The United States has announced sweeping changes to its non-immigrant visa policy for Cameroon, Ethiopia and Nigeria, cutting the duration and conditions under which most travellers from those countries can enter.

The US Department of State says nearly all non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of the three countries will now be single-entry and valid for only three months.

It says this is part of a “global reciprocity realignment”, a sharp shift from previous visa terms, which often allowed for multiple entries over two years or more.

Nigeria has denied reports that it only offers single-entry e-visas for three months to US citizens.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said on Thursday that Nigeria continues to offer five-year multiple-entry visas to American nationals.

“We want to reiterate that the US government’s claim of reciprocity as the reason for its current visa policy towards Nigeria does not accurately reflect the actual situation,” he said.

Likewise, US citizens can get visas of up to a year in Cameroon and 90 days in Ethiopia.

The authorities in those two countries have not yet commented.

The Nigerian government has expressed its concern, describing the move as disproportionate and calling for reconsideration.

It added that the restriction could hamper cultural and educational exchanges that have long been a foundation of US-Nigeria relations.

The State Department says visa policies remain “subject to ongoing review” and may change depending on evolving diplomatic, security, and immigration benchmarks.

In a statement, the US government said it was working closely with authorities in the three countries to ensure they meet key international standards.

These include:

issuing secure travel documents

managing visa overstays

sharing security or criminal data for public safety purposes.

Last month, even stricter measures were imposed on Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan -with the United States suspending all immigrant and non-immigrant visas to citizens of those countries.

The US has already ordered that the social media accounts of all foreigners applying for visas would be vetted for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States”.

Nigeria was the seventh largest source of international students to the US, and the highest in Africa, according to the 2024 Open Doors report on international education exchanges.

The report published by the US department of state, bureau of educational and cultural affairs showed a 13.5% increase from 2023.

An aide to former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he believed the US was not reciprocating but showing its displeasure with Nigeria.

Bashir Ahmad posted on X that President Bola Tinubu‘s recent visit to Brazil for the Brics gathering was behind the move.

“This is not solely about reciprocity. Rather, it appears to reflect growing US discomfort with Nigeria’s increasing global realignment, particularly the warm reception we are receiving from the Brics,” he wrote.

Immigration lawyer Godwin Oke thinks differently and told the BBC: “This is a classic case of visa reciprocity under international diplomatic practice. Countries often align their visa terms to reflect mutual treatment.

“The US had been issuing Nigerians five-year multiple-entry visas, while Nigeria only offered Americans short-term, single-entry visas. From a policy standpoint, it was only a matter of time before the imbalance was addressed.”

In March this year, the US mission in Nigeria issued a stern warning, saying overstaying a visa could lead to a permanent travel ban and potential criminal prosecution.

There is no official data showing the number of Nigerian travellers to the US who overstay their visas.

But Nigerians are worried that the number who get visas will fall under President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies.

Many young Nigerians would like to leave the country in what is called Japa (Japa means escape in the Yoruba language) and the US remains one of the most desirable destinations.

Source: BBC

More than 150,000 children have gone missing in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions amid the ongoing armed conflict, now in its eighth year. The figures were revealed during the 7th session of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development (PPRD) of the North-West and South-West regions, held on July 4 in Bamenda, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

According to Paul Tassong, president of the PPRD steering committee, NGO reports indicate that separatist groups abducted many of these children without issuing any ransom or public demands.

This worsening security crisis has also driven over 200,000 children out of classrooms across the two regions.

In its June 2025 report on the Situation of Children in Cameroon, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirms that school enrollment in these areas remains alarmingly low, with some children having missed school for more than five years.

The report also states that, in 2024, 334,000 people were displaced from the North-West and South-West, including 174,000 who crossed into Nigeria. The conflict has crippled the education system: 41% of schools are closed, leaving 223,749 children out of school and increasing their vulnerability to recruitment by non-state armed groups.

To address this humanitarian crisis, the government launched the PPRD, aimed at rebuilding and stabilizing the affected areas. Over the first five years, the state and partners mobilized over CFA600 billion—a dramatic rise from the plan’s initial budget of 89 billion, later reassessed to CFA2,500 billion due to escalating needs.

With this funding, the government has rebuilt nearly 120 schools—71 in the North-West and 49 in the South-West—as part of broader efforts to restore basic services and community infrastructure.

Since late 2016, the two Anglophone regions have faced a violent separatist insurgency, initially triggered by grievances over perceived marginalization. Armed groups have enforced school boycotts, and attacks on students, teachers, and school buildings have become widespread.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Water into wine? How about turning rubles into dollars.

A Moscow court heard that Hans Tabi Takang, a Cameroonian conjurer who has lived in Russia for 12 years, swindled his victims of around two million rubles (around €20,000), the state-owned Kommersant outlet reported.

In one case, the self-proclaimed magician deceived a woman whom he had convinced he could turn paper or rubles into U.S. dollars via a “special ritual.”

“To turn paper into money, you take a 5,000-ruble note, wash it with a special powder mixed with water, then use that liquid to spray the cash inside a suitcase, wrap the money in foil for some time, and after these steps, the bills are supposed to turn into $100 notes,” the woman said Tabi Takang told her.

After the woman handed over 500,000 rubles to Tabi Takang, the mendacious magic man took off with the money.

According to Kommersant, Tabi Takang said he understood the charges and admitted his guilt.

In a second case, Tabi Takang claimed he would collect special pieces of paper sent by his mother from Cameroon, ​​which he would transform into dollars after a “witchcraft ritual.”

The Russian ruble has been on a rollercoaster ride following sweeping economic sanctions enacted by the West after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

However, the ruble has recently become the world’s top-performing currency, according to Bank of America, owing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and its impact on the dollar, along with the Russian central bank’s high interest rates and strict capital controls.

Source: Politico.EU

At least four separatist fighters were killed early Monday in a military offensive in the Northwest, according to the Francophone dominated government in Yaounde.

Government forces launched a coordinated attack on the separatist fighters in the Below Foncha neighborhood of Bamenda, the region’s chief town, a security official said.

“They (separatist fighters) had come out from their hiding to terrorize civilians. Having received a tip-off, our brave soldiers launched an attack on them. We will continue to clear the city of these threats,” the official, who asked not to be named said.

Additional troops have been deployed to the region ahead of the country’s scheduled presidential election in October, according to security sources.

An armed conflict between separatist fighters and government forces has been ongoing in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017, with separatists seeking to create an independent state.

Source: Xinhuanet