LIVING IN GERMANY

Some 500,000 more people moved to Germany than left in 2016, Germany’s statistics office says. The figure is less than half that of the previous year. Net migration to Germany fell by more than half from 2015 to 2016, figures released on Tuesday by the German Federal Statistics Office show. Altogether 1,865,000 people came to Germany in 2016, while 1,365,000 …

New Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said Islam is not part of German culture. His comments underscore his efforts to push the government to the right. Rebecca Staudenmaier reports. Germany’s new government may now finally be in place, but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s grand coalition appears to be off to a rocky start. On Thursday, newly inaugurated Interior Minister Horst Seehofer …

Frankfurt police have praised the actions of a man who thought he stumbled across the fortune of a lifetime and still turned it over to the authorities. In the early hours of Monday morning, a 56-year-old bakery worker came across an astonishing find, police said in a statement on Tuesday (13 March). Sitting in a food waste bin, the man …

A memorial church service for Kenneth Chukwudi Alaekwe, who passed away recently, will hold on Saturday 17 March in Berlin Schöneberg. The president of the German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) died on17 February at the age of 55 in a Berlin hospital after a brief but serious illness. Kenneth is survived by his wife Ulla and …

The German capital city saw a drastic increase in far-right crime last year with more than 1,942 incidents reported, the highest in ten years. Incidents of incitement, damage to property and public calls to criminal action accounted for most of the crime. The number of politically-motivated crimes in Berlin, however, declined by ten per cent compared to 2016. A total …

Berliners turned out on Saturday to register their protest against a public demonstration by the right-wing extremist organization “Wir für Deutschland (WFD). The alliance Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin (Alliance for an open and tolerant Berlin), a joint effort of churches, trade unions, charities, Landessportbund Berlin and further actors of civil society, held a counter demonstration in the …

A court in Munich has fined a 58-year-old man €208,000 for passing calf liver (Kalbsleber) as lower-cost fruit at a grocery store. The court said the fine was justified since the man earned tens of thousands of euros a month. A 58-year-old man has been given a record-breaking fine for theft at a Munich supermarket, the Munich District Court has …

Residents of Berlin’s multicultural district of Kreuzberg turned out in large numbers on Saturday to confront a march of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). Protestors clashed with police during the heated counter-demonstration against the far-right party.   Several arrests were made when demonstrators tried to obstruct AfD supporters as they marched through Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin known for …

Displaced people have a hard time finding employment. Five hundred thousand refugees are currently on the job market — and prospects look bleak. A Munich startup has founded a non-profit temporary work agency. Temporary work employment refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization.  …

The police in Essen have named a suspect in the murder of a Kenyan woman whose remains were found in the western German city on 17 January. The body of the 27-year-old Mary Waithera Kamathi, popularly known in the Kenyan community as Carrie Jones, was discovered in a kiosk in the south district of the city, where she worked as …

A new report has found that only a small fraction of German users get the internet speeds that providers promise. And, according to a study of service providers, the problem is only getting worse. Elizabeth Schumacher reports. A new report from Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has revealed that the country — known the world over for ingenuity and efficiency …

As the Kenyan community is still mourning one of their own, Brian Nyawade Owino, an asylum-seeker whose death was announced in Berlin on 5 January, the police found the remains of a Kenyan woman in the western German city of Essen on Wednesday (17 January). The body of the 27-year-old Mary Waithera Kamathi, popularly known as Carrie Jones, was discovered in …

German doctors shut their doors to state insurance patients at the end of each quarter to save money, a new study has shown. Germany’s profit-driven health care system is increasingly attracting criticism. State health insurance patients are struggling to see their doctors towards the end of every quarter, while privately insured patients get easy access, according to a study released …

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 ranking named Germany as the country with the most powerful passport in the world for the fifth year in a row. Last October a separate ranking put Singapore at the top of the list, but Germany …

After several days of public silence, tennis living legend Boris Becker has finally spoken up on the controversy surrounding AfD politician Jens Maier’s racist comment about his son. The member of the German parliament had attacked Noah Becker, calling him a “little half-negro” on Twitter over an interview in which the son of the former Wimbledon champion compared Berlin with …

The Association of Black People in Germany (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland or ISD Bund e.V.) has condemned Jens Maier, a member of the far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD), for his racist Twitter comment on Noah Becker (23), son of former tennis star Boris Becker. The member of the Bundestag or German parliament had attacked Noah Becker, calling …

Mike Reichel, a leading member of the Black Community in Germany who died recently, will be honoured at a funeral service on 19 January in Berlin. Reichel (54), who tragically ended his own life in December 2017, was one of the pioneer members of the Initiative of Black People in Germany (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland or ISD) and a co-founder …

As we enter the New Year, many new laws and regulations take effect in Germany. Consumers will have to adjust to changes as the maternity protection law enters into force, credit card surcharges go, Hartz IV benefits rise and the 500-euro note disappears gradually etc. There may be changes in your electricity bill as well. The African Courier takes us …

The sudden death of Mike Reichel, a leading member of the Black Community in Germany, has been announced. Reichel (54), who tragically ended his own life in Berlin last week, was one of the pioneer members of the Initiative of Black People in Germany (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland or ISD) and was a co-founder of the Black History Month …

In the 13 years since Oury Jalloh’s death, his case has been shuffled from one prosecutor’s office to another. Now a state justice minister has stepped in. And a murder allegation has been filed at the federal level. Lea Fauth of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. In the latest twist surrounding the investigation into the mysterious death of Sierra Leone asylum …