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Sierra Leone: President re-elected in disputed polls

Incumbent Julius Maada Bio has won re-election in Sierra Leone’s tense presidential vote, but his main challenger was quick to reject the results. The electoral commission said on Tuesday that Bio, 59, was re-elected with 56.17 percent at Saturday’s general election. His top rival Samura Kamara, of the All People’s Congress (APC), came second with 41.16 percent. Dr Kamara (72) …

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Germany: Every third inhabitant of Hesse has an immigration history

Almost one third of the Hessian population has an immigration history, according to the State Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. In 2022, 1.97 million inhabitants of Hesse, one of Germany’s 16 federal states, accounting for 31.3 per cent of all inhabitants have a migration background. As of 31 December 2022, 6.39 million people lived in the state, the largest population since …

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German parliament passes law to make immigration of skilled workers easier

Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, has passed a bill to reform the Skilled Workers Immigration Act into law. The MPs of the federal governing coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP voted almost unanimously in favour of the draft law on Friday. The opposition parties, the CDU/CSU and the far-right AfD, voted against the bill while the left-leaning Linke abstained. The …

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President Tinubu invites David Alaba to invest in Nigeria

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has invited David Olatokunbo Alaba to invest in Nigeria, the homeland of the Austrian international footballer’s father. The Nigerian leader made the plea when he addressed Nigerians in Paris on Thursday in his first formal engagement with the diaspora. Asiwaju Tinubu, who is in the French capital to attend the Global Financing Pact Summit convened by …

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These are Africa’s Top 10 Airlines for 2023

Widely regarded as ‘the Oscars of the aviation industry’, the World Airline Awards have been presented for the 24th time at the Paris Air Show, taking place from June 19 to 25 in the French capital. The annual global ranking of airlines, organised by Skytrax, is eagerly anticipated each year, even though three airlines – Qatar, Singapore and Emirates, have …

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Berlin: Kenako kicks off with a children’s African festival

Kenako Afrika-Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. And it’s doing it in a big style! In addition to its activities on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, its traditional venue, from 20 to 30 July, there will also be a Kenako Kids Festival, organised in cooperation with FEZ Berlin, the largest non-profit child, youth and family centre in Europe. Kenako Kids at FEZ-Berlin, …

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NIDO Germany Elects New Leaders

The German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) has elected a new executive committee. The election was part of the body’s annual general meeting, which took place virtually on Saturday, 17 June. Dr (Engr) Moses Kolade Ogun was elected with 83% of the votes cast to lead NIDO Germany as President for the next two years. He replaced …

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Nigeria ends incentive payment for remittances

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that its “Naira 4 Dollar” remittance scheme will end on 30 June 2023. The policy, which was introduced in March 2021 to encourage the inflow of foreign currency, will no longer be in operation as from 1 July, it said. Under the scheme, the CBN pays out a reward of N5 for …

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NIDO Germany holds 2023 AGM virtually

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany e.V. will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) virtually on 17 June in Berlin. The event will also feature the election of a new Executive Committee to run the affairs of the group, which is the umbrella body for Nigerians living in Germany, for the next two years. Originally planned as a hybrid …

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Zimbabwe’s most celebrated band drops new album

Five years after the release of ‘Luyando’, Zimbabwe’s most celebrated musical export have returned with their long-awaited follow-up album ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’, released on 7 July by Munich-based Outhere records. Like anywhere in the world Africa’s musical output has become more and more producer based. Mokoomba, however, are the living proof that Africa’s great guitar band heritage is …

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Germany: Minister wants to recruit skilled workers from developing countries

As a measure against the shortage of skilled workers in Germany, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze (SPD) wants to focus more on immigration. “In the search for skilled workers, we should pay more attention to developing countries,” Schulze told the Funke Mediengruppe. Many of these countries face the challenge of creating enough jobs for their young, …

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Germany: Number of naturalisations reaches new record in 2022

Around 168,500 people were granted German citizenship in 2022 – an increase of 28 percent compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden has reported. It’s the highest number of people who applied for and were granted German nationality in a single year in the past two decades. Syrian nationals accounted for the largest share of naturalisations …

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Minister praised for supporting Nigerian diaspora

Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has commended Ambassador Zubairu Dada, the outgoing Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, for making the job easier for the management of the Commission. Ms Dabiri-Erewa made the comment when she led a delegation of Management Staff of NiDCOM on a farewell visit to the minister’s home in Abuja. She noted …

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German state wants to simplify immigration of skilled workers

There is enough work, but often there is a lack of skilled workers. That is the situation across Germany. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, governed by a CDU-Green coalition, has therefore launched a “skilled labour offensive”, as already agreed in their coalition agreement. To combat the shortage of skilled workers, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), one of Germany’s 16 federal states, …

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Nigerians in Europe to support President Bola Tinubu

Nigerians living in Europe under the aegis of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe (NIDO-Europe) have congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his assumption of office. In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr Bashir Obasekola, and General Secretary, Michael Otogo, the organisation pledged its total support to the new leader, who was sworn into office as the 16th …

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Germany: New Laws and Regulations from June 2023

Like almost every month, June 2023 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Find out here which concrete changes, including new laws, are coming and what you have to prepare for. —— Refunds for rail delays to become more complicatedOn 7 June, a new EU passenger rights regulation will come into force by law. Consumer advocates criticise that …

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Huge expectations in Nigeria as new President takes over

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn into office on Monday as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at a colourful ceremony in the country’s capital city of Abuja. Tinubu, who succeeds Muhammadu Buhari, had won a tough presidential election on 25 February, beating Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party. …

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UK changes student visa rules to curb immigration

The British government has announced measures to restrict the ability of international students to bring family members to the UK in order to reduce net migration to the country. The move comes as official statistics are expected to confirm that net migration rose to more than 700,000 in the year to December 2022. The new visa restrictions, announced on Tuesday, …

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Nigerian global diaspora community congratulates Dabiri-Erewa

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide (NIDO WW) has congratulated the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on the confirmation of her reappointment by the Nigerian Senate. President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier reappointed Ms Dabiri-Erewa to a second 5-year term, a decision that was approved by the upper chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday. A …

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