Oury Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean refugee died under mysterious circumstances in a police cell in the city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. According to police accounts, the then 21-year-old African was arrested after leaving a discotheque early in the morning of the fateful day. He had been reported by a street cleaner who felt intimidated when he asked to …
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Oury Jalloh: Group launches online petition for retrial
An online campaign has been launched for the retrial of the controversial death of Oury Jalloh. The Sierra Leonean refugee died in police custody in the eastern German city of Dessau on 7 January 2005. In different court proceedings, the police have always maintained that the African killed himself by setting on fire the mattress on which he was shackled. …
Read More »Germany’s Black community protests against Libya’s slave trade
Organisations of people of African descent have called for a public protest against the trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya on Saturday, 25 November. The event, named ‘Demonstration to End the Enslavement, Rape, Torture and Killings of Blacks in Libya’, will take place in front of the Libyan Embassy in Berlin. Organised by, among other organisations, Black Community Hamburg, Lampedusa …
Read More »German president calls on parties to make coalition possible
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has taken Germany’s political parties to task after talks to form a new government broke down. The German president says coalition talks must continue amidst speculation there could be a new vote. Deutsche Welle’s Jefferson Chase (Berlin) reports. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not announce any concrete steps in a brief statement delivered in Berlin on Monday after …
Read More »Germany’s migrants continue to be at a disadvantage, report reveals
A recent report by the German Federal Statistical Office has found that people with a migration background differ markedly from those without a migration background in key areas, such as education, employment and income, reports Chloe Lyneham/DW. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), which conducts regular reporting on integration, has found that the differences between persons with and without a migration …
Read More »Alpha Blondy calls for African action on Libyan slave markets
Legendary Ivorian reggae musician, Alpha Blondy, known in private life as Seydou Kone, has waded into the debate for sub-Saharan African leaders to help protect their citizens wherever they find themselves. His recent call is on the African Union and the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, to take decisive action on migrant abuse in the North African country of Libya, …
Read More »New evidence contradicts German police in Oury Jalloh death
A man who apparently burned to death in a German police cell in 2005 could not have lit the fire himself, according to new documents. A prosecutor who had defended police now says there should be a murder investigation. Ben Knight of Deutsche Welle reports. Oury Jalloh, who died in police custody in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2005, could …
Read More »Libya’s slave market revelation sparks global Black outrage
CNN report showing trade in sub-Saharan migrants in Libya has sparked outrage in Africa and the global Black community, Sola Jolaoso reports. A grainy cell phone video showing unidentified African men being sold in an auction in Libya was obtained by CNN last month. One of the ‘slaves’ being sold is a Nigerian, whom the American news channel estimated to …
Read More »Germany displaces US as country with best global image
A new survey ranks Germany as having the best global image, reports Deutsche Welle. Germany has replaced the United States as the country with the best “brand image,” according to a new study of 50 countries released Thursday. The Nation Brands Index (NBI) survey by German-based market research firm GfK and the British political consultant Simon Anholt measured public opinion …
Read More »Italy holds funerals for 26 Nigerian women drowned at sea
Italy’s southern city of Salerno held a mass funeral on Friday for 26 young women from Nigeria who drowned earlier this month trying to cross the Mediterranean. Twenty-six coffins were laid out in Salerno’s Monumental Cemetery on Friday morning, watched by a military guard, local politicians, rescue workers and journalists. A Catholic archbishop and a Muslim imam both said prayers. …
Read More »Wizkid, Eddy Kenzo, Salif Keita win at African Music Awards 2017
Nigeria’s hip-hop superstar Wizkid was the biggest winner at the 2017 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) held on Sunday in Lagos. Hosted at the seaside Eko Hotel & Suites on the high-brow Victoria Island, African stars from all over the continent graced the event which celebrated their achievements in the music business. Wizkid won three of the …
Read More »Diaspora group calls for tougher punishment for human traffickers in Nigeria
Reacting to the death of 26 Nigerian women who drowned in the Mediterranean on 5 November 2017 and the CNN video report showing Nigerians being traded as slaves in Libya, the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has called for tougher laws against human trafficking to bring “the needless deaths to an end”. The MEPN is currently carrying out an information campaign …
Read More »Italy fail to qualify for Russia World Cup 2018
A night to remember for Sweden as they qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia but catastrophe for Italy. For the first time since 1958 the Azzurri will miss out on the finals – They failed to score in two legs against Sweden, enabling the Scandinavians to go through with a 1-0 aggregate playoff victory.. Italy’s Coach Gian Piero …
Read More »Germans to collect unemployment benefits at supermarket checkouts
The new system will allow those entitled to benefits to directly collect cash at tills, rather than using distributors at job centres, reports Emma Beswick. Germany’s unemployed will soon be able to collect benefits at checkouts in certain supermarkets and chemists as part of a government bid to cut costs, according to newspaper WELT AM SONNTAG. Set to kick off …
Read More »Germany: Merkel confident coalition talks are on track despite divisions
The chancellor has said that her CDU party, the Greens and the business-friendly FDP will have an initial agreement ready this week. It is nearly two months since Germany held its general election. Elizabeth Schumacher reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared optimistic on Sunday that despite major policy differences – her Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the Greens and the pro-business …
Read More »German organisation warns of civil war in Cameroon
Following a series of politically-motivated murders in Cameroon in the past week, the Society for Threatened Peoples (Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, GfbV) has warned against an escalation of violence and a possible civil war in the country. “The dispute over the discrimination of the English-speaking minority in the central African state must be urgently resolved through political negotiations in order …
Read More »German police arrest Nigerians for smuggling in women and forcing them into prostitution
Police have detained six Nigerian in Ruhrgebiet who they allege have smuggled women into the country and forced them into prostitution. The police in the West German city of Oberhausen have arrested a couple from Nigeria who they alleged have smuggled women from Nigeria into the Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) in order to force them into prostitution. Also four more suspects …
Read More »Morocco, Tunisia qualify for Russia 2018; Côte d’Ivoire out
Côte d’Ivoire have failed to qualify for next year’s competition after losing 2-0 to Morocco on Saturday in Abidjan. Morocco needed only a draw in their last group game to finish top of the table ahead of the Ivorians, who had to win at home to make a fourth straight appearance at the World Cup. The Ivorians have reached the …
Read More »Business conference to market Ghana and Ethiopia to Bavarian Investors
Investment potential in the African nations of Ghana and Ethiopia will be key focal points during the Germany African Business Forum, to be held on 28 November in Munich. Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Business Development for Ghana, and H.E. Dr. Mebrahtu Meles, State Minister for Industry of Ethiopia, will be delivering key presentations to attending investors at the …
Read More »1.6 million people seeking asylum in Germany
The Federal Statistical Office has revealed that 2 percent of the people who lived in Germany at the end of 2016 had lodged asylum applications. That’s more than double the figure for 2014. Ben Knight reports. On Friday, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) revealed that 1.6 million people were officially registered as “seeking protection for humanitarian reasons” in Germany at …
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