EUROPE

Since its introduction in August 2012, 53704 highly-qualified immigrants have received an EU Blue Card in Germany, according to figures just released by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The EU Blue Card, a single work and residence permit, allows non-EU citizens with a university degree to take up employment in the EU commensurate with their qualifications. Holders …

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 …

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 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, …

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.

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 …

The 22-year-old man whose arrest in northern Paris sparked nights of protests across France has thanked his supporters. Theo posted the video message on Facebook after being discharged from hospital. The protests, which have led to over 200 arrests around France, follow allegations that he was beaten and raped with a police baton during an arrest attempt on February 2. …

French President François Hollande on Tuesday called for “justice” over the rape of a Black youth with a police baton, an incident that has sparked 10 nights of rioting and more than 200 arrests in Paris. “Justice must be served,” Hollande said during a visit to Aubervilliers, located in the tough Seine-Saint-Denis region northeast of Paris where the 22-year-old youth …

A father was left heartbroken after discovering the son he has raised for 32 years isn’t biologically related to him. Nigerian-born Oscar and his son Valentine appeared on a popular British TV show The Jeremy Kyle Show on Monday. Oscar and Valentine had gone on the tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle to find out if the pair are …

The police have arrested a Nigerian man on the suspicion of having murdered a young German woman in the town of Ahaus, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The 27-year-old asylum seeker was arrested on Tuesday (14 February) in Basel, the prosecutor’s office in Münster has announced. The woman, aged 22, was stabbed in the streets of Ahaus in the early hours …

A Slovakian sportswear firm called Nebbia has promised to refund customers offended by its advert featuring a Black Norwegian bodybuilder – on condition that they send their requests to an email address that reads “I am racist” in Slovak. In a series of blog posts, Nebbia CEO Martin Pecko threw himself into the uproar sparked by photographs posted on Nebbia …

Germany’s migration agency has instructed regional authorities to fingerprint all refugees. The measure seeks to rule out the use of multiple identities to commit benefit fraud. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) said on Tuesday that it is now pushing for all refugees currently living in Germany to be fingerprinted in order …

The north-western Paris suburb of Argenteuil was in disarray on Sunday in the latest of a string of violent protests over the alleged police rape of a 22-year-old black man identified as Théo. Video that apparently showed Theo’s arrest has been circulating on the internet for many days, showing the youth worker on the ground against a wall being beaten …

Swiss voters have approved a relaxation of their country’s citizenship rules. In a referendum on Sunday, they backed a proposal to simplify naturalisation for third-generation immigrants. That means those born in Switzerland whose grandparents moved there will have an easier route to gaining nationality. Under the current system, they had faced a lengthy and often expensive procedure. Around a quarter …

Former Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany’s new president on Sunday by the 1,260-member Federal Assembly, made up of national lawmakers and parliamentarians from the country’s 16 states. Five candidates participated at the election. In addition to Steinmeier, other candidates for the presidency were the political scientist Christoph Butterwegge, the vice-chairman of the AfD, Albrecht Glaser, the TV …

Former Foreign Minister and presidential candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to be elected as Germany’s new ceremonial head of state on Sunday. As president, the 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the country abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation. For the Social Democrats (SPD), his appointment raises the party’s …

Germany’s federal and state governments have agreed to a plan to quickly deport rejected asylum-seekers. Although deportations are a state matter, the federal government has made it clear it wants to play a bigger role. Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states in Berlin on Thursday (9 February) and agreed to a plan that will speed …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Europe will hold a conference in the German city of Hamburg on 17-18 February. According to Kenneth Gbandi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of NIDO Europe, the event will discuss how to reposition the group for greater effectiveness. International brand management expert Charles O’Tudor will deliver a keynote speech at the two-day …

About 400 Africans and German sympathisers turned out on Wednesday (8 February) to protest against the police shooting of Augustine Akwasi Obenga in Hamburg a week ago. The demo started from the central train station and proceeded through the Lampedusa Tent in Steindamm and back to the train station. Protesters spent about three hours in the biting cold to register …

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has announced that it was investigating former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko for possible crimes against humanity. Sonko, who is seeking asylum in Switzerland, was a top figure in the repressive regime of ousted president, Yahya Jammeh. Sonko was arrested on 26 January in an asylum centre in Berlin following a case of …