News

The United Nations has praised Germany as a “humanitarian frontrunner” in the resettling of refugees, but German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warns that the country can’t face the challenges alone. The United Nations’ refugee agency on Tuesday honoured Germany for being a “humanitarian frontrunner” in helping to tackle the world’s refugee crisis as it marked World Refugee Day. The day …

Conflict or persecution forced a record 65.6 million people worldwide to flee their homes by the end of 2016. That equates to one person displaced every three seconds.  The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released the figure on Monday (June 19), the eve of World Refugee Day. Syria and Afghanistan remain the biggest sources of refugees, with 5.5 million and 2.5 …

Muslims held a peace march in Cologne on Saturday in protest at the number of deadly Islamic extremist attacks that have hit Europe in recent years. The protesters marched under the slogan “Not with us.” “I am from a Muslim family and I don’t want people to say in our name who is a believer and who is not. And …

Kenyans will go to the polls on 8 August and the country is expectedly already agog with election campaign rallies. Joseph Wandera writes on the factors that will determine the outcome of the general election. After accepting his nomination as the presidential candidate of the main opposition coalition recently, Raila Odinga likened himself to Joshua, the Biblical figure who led …

Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently paid a 3-day visit to Germany to attend the G20 Africa Partnership Conference. He also met the Ghanaian community in the country during the visit. Our correspondent Nelly Sarpong reports on the meeting in Berlin. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana paid an official visit to Germany on 11-13 June mainly to participate …

Eritrea has declared its support for Saudi Arabia and its allies in the ongoing Gulf diplomatic crisis that started last week after Gulf nations cut ties with Qatar for allegedly supporting extremist groups. The Eritrean government said in a statement that its decision is in the right direction to realise regional peace and stability. “The decision by Gulf nations is …

Over 70 Ghanaian immigrants were deported from the United States on Wednesday for visa-related offences including staying illegally and over staying their visas. The all-male deportees arrived at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport in handcuffs, local media report. The deportees initially refused to disembark from the plane in protest over their inhumane treatment including shackling hands and legs before and during …

People travelling to other EU member states will no longer have to pay extra fees when they use their mobile telephones. After a decade-long battle with telecoms operators, the EU has on Thursday (15 June) officially scrapped roaming fees on calls, data and text messages, sent or received on mobiles. Frequently Asked Questions on Roam like at home  In which …

A District Court (Landgericht) in the western city of Aachen has ordered the operator of a fitness studio chain to pay a compensation of 2,500 euros to an African as damages for discriminating against him. The man had been repeatedly refused membership in a fitness studio in Aachen owned by EasyFit in a way the court found to have contravened …

Germany seeks a partnership for a common future with Africa, Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the opening of the G20 Africa Conference in Berlin. She encouraged the participants to an open, purposeful discussion: “Talk openly, we have to learn from each other and we have to achieve results.” “I hope that this conference will help us take responsibility together,” Chancellor …

A new legislation that bans face Muslim veils, obliges immigrants to attend integration courses and asylum seekers to carry out unpaid public work will go into force in October after it was signed into law by the country’s president. The controversial integration law that will fine women for wearing face-concealing Islamic dress from October, and deprive migrants of benefits who …

    Indigenous Christians in the Muslim-dominated northern region of Nigeria are a besieged people. They’re being systematically driven off their ancestral land by violence. “Every week, there are more massacres, but nobody seems to mind – not even their own government,” writes Douglas Murray, Associate Director of the British think tank, the Henry Jackson Society. Murray who visited the …

One of the longest serving African presidents, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has stated that being a president for a long time has given him more experience. The 72-year-old leader made the remark on Tuesday during the State of the Nation address in parliament that lasted for three-hours due to heckling by the opposition, local media The Observer reports . “Being president …

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will visit Germany on 11-13 June. During his stay in the country, he will attend the G20 Conference on Africa in Berlin on 12-13 June. The conference will propose the ‘G20 African Partnership Initiative’ to spur private investment in infrastructure and employment in the continent. [The G20 is comprised of 19 countries plus the EU. …

German men are claiming fatherhood of children born to immigrant women in exchange for cash, prosecutors say. A new law is now being drafted to tackle the fake paternity racket. Officials say growing numbers of pregnant immigrant women are paying German men to pose as fathers so that they can qualify for residency. The scheme allows for the children to become …

Leaders of fifteen West African states and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in Liberia’s capital Monrovia for the 51st Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This is the first ECOWAS Summit to be held in Liberia and it’s the first time a non-African leader has been invited to speak at the forum. Netanyahu addressed …

More than 20 million people are currently threatened with starvation in Africa. The United Nations is warning of the biggest humanitarian disaster since its inception. Activists hit the streets across Germany on Friday to draw attention to the suffering of the affected. More than 23 million men, women and especially children are acutely threatened by starvation in Africa. The UN …

More than 40 migrants from Nigeria and Ghana died in the Sahara desert this week after their truck broke down in arid northern Niger, the Red Cross told news agency Reuters on Wednesday (31 May). Six survivors walked to a remote village where they said that 44 people, mostly from Ghana and Nigeria and including three babies and two other …

Equal pay for equal work, new minimum wage for temporary workers, no more roaming charges and increased video surveillance. These and more are the changes to laws and regulations affecting consumers in Germany from June. New minimum wage for temporary workers (Neuer Mindestlohn für Leiharbeiter) As from June, there is a mandatory minimum wage for temporary workers in Germany. It …

A top diplomat has advised Africans in the Diaspora not to focus on big projects in their efforts to contribute to the development of their homelands. Speaking at the Africa Day commemoration in Dortmund last weekend, Nigeria’s acting ambassador to Greece, Usman Ogah, said the Diaspora in their desire to make a contribution to the development of their countries had …