Pope Leo Sets Off on African Tour Focused on Peace and Unity
The 70-year-old will cover more than 18,000 kilometres across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea – delivering 11 speeches and presiding over seven masses before returning on 23 April. From conflict and human rights to migration and corruption, the US-born pontiff is expected to address a range of issues during a visit that comes at a time of global uncertainty linked to the Middle East war and its economic impact. … Leo will become the first pope to visit Algeria, where Islam is the state religion. He is due to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, visit the Great Mosque of Algiers and travel to Annaba, home of Saint Augustine, where he will meet members of the Augustinian order. He is also expected to pay tribute to migrants killed in shipwrecks trying to reach Europe. … In Cameroon, the pope is expected to focus on peace and reconciliation, particularly in the conflict-hit, English-speaking northwest of the country. He will lead a “peace meeting” and hold a mass in Bamenda, the centre of the violence, under heavy security. … In Angola, the Pope is expected to address poverty and corruption in a country rich in oil and minerals but marked by deep inequality, after a long civil war that ended in 2002. … The final leg of the tour in Equatorial Guinea will see Pope Leo meet President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled since 1979. Around 80 percent of the country’s population is Catholic, but only one pope has visited before now – nearly half a century ago. RFI
Djibouti’s President Guelleh Wins Sixth Straight Term in Office
Guelleh secured 97.81 percent of the votes cast on Friday, according to official results published by Djibouti’s state-run news agency. His sole opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, earned just 2.19 percent of votes. Samatar’s Unified Democratic Centre (CDU) opposition party has no seats in parliament, and he struggled to gain recognition ahead of the polls. … Politicians last year removed presidential age limits, allowing him to seek another five years in power. Voter turnout was 80.4 percent on Friday, according to Djibouti media outlets. Roughly a quarter of the population – about 256,000 people – were registered to vote. Guelleh has ruled Djibouti’s population of roughly one million since 1999. Neighbouring Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, the country is strategically located at the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which provides access to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Al Jazeera
Benin Holds Presidential Election Four Months After Failed Coup
Just four months after a failed coup, Benin heads to the polls for a presidential election that feels more like a coronation than a contest. Patrice Talon, the businessman turned politician who has been president since 2016, is ineligible to run again after serving two five-year terms. The winner of Sunday’s election will have the chance to run for two seven-year terms instead, after a controversial constitutional amendment elongated presidential tenures. Romuald Wadagni, the country’s finance minister who emerged as the ruling coalition’s candidate without any primaries, is overwhelmingly the favourite to win… According to the investigative newsletter Africa Confidential, the path to a Wadagni win was cleared with ruthless efficiency as other possible contenders were sidelined, placated or removed. … A peaceful democratic transition after the failed coup also presents Benin an opportunity to buck another regional trend: at least three of its neighbours are ruled by juntas. … There are also concerns about Benin increasingly becoming a one-party state. In 2024, parliament raised the thresholds for candidacy, now requiring parties to get at least 10% of the vote to secure seats and for an aspiring president to be sponsored by at least 15% of the country’s mayors and lawmakers. That helped the ruling coalition win all 109 seats in January’s legislative elections as opposition parties found it extremely difficult to make the cut. The Guardian
Nigeria Air Force Orders Investigation After Dozens Killed in Airstrike
The Nigerian Air Force says it has launched an investigation after dozens of civilians were reportedly killed in an airstrike on a market on Saturday. The strike happened at Jilli market, along the border between Borno and Yobe states, as military aircraft were hunting Islamist militants. Local residents and Amnesty International say more than 100 people lost their lives. Authorities have yet to confirm the death toll, but some hospitals in Yobe say they are treating those injured. Nigeria’s military on Sunday confirmed the strike in a statement, saying it had targeted a location in Jilli “long identified as a major terrorist movement corridor and convergence point for Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists and their collaborators.” Describing it as “a carefully, well-coordinated planned and intelligence-driven operation”, the military said it had “successfully conducted a precision air strike on a known terrorist enclave and logistics hub located near the abandoned village of Jilli.” Citing a councillor in Yobe’s Geidam district, Lawan Zanna Nur Geidam, as well as three residents and an official from an international humanitarian agency, Reuters said up to 200 people might have been killed. BBC
Nigeria Seeks IMF, World Bank Support as Iran Shock Hits Reforms
Nigeria will seek stronger international financial support at this week’s IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings as the Iran war lifts fuel costs at home and complicates reforms, its finance minister said on Monday. Surging crude prices had some clear benefits for Africa’s top oil producer, boosting foreign exchange earnings, Wale Edun said in a statement ahead of this week’s meetings in Washington. “But the shock comes at a critical transition point, intensifying inflationary pressures and raising living costs for households,” he added. Petrol prices have surged more than 50% to 1,330 naira ($0.9788) per litre – and diesel more than 70% to 1,550 naira a litre – since the start of the conflict, hurting people and businesses, Edun said. The jolting change threatened to derail reforms launched in 2023 to stabilise the economy and revive growth. President Bola Tinubu has rolled out Nigeria’s most ambitious economic overhaul in decades by ending costly fuel and energy subsidies, devaluing the currency and changing the tax system. Reuters
Al Shabaab Changing Tactics, Security Chiefs Told
Security expert Ibrahim Yanaya has told intelligence chiefs meeting in Diani, Kwale county that militant groups linked to Al Shabaab and similar movements are changing how they operate, with new pressure points that could affect countries across the region, including Kenya. Yanaya was speaking at a gathering of intelligence leaders from 70 countries under the Mashariki Corporation conference. He said the shift matters because extremist networks have continued to find ways to move faster than security forces, keeping defenders busy and reactive. “In many cases, these groups decide when, where, and how to attack,” Yanaya said, explaining that this gives them an advantage. He added that this often means security forces have to keep travelling and responding, sometimes after an incident has already begun. … He highlighted three ways the strategy is shifting. First, he said there is increased focus on urban and trading areas. … Second, he said militants are using economic pressure as part of their approach. … Third, Yanaya said militants are becoming more political. He told the chiefs that some groups are reaching out to political actors—especially opposition figures who may be outside the country—and trying to co-opt them into alliances. The Star
