new regulation that fundamentally changes how so-called “safe countries of origin” are designated in asylum procedures. The federal government says the move will speed up decisions, ease pressure on authorities and courts, and send a clear signal that asylum applications from certain countries have little chance of success. Critics, however, warn that …

When the City of Erlangen formally honoured Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana at a solemn ceremony on 13 January 2026, it was more than a celebratory moment. Held at Erlangen City Hall during a special session of the City Council, the occasion marked the recognition of a life dedicated to social justice, civic engagement and the long, often difficult struggle for equality …