EUROPE

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people dependent on social assistance dropped in 2017 and, in particular, the number of recipients under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act declined sharply. The number of people in Germany who depend on minimum social assistance (Sozialhilfe) has fallen. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Friday (20 October), …

With about three weeks to the annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), the body’s chairman, Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, has called on members to update their membership. Gbandi made the call on Thursday to draw the attention of members to NIDOE‘s rule which demands that only members who have paid their dues up to date would …

The annual African Youth Education Awards (AYEA) took place on Saturday and was attended by more than 400 guests from across Germany. The event, which showcases the success of young people with African background in their educational endeavours, was attended by, among other dignitaries, the Mayor of Hamburg-Mitte, Falko Drossmann, and the ambassadors of Ghana and Nigeria to Germany, H.E …

Germany’s statistics office has published new figures for net migration to the country in 2017 with some surprise findings. The figures show more Germans are returning to the country and staying put. In 2017, net migration to Germany dropped by around one-fifth year-on-year to about 416,000, the Federal Office for Statistics (Destatis) said on Monday. The agency noted that net …

Thousands rallied in Berlin on Saturday against racism, xenophobia and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in one of the country’s biggest rallies of recent years. Organisers put the turnout at 242,000 people, who came from across Germany. The demonstration followed neo-Nazi anti-immigration protests in several eastern cities during the summer. The protests, organised by a broad alliance of associations, …

A Nigerian-born man, who became a local celebrity in a small Russian steel-casting city after marrying a local woman and moving in, has died under murky circumstances, the Russian news organisation Russia Today has reported. Gabriel Segun Ajayi, 32, was reported dead by the local authorities on Monday (15 October), triggering a police investigation. His wife Natalia, 50, said her …

Pierre Kompany, father of the Belgian national footballer Vincent Kompany, has been elected mayor of Ganshoren, a commune in the north-west of Brussels. The father of Vincent Kompany, the captain of Manchester City and a star of the Belgian national football team, has been elected as Belgium’s first first sub-Saharan-born mayor, in what has been described as a “historic” moment …

Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), recorded a disaster in regional elections on Sunday (14 October). The CSU – led by Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, which has governed the wealthy German state since the Second World War, lost its absolute majority in the regional parliament, as it struggles …

Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 8-10 November in Vienna, Austria. In addition to addressing issues of concern to Nigerians in diaspora, the event will discuss the outcome of the first-ever Nigerian Diaspora Global Project & Investment Summit UK, which took place in July 2018 in London. The objective of the conference …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 13 October 2018. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

According to the latest report of the European statistical agency Eurostat, 16.7 million men and women in the 28 member countries of the EU were unemployed in August 2018. Compared with August 2017, unemployment fell by 1.9 million in the bloc. The lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5 %), Germany and Poland (both …

Anti-racism demonstrators in Hamburg called for safe migration routes and an end to right-wing extremism. The march comes after the eastern German town of Chemnitz experienced several anti-immigrant protests. Thousands of demonstrators attended a parade against racism in the northern German city of Hamburg on Saturday, police said. The “United against Racism” parade, a collaboration between more than 450 organizations …

Germany’s Social Democratic and Green party are haemorrhaging support from people with migratory backgrounds. The main benefactor is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Union bloc, but the anti-migrant AfD has also seen gains. David Martin reports from Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc has become the most popular party among German citizens with migratory backgrounds, according to a report published on …

Members of the Black Community from across Germany and Europe will converge on the city of Nuremberg on Saturday (22 September) for the second edition of ‘Night of the African Living Legend Award & Recognition’. Organised by the African German Information Centre (AGIC) Hamburg, the event’s aim is to shine the spotlight on people of African descent in Germany and …

The Swiss Federal Council has adopted new regulations that would require foreigners residing in Switzerland to meet certain criteria of good behaviour before their residence permits are renewed. The seven-member executive body adopted the new regulations on Wednesday (15 August) as part of the revision of the Act on Foreign Nationals. The new rules will enter into force in 2019. …

An increasing number of naturalized Germans are no longer required to renounce their original citizenship before receiving a German passport. Exceptions for EU citizens and refugees have led to more naturalized Germans holding two passports in recent years. Some nations prohibit or make it difficult for nationals to give up citizenship when becoming German. Chase Winter reports.    An increasing number …

More than half of Germans surveyed in a monthly poll classify racism as a major social ill. At the same time, those polled say social issues are more important than asylum and refugee matters. Jefferson Chase (Berlin) reports.  German society is still struggling with racism. That’s one of the major conclusions from the Infratest-Dimap “Germany Trend” poll for August, which was …

Despite unrelenting rain, around 20,000 people demonstrated in Munich on Sunday to protest the hardline immigration stance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies CSU, three months before they face a tough election in the state. Demonstrators said they marched against a “politics of fear” of state premier, Markus Soeder, and CSU leader and federal interior minister, Horst Seehofer, whose …

Hundreds of Nigerians resident in The Netherlands and their supporters will hold a peaceful demonstration at the International criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, venue of one of President Buhari’s events while in The Netherlands. The Nigerian leader is currently on a 3-day visit to the country. A release from the organizers direct all Nigerians to assemble at Oude Waalsdorpweg …

As Germany’s elderly population continues to grow, its under-staffed old age care system is struggling to keep up. Recruiting foreign care workers will be Germany’s “nearest option” to fix understaffing at homes for the elderly, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn. A patients’ advocacy group says standards must not be lowered. Spahn sought to implement a key promise of Chancellor …