Pope’s Upcoming Africa Odyssey Takes Him to a Mosque, a Prison and the Site of a Deadly 2021 Blast

By NICOLE WINFIELD, OPE ADETAYO, MARK BANCHEREAU and GERALD IMRAY

1:36 PM EDT, March 16, 2026

ROME (AP) — The Vatican released on Monday details of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming four-nation Africa tour, suggesting Christian-Muslim relations, comforting victims of violence and encouraging the Catholic community in former European colonies will be key themes.

The April 13-23 trip begins in Algeria, which has never before welcomed a pope. It includes a visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers as well as a meeting with Leo’s fellow Augustinians in the place most associated with St. Augustine of Hippo, the 5th-century inspiration for their religious order.

Leo will preside over a peace meeting in northwest Cameroon, visit an important Marian shrine in Angola and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 blast in Equatorial Guinea that killed more than 100 people and was blamed on negligence.

All the while, he’ll meet with local bishops, celebrate Masses for the faithful and have private talks with the four nations’ leaders, two of whom have been in power for decades.

Here’s a look at some of the key stops in each of the countries.

The pope will tour a mosque and meet Catholic faithful in Algeria

Leo has a busy first day in Algiers, meeting with government authorities, touring the mosque and meeting with the local Catholic community.

He’ll later visit Annaba, far to the east on the Algerian coast, formerly known as Hippo, where St. Augustine lived and died in 430, one of the theological and devotional giants of early Christianity. Leo will meet with a community of Augustinian sisters and priests, and tour an archaeological site.

The pope will also celebrate Mass in the capital’s basilica named after St. Augustine.

Leo is set to lead a ‘peace meeting’ in Cameroon

Leo’s next stop is in Cameroon, where Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2009. He will visit the capital, Yaoundé, the country’s economic hub, Douala, and Bamenda, a major city in the North-West region.

Cameroon’s western regions have been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent English-speaking state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

One of the highlights of Leo’s visit will be a “peace meeting” that the pope will lead in Bamenda on April 16. No details of who might participate were immediately announced.

The country is also plagued by fighting involving Boko Haram militants in the north, as the Islamic extremist group’s insurgency in neighboring Nigeria has spilled over into Cameroon.

The pope’s visit has sparked concerns among some Cameroonians that it could be instrumentalized by the country’s leader following a disputed presidential election.

Cameroonian Jesuit priest and opposition activist Ludovic Lado expressed his concerns to Leo in an open letter, warning that the visit could be “interpreted as an implicit form of endorsement of a discredited and illegitimate government.”

The country’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya, already in power for 42 years, was declared the winner of October’s presidential election, securing another seven-year term. But his main challenger, former government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has continued to maintain that he is the legitimate winner.

A large Catholic community awaits Leo in Angola

The pope’s trip to Angola will take him to a former Portuguese colony in southern Africa that is overwhelmingly Christian. Catholicism is the largest faith group in the Portuguese-speaking nation of around 38 million people because of the former colonial ruler’s influence.

Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, though it immediately slipped into a long and bloody civil war that didn’t end until 2002.

The pope will visit the capital, Luanda, the town of Muxima, and the city of Saurimo.

At Muxima, the pope will see the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, a Marian shrine inside the Church of Our Lady of Muxima that has become one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in Angola.

The church was first built around the end of the 16th century by the Portuguese after they established a fortress at Muxima. It became a key point in the Portuguese trans-Atlantic human trade as a place where enslaved people were baptized before they were sent on ships to the Americas.

The pope will visit three dioceses in Equatorial Guinea

Leo’s final stop is in Equatorial Guinea, which has one of the largest proportions of Catholic populations in Africa, with roughly 70% of its 1.9 million citizens Catholic. A vestige of its Spanish colonialism, the Catholic Church has remained a dominant and influential institution in the Central African country.

While officially a secular state, the Catholic Mass is part of state ceremonies, including Independence Day celebrations.

Leo’s visit to the country, the second after Pope St. John Paul II’s 1982 tour, will have him traverse three of the country’s five dioceses in Malabo, the state capital, Bata, and Mongomo.

In Bata, Leo will meet with prison inmates and will also pray at the memorial to victims of a 2021 blast at a military barracks that killed more than 100 people. The explosions were blamed on the negligent handling of dynamite in a barracks close to residential areas.

Equatorial Guinea has long been ruled by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1982 and has been accused of running an autocratic regime.

Catholics in Equatorial Guinea experienced intense persecution under the rule of former President Francisco Macías Nguema, who closed down churches in 1975 and officially banned the Catholic Church in 1978. Nguema wanted to eliminate colonial influences. The decree was repealed when Teodoro came to power in a coup.

Despite the country’s economy being powered by oil and gas wealth, at least 57% of its entire population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

___

Associated Press reporters Ope Adetayo in Lagos, Nigeria, Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa contributed to this report.

Planned Demolition of a Building in Nairobi Goes Wrong, Leaves at Least 4 Dead

1:55 PM EDT, March 16, 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A building collapsed during a planned demolition that went wrong Monday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, killing at least four people and injuring four others, officials said.

Rescue workers from the army and other institutions were working to find any people trapped under the rubble, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Images showed victims being carried away from the rubble on stretchers.

It wasn’t immediately clear what happened during the demolition that led to the deaths and injuries.

The building had been one of several “earmarked for removal under the ongoing Nairobi River Regeneration Project,” the statement said.

At least two people were rescued, but an Associated Press journalist at the scene in the Blue Estate community of Shauri Moyo counted at least three bodies pulled from the collapsed structure. The Interior Ministry put the death toll at four.

Building collapses are common in Nairobi, where housing is in high demand and unscrupulous developers often bypass regulations or simply violate building codes.

After eight buildings collapsed and killed 15 people in Kenya in 2015, the presidency ordered an audit of buildings across the country to see if they were up to code. The National Construction Authority found that 58% of the buildings in Nairobi were unfit for habitation.

Judge Strikes Down Kennedy’s Vaccine Policies

Ruling on a lawsuit brought by several prominent medical organizations, a district court said the federal government had not based its decisions on science in limiting Covid shots and revising the childhood immunization schedule.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

March 16, 2026

In a severe blow to the Trump administration’s health agenda, a federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked the government from implementing a series of decisions on vaccines made over the last year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The ruling also reversed, at least for the time being, all decisions made by the panelists that Mr. Kennedy appointed to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations on which vaccines Americans should take. The court decision will prevent the committee from meeting later this week, as it was scheduled to do.

The judge’s ruling brought an abrupt halt to the major changes that Mr. Kennedy, who has long been skeptical of vaccines, had set in motion, upending national vaccine policy and making sweeping revisions to the recommendations for what shots are given and when. Those included cutting down the number of diseases covered by routine immunization, and restricting access to Covid vaccines, two pillars of Mr. Kennedy’s vaccine agenda.

In his decision, Judge Brian Murphy, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, noted that the vaccine committee has historically made decisions through careful review of scientific evidence, “a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements." But, he added “unfortunately, the government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”

The ruling will almost certainly be appealed. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said, “H.H.S. looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.”

