News Room

On a visit to Cameroon's troubled northwest, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful rebuke to foreign profiteers, accusing them of siphoning Africa’s wealth and deepening the continent’s hardships. Speaking in Bamenda, the epicentre of the country’s long-running Anglophone separatist crisis, he urged Cameroon’s government to confront corruption so that peace can take root. The pontiff said domestic failings are being compounded by outside actors who, “in the name of profit,” continue to seize Africa’s resources to “exploit and…

At least 18 people were killed when a commuter omnibus erupted in flames and exploded on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Highway, authorities confirmed. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said the deadly incident occurred between Chipangali and the Gwanda tollgate. Officials added that more information will be released as investigations progress. The cause of the blaze and subsequent explosion remains undetermined, and it is still unclear how many passengers were on board. The Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, a key artery linking…

Malawi’s opposition leader Simplex Chithyola Banda says his arrest marks a “deeply instructive chapter” in his life—one that has tested but not shaken his resolve. Addressing reporters after securing bail, the usually combative politician struck a notably restrained tone and urged Malawians to pray for the country. Banda was detained on allegations of abuse of office tied to a contentious fertilizer-for-soya exchange arrangement involving the Romanian company East Bridge Estates. The saga has gripped public attention,…

Opposition politician Julius Malema has been handed a five-year prison term for firing a rifle into the air during a 2018 political rally. The opposition leader was found guilty last year on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place, linked to the 2018 incident at a stadium in the Eastern Cape province. His lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

Breaking a long-running diplomatic lull, President Cyril Ramaphosa has named Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s next ambassador to the United States, filling a role that has stood empty since 2025. The move follows the expulsion of former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, who was declared persona non grata in 2025 after comments he made during a webinar on US politics. Frictions deepened afterward when Trump launched a refugee programme for white South Africans, asserting that they face government-led persecution at home. Meyer, a…

In a renewed bid to halt a grinding conflict that has ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, government representatives and delegates from the M23 rebel movement convened in Geneva, even as clashes drift into hard-to-reach highlands where danger grows and past ceasefire attempts have repeatedly unraveled. This ninth round of talks seeks to chart a path out of the fighting in the east, now focused on North Kivu and South Kivu. There, M23 has captured swaths of territory while the Congolese army, backed by its…

In a powerful gesture ahead of Independence Day, South Africa will return Zimbabwe’s last remaining soapstone bird and ancestral human remains, closing a chapter that began with the artefact’s theft more than a century ago during the colonial period. The items will be handed over in a symbolic ceremony. Carved from soapstone and originating from Great Zimbabwe, the bird stands as a defining national emblem of identity and pride. Minister Gayton McKenzie said the move follows a directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa,…

President Daniel Chapo says Mozambique’s campaign against insurgents has turned a corner, with national security forces working alongside regional partners to retake areas once controlled by militants. Under sustained pressure, he noted, the armed groups are “constantly on the move,” and authorities have recorded no confirmed kidnappings in the past six months. Addressing the National Council of the Mozambique Youth Organisation (OJM), the ruling Frelimo Party’s youth wing, the President also appealed for responsible…

Malawi is facing a sharp escalation in violence against its seniors, with the Malawi Network of Older Persons Organizations warning that killings tied to witchcraft allegations are surging. The group reports 11 elderly people were murdered in the first three months of this year—putting the country on pace to surpass the 22 deaths documented across all of 2025. Executive Director Andrew Kavala called the trend “alarming,” noting that more than 300 older persons have been killed over witchcraft accusations since 2015. Urging…

Pope Leo XIV will soon undertake a sweeping 18,000-kilometre journey through Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, a packed itinerary that includes 11 speeches and seven masses before his return on 23 April. The trip is designed to spotlight some of the world’s most urgent concerns — from conflict and migration to corruption and human rights — against a backdrop of uncertainty tied to the Middle East war. Leo will make history as the first pope to visit Algeria, where Islam is the state religion. His programme…