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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 …

A report that President Donald Trump reportedly asked why so many people from “shithole countries” like El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations come to the US has been met with widespread outrage. Trump reportedly became furious during a meeting at the White House Thursday when Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) proposed restoring protections for immigrants …

More than 200 people were arrested and dozens were injured on Tuesday as a wave of demonstrations continues to shake several cities in Tunisia following new austerity measures in the 2018 budget, which are expected to increase the cost of living. The spokesman for the Tunisian interior ministry Khalifa Chibani told local media outlets on Wednesday that 49 police officers …

Nigeria’s political parties must select their candidates for the country’s 2019 presidential election between 18 August and 7 October this year, the electoral commission said on Tuesday in a timetable of the polling process. Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 16 February 2019, marking the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term. Buhari has not said if he …

The African Union (AU) has condemned an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea stressing that it will not condone any unconstitutional power seizures on the continent. The United Nations through its special envoy to the Central African nation, Francois Fall, had also condemned the attempted takeover promising to help Malabo with stabilization efforts. The AU Commission’s position was contained in a …

The Nigerian government has warned its Libyan counterpart against molesting Nigerians in the North African country. Abuja said it made clear to Libyan authorities that it has “zero tolerance” for such treatment. The warning followed reports of enslavement and maltreatment of Nigerians stranded in Libya. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known on Monday as another batch …

AfD federal lawmaker Jens Maier has been warned by his party over a racist tweet about the son of tennis legend Boris Becker. But Maier, who called Noah Becker a “half-negro,” can remain in the party. The national executive of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Monday officially reprimanded Bundestag member Jens Maier over a racist tweet …

Several thousands of protesters turned out in Dessau on Sunday to demand justice for Oury Jalloh who died in mysterious circumstances in police custody in the eastern German city 13 years ago. Oury Jalloh died in a police cell in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, thirteen years ago, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear until today. More than four thousand supporters …

More than 100,000 people requested asylum in France in 2017, a “historic” number and an increase of 17 per cent on the year before, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). In a statement on Monday, OFPRA director Pascal Brice said the figures show that “France is one of the top countries for …

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 …

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn dropped a veritable bombshell last week, when he announced that political prisoners would be released and that a detention centre in the capital that had become notorious for torture would be closed. What made this all the more surprising was that the government had never before even acknowledged the existence of political prisoners (when dissidents …

Israel plans to deport thousands of African asylum seekers within the next three months. They have the choice of leaving for a third country or indefinite imprisonment in Israeli jails. The quit deadline fans fears among African migrants, reports Tania Kraemer. “It is a very scary moment and many people are simply in panic,” says Ghebrihiwet Tekle, a young Eritrean …

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 …

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to France, Dr. Modupe Irele, has said that no fewer than 30,000 Nigerians are currently living in France. Irele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the number included Nigerians living in France as business owners, as well as those studying in various French educational institutions. “The …

Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has named Mohamed Salah of Egypt as the 2017 African Player of the year. The Liverpool star beat Sadio Mane of Senegal and Liverpool, and Gabon’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang who plays for Dortmund. He takes over from Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez who won the 2016 edition in Abuja. Salah, who was …

A Federal Government of Nigeria’s special delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, is currently in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to deliberate with Libyan officials on the evacuation of Nigerians trapped in the country. The Head, Press and Public Relations of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP),  Josiah Emerole, said the delegation left the …

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 …

The Ethiopian government will drop charges against political prisoners and close a notorious prison camp in a bid to ‘widen the democratic space for all.’ Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn says the move to release all political prisoners is critical for national dialogue. The unprecedented pardon is expected to apply to both convicted political prisoners and those currently facing court …

A recent study published by Science magazine has once again highlighted a potential connection between climate and migration, stressing how, by the end of this century, climate change could lead to a significant increase in asylum requests in Europe. According to a recent study carried out by two researchers from Columbia University and published by Science magazine, climate change will …

Israel has notified thousands of Africans who entered the country irregularly that they have three months to leave or face incarceration. The Population and Immigration Authority of Israel on Tuesday (2 January) issued a notice to about 40,000 refugees, most of them from Sudan and Eritrea, to leave the country. Those who leave by the end of March will be given …