Judge Murphy made the ruling in a lawsuit brought by six medical organizations, that contended Mr. Kennedy and his appointees had made “arbitrary and capricious” changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, bypassing the careful, evidence-based practice that in the past has underpinned the recommendations.

The lawsuit also argued that the panelists Mr. Kennedy appointed did not have the qualifications to recommend vaccinations and that their decisions endangered the health of Americans.

In his decision, Judge Murphy wrote that only six of the 15 panelists “appear to have any meaningful experience in vaccines — the very focus of A.C.I.P.”

Lawyers for the federal government, for their part, had argued that changes to the vaccination schedule represented reasonable disagreements about health policy. They noted that the states — not the vaccine committee or the federal government — are the ultimate authority in decisions about which vaccines are required.

In a hearing this month, Isaac Belfer, a lawyer for the Trump administration, argued that Mr. Kennedy and the committee had “unreviewable” — or absolute — authority to make vaccine policies, even if that included recommending that people become infected with measles instead of getting vaccinated.

Judge Murphy was clear in his dismissal of that argument. “Suffice it to say that the Court disagrees,” he said.

The decision was the clearest outcome yet in an escalating battle between the medical establishment and the Health Department, which under Mr. Kennedy has embraced anti-vaccine conspiracies, including debunked theories that childhood shots cause autism, asthma or other diseases.

“This is a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine, the rule of law, and the American people,” Richard Hughes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told reporters after the court made its ruling.

The government may appeal the decision, Mr. Hughes noted, “but for now, we get to celebrate a rare bit of good news.”

The vaccine committee’s decisions powerfully influence states’ vaccination requirements for entry into day care and elementary school and shape insurance coverage of the shots.

The panel was initially scheduled to meet in February, but the Health Department did not file the necessary federal notices for the meeting and postponed the session.

The lawsuit was filed in July by the medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, after Mr. Kennedy announced on social media that Covid vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women.

Robert Kennedy Jr. gestures as he speaks from a lectern in a room of the White House.

The medical societies argued that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his appointees have made arbitrary and capricious changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.Credit...Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

The medical organizations had asked the court to restore the immunization schedule from a year ago, before Mr. Kennedy began making revisions.

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The goal is “to stop dangerous vaccine policies and to restore science to our nation’s vaccine decision making,” said Mark Del Monte, chief executive of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The pediatrics academy lauded the court’s ruling on Monday, saying it “effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunization recommendations is not to be trifled with and represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision-making to federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years.”

The lawsuit addressed a series of changes made by Mr. Kennedy and his associates over the last year. In June, Mr. Kennedy fired all 17 previous members of the vaccine committee and selected new panelists, most of whom shared his skepticism of vaccines and mandates.

In three meetings since then, the panelists rescinded several recommendations for childhood shots, including the immunization of all newborns against hepatitis B, a highly infectious virus that can severely damage the liver.

Separately, Jim O’Neill, whom Mr. Kennedy had installed as the C.D.C.’s acting director at the time, announced a new schedule for childhood vaccines in January that rescinded recommendations for some shots, effectively reducing the number of diseases against which children are routinely immunized to 11 from 17.

Mr. O’Neill and other federal officials said mistrust in vaccines had led to declining immunization rates and argued that the truncated schedule would restore the public’s faith. The shots dropped from the routine schedule would still be available after consultation with a doctor.

The revision of the schedule bypassed the vaccine panel entirely. Changes to the vaccination schedule are typically made by the vaccination committee after a careful review of the benefits and potential risks, in a process that can take months or years, said Dr. Giridhar Mallya, a senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which supports universal health care.

“We cannot say the same for the changes that were made to the vaccine schedule just in the past year,” Dr. Mallya said.

After the lawsuit was filed last summer, it was expanded to include the additional vaccine developments, with the medical organizations asking the court to throw out the revisions to the schedule. The suit also gained supporters: An amicus brief representing more than 100 public health experts and organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was filed in February.

“We really see vaccines, particularly childhood vaccines, in this nation as a true crown jewel of public health,” Dr. Mallya said. “Seeing a set of drastic, arbitrary and poorly reasoned changes to those recommendations is of real concern to us.”

Judge Murphy seemed to agree with that assessment.

“It is undisputed that Director O’Neill issued the January 2026 Memo without sufficiently consulting A.C.I.P.,” he wrote in his decision. “Therefore, he lacked authority to issue the January 2026 Memo and, in so doing, acted contrary to law.”

“The C.D.C. cannot simply bypass A.C.I.P. in altering the immunization schedules,” he added.

Many of the members Mr. Kennedy appointed are physicians, but unlike previous panelists, they have little to no expertise in vaccines or immunology.

Last month, the vaccine panel’s chair, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist, suggested that all childhood vaccines, including the shots against polio and measles, should be optional, because the diseases no longer pose the dangers they once did — a position most public health experts immediately denounced as dangerous.

Other committee members have suggested, contrary to the scientific consensus, that Covid shots are deadly, and should be taken off the market.

Allowing the panelists to make decisions about vaccines is “just as reckless as letting a group of amateur pilots dictate how our airplanes should fly,” said Dr. Tina Hartert, a co-chair of the American Thoracic Society’s vaccine advisory committee. “The stakes in both scenarios are life and death,” Dr. Hartert said. The thoracic society joined the amicus brief.

“The medical and scientific backlash against this hasn’t changed anything, so I think it really is going to take some critical legal defense to protect the health of our nation,” she added.

The pediatrics academy and many other organizations, including the American Medical Association, have banded together to provide the public with information and evidence that would normally be offered by the vaccine panel and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, the pediatrics academy issued its own new immunization schedule, which largely mirrors the previous C.D.C. vaccination schedule. Most physicians’ groups, states and insurance companies have also committed to following the previous schedule.

“We would prefer to be collaborating with federal health officials instead of appearing in a courtroom to challenge their actions,” Mr. Del Monte, the pediatrics academy’s chief executive, said.

Iran After Permanent End to War, Will Soon Celebrate Victory: Araghchi

Monday, 16 March 2026 1:48 PM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran seeks a permanent cessation of the US-Israeli war on its soil, saying the unprovoked aggression should end in a way that would prevent enemies from ever repeating such atrocities.

“We have not sent [the adversaries] any messages, and have not asked for a ceasefire, but this war should end in a way that would not repeat itself in another form,” the top diplomat told reporters on Monday.

Araghchi noted that how he had uttered the same comments to CBSNEWS earlier, adding, “My saying that we do not want a ceasefire is not due to our being after war [either]. The actual reason is rather that this war should end in a way that the thought of repeating these attacks and aggression would not occur to the enemies again.”

Late last month, the United States and the Israeli regime began their latest bout of unprovoked aggression against Iran, prompting the Islamic Republic to immediately launch scores of waves of decisive retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets.

Araghchi noted how the enemies were pursuing Iran’s “unconditional surrender” during the previous round of their unlawful aggression towards the country last June before pleading with the Islamic Republic for a ceasefire.

He lamented the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Aytollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei during the early stages of the aggression, saying the Leader’s ascension to martyrdom served as a “medal of honor” across his lifelong endeavor.

The foreign minister also noted the martyrdom of numerous senior Iranian officials and ordinary citizens, including children, throughout the aggression.

