NEWS ANALYSIS

His election represents continuity with the papacy of the late Pope Francis, and he is expected to continue Francis’ reforms of the church as well as his focus on poverty and marginalized people. ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – now known as Pope Leo XIV — is the first pope from …

  The price of doing business in Zimbabwean gold — the country’s latest currency — is too steep for many retailers, who can’t compete with an informal market still churning on US dollars. Harare, Zimbabwe | Gamuchirai Masiyiwa, Global Press Journal Zimbabwe |  A year ago, all 16 checkout lanes were …

  Harare, Zimbabwe | Linda Mujuru, Global Press Journal Zimbabwe |   Primrose Garande’s ancestors relied on the fertile pastures here to graze their cattle, and he followed in their footsteps. Now, a Chinese-funded quarry operation threatens the lush landscape. Garande no longer knows where his livestock will graze. When school …

PROFILE | THE INDEPENDENT |  When Calvin David Echodu steps into a room, he carries with him an air of assured calm and understated resolve. Tall, dark-skinned, and immaculately dressed—with a Uganda flag-striped tie and a pocket square in the NRM’s signature yellow—Echodu’s appearance is at once both formal and …

Five candidates vying to lead the African Development Bank shared their visions at a public forum ahead of the May 29 election, outlining priorities from infrastructure, debt reform, food sovereignty and private sector investment ANALYSIS | AYENAT MERSIE |  Five candidates vying to lead the African Development Bank made their pitches …

How AI, X and online platforms are shaping diplomatic relations in the region and globally ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | An unexpected post on X from Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Jan. 30 in reaction to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during the recent flare-up in eastern DR Congo caught many …

Vatican, Italy | THE INDEPENDENT | At exactly 7:10 p.m., white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, signalling to the world that a new Pope had been elected. A wave of applause erupted among the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square and millions viewing from different means across the …

History is a mirror, and only by drawing lessons from history can the world avoid repeating past calamities. BEIJING | Xinhua |  Eighty years ago, the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War marked a turning point in human history, opening a new chapter in building a better international order and …

HANGZHOU | Xinhua | In a compact shop no larger than 10 square meters, Tao Yang, a vendor in Yiwu — a city in Zhejiang Province known as “the world’s supermarket” — keeps a well-used World Atlas on her desk. “I ask my customers to sign their names over their …

Communities in the Kenya’s and Uganda’s shores of Lake Victoria, Copperbelt Province in Zambia, Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, or Enugu State in Nigeria — have this vulnerability ANALYSIS | MONICAH OTIENO | In the west of Kenya, near the shores of Lake Victoria, where I come from, a tuberculosis outbreak is no different …