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Originally titled ‘Evanesce’, Berlin-based legal scholar and creative author Nelly Sarpong writes on a fictional precarious journey across the Mediterranean in a rickety boat overfilled with African migrants, revealing the perils faced by thousands of migrants every year in their quest for better life in Europe.

While most African countries hold regular elections, the people are not satisfied with the performance of their elected leaders. According to opinion polls, most Africans feel that they are yet to enjoy the economic fruits of democracy. Why has democracy not delivered economic dividends? At an event in Berlin, a Nigerian economist and former federal minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili, addressed the …

On Christmas day, 11 Christian hostages were killed, 10 of whom beheaded, by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno State and the chilling video of the dastardly crime circulated by the Islamic fundamentalists. On 20 January, Reverend Lawan Andimi, a clergyman, was also beheaded by the same terrorists. The plight of Christians in northern Nigeria is very precarious. A …

The Trump administration has issued a new rule  instructing United States consular officials to deny pregnant women visas unless they can prove “to the satisfaction of the consular officer” either that they are not traveling to the US to give birth, or that they have a legitimate medical reason to give birth in the country. In the latest immigration control measure, the United …

About 200 people took the streets of Cologne on Saturday in a public demonstration against a recent controversial court ruling allowing the use of the word neger (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report) to describe people of African descent. The protesters demanded that the use of the derogatory word be made illegal as it degrades Black people. …

The western German city Dortmund will witness the grand opening of a centre for Africans on 31 January. Afrika-Haus promises to be a veritable centre for community empowerment, as it’s a place to seek help to the myriad of issues faced by African migrants, as well as an entertainment hub. Afrika-Haus Dortmund, established by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union e.V., …

The revised Schengen Visa Code includes an increase in application fee, lengthier visa validity, extended application period, sanction for citizens of countries that refuse to readmit their citizens, among others.

The one-day conference on the bloody gridlock in Libya ended with an agreement on a ceasefire, but analysts say a lasting solution to the conflict is still a long way off. The Libya summit in Berlin concluded on Sunday in Berlin with a “new spirit” to find a lasting solution for peace, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Participants at the …

All the parties to the civil war in Libya will gather in the German capital city on Sunday in renewed efforts for peace in the North African country. Convened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the talks bring together Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, who is the head of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), and Khalifa Haftar, commander of …

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has presented his IBF, WBA, WBO, and IBO titles to President Muhammadu Buhari. The 30-year-old celebrated his recent victory with President Buhari on Saturday in London when the Nigerian leader met with some Nigerians living in the United Kingdom. Excited Joshua, a British-Nigerian, could not hide his feelings as he prostrated to pay homage to …

According to new figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the population of the country stood at 83.2 million at the end of 2019 – 200,000 more than a year earlier. The population figure represents a new high, Destatis said even though the population growth was much smaller than in the years 2013 to 2018. The agency also revealed …

The political temperature in the West African nation of The Gambia is rising as thousands of supporters of former President Yahya Jammeh took to the streets of Banjul on Thursday (16 January) to demand for the return of the ousted ruler. The protest action, organised by Jammeh’s party Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party (APCR), is to send a …

Roman Catholic priest Father Mussie Zerai, president of the humanitarian organization Habeshia and pastor to migrants who arrive in Italy, has sent out a dramatic ‘SOS’ from migrants allegedly being held in detention centers in Libya, where they live in appalling conditions but are also exposed to danger as different factions in the country’s civil war battle for control. “We continuously …

Condemnations trail attack on the office of Karamba Diaby, a Senegal-born member of the Bundestag, in Halle. Germany’s foreign minister called the attack “disgusting and cowardly” The citizens’ office of Karamba Diaby, an SPD member of the Bundestag, in Halle was attacked between Tuesday and Wednesday. Diaby said the windowpanes had five bullet holes. “I condemn this violence. I know …

A new law (Skilled Worker Immigration Act or Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) that facilitates the recruitment of skilled workers from non-EU countries will enter into effect on 1 March. Germany is currently suffering from labour shortages in many sectors, including health care. Caritas has however warned that the needs of the countries where nurses would be recruited should be considered in the implementation …

Opposition parties slam electoral commission’s plan to compile a new electoral register before the December general elections, reports our correspondent Francis Sackitey from Accra The Electoral Commission of Ghana has come under criticisms from opposition parties, including the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for its decision to compile a new electoral register. Coming under the umbrella of …

Black people are often singled out as potential culprits in society which is why they are frequently stopped and searched by the police, followed in the supermarket, asked for their ticket by controllers in public transport or closely observed by security personnel in official premises. Since Black people are subjected to these experiences more frequently than members of other groups, we talk of their racial profiling.

Gambia’s former president, Yahya Jammeh, is seeking to return home but the government say it could not guarantee his safety. Three years after he was forced to leave The Gambia, former President Yahya Jammeh is seeking to return home and his party, the Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction, is backing him. However, the government of President Adama Barrow is …

Nearly 1,300 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in 2019, the United Nations agency for migration has said in a statement. The 1,282 drownings were 44% down on 2018, it said. The number of deaths since 2014 was now 19,164, International Organization for Migration reported. The Mediterranean in 2019 claimed the lives of nearly 1,300 migrants who were attempting to reach …

Norway says it will take 600 asylum-seekers recently evacuated to Rwanda from Libyan detention centres. The Norwegian immigration minister told the media that his country wants to stop the sometimes deadly smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea. Charlotte Hauswedell/InfoMigrants reports “For me it is important to send a signal that we will not back smuggling routes and cynical backers, …