He described the period that had lapsed since the onset of the fresh aggression as “difficult,” but described the country’s steadfast resistance, defense, and retaliation as a source of pride.”

Addressing the Islamic Republic’s closure of the strategic Hormuz Strait, an indispensable conduit for global energy consignments, he said the waterway remains open except to Iran’s enemies and those who have resorted to “cowardly aggression” against the nation and their allies.

“So far,” he said, “The enemies have learnt a good lesson and found out with which nation they are dealing with, a nation that does not hesitate to defend itself, and is prepared to continue the war as long as it takes.”

Araghchi noted he had made the same comments to CBS News earlier, adding, “My saying that we do not want a ceasefire is not due to our being after war. The actual reason is rather that this war should end in a way that the thought of repeating these attacks and aggression would not occur to the enemies again.”

Iranian Model of Warfare Bleeds US Dry While Persian Gulf States Watch and Learn: Analyst

Monday, 16 March 2026 2:59 PM

By Press TV Website Staff

Sixteen days into the American-Israeli war on Iran, the battlefield tells a story that Pentagon planners had not anticipated. Tehran's streets remain filled with defiant crowds, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for US-linked ships, and the US military bases in the region smolder.

Patricia Marins, an independent defense analyst based in Brazil, has been following the war unfold with a keen eye on the shifting strategic balance.

In an interview with the Press TV website, Marins said she has been witnessing the emergence of something the region has never quite witnessed before: the "Iranian model" of warfare proving itself against the world's most powerful military.

“The Iranian model possesses several distinct characteristics compared to the American model exported to Arab countries. It is built for attrition warfare and resilience, featuring an extensive network of underground facilities and a focus on long-range precision-guided munitions,” she stressed.

“All of this was achieved through investment in research centers, universities, reverse engineering, and the steady implementation of a domestic defense industry, which in many respects is dual-use.”

On the other hand, the American model exported to the Persian Gulf countries consists of “vulnerable surface installations, almost no degree of indigenous production, and consequently a disconnect between research centers, reverse engineering, and the military industry,” which Marins added is not limited to the US model, but all Western models.

“Kuwait paid over $310 million for each Eurofighter Typhoon, nothing short of extortion,” she said, making a clear distinction between the American and Iranian models.

Today, amid the war that was triggered by the unprovoked US-Israeli attack on February 28, and the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and some top-ranking military commanders, that investment is paying dividends.

Marins believes the contrast in the military tech leap is not lost on regional observers.

"I believe this Iranian model is being closely watched by all (Persian) Gulf countries at this moment. I see a high probability of it serving as a reference in several areas. I even believe it has inspired the Saudi missile industry, which is currently absorbing Chinese technology," she said.

“Iran inspires, yet it still maintains a guarded distance from the (Persian) Gulf countries in this sector.”

Beyond the missile and drone arsenal, Iran also enjoys the geographical advantage, the Brazilian analyst stated.

"Iran's advantage begins with its geographical position, but it is confirmed by its military prowess. And Iran knows how to leverage both very effectively," she said

She referred to the Ghadir-class submarine, which is affordable, stealthy, and designed specifically for the waters it operates in – the Persian Gulf – especially in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait’s “shallow, high-salinity, and high-temperature conditions create a challenging, noisy, and complex environment for sonar, favoring small, fast, and highly maneuverable platforms,” she asserted.

"It is the perfect marriage between the weapon and the environment in which it operates," she said. "Iran knows how to use the geography that already favors them."

Then there is Yemen as well, which has indicated willingness to join the front against the US and Israel, after the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and Iraqi resistance groups.

“Iran has been a master player. Knowing that by maintaining influence in Yemen, in a situation like this, they could exert power over both straits,” Marins said.

"However, all of this requires prudence and maturity.”

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed already for the US and its allied vessels, if Yemen’s Ansarullah movement follows through and shuts down the Bab el-Mandeb strait as well, the costs would be abysmal, she noted.

“This would expand the conflict on that axis to European countries, as has already occurred. I believe Iran is weighing the necessity of this escalation and whether it is truly required. While Hormuz involves oil and gas, Bab el-Mandeb involves the flow of goods between the West and Asia,” Marins remarked.

“If this strait is closed, it will have a massive economic impact. I see Iran as prudent and disciplined as a nation must be during a war.”

While media reports have cited figures of $1 billion per day for American attacks, with one estimate putting the first six days at $11 billion, Marins believes the true cost is far higher.

In her projections, she suggests the costs for the US could reach a colossal $360 billion within two months if the war continues unabated, a sum that she stresses “would test the patience of any treasury, let alone American taxpayers already feeling the pinch of soaring oil prices.”

“Israel's operations during the 12-day war generated a daily cost of around $700 million. However, by the end of the war, once the costs of interceptors and damages were added, this daily cost hit nearly $2 billion,” she told the Press TV website.

“I believe this will be Israel's cost, but the American cost so far is triple that due to three factors: the number of interceptors expended, the quantity of missiles and guided bombs used, and the cost of damages to bases and radars.”

When these factors are combined, Marins noted, the cost is expected to be “no less than $6-8 billion daily during these two weeks of war."

On reports that Trump’s advisors are advising him to declare victory and find an exit, Marins doubts the American victory in this war is even possible.

“I don't think so. I see Iran in a much better strategic position to win the conflict. As long as Iran maintains control of the strait, the pressure will be on Donald Trump's shoulders, no matter how many bombs he drops,” she said.

But beneath that tactical reality lies a deeper truth about the nature of this war. Iran has demonstrated a capacity to absorb bombings while being resilient, limiting drone actions over its territory, and fighting an asymmetric war on its own terms, Marins said.

"So far, I believe Iran has conducted an asymmetric war with very few mistakes," Marins said. "One that the US and Israel simply don't know how to fight."

Ethiopia Urges Fuel Saving Amid Middle East-driven Price Surge

Addis Ababa

Faced with an alarming rise in fuel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East, the Ethiopian government is now calling on citizens and institutions to avoid unnecessary consumption and is announcing measures to stabilize supply and combat illegal trade.

During a press conference, Ahmed Shide, the Minister of Finance, described the price increase as 'alarming' and outlined measures to prevent a major crisis.

The Ethiopian government plans to increase fuel subsidies to keep prices affordable, purchase additional petroleum products to prevent supply shortages, and launch a national crackdown on illegal fuel trade, targeting sales outside official channels or at prices above the regulated rate.

The Ethiopian government has sounded the alarm over the surge in fuel prices, a direct consequence of tensions in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane for oil transport.

According to the minister, these measures are accompanied by strengthened enforcement against individuals and companies that violate regulations, to protect the market and ensure fuel access for everyone.

Ethiopia, entirely dependent on imported petroleum products, is particularly vulnerable to global fluctuations.

Ahmed Shide emphasized the importance of responsible consumption and ensuring a stable supply amid uncertainty in international energy markets.

DRC President Tshisekedi Creates Financial and Economic Criminal Court

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo speaks during the Homegoing Celebration of Life for the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, 7 March 2026.

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi signed a decree-law on Saturday to create a brand-new specialised court to deal with economic and financial crimes such as corruption and money laundering.

Signed on Saturday by Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi, a decree-law established a specialised criminal court to deal with a variety of offences, including corruption, currency counterfeiting, fraud and embezzlement of public funds.

