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Trump poised to expand refugee program for white South Africans

White South Africans granted refugee status in the United States by the Trump administration arrive at Washington Dulles airport in Virginia on May 12, 2025.

President Donald Trump’s administration is considering more than doubling an annual refugee limit to bring more white South Africans into the ​U.S., according to three people familiar with the matter.  Trump, a Republican, paused refugee admissions from around the world when he took office in January 2025. Weeks later, ‌he issued an executive order prioritizing the resettlement of …

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South Africa’s police chief suspended over corruption allegations

South Africa’s national police commissioner Fannie Masemola appears in the Pretoria Magistrates Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

South Africa’s top police official was suspended by the president on Thursday after he was charged with breaking finance laws related to an allegedly corrupt police contract.  Fannie Masemola appeared in court on Tuesday and was set to return alongside 12 other senior police officers suspected of fraud, corruption and money laundering in connection with the contract, which was allegedly awarded unlawfully …

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Pope tells inmates ‘you are not alone’ during Equatorial Guinea prison visit at end of Africa tour

Pope Leo XIV told inmates at one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious prisons that they are not alone, as he drew attention to prison conditions, human rights abuses and injustices that campaigners have denounced for years there.

Pope Leo XIV told inmates at one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious prisons on Wednesday that they are not alone, as he delivered a message of hope during a visit that drew attention to prison conditions, human rights abuses and injustices that campaigners have denounced for years here.  Leo’s visit to the prison in the Central African port city of Bata …

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Why a bitter political feud has left a former Zambian president unburied 10 months after his death

A feud over his funeral has meant the body of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu still hasn’t been buried nearly a year after he died in a South African hospital.  Lungu’s family wanted to bury him in South Africa because of his bitter political rivalry with current Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema. But the Zambian government has gone to court to win custody of Lungu’s remains so that it can repatriate …

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China praises blocking of Taiwan president’s Africa trip, Taipei defiant

China heaped praise on Wednesday on three ​African countries that refused to let Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s aircraft fly over their territories, forcing him to cancel a ‌trip to Eswatini, while Lai vowed he would not be cowed by Beijing’s pressure.  It is the first instance of a Taiwan president having to cancel an entire foreign trip due to denial of …

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A new, forceful Pope Leo steps onto the world stage

Leo waves after arriving in Yaounde.

Pope Leo has debuted a new, forceful speaking style on his four-nation Africa tour this week, issuing sharp denunciations of war and ​inequality that have sparked repeated attacks on the pontiff from U.S. President Donald Trump.  The change in rhetoric reflects Leo’s growing concern with the direction ‌of global leadership, experts said, after he maintained a relatively low profile for a pope during …

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South Africa’s Malema faces political crisis after jail sentence in firearm case

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, sentenced to five years in prison.

Julius Malema, a polarizing figure in South African politics, ​faces an uncertain political future after being sentenced to five years prison on Thursday following his conviction for firing an assault rifle ‌in public during a 2018 rally.  Malema, founder and leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, built his platform around advocating for the rights of South Africans …

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Middle East conflict and aid drop push more African nations to IMF 

The economic fallout ​from the Middle East war and a collapse in foreign aid are pushing more African countries ‌to the International Monetary Fund, the Fund said on Thursday.  The Fund cut its 2026 growth forecast for the continent to 4.3% in its global outlook on Tuesday, warning that energy importers without a strong resource buffer …

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Activist Kemi Seba arrested in South Africa, faces extradition to Benin

Kemi Seba

Prominent Beninese activist Kemi Seba has been arrested in South Africa for alleged conspiracy to commit a crime, police said Thursday, as he faces extradition to Benin where he is wanted for “inciting rebellion” following last year’s failed coup there.   Seba, whose birth name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, was arrested alongside his son during a sting operation in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, …

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Veteran negotiator Roelf Meyer appointed as South Africa’s ambassador to the US

Roelf Meyer

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed veteran politician Roelf Meyer as the country’s ambassador to the United States in a move widely seen as an effort to ease diplomatic tensions between the two nations.  Meyer was minister of defense from 1991 to 1992 under the white minority government of former President F.W. De Klerk’s National Party. He later …

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