Germany

An increasing number of old people in Germany face the risk of being stuck in poverty in the coming years, says a new study. Single women, low-skill workers and long-term unemployed are among those starkly affected. The changes taking place in the German labour market in favour of temporary jobs, contract workers and precarious working conditions in the low-wage sector, …

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

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 …

The struggle of the Black community in Berlin to have streets named after controversial figures of German colonialism in Africa changed seems to have finally started yielding fruits. For the first time an extensive renaming of streets connected with German colonialism in the federal capital will be carried out. Sabine Weissler (Greens), councillor for culture, said on Wednesday that new …

 The Embassy of Kenya in Berlin is inviting all Kenyans living in Germany to its annual general meeting with citizens – Kenyan Diaspora Day – on Saturday, 3 June 2017 in Frankfurt am Main. The event, which will be hosted by Ambassador Joseph Magutt, will also be attended by senior officials from the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Nairobi Securities Exchange, …

The western German town of Altena has been honoured for its contribution towards the integration of immigrants into German society. The prize includes a cash award of 10,000 euros. Speaking to the town’s representatives while awarding the National Prize for Integration in Berlin on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that integration was the most successful where people are able to …

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) has issued a warning to asylum-seekers in the country to beware of dupers who may call them to demand money for a favourable result on their asylum request or to prevent their deportation. “The Federal Office has been informed that persons are being threatened again by …

The German parliament has passed legislation to tighten the country’s asylum laws, making it easier to deport failed asylum-seekers and monitor those deemed dangerous to public security in a move that has been slammed by opposition parties and rights groups as an assault on the rights of refugees. These are the new regulations in the legislation passed by the federal …

Eastern Germany is a hotspot for far-right attitudes and racist hate crimes in part because it was long a closed-off communist society with few immigrants, a new study said Thursday (18 May). The government commissioned the paper on why the region, formerly part of the Soviet bloc, has seen a disproportionate number of attacks against foreigners amid Germany’s large migrant …

A Libyan asylum-seeker has been sentenced to a prison term for grabbing the buttocks of a German woman against her will. According to the report of the German press agency, DPA, the man was the first to be convicted for such a crime since the tightening of the sexual harassment law in Germany. The 27-year-old Libyan was sentenced to a …

A German court has sided with state authorities who cut benefits to a Cameroon national after the man refused to help clear bureaucratic hurdles for his deportation. The man’s asylum request was rejected 13 years ago. The migrant should only be provided with “bare necessities” to ensure his survival, the Federal Social Welfare Court (Bundessozialgericht) in Kassel said on Friday …

A newspaper report citing federal police statistics has indicated the number of potential terrorists in Germany is increasing. More than 600 people are considered capable of carrying out an attack.  According to a report in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” newspaper published on Thursday (11 May), the number of people in Germany considered by authorities to be at risk of becoming …

In a bid to increase the number of asylum-seekers choosing to leave Germany voluntarily, the country’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the International Organisation for Migration on Thursday (11 May) launched www.returningfromgermany.de, a new online portal providing information for those interested in voluntarily returning to their home country. ReturningFromGermany.de expands on a similar scheme that started in …

Germany’s minister of economic co-operation and development, Dr Gerd Müller, is presently promoting a plan to redesign the country’s relationship with Africa. Launched in Berlin early this year, the plan proposes new planks in German-African ties with the aim of promoting sustainable political stability and economic growth in Africa. ‘Marshall Plan with Africa’, in a nutshell, is a way to …

A new study has revealed that a majority of Germans do not approve of their country taking in more asylum seekers. The country took in around 890,000 refugees in 2015. According to a representative survey conducted by the Bertelsmann foundation, 54 per cent of the respondents said Germany had reached the limit as far as accepting asylum seekers was concerned. …

Germany is working on new rules to ensure that most marriages involving minors are not legally recognised in the country. The draft law aims to protect girls who were married abroad and sought asylum in Germany. It will allow youth welfare workers to take underage brides into care and, if necessary, separate them from their husbands. “Children do not belong …

 – MY LIFE IN GERMANY – A successful young African professional , a senior consultant at Oracle Germany, talks about his life from his roots in Cameroon to how he came to study and work in Germany, and the useful lessons he has learnt along the way. He gives invaluable tips to African students in the country. “I was born …

As from 1 April, some changes, ranging from the introduction of a new €50 banknote to additional regulations of temporary work, will enter into effect in Germany. And learners have to prepare for a more difficult driving license test!  —————————- New Restrictions for Temporary Agency Work From 1 April 2017, several changes to the German Law on Temporary Work (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz …

Virginia Wangare Greiner, the founder of Maisha e. V., a psychosocial centre in Frankfurt, has been honoured with the prestigious Elisabeth Norgall International Award. She was bestowed with the honour recently by the International Women’s Club (IWC) of Frankfurt in recognition of her efforts concerning the needs and problems of women. Ms Greiner, who is originally from Kenya, has been honoured …

Members of centre-left SPD have confirmed Martin Schulz as the party’s new leader and candidate to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany’s federal election in September. Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament, was unanimously chosen by delegates at the party’s congress in Berlin on Sunday. “I want to be the next chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” …