The court's creation aims to strengthen the Democratic Republic of Congo's judicial system in the fight against financial and economic crimes, which are numerous in the country.

Previously, cases of irregularities or suspected crimes that financial authorities forwarded to the judicial system often met dead ends, as magistrates lacked the expertise to deal with such cases.

The tribunal will consist of a primary jurisdiction court and an appeals chamber.

At least forty judges will likely be needed to work across the two chambers. The question of qualified candidates remains, as the selected magistrates will need to have expertise in this specific field, as well as prove their strong sense of integrity.

By law, the new structure will have to be operational within three mjonths of the decree-law's entering into force.

Congo-Brazzaville's Sassou Nguesso Set to Extend Four-decade Rule

Congo-Brazzaville holds elections Sunday in a vote expected to extend 82-year-old President Denis Sassou Nguesso's more than four decades in power in the oil-rich central African country. Observers say voter turnout could reach a record low.

15/03/2026 - 14:00

Campaign posters of the candidates for the  in Congo-Brazzaville presidential election on 15 March 2026.

Campaign posters of the candidates for the in Congo-Brazzaville presidential election on 15 March 2026. © Loïcia Martial/RFI

By RFI

Six candidates are standing against Sassou Nguesso but the main opposition is divided and largely absent, leaving him set to win another five-year term.

The former paratrooper colonel is already one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, along with Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Cameroonian President Paul Biya.

The president has toured the country during the election campaign, which ended Friday, backed by the ruling Congolese Workers' Party (PCT), urging voters to come to the ballot box.

The second round of voting, if there needs to be one, is in theory three weeks later. The date the results of the first round will be announced has not yet been announced.

Economy, infrastructure

Sassou Nguesso stressed the issue of security during his final election meeting in Brazzaville Friday, attended by thousands of enthusiastic supporters.

While he can claim to have brought some stability to the country, rights groups regularly denounce what they say is the persecution of opposition activists.

Two opposition figures who featured in the 2016 election campaign, General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and Andre Okombi Salissa, are both behind bars, jailed for 20 years for supposedly being a "threat to internal security".

For Sunday's vote, there are six other contestants, considered by Congolese public opinion to have little political weight.

Three first-timers

Three of them are running for the first time. The youngest, Destin Gavet, 35, is a petroleum engineer by training. Alongside him are two other newcomers: Vivien Manangou, a law professor at the public university, and retired customs inspector Mabio Mavoungou Zinga.

Three others are not newcomers. Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, an economist by training, who will soon be 74, is running for the fifth consecutive time, while customs officer Anguios Nganguia Engambé is running for the fourth time. Dave Mafoula, also an economist, is returning for the second time. All three received less than 1 percent of the vote in the last presidential election.

During his election campaign, Sassou Nguesso underlined his economic record, having pushed to modernise the country's infrastructure and develop the gas and agriculture sectors in a bid to make the Republic of Congo self-sufficient.

Oil and gas provide most of the state revenue, driving growth that is estimated to be 2.9 percent for 2025.

Nevertheless, more than half of the country lives below the poverty line.

The government's critics say the country's growth has been sapped by massive amounts of state oil revenue syphoned into the bank accounts of senior officials.

The government has already been the target of several criminal complaints and investigations, notably in France.

Firm grip on power

While Sassou Nguesso's re-election seems assured, the constitution forbids him from running again in 2031, raising the question of a possible handover.

He told French news agency AFP that he would not remain "in power for ever" and that the young generation would get their turn. But he would not name anyone in particular as a possible successor.

Sassou Nguesso first led Congo-Brazzaville under a one-party system from 1979 to 1992 before losing the first multi-party elections, whose winner he then overthrew in a civil war in 1997.

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He was re-elected in 2002, 2009, 2016 and 2021 in votes the opposition said were neither transparent nor democratic.

He has maintained a firm grip over the former French colony, which gained independence in 1960 and has traditionally maintained close ties with both France and Russia.

The third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, Congo-Brazzaville depends heavily on hydrocarbons, which account for more than three-quarters of export earnings.

Voting stations will open at 7:00 am local time, closing at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT).

(with AFP)

In a Congo Village, Presidential Campaign Deepens Generational Divide

Voters check for their names at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Congo politics

"Hoodlums," muttered 80-year-old village chief Joseph Batangouna as he walked past a group of young people sitting by the side of the road in Mayitoukou, Congo-Brazzaville.

Sunday's presidential election has laid bare tensions between the generations.

With 82-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso, the current president, running for a fifth term to extend his 40 years in power, there is little doubt about the outcome.

Turnout risks being low -- not something Batangouna wants to see.

"On Sunday, we have to go and vote for Sassou!" he told the youngsters in his village.

Not all of them were convinced.

"Me, I won't go and vote because it's always the same ones who are there" in power, said 27-year-old labourer Guelord Mienagata.

Mayitoukou lies just 30-odd kilometres (nearly 20 miles) from the capital Brazzaville, but some of its 167 residents feel forgotten by those in power.

Pool region, to which the village belongs, has a reputation as one of the most unstable in the country since the 1997 civil war, when many people fled.

"People's feet were swollen from all the walking they had done," recalled Batangouna, who served as a sergeant at the time.

"We don't want to flee anymore. We don't want that anymore."

Batangouna served under Sassou Nguesso, who won the conflict, and he still believes that only the current president can keep the peace in the country.

Sassou Nguesso, he said, "has no competition". In Mayitoukou, he insisted, there would be no need for a second round of voting. "We are going to turn out in force!" he said.

But not all local people feel the same way.

- 'Easy money' -

A group of young people sheltered under a thatched hut by the side of the road, absorbed in a game of poker. They slapped down their cards, playing for pile of coins in the middle.

Some of them had no intention of obeying their village chief.

"Me, I'm not going to vote," said Benie Mbakani, seated at a neighbouring table, as Batangouna looked on.

"I don't want to hear that!" the village chief shouted.

But Mbakani was unmoved. "We have the right to vote for who we want!" he replied, getting up from the table.

"The shame of it!" said Batangouna, outraged at being openly defied in front of foreign visitors.

Benie Mbakani and Guelord Mienagata also made it clear they would not be following the village chief's injunctions.

They accused him of having made the most of the good life during his military career, while they, as part of the young generation, struggled.

They both told how they had left for the capital in search of work, but their hopes of finding opportunities there had come to nothing.

In the end, they both returned to the village, where making charcoal brings them between 100,000 and 300,000 CFA francs (150-450 euros) a month.

"In Congo, there's nothing, there's no economy," said Mienagata.

"We have jobs, but we don't make anything," he added, as he took an axe to a tree stump in a neighbouring plot.

- Farming drive -

More than half the population of Congo live below the poverty threshold.

Batangouna denounced what he said was the young folk's obsession with easy money and the damage they were doing to the once-vast forests next to the village.

He said he and his wife, Antoinette, had worked their land for decades to grow manioc and bananas on steep fields that had taken a toll on his wife's back.

He wanted to see the villagers back in the fields, following the president's injunctions to develop agriculture.

In Mayitoukou, only the older generation was heeding the call, said one village elder, Antoine.

The young folk were always insulting him behind his back, the village chief complained.

