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The annual Henley Passport Index has just been released. It ranks passports according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The latest ranking named Japan as the country with the most powerful passport in the world followed by Singapore while Germany and South Korea tie for third place Holders of the Japanese passport can travel visa-free …

Hundreds of protesters turned out in Dessau on Tuesday to commemorate the death of Oury Jalloh in the city fifteen years ago. The Sierra Leonean burnt to death mysteriously in police custody in the eastern German city on 7 January 2005 and until today, the circumstances of his death have not been fully cleared despite a sustained campaign for justice …

The Senegalese has finished in the award's top three for the last three years, and has long targeted the prize in order to emulate the achievement of one of his heroes, former Liverpool striker El Hadji Diouf, who won it in 2002.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday (5 January) that Turkey had started the deployment of troops to Libya, after the country’s parliament gave its approval. Ankara is sending its soldiers to Libya to support the UN-backed Government of National Accord which is battling the troops of rebel general Khalifa Haftar for the control of the country. Since his coup …

A video clip, showing religious tolerance in Muslim-dominated United Arab Emirates, trended on social media at the festive season. Prof Jason Osai* contrasts the powerful images of the video with his experience growing up in the Nigeria of the 1950s and he explains why religious divisionism has become a powerful source of dichotomy and conflicts in many parts of Africa …

When Ghana declared 2019 the Year of Return, marking the 400th year that the first slave ship arrived in America with African captives, it expected a positive response. However, the resonance of the initiative has far surpassed the country’s expectations as thousands of African-Americans, including celebrities, have made the pilgrimage to Ghana bringing various benefits to the country. Our correspondent …

The Berlin Ausländerbehörde (Berlin Foreigners’ Registration Office) became the Landesamt für Einwanderung (“State Office for Immigration”) on 1 January 2020.  Berlin became the first German state to establish an independent agency for immigrants in anticipation of the new Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Labour Immigration Act), which goes into effect in March. For the director of the State Office for Immigration, the new …

The German chancellor struck an encouraging tone in what is likely to be one of her last New Year’s addresses. Merkel addressed the challenges of the climate crisis, digitalization and migration. The climate crisis, the digitalization of the labour market, and European solidarity on migration formed the main themes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, broadcast on Tuesday evening. But …

The news of the drowning of three members of a British-Nigerian family holidaying in southern Spain on Christmas eve hit the British press during the festive period. What was initially thought to be an unfortunate accident could also be a case of criminal negligence on the part of the hotel management, according to new reports on the tragic incident. Gabriel …

The State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Landesverfassungsgericht Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), sitting in Magdeburg, ruled on 19 December that sanctioning an AfD member of the state parliament, Nikolaus Kramer, over the use of the word “neger” during a debate in the house amounted to a restriction of his right to free expression. Kramer had taken the leadership of the state parliament to …

“Ndi-Igbo Germany is calling on all Ndi-Igbo, both home and abroad, to join hands with us and halt this cultural aberration which erodes, cheapens and bastardizes our value system of hard work, honesty and enviable benefit-and-reward system."

The Nigerian federal government on Tuesday (24 December) ordered the release of the convener of #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore, who has been in detention since August. The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, announced the decision in a statement. The move followed mounting local and international pressure on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari …

Germany’s federal police chief said a lack of pre-deportation facilities is hampering the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal foreigners to third-countries. Germany is struggling to deport rejected asylu-seekers, the country’s top police chief said on Wednesday. Federal police chief Dieter Romann blamed a lack of pre-deportation facilities for deportations not being carried out. Speaking to Germany’s Funke media group, he said …

Charlotte Nzimiro launched the ongoing petition against the scandalous judgement of the State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), de facto recognising that the word “Neger” (Engl. Nigger, Negro) could be used to describe people of African descent in Germany. Nzimiro’s petition, launched on 20 December and which has already gathered more than 42,000 signatures within 2 days, calls for …

To commemorate Nelson Mandela International Day (18 July) in 2020, the United Nations will  confer an honorary award on two laureates, one female and one male who shall not be selected from the same geographic region of the world. The United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, which is awarded every five years, honours individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions …

Activist launches petition campaign for the classification of “neger” as a racist word in Germany after eastern state court gives AfD member the right to call people of African descent by the derogatory word. AfD is a xenophobic, extreme right-wing party. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) ruled on Thursday (19 December) that sanctioning the leader of the …

Since the beginning of this year, Angola has recovered more than $5 billion stolen from state coffers by members of the former government, both at home and from abroad, Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz said on Monday (16 December), amid a two-year crackdown on corruption by the government of President Joao Lourenco. The money, including $3 billion stolen from the sovereign …

Nigeria has lost over $400 billion to foreign havens, Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN) has said. The minister said the cash was stolen by corrupt leaders and their foreign accomplices including multinational companies. Malami spoke on Monday (16 December) at the eighth session of the Conference of the State Parties to the United Nations Convention …

The African Network in Germany (TANG) celebrated the concluding forum of its municipal development policy (kommunale Entwicklungspolitik) activities on Saturday, attracting participants, ranging from German government officials and communal politicians to representatives of African diaspora organisations. Declaring the event open, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of TANG, gave a brief introduction of the organization, a network of more than 600 African …

Nigerian journalist Kayode Oladeji recounts his unforgettable encounter with Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who died on 7 December, eighteen years ago. And how he and his colleagues who collaborated on the German-born Christian missioner’s crusade experienced an uncommon turn in their lives. I was heading for a social engagement, a wedding program to be specific, on Saturday, 7 December 2019, when …