THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Germany has unveiled a new national passport with improved security features.
The new passport has a new design as well and is slightly smaller than the previous one.
The redesigned identity document, which features a security mark in the shape of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, was shown to the public for the first time on Thursday in Berlin.
“The new German passport reliably protects against forgery and misuse and makes it possible for all passport holders to identify themselves quickly across the whole world,” said Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
German passport guarantees visa-free travel to more than 170 countries.
New features of the passport
- Made of polycarbonate
- Title page has personalised security thread containing the holder’s name and the document’s number
- Transparent lens holds personalised information
The new passport will be issued from 1 March 2017.
The Interior Ministry says all current passports will remain valid until their respective expiry dates.
Exchanging an old passport for a new one is therefore not required.
The new passport costs 60 instead of 59 euros for the old one. And citizens under the age of 24 years will continue to pay 37.50 euros for the document.
Kwame Appiah