Antoine said that when he tried to stop local youngsters from cutting down trees, he was beaten and accused of witchcraft.

As the two old men told their stories, a youngster brushed past them, a machete slung over his shoulder.

On his tee-shirt, in large, glittery letters, were the words: "I hate you."

Additional sources • AFP

Republic of Congo-Brazzaville Begins Vote Count as President Denis Sassou N’Guesso Eyes Fifth Term

Africa News

Republic of the Congo

Vote counting is underway in the Republic of Congo following a presidential election that could extend President Denis Sassou N’Guesso’s rule for a fifth consecutive term. Polls closed on Sunday, with official results expected within two weeks.

The election was marked by low voter turnout, as many citizens expressed skepticism that the vote would bring political change after more than four decades of leadership by the 82-year-old incumbent. Several opposition parties had called for a boycott of the polls.

Six other candidates contested the presidency in the oil-rich Central African nation, but analysts say none is likely to pose a serious challenge to Sassou N’Guesso, who is running under the banner of the Congolese Party of Labor.

Sassou N’Guesso first took power in 1979 and ruled until 1992, when he oversaw the country’s first multiparty elections. He returned to power after the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997) and has remained in office since. A 2015 constitutional referendum removed presidential age and term limits, allowing him to run again.

The election comes as the Republic of the Congo faces mounting economic challenges, including high public debt and rising youth unemployment. More than half of the country’s 5.7 million people live in poverty, while nearly half the population is under 18.

If confirmed, Sassou N’Guesso’s victory would reinforce a broader pattern of long-serving African leaders maintaining their grip on power, alongside figures such as Paul Biya of Cameroon and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.

Republic of Congo Votes in an Election That’s Expected to Extend Incumbent President’s 42-Year Rule

By LOUIS OKAMBA

1:40 AM EDT, March 16, 2026

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — Ballot counting began Sunday after polls closed in The Republic of Congo, where President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is seeking a fifth consecutive term. Results are expected within two weeks.

The elections were marked by a low turnout, as locals said they did not believe the election would result in a change in leadership from Sassou N’Guesso, who has ruled for 42 years. Opposition parties called for a boycott of the election.

Six other candidates challenged the 82-year-old for the top job in the Central African country that boasts one of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. But analysts say none of them can mount a significant challenge against the incumbent.

The internet was shut down across the country as usual during the presidential election and traffic was restricted across the capital.

“Everyone knows that, faced with his six inexperienced opponents, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso will be reelected with a high score as usual. Since the election is not a big issue, we shouldn’t cut off communication,” Clarisse Massamba, a teacher who voted at the Lycée Javoueh in Brazzaville, told The Associated Press.

The campaign period showed a vast mismatch between Sassou N’Guesso and his opponents, with the incumbent being the only candidate to travel around the country to canvass for votes. Roads in the capital city, Brazzaville, were paved with Sassou N’Guesso’s effigies.

Two other major parties boycotted the elections over allegations of unfair electoral practices.

Sassou N’Guesso, running for the Congolese Party of Labor, first came to power in 1979 and ruled until 1992 when he organized the country’s first multi-party elections. He returned to power as a militia leader following a four-month civil war in 1997.

A constitutional referendum in 2015 removed presidential age and term limits, allowing him to run again.

The country is struggling with high international debt, which stands at 94.5% of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank, and skyrocketing unemployment rates for young people. More than half the country’s 5.7 million population lives in poverty and 47% of the country’s population is under 18.

The election is the latest in a trend of octogenarian African leaders clinging to power. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, only behind Cameroon ’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea ’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Armed Group Killed Security Personnel in an Ambush in North-central Nigeria, Authorities Say

By DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN

8:04 AM EDT, March 15, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen ambushed and killed security personnel who were on patrol in communities in Nigeria ‘s Plateau state, according to the state government.

The government did not specify the number of casualties, but the Kanam Development Association (KADA), a local group, claimed 20 personnel, including two senior military officers and eight local security operatives, were killed in the ambush.

The ambush happened on Friday around Wanka, Kyaram and Gyambau communities located in the Kanam area of Plateau state. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The state government on Sunday condemned the attack and said the security agencies are implementing measures to intensify surveillance and reinforce security presence across vulnerable communities.

“For over three to four years, these communities have been subjected to repeated attacks, cattle rustling, kidnappings, and destruction of property by armed bandits who appear to operate with alarming freedom,” KADA said in a statement on Saturday.

For years, Nigeria has been battling a complex security crisis from different armed groups, especially in the northern part of the country.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other armed groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.

The crisis has worsened recently to include other militants from the neighboring Sahel region, including the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.

Several thousand people in Nigeria have been killed, according to data from the United Nations. Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens.

The United States has sent troops to the West African nation to help advise its military on the fight against insecurity.

Attacking Hospitals, Schools, Not a 'Miscalculation': WHO Chief

By Al Mayadeen English

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus strongly condemns US-Israeli bombings on hospitals and schools, calling attacks on civilians and medical personnel war crimes.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has strongly condemned US-Israeli bombings targeting hospitals and schools, describing the attacks as “war crimes” that cannot be dismissed as accidental errors.

In a statement published Sunday on the social media platform X, Tedros rejected claims that such incidents could be described as miscalculations. “Bombing a hospital or a school is not a ‘miscalculation,’” he wrote.

He further stressed that the killing of medical personnel and the targeting of civilians cannot be justified under any circumstances, writing, “Killing a paramedic is not ‘collateral damage.’ Starving civilian is not ‘negotiating tactic.’ These are war crimes. Call it what it is. Full stop,” Tedros added.

US-Israeli aggression on Iran exacts heavy civilian toll

During their aggression against Iran, the US and "Israel" have struck schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure. In one of the deadliest attacks, a US airstrike hit a school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, killing 168 schoolgirls.

Iranian health authorities report that more than 1,300 people have been killed and over 10,000 injured in the assaults. Among the dead are 200 children under 12, including 11 under the age of five, and more than 200 women. The casualties also include 206 students and teachers, showing the severe impact on the education sector.

Of those wounded, 17 percent are women, and at least 1,040 are under 18, including 65 children younger than five.

Damage assessments by the Iranian Red Crescent show widespread destruction, with 19,734 civilian and residential units affected, including 16,191 homes. Seventy-seven medical centers and pharmacies, 65 schools and educational centers, and 16 Red Crescent facilities have also been damaged.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, a March 13 Israeli airstrike killed five paramedics in al-Suwwaneh, while a separate strike killed 12 doctors, nurses, and paramedics in a primary healthcare center in Bourj Qalaway. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 18 health workers have been killed and 48 were wounded in Israeli airstrikes. In addition, 23 vehicles and 11 medical and emergency centers were damaged in 23 Israeli attacks targeting emergency services.

Cape Town Rallies for Quds Day as US-Israel Strikes Rock Tehran

Pro-Palestinian protesters march to parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday April 14, 2023 on Al-Quds Day, an annual event held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies

US-Iran crisis

As explosions echoed over Tehran and the United States vowed to intensify strikes against Iran, hundreds gathered in Cape Town- South Africa on Friday for an annual Quds Day rally, waving Iranian flags and voicing solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Quds Day, observed on the last Friday of Ramadan, drew demonstrators to the streets of Cape Town.

