LIVING IN GERMANY

The 23-year-old Basiru Jallow was found seriously injured with stab wounds in the Old Botanical Garden of Tübingen in the afternoon of 23 March and he died of his severe injuries a short time later in hospital/Photo: Courtesy of Yahya Sonko The mayor of Tübingen, a town in Baden-Württenberg, Boris Palmer, has again been criticised over his racist and insensitive …

Ryyan Alshebl (pictured above on a campaign poster) has become a mayor in Germany, only eight years after arriving in the country as a refugee/Photo: Ryyan Alshebl/Facebook The inhabitants of Ostelsheim, in the district of Calw, state of Baden-Württemberg, elected Ryyan Alshebl as their new mayor on Sunday with an absolute majority of 55.41 per cent of the votes. The …

Like almost every month, April 2023 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Most are positive changes but there are also some inconveniences for rail passengers. Among other things, the advance sale of the much-awaited 49-Euro-Ticket will commence, the few remaining COVID-19 rules will expire, more pay for temporary workers and some routes of the Deutsche Bahn will …

The SPD politician Mike Josef is the new Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main. The 40-year-old received 51.7 per cent of the votes in a run-off election on Sunday, relegating his main opponent Uwe Becker (CDU) to second place. Becker received 48.3 per cent. Josef has been the city’s head of planning and sports until now. He …

Love kept at a distance: German national Linda Wendt is fighting to establish a life in Germany with her husband. But he cannot move here without first passing a language test. A major problem — but not an isolated case. A special report by Andrea Grunau, DW Linda Wendt and Moro Diop* are a couple. But they live their everyday …

Amal Abbass has been awarded this year’s Berliner Frauenpreis (Berlin Women’s Prize). The Black German social entrepreneur was honoured for her long years of engagement for the equality of women who because of their skin colour or gender identity are subjected to discrimination. Amal Abbass, a native of Dresden whose father was a Sudanese, is a transcultural psychologist who has …

Members of The African Network of Germany (TANG) have elected a new board to pilot the affairs of the organisation for the next five years. The election, part of the activities of the group’s ordinary general meeting 2023, took place on 11 March 2023 in Freiburg. Dr Sylvie Nantcha was unanimously re-elected Chairperson of TANG, an umbrella body for African …

In view of the increasing shortage of skilled workers in Germany, the Christian Democrats (CDU) in the state of Lower Saxony can envisage the integration of rejected asylum-seekers into the labour market. It is a matter of “our prosperity and our economy”, the party, which normally has always maintained a hardline position on asylum-seekers, says. The CDU group in Lower …

Almost a quarter of the people living in Germany have an immigration history. In 2021, almost 19 million people who had either immigrated themselves or both parents had immigrated since 1950 lived in the country, according to a new report of the Federal Statistical Office. 17.3 percent of the population have immigrated to Germany since 1950, another 5.7 percent are …

The case of the asylum seeker Oury Jalloh, who burnt to death in controversial circumstances in a police cell in Dessau in 2005, has gone the European Court of Human Rights. Recently, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court confirmed the closure of the investigation even though experts insist that the official version of the incident is “impossible” and Jalloh’s family accuses the …

March brings some relief for the pockets for millions of consumers in Germany. The energy price brakes come into force and students will now also receive relief payment for their energy costs. Here’s an overview of important changes in March. —— Energy price brakes take effectThe energy price brakes for millions of gas, electricity and district heating consumers will take …

The victims of the racist terrorist attack three years ago were remembered in Hanau on Sunday. At noon, around 500 representatives from politics, civil society and religious communities gathered at the market square for a memorial service. Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), the Chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Annette Kurschus, and Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris …

A 16-year-old Senegalese boy was shot last year in the course of a police operation in Dortmund. Five police officers have now been charged to court over the tragic incident, which sparked protests in the African community. One officer is accused of manslaughter, three of dangerous bodily harm and another of incitement to dangerous bodily harm, as Dortmund senior public …

Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has called for an improved recording of the numbers of politically motivated attacks against Black people in Germany. She made the plea during the official presentation of the first situation report on Racism in Germany in Berlin recently. The event, which took place at the office of the chancellor …

A university teacher has taken the government of Berlin, one of Germany’s 16 federal states, to court over what he describes as “racist mistreatment at the Immigration office Berlin”. The case, filed by Mbolo Yufanyi Movuh, a lecturer at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences (ASH), Berlin, will be heard on Thursday (9 February) at the Berlin District Court, …

Like almost every new month, February 2023 brings some important changes, including new laws, for people living in Germany. For example, no more compulsory masks on long-distance trains, more drinking fountains in public spaces and 16-year olds will also be allowed to vote in the European Parliament elections in Germany in future. These and other regulations come into force in …

Germany’s Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, has called for quick sentences of perpetrators of the New Year’s Eve riots in several German cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Dortmund and Essen. During a visit to a fire station in the Berlin district of Neukölln on Friday, Ms Faeser said juvenile offenders should immediately feel a quick legal consequence of their …

2023 brings new laws and regulations for people living in Germany. For example, price brakes are to reduce energy costs, health insurance will become more expensive and the 49-euro ticket will be launched. These and other changes at a glance. ——– Price brakes for electricity, gas and district heatingFrom 1 March – retroactive to 1 January – the Federal Government’s …

The Opportunity Residence Act (“Chancenaufenthaltsgesetz”) comes into force on 1 January 2023. Tolerated persons in Germany who had been living in Germany for five years or more on the cut-off date of 1 October 2022 are to receive a residence permit “on probation”. Tolerated persons are people who are obliged to leave the country but are allowed to stay temporarily …

Only with permanent immigration of around 400,000 people per year, could the population in Germany grow to 90 million inhabitants by 2070, according to a new report by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Germany currently has 84 million inhabitants. The report is the result of the 15th coordinated population projection by Destatis, which was presented in Berlin recently. The statisticians …