Germany

From 1 November 2021, a series of new laws and changes to the law that affect our daily lives, will come into force. Among these are higher penalties for traffic offences, Christmas market season begin, big-discount day for shoppers and the deadline for changing vehicle insurance, among others. We have summarised for you the important changes from 1 November 2021 here:

The newly-elected German Bundestag, the lower house of the federal parliament, convened for the first time on Tuesday (26 October). The inaugural meeting of the parliament, taking place about four weeks after the general elections, marked the official start of the 20th legislative period. The parliament held its first session, with one of its first acts being to elect Bärbel …

Nollywood Film Festival Germany, NFFG, was one of the big winners at the first AfroNews–Ortel Mobile African Community in Germany Awards, which took place on Saturday in Frankfurt. The NFFG, which has been holding regularly in Germany for more than 15 years, clinched the Best African Festival in Germany Award 2021. Other big winners of the evening were Kenyan Women …

A Facebook-based support group for women in Nigeria has been selected to participate in the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator, a program for people who run groups/communities on Facebook. Germany-based Osamakue Izevbokun Iroha, who also runs Africans in Deutschland, created the Mothers, Kids and More (MKM) on Facebook in 2017 to provide a non-prejudiced platform for women and mothers to communicate, …

Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande recently assumed duty as the Consul General of Nigeria in Germany’s main commercial city of Frankfurt. The alumni of the Department of European Studies of the University of Ibadan from across the globe gathered in Frankfurt to celebrate the top diplomat, who is one of their own, for his professional accomplishment. Mr Akande is an alumnus …

A prominent Nigerian traditional leader, Iba Gani Adams, who is the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, recently visited Germany. Though Chief Adams was on a private visit with his family, he nevertheless took time to interact with members of the Nigerian community in Southwest Germany under the auspices of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. At …

Dr Joy Alemazung has won the election for mayor of the city of Heubach, near Stuttgart, with an outstanding result on Sunday. The Cameroon-born politician, who ran as an independent candidate, won a whopping 66.22% of the popular vote, resoundingly defeating more than six other contestants. Speaking to the inhabitants and the press on Sunday evening after his election, the …

The Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the federal parliament, has approved the long-discussed amendments to the catalogue of fines (Bußgeldkatalog), which regulates what penalty is imposed for which traffic offence in Germany. Speeding and parking violations will now be particularly expensive as from mid-November when the amendments enter into effect. —— As part of the long-discussed reform of the Road …

A group of twelve activists of the Black Lives Matter movement in Nuremberg, Germany, travelled to Strasbourg at the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana (MEP), last week as part of the European Youth Event 2021. Here’s a report of the visit. At the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Germany on the platform of the Green …

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between Nigeria and Germany in Abuja on Wednesday, as a major step toward the repatriation of hundreds of Benin Bronzes from Germany next year. The Minister, who spoke when he received the German government delegation that came to Nigeria for the signing of …

The city of Bad Dürkheim, the heartland of the wine-producing region of southwest Germany, and its Carnival Society “Derkemer Grawler” have named Togbe Céphas Bansah as the Golden Winemaker 2022. The Ghanaian traditional ruler is being honoured for “realising many aid projects and thus in fact improving the living conditions of his people”, the Carnival Society said in a press …

A Nigerian, who has been living in Germany for more than four decades, has been awarded the country’s national honour, Bundesverdienstkreuz. Akinbode Akinbiyi, a Berlin-based photographer, author and curator, was one of the 14 citizens conferred with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 1 October to mark …

African Mums in Deutschland, a support group for African women in Germany founded by Maame Adwoa Dentaa Amoo, has been announced as one of the winners of the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator Program. The Community Accelerator is part of Facebook’s Community Leadership Program, a global initiative that invests in people building online communities. The Program helps leaders harness the power …

New month, new laws! New laws and administrative regulations enter into effect in October. Among these are those related to the coronavirus pandemic as well as those affecting motorists, debtors, taxpayers and doctor’s prescriptions. ——- Unvaccinated persons to pay for tests In places where the 3G rule applies, only persons who have been vaccinated or have recovered from an infection …

A member of the Nigerian community in Hamburg, Mrs Ngozi Utoh-Samuel, has called on the German authorities to temper justice with mercy on the situation of Nigerians whose asylum applications have been rejected. The civil society activist, who is the founder of Positive Life Global Empowerment (PLGE) e.V., took to her Facebook page on Tuesday to address the issue of …

The new German federal parliament is more diverse than ever. For the first time, there are four Afro-German members in the Bundestag, as well as more women, younger people and people with a migration background. Three of the Afro-German politicians won direct mandates, which means they won the highest number of votes cast in their constituencies. “Four Afro-Germans in the …

Awet Tesfaiesus has become the first Black woman to be elected into the German parliament. The 47-year-old lawyer achieved the feat on Sunday when she was elected on the platform of the Green Party to represent the state of Hesse. The Eritrean-born politician has been the spokesperson for integration and equality for the Green parliamentary group in the Kassel city …

Dr Karamba Diaby, representing the eastern German constituency of Halle (Saxony-Anhalt), has won his third election into the German parliament (Bundestag). The Senegalese-born member of the SPD, who won a direct mandate on Sunday, took to social media to thank his supporters for the resounding victory. “What an evening! “I am still overwhelmed by the great trust that the people …

After a tightly fought race, the Social Democrats emerged winners at Germany’s general election on Sunday. According to preliminary results, the SPD finished the strongest party, closely followed by the CDU/CSU. The Greens are in third place, followed by the FDP and AfD. The Left Party plunged to below five per cent. The SPD won 25.7 per cent of the …

Choosing which party to vote for in a German election could be a difficult task with 47 of them contesting the polls this year. Here's a free question-and-answer online tool that finds out which party is most likely to represent your interests