Khaled Sayed, Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, told the crowd: "The only crime the people of Iran have committed is to stand with Palestine.

Their crime in the eyes of Western powers is solidarity—a similar crime we are committing as South Africans."

Another speaker called for unity against injustice: "People suffering under white supremacy, the billionaire classes—we as ordinary people must stand together irrespective of creed or persuasion."

Conflict intensifies

Meanwhile in Tehran, AFP journalists reported loud explosions as Israel's military said it had carried out 7,600 strikes since the war began on February 28, mostly targeting Iran's missile program.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to bombard Iran "more heavily than any other day so far."

Escalating rhetoric

President Donald Trump posted on social media that he viewed killing Iran's rulers "a great honour," calling them "deranged scumbags." He later told Fox News Radio the US would be "hitting Iran hard over the next week."

The hardline stances and renewed strikes show no let-up in the conflict engulfing the Middle East and roiling global energy markets.

Scores of Pro-Iran Shias Defy Ban to Rally in Nigeria's Capital

Shiite Muslims attend the annual Al-Quds Day rally in solidarity with Palestinian and Iranian people in Kano, Nigeria, Friday, March 13, 2026.

By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies

Nigeria

Scores of pro-Iran Shia Muslims gathered at the Abuja National Mosque on Friday, defying a heavy security presence to mark Quds Day with anti-Israel and anti-US chants.

Around 200 faithful assembled after afternoon prayers, carrying images of Iran's late supreme leader and voicing solidarity with Palestinians as US and Israeli bombardments continue to pummel Iran.

The protest, which lasted about 15 minutes, appeared to catch security forces off-guard.

Outlawed but active

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), which led the rally, has been outlawed since 2019 for advocating an Islamic revolution.

However, researchers have characterized the group as more focused on protest than political violence.

"The United States should withdraw its military assets from the Middle East," demonstrator Abdullahi Musa told AFP, adding of Iran's slain leader: "To those people who killed him, I'm sure they'll regret it."

Risk of crackdown

The government has previously cracked down harshly on the IMN. Last year, clashes at a protest left 11 protesters and one soldier dead, according to an intelligence report.

Friday's march followed similar demonstrations in northern cities on March 1, immediately after the US-Israeli bombing campaign began.

Senegal Makes $471 Million Debt Payment But Faces Tough Times Ahead

FILE - Senegal's top opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, right, and his key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye address supporters in Dakar, Senegal, Friday March 15, 2024.

By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies

Senegal successfully paid nearly half a billion dollars in debt obligations on Friday, avoiding default, but spending cuts, delayed payments to other lenders, and growing civil unrest cast doubt on how much time the effort buys the West African nation.

The Central Bank of West African States transferred 380 million euros to eurobond holders and $33 million for dollar-denominated bonds, covering principal and coupons.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's government mobilized local resources via regional markets after the IMF suspended its program following the discovery of $13 billion in undeclared debt—the largest ever hidden debt in a country with an IMF program, according to investors.

Growing pains

But the payment comes with sacrifices. A university student died during protests over aid last month, teachers have struck, and unions say construction alone lost tens of thousands of jobs.

Senegal is also falling behind on payments to France, Britain, Italy and Spain, sources told Reuters—delays longer than before and more worrying.

Long road to recovery

Senegal plans to raise 4.1 trillion CFA francs on regional markets in 2026, but analysts warn it needs billions in affordable long-term financing.

With debt at 132% of GDP and $9.7 billion in interest and amortization due this year, "difficult choices" lie ahead.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has rejected IMF restructuring proposals as a "disgrace," leaving the government to navigate a narrow path between solvency and social stability.

France Renews Ties with CAR in First Ministerial Visit in Eight Years

CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera, left, shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017.

By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies

Central African Republic

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Bangui on Friday for the first high-level French visit in eight years, declaring the "full restoration" of relations with the former colony as it navigates deepening ties with Russia.

"This is the first time in eight years that a Foreign Minister is here in Bangui," Barrot said after meeting President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

"My visit marks the full restoration of relations between our two countries following a period of tension—brief in the context of our shared history."

France and CAR relaunched diplomatic ties in April 2024 after a falling-out over Moscow's growing influence in the mineral-rich nation of 5.3 million.

Russia's shadow looms

Barrot's visit comes just days after Touadéra returned from a week-long trip to Moscow, where he met President Vladimir Putin.

Since independence in 1960, France maintained influence and soldiers in CAR but has gradually lost ground to Russia.

Touadéra has increasingly relied on mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group, who secure lucrative contracts in gold, diamond and logging industries in return.

Stabilization efforts

Touadéra, serving his third term after taking power amid civil war in 2016, said Friday that security had improved but remained "fragile."

Barrot noted that a two-year roadmap is already "having a significant impact" as the country pursues peace and economic development, with France standing "shoulder to shoulder" alongside it.

Comrade Kim Jong Un’s Speech in Congratulation of Women Across Country on Occasion of March 8 International Women’s Day

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a speech in congratulation of the women across the country on the occasion of the March 8 International Women’s Day.

The full text of his speech is as follows:

Greeting March 8, I, with my warmest feelings, extend congratulations to all our Korean women, for whom I have affection and respect all the time.

My hearty congratulations also go to all the overseas Korean women.

As they have always done, our women add harmony, beauty, warmth and affection to our society.

Today it is a joyful holiday, when the whole country brims over with the tender feelings of gratitude, blessing and respect for our women.

As we were to greet the women’s day some days after the Ninth Congress of our Party, in which we reviewed the precious successes achieved for the good of the country, I was reminded of all the exceptional and unknown efforts the women of this country had made for those successes. And I wanted to express my special thanks to them for what they had done, so I have decided to make a brief remark today, on the occasion of this opportunity.

I make a deep bow as an expression of my thanks to our women for the unknown efforts and sincerity they have devoted for the country and men.

However, I think that thanks is too simple a word and it would not be enough to encourage and repay them even a little for the extraordinary troubles and difficulties our women have experienced.

I can picture in my mind’s eye the looks of the women in this country, who would wear a gentle smile, as if they had gained all the reward for their silent efforts, after receiving a simple congratulatory remark, a greetings card or a flower from their dear husbands, children, boyfriends, relatives, acquaintances and disciples.

For these women, I cannot find any other better expression than really beautiful.

This expression does not simply imply the beautiful looks of Korean women.

Though physically weak, they are obviously strong-willed, their plain faces assuming courage and the wrinkles on them denoting their strenuous exertion and thus arousing much greater respect. So, they look incomparably beautiful, and I think this is a charm unique to our Korean women.

In the images of our grandmothers’ and mothers’ generations we can see the signs of the severe hardship which they have undergone, the tenacity with which they have gone against all odds, and the strength of genuine love and benevolent affection which they have cherished while working hard to develop this country.

Also, when seeing the faces of our contemporary women of a new generation, we can feel the fresh vigour with which they are working to advance this country towards a bright future, and the optimism and self-confidence they show in overcoming trials cheerfully.

I want to say proudly that all the Korean women who are dear to us–mothers, wives, daughters and girlfriends–are really beautiful and great, as compared with women in other countries.