Civilian Death Toll From North Darfur Drone Attack on Wedding Procession Rises to 58
The death toll following a drone attack on a wedding party in Kutum, North Darfur on Wednesday, has risen to 58 civilians, including 17 children, the local emergency room in Kutum says. Dozens more were injured some of whom are still in critical condition. Markets have closed and movement has almost completely stopped in the city as bombardments continue. The lethal attack, carried out by drone believed to be of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Wednesday, impacted among a wedding procession in Kutum’s El Salama neighbourhood, near the Umm Banat School. Callers from Kutum told Radio Dabanga that, as of Thursday evening, 37 victims have been buried, most of them women, children, and the seniors. A resident of Kutum told Radio Dabanga that some of the victims of the blast were severely burned, charred, or dismembered, while more than 10 people were still missing. Radio Dabanga
Millions in War-Ravaged Sudan Surviving on One Meal a Day
Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day, as the country’s food crisis deepens and threatens to spread, according to a report published by a group of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Sudan’s war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which enters its third year on Wednesday, has caused widespread hunger and displaced millions of people amid one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises,” a report by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Monday. “Nearly three years of conflict, marked by violence, displacement and siege tactics, have systematically eroded Sudan’s food system – field by field, road by road, market by market – producing mass hunger,” it added. The report highlighted that millions of families can only access one meal a day in the two states worst hit by the conflict – North Darfur and South Kordofan. Al Jazeera
Libya Approves First Unified Budget in More Than a Decade
Libya’s rival legislative bodies have approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than a decade, in a rare moment of cooperation in a country fractured by years of conflict. The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on Saturday that both chambers had endorsed the budget, describing the move as a step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division. Governor Naji Issa said the agreement showed the country could overcome internal rifts. “This is a clear declaration that Libya is capable of overcoming its differences when a unified vision for its future is forged,” he said during a signing ceremony in Tripoli.Libya has remained split since the 2014 civil war, which created rival administrations in the east and west. The last time the country operated under a single national budget was in 2013. The deal brings together the eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR) and the Tripoli-based High Council of State, two institutions that have long competed for authority. Representatives from both sides signed the agreement in the capital, where the internationally recognised Government of National Unity is based under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Al Jazeera
Trains Through Angola’s Lobito Critical Mineral Corridor Suspended by Floods
A railway through Angola’s Lobito corridor – a vital source of critical minerals like copper and cobalt – was forced to suspend operations on Sunday after nearby rivers burst their banks, causing flooding. The Lobito Atlantic Railway said heavy rains flooded bridges over the Halo River, between Cubal and Caimbambo stations, as well as a bridge over the Cavaco River, near Benguela. “As a result, rail traffic on the affected sections is suspended indefinitely,” it said in a statement. Angola in 2022 granted the Lobito Atlantic Railway – a consortium of Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis SA – a 30-year concession to operate the rail link and provide a quick route for copper and cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Lobito port on the Atlantic coast. Reuters
Congo Says Its Mpox Outbreak Is Over After 2 Years and More Than 2,200 Suspected Deaths
Congo on Thursday declared the end of a two-year outbreak of the mpox disease that’s believed to have caused more than 2,200 deaths in the country. Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists that the government had made the determination that the outbreak was over and no longer a national emergency. Congo, a vast country in central Africa, was at the center of an outbreak of the infectious viral disease that spread to neighboring countries in 2024 and prompted the World Health Organization to declare it a global health emergency as it spilled over borders. WHO ended the global health emergency declaration in September. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were more than 161,000 suspected cases of mpox in Congo during the outbreak between 2024 and this year, with around 37,000 of them confirmed through tests. AP
Taiwan President Lai To Visit Eswatini, Last Diplomatic Ally In Africa
Lai Ching-te, president of Taiwan, is set to visit Eswatini next week, marking a significant diplomatic engagement with the island’s only remaining ally in Africa. Lai will be in Eswatini from April 22 to 26, according to his spokesperson Karen Kuo, to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and his 58th birthday. The visit underscores Taiwan’s shrinking pool of diplomatic allies, with the self-governed island maintaining formal ties with just 12 countries, mostly smaller nations in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, including Belize and Tuvalu. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and opposes any official state-to-state relations between Taipei and other countries. This will be Lai’s first overseas visit since November 2024, when he travelled to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, with transit stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam. The last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini was in 2023, when Tsai Ing-wen made the trip. Arise
South Africa’s New DA Leader Committed to Coalition, Will Meet Ramaphosa
South Africa’s newly-elected Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said he was committed to making the governing coalition work and was due to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday. Cape Town Mayor Hill-Lewis was elected head of the pro-business DA at a party conference over the weekend. The DA is the second-biggest party in the “Government of National Unity” coalition formed in 2024, when Ramaphosa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in an election. Hill-Lewis told reporters on Monday that he thought the coalition government was “the best chance that South Africa’s had in probably 25 years … to get our country on a better path of higher growth and more jobs and proper reform”. He described his appointment with Ramaphosa on Tuesday as a “get-to-know-you meeting.” Reuters