Canada has announced an express visa scheme for students from Nigeria seeking to study at the country’s universities and colleges, PIE News has reported. The Nigeria Student Express initiative is aimed at expediting the processing time for study visa applications in Nigeria. The scheme, a specialised financial verification system (MyBank) used to ensure students have sufficient funds to study in …

The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is accepting proposals to support initiatives in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Possible target areas include journalism, justice reform and the rule of law, the democratic practice and more. Proposals must promote investigative journalism and free, quality and independent media. The amount of funding …

Heads of State and Government who gathered at the 2020 African Union Summit have made the provision of more opportunities to women a centre-piece of their collective efforts to drive the continent’s economic growth and development. The Summit, taking place from 8-10 February in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, witnessed the launch of African Women Leadership Fund that will …

Foreigners who are in Germany to look for work or study are excluded from Hartz IV social-security benefits, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has ruled in two cases. In the two verdicts published on Thursday (6 February), the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany’s highest court on constitutional matters, dismissed the ruling of the lower Social Court (Sozialgericht), which considers the legal exclusion of …

African leaders converge in Addis Ababa for the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government Summit of the African Union on 9-10 February. Amongst many issues on the agenda, the 2020 Assembly under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”, will take stock of the challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development on …

In this short story, Berlin-based legal scholar and creative author Nelly Sarpong writes on a fictional encounter with a racist at a train station, revealing how difficult it is to react in a situation where the dignity of a Black person is under assault. ——— It was 5: 45 pm, I was packing up and getting ready to leave when …

As African leaders converge at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 9-10 February, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria and Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, explains in this opinion piece why an African leadership role on climate action is …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s arrived in Pretoria on Wednesday in the first leg of her 4-day trip to South Africa and Angola. Top on her agenda on the visit is increased economic co-operation with both countries, say analysts. South Africa is Germany’s biggest trading partner in Africa and Angola, with its mineral riches, promises more opportunities for German companies. South …

 The Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) elected a new National Executive Committee at its recent bi-annual conference held in Kassel. The conference, attended by representatives of local Ghanaian associations from all over Germany, chose the following 7-member National Executive Committee officials: Mr. Akwasi Opoku Edusei – President; Mr. Alexander Okai Anane – Vice-president; Mr. Aaron Hooper – General Secretary; Mr. Paul …

President Muhammadu Buhari launched the new Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020 at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday. The objective of the NVP 2020 is to strengthen Nigeria’s position as a key economy in Africa by attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country’s economy, he said. The NVP 2020 features visa-on-arrival for African Union nationals, increase in …