Korean women, who have remained honest in times of difficulties, stout-hearted in moments of sorrow and courageous even in the face of death, have recorded remarkable exploits in the annals of the revolution and in the pages of history. These exploits still remain in our memory, serving as our strong spiritual mainstay.

Korean women are by nature pure-hearted, upright and strong-willed, and these qualities have been purely inherited for generations. Our contemporary women, too, have become a solid buttress of the revolution bringing affection and delight to all the other people in this country and inspiring them with strength, courage and victory.

In all the positions of our revolution, be they posts for national defence, sites of socialist construction, factories or farms, wherever we go in the country, we can see our women, strong-willed, tenacious, pure-hearted and honest, who are unwilling to show their physical weakness and lag behind men.

The distinguished services rendered by our countless heroes, both known and unknown, as well as the meritorious persons and innovators in this country, are associated with the immeasurable pains that our women, who are their mothers or wives, have taken without expecting any reward.

Our women devote themselves without seeking self-interest or reward, and they find the worth of their life in doing so. Such a fine mind constitutes the basis of a spiritual strength that engenders boundless love and encourages others to defy death unhesitatingly in defence of the love.

Our soldiers are so brave in the life-and-death battles, because they are determined to bring not an iota of shame on their dear mothers, wives, girlfriends or daughters, whom they associate with the sacred appellation motherland.

Women have such incredible strength.

With the passage of time, wrinkles will appear on their beautiful faces. However, the genuine beauty of our Korean women will not fade forever, as they are so honest and upright to endure everything while concerning themselves more about the country and revolution than about their families.

Encouraged by the warm care of such excellent women, their husbands and children achieve innovations at their workplaces, and our revolution is progressing much faster thanks to their peculiar strength, talent and most ennobling self-sacrificing devotion.

In the future, too, our women will play a significant role in making this country more harmonious and prosperous.

So important and irreplaceable are their responsibility and role in developing the socialist society of our own style and finding proper solutions to many big and small social problems.

When they always behave as a role model for their children, encourage their husbands and become a source of happiness and pride for their parents, and when they carry forward the tradition of patriotism as faithfully as ever, our society will become more beautiful, more powerful and more prosperous.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to extend my special thanks and greetings to all the mothers across the country.

Indeed, the sacred appellation mother is a source of great spiritual strength for everyone.

Woman is weak but mother is strong, as the saying goes. Our mothers cherish genuine maternal affection as they make unassuming efforts to bring up their children to be excellent persons, so this country has so many patriots. As such strong-willed mothers constitute the solid foundations, our rosy future is fully guaranteed.

I am hardening my resolve to make unsparing and strenuous efforts to do much more for the sake of these admirable mothers, for the wellbeing of our women.

I earnestly request all our women to fulfil the sacred mission and duty they have assumed before the times, history and the motherland in achieving the prosperity and development of our country and promoting the harmony and unity of our society.

Hoping that all the Korean women will be happy and healthy and remain beautiful for the good of our country, the revolution and the future, I once again extend my warm affection and best wishes to them.

KCNA

2026-03-09

Five US Refueling Planes Damaged in Iranian Missile Strike in Saudi Air Base: Report

Saturday, 14 March 2026 6:24 AM

US Air Force aerial refueling tanker KC-135 Stratotanker (Photo by AP)

Five US Air Force refueling planes have reportedly been damaged in an Iranian missile strike at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

The planes were struck and damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia in recent days, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing two US officials.

The WSJ added that no one was killed in the strikes.

The recent update indicates that at least seven US Air Force refueling planes have been damaged or destroyed in total since the beginning of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran on February 28.

This figure follows an incident on Thursday, where six American troops were killed after the Iraqi resistance downed US aircraft, as confirmed by the Pentagon on Friday.

The collision occurred near Turaibil, along the Iraqi-Jordanian border, CBS News reported, citing an Iraqi intelligence source.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the deaths in a post on the social media platform X on Friday, hours after it reported that the KC-135 refueling aircraft had gone down in western Iraq.

CENTCOM also claimed that “the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

”The aircraft, however, was targeted and struck by a missile fired by the Resistance Front in western Iraq, according to a statement issued by the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of Iran on Thursday night.

In a separate statement, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that the aircraft was intercepted and destroyed while it was in the middle of a refueling mission for an “aggressor fighter jet.”

The incident has brought the number of US troops killed, as per the Pentagon data, to at least 13 since the beginning of the US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran.

Ever since, Iraqi resistance groups have been carrying out daily attacks on US assets in Iraq and across the region.

The KC-135 is at least the fourth known US military aircraft lost during the war with Iran.At least three F-15 aircraft were also shot down over Kuwait.

‘Do Not Trust Illusion of US Power’: Iranian Military Warns Regional States

Saturday, 14 March 2026 10:59 AM

The spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi (Photo by Fars news agency)

The spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces has called on Leaders of Muslim countries not to put trust in the illusion of US power, and unite against hypocrisy led by the United States and Israel.

“Do not trust the so-called power of the United States. Americans cannot even defend their own faltering army, let alone the security of Muslim countries and the region,” Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Saturday.

He said that the Iranian Armed Forces disabled the US warship USS Abraham Lincoln, whose name once caused fear and facilitated the plundering of Muslim resources, and forced it to retreat in a historical defeat.

Shekarchi noted that all US bases in the region, which have been built over decades with Muslims’ resources under the pretext of ensuring regional security while stealing the wealth of Muslim nations, have been destroyed in Iran’s retaliatory operations.

The general said Iran is well capable of reconstructing schools, houses, state buildings, supermarkets and public infrastructure damaged and destroyed in the US-Israeli onslaught.

But what cannot be rebuilt is the US credit, hollow power, and its defeated military, besides the helplessness of the Israeli regime, Shekarchi underlined.

On February 28, the United States and the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked military assault on Iran, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several top commanders.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the criminal aggression by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on the US bases in regional countries.

US Air Defense Station at Embassy in Baghdad Targeted: Report

Saturday, 14 March 2026 8:47 AM

The image shows the air defense systems station located on the territory of the US diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital, March 14, 2026.

The United States Embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad reportedly came under attack in the early hours of Saturday, Al Hadath television channel reported.

According to unconfirmed information, the target was the air defense systems station located on the territory of the US diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi security services confirmed the strike.

Iraqi security forces have cordoned off marking the “green zone” in the center of Baghdad, where most Iraqi government offices and embassies of many countries, including the United States, are located.

This comes after the US-Israeli aggressors targeted a house in central Baghdad. The Iraqi Covenant Network reported that the rescue teams are providing aid to the victims of the assault.

It added that at least two citizens have been martyred and several others injured in the terrorist attack so far.

On February 28, the United States and the Israeli regime launched unprovoked military assault on Iran, assassinating former Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several top Iranian military commanders.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the criminal aggression by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on the US bases in regional countries.

Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it only targets American positions and bases in the region and does not seek conflict with Arab countries.

Six Civilians, Including 6-month-old Baby, Killed in US-Israeli Drone Strike on Western Iran

Saturday, 14 March 2026 9:34 AM

This picture shows the aftermath of a US-Israeli drone strike against a residential building in the town of Ivan, Ilam Province, western Iran, early on March 14, 2026. (Photo by IRNA)

At least six civilians, including a six-month-old baby, have been killed in a US-Israeli drone strike against a residential building in Iran's western province of Ilam, as children bear the brunt of the indiscriminate attacks.

