THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has urged the Austrian government to keep the protection of refugees at the centre of draft amendments to the country’s asylum law. The UNHCR has presented a juridical analysis of the draft amendments to Austria’s asylum law, urging the Austrian government to uphold its commitment to protect sensitive asylum policies. The organization expressed ”concern” about …
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May, 2018
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12 May
Germany rejects more visa applications from African countries
The visa rejection rate rose again last year. The German foreign missions mainly rejected applications from African countries. Parliamentarians of the Left in the federal parliament criticize the visa practice. Germany once again rejected more visa applications from foreigners last year. While the rejection rate was 6.7 percent in 2016, it rose to 8.5 percent last year. In 2015, the …
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12 May
Family reunification hard for Eritrean refugees in Germany
Germany granted residence permit to some 35,000 Eritrean refugees last year. This entitles them to bring their families over. But not all are successful. Daniel Pelz of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports on the reasons for this. With its population of around five million, Eritrea is one of the main countries of origin of African refugees. Young people especially are among …
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11 May
UN takes Germany to task on racism and discrimination
Berlin has admitted shortcomings in its efforts against racism, xenophobia, and discrimination during a UN human rights review. While many UN members raised issues with Germany, others praised it for taking in refugees. UN member states posed critical questions to Germany about its policy against racism and discrimination on Tuesday (8 May), during a regularly scheduled review session of the …
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10 May
Swahili makes history as first African language recognized by Twitter
After years of hashtags and outcries, Twitter now recognizes Swahili, one of East Africa’s most common languages. The social media platform now offers translation for the language spoken by tens of millions in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most African languages for the past decade and over of social media platform Twitter’s existence …
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10 May
Germany: Federal Cabinet approves new refugee family reunification law
The German Cabinet has approved legislation allowing refugees with subsidiary protection status to bring their direct relatives to Germany. Critics say that the bill breaches human rights, and that it will force more migrants to put their fate in the hands of people-smugglers. Marion MacGregor of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet on Wednesday voted to resettle …
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9 May
AfricanTide Union fights root causes of migration in Nigeria with German training
Since 13 April 2018, a delegation of the Dortmund, Germany-based association AfricanTide Union e.V. has been in Yenagoa, the capital of the Nigerian state of Bayelsa. Although the region, situated in the Niger Delta, has high oil and gas reserves, the population suffers from high levels of poverty and unemployment. Many people therefore are fleeing the region, even to Europe. …
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9 May
Black actors and directors seek more opportunities in Europe’s film industry
Some of the best-known Black actors in Europe gathered in Tarifa at the just-concluded Tarifa-Tangiers African Film Festival to discuss their situation in different countries in a session moderated by Spanish journalist Lucía Mbomío. Last Saturday (5 May), nine actors shared their experiences, as well as the difficulties and challenges they face, calling for greater visibility and the normalisation of …
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9 May
Nigerian migrants sue Italy for returning them to Libya
Seventeen Nigerian migrants who survived a deadly sea crossing last year have filed a lawsuit against Italy for violating their rights by supporting Libya’s efforts to return them to North Africa, their lawyers said on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, two of whom have returned to Nigeria, petitioned the European Court of Human Rights last week, Violeta Moreno-Lax, a legal advisor for …
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8 May
5 reasons why it pays Africans in Germany to become MoneyGram Plus members!
Did you know that MoneyGram, one of the leading providers of international money transfers, awards their customers for their transactions? All you need to do is sign up to their MoneyGram Plus programme. Here are five good reasons why you should become a MoneyGram Plus member today: Joining MoneyGram Plus is free! You can sign up for MoneyGram Plus in …
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