News

A UN expert group will visit Germany from 20-27 February to investigate the human rights situation of people of African descent in the country. The visit is taking place within the framework of the International Decade of People of African Descent (2015–2024), which highlights the human rights situation of the African Diaspora worldwide and aims to fight racial discrimination against …

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 …

The death of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi at a critical moment in the DR Congo’s history is an irreparable loss for a country trying to navigate a constitutional crisis without descending into bloodshed. The best way to honour Tshisekedi is to continue the fight for democracy in the country, argues Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the historic leader …

The European Union announced aid worth 225 million euros for The Gambia on Thursday (Feb 9) as President Adama Barrow warned that the nation was “virtually bankrupt” due to economic mismanagement by the former regime. The EU froze assistance to The Gambia in December 2014 over the dire human rights record of ex-president Yahya Jammeh, whose security services were accused …

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 …

Two Muslims suspected of planning terror attacks in Germany have been arrested during widespread raid against radical Islamists. Police in the town of Göttingen, the state of Lower Saxon (Niedersachsen), arrested the two men suspected of plotting a terror attack on Wednesday evening, officials announced on Thursday (9 February). The men arrested, a 27-year-old Algerian and a 23-year-old Nigerian, are …

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 …

More than 12,000 Nigerian asylum seekers in Germany face deportation, it was disclosed yesterday (7 February). The Global Head of Programme, Migration and Development at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dr Ralf Sanftenberg, made the disclosure when he visited the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa in Abuja. Sanftenberg …

Kwesé TV, Africa’s newest satellite network has launched. The Kwesé Network’s Pay-TV satellite service started broadcasting on 30 January 2017, beaming Kwesé’s full suite of entertainment and sports programming to households in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, which make up the first phase of the Kwesé TV rollout across Africa – other countries will be announced in due course. Having already …

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has expressed his hopeful optimism for Africa. He spoke of the continent’s promise and vast potential at a press conference on 31 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after attending the 28th African Union Summit. For the record, below is the full text of his remarkable statement: Far too often, the world …

Cameroon came from behind to beat Egypt 2-1 and seal a fifth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in a thrilling final. Vincent Aboubakar came off the bench to score a late goal to steer Cameroon to a 2-1 victory over Egypt in the final of the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Libreville on Sunday (5 February). The victory …

One of the commanders of the ECOWAS Military Intervention in the Gambia (ECOMIG) force has revealed the reason why ex-leader Yahya Jammeh finally decided to leave the country after weeks of obstinacy, which allowed the newly-elected president, Adama Barrow, to take office. The commander of the Nigerian Air Force’s contingent deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition …

EU leaders have endorsed on Friday (3 February) an Italian agreement signed the day before with Libya, aimed at stopping the flow of migrants into Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. Italy already on Thursday pledged money, training and equipment to help the UN-backed Libyan government curb migration in a memorandum of understanding that Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Seraj signed in …