The deputy director of political and security affairs at the provincial office stated that at least 31 individuals were also slightly wounded in the aerial assault, which was carried out in the wee hours of Saturday in the town of Ivan.

Tajuddin Salehiyan noted that a six-month-old baby was among the fatalities, becoming one of the youngest martyrs of the US-Israeli onslaught.

He added that the attack caused a massive explosion that caused damage to nearby buildings and houses.

Salehiyan further said that aid and rescue operations were underway to recover the dead bodies and those trapped under the rubble.

The Iranian Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday that the relentless attacks on civilian areas have injured more than 16,000 people, with 14,904 already treated and discharged and 1,448 remaining in hospitals.

Among the martyrs, 11 children under the age of five have been killed, while another 200 martyrs were under 18 years old.

Tragically, 41 of the wounded are toddlers under two years old, and over 1,100 injured are children under 18. The toll on women had been equally severe, with 2,500 injured and 220 martyred in the vicious strikes.

Why Has the US Targeted Iran's Kharg Island?

Alys Davies and Frank Gardner

BBC Security Correspondent, Riyadh

Donald Trump has said the US military has bombed a small island off the coast of Iran - home to a major oil terminal that is considered the country's economic lifeline.

The US president said Kharg Island's military facilities were "totally obliterated" but that it had held off targeting its oil infrastructure.

Trump, however, warned that he would reconsider the decision not to target oil facilities on the island should Iran or others "do anything to interfere" with the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most important shipping channels, located south of Iran's coast.

Iran's military said oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms working with the US would "immediately be destroyed" should Kharg's oil infrastructure be attacked.

Why is Kharg Island important to Iran?

Graphic titled "Iran oil and gas facilities" showing their locations on a map of Iran. The location of Kharg Island, off the coast of Iran, is labelled with the words: "Iran's largest terminal - Kharg Island". Above the map is written: "Iran holds 10% of world's proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas".

Kharg Island is a small rocky outcrop just 15 nautical miles (24km) off the coast of Iran.

Despite its size, it is one of the most critical pieces of Iran's energy infrastructure.

The US striking this small but vital island in the northern Gulf is like going for Iran's economic jugular vein.

Ninety percent of Iran's crude oil comes through a terminal on the island - transported through pipes from the mainland.

Very large tankers - capable of carrying up to 85 million gallons of oil - are able to come up to the island's long jetties to pick up the oil. The island's coast is close enough to deep waters, unlike the shallower coast of the mainland.

The tankers then come back down the Gulf and out of the Strait of Hormuz, to China - the main buyer of Iranian oil.

A terminal for the export of Iranian oil, the island provides a major source of revenue for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

What has the US and Iran said about the attack?

On Friday, Trump said the US Central Command had "executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran's crown jewel, Kharg Island".

He added that, "for reasons of decency", he had "chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island".

Iranian state media reported that no damage was done to the island's oil facilities. The Fars news agency said US attacks targeted air defences, a naval base, airport control tower and a helicopter hangar.

Ehsan Jahanian, political deputy to the governor of Bushehr province in southern Iran, said "no military personnel, oil company employees, or island residents suffered casualties in the attack, and all sectors are continuing their routine activities".

Jahanian said the process of exporting oil from Kharg was "fully under way", and the "activities of companies based on the island are continuing without interruption", according to a report by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

Following the strikes, the country's military warned that oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms working with the US would "immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes" if its energy facilities were attacked.

Why didn't the US target the island's oil facilities?

Military action to destroy the island's infrastructure would be hugely damaging to Iran.

It would also present a significant escalation to the conflict.

It would likely send global oil prices soaring even higher and could also lead to Iran targeting more oil infrastructure across the Middle East.

Two weeks into the war, Iran still has the capacity to launch large numbers of low-cost, high explosive drones at its Gulf Arab neighbours as well as at shipping vessels.

It could, potentially, expand those targets to include vital infrastructure like desalination plants that provide drinking water to millions.

Iran war live updates

Justin Crump, a military analyst and former British Army officer, said the bombing was an attempt by Trump to deter Iran from escalating the conflict further.

"He's showing it as being merciful but saying he could be more punishing to the IRGC" by targeting the oil facilities, Crump, who is also CEO of intelligence consultancy Sibylline, told BBC Radio 4' s Today programme.

Trump previously stated that the aim of the war was so that Iran's people could rise up and overthrow the Islamic Republic's regime.

While he has since expressed other motivations for the war, Crump said targeting the island's oil infrastructure was "difficult" as it would destroy the country's economic lifeline for a long period of time.

"That doesn't really say much for their [the Iranian people's] future", he said, adding that when the island's oil infrastructure was destroyed during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, it took a long time to rebuild.

Will the US try to seize the island?

There has been speculation about whether US forces would at some point attempt to take over Kharg Island.

It seizure would not only choke off Iran's oil exports but could also provide a platform from which to carry out attacks against the mainland.

US media reports that amphibious ships carrying up to 5,000 Marines and sailors are now being sent to the Gulf, adding to that speculation.

The Pentagon has declined to comment.

Taking the island would effectively cut off the IRGC's economic lifeline, impacting its ability to be able to conduct war, security analyst Mikey Kay, from the BBC's Security Brief, says.

Iran Launches 47th Wave of True Promise 4, Pounds US, Israeli Bases

By Al Mayadeen English

Iran’s IRGC carried out the 47th wave of Operation True Promise 4, striking US and Israeli targets with Kheibar Shekan and Qadr missiles in a defensive operation.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the 47th wave of its Operation True Promise 4, targeting US and Israeli positions.

According to the IRGC statement, the operation struck locations in the Naqab Desert, Beer al-Sabe, and Nevatim, as well as Komala separatist group hideouts in al-Lydd, all in the occupied Palestinian territories. The American Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar was also targeted.

The attacks were reportedly carried out using Kheibar Shekan solid-fuel missiles and Qadr liquid-fuel missiles.

Previous wave commemorated Iranian martyrs

Earlier on Friday, the IRGC executed the 46th wave of Operation True Promise 4, striking targets in the occupied territories with numerous advanced, destructive missiles with large warheads, including the Khorramshahr, Kheibar Shekan, Emad, and Qadr missiles.

The operation honored the memory of Martyr Major General Gholam Ali Rashid and Martyr Mohammad Bagheri.

Regarding the 46th wave specifically, the IRGC highlighted that its missiles targeted “more than ten hideouts of the Zionist entity’s army commanders” and three locations where US forces were concentrated in the region.

Reports of fire aboard US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford

Separately, Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said that a fire that occurred on the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was deliberately started by its crew, who were redeployed to West Asia following a long deployment in the Caribbean. The carrier had also experienced sewage flooding at an earlier time when it was sailing near Greece.

According to the statement, the vessel, reportedly redeployed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman to reinforce US forces, sustained a fire allegedly started deliberately by several US soldiers due to fear among the carrier’s crew. The headquarters added that no further details are currently available regarding the condition or operational status of the vessel.