The decision, in a country where thousands of women die yearly from unsafe abortions, held that abortions deprive unborn children of the “right to life.”

The ship, which carried fuel and natural gas, has been adrift for weeks in the Mediterranean Sea after a drone attack, alarming officials who fear an environmental disaster.

The findings in a new report by a commission appointed by the government were at odds with details from human rights groups, which estimate that hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed.

“Life is not defined solely by one’s mistakes,” the pope told inmates being held in a port city of Equatorial Guinea.

As the pontiff arrives in the tiny authoritarian nation of Equatorial Guinea, some Catholics in Africa say they are excited about his visit but are feeling a little left out.

The group is accused of a failed coup attempt in October.

Pope Leo responded directly on Monday to a presidential attack. But since then, he said, some of his statements during his Africa trip have been misconstrued.

His visit includes a trip to a shrine where enslaved Africans were baptized before being forced into the treacherous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

Johnson Masase has found local fame, and self acceptance, through performances that play on people’s ignorance about his genetic condition and his 3-foot-4 inch frame.

For days, Pope Leo XIV has attracted criticism from President Trump and his allies for refusing to back the war in Iran. On Thursday, he reiterated his calls for peace.

The leftist lawmaker has been a prime target of President Trump’s attacks on South Africa. The ruling, handed down after a conviction on gun charges, leaves Mr. Malema’s political future in doubt.

Fighting that erupted in 2023 has forced millions from their homes and left widespread hunger that is now being compounded by strife in the Middle East.

The move comes as the country looks to strengthen diplomatic ties with the United States after months of hostility between the two nations.

A city in Northern Nigeria has turned into a moviemaking machine, churning out hundreds of productions a year.

Visits to three green spaces in and around the South African city reveal a shift in the country’s botanical world, which has long been seen as the province of the white population.

Catholicism is growing fast on the continent, yet Africans play a comparatively small role in church leadership. Cameroon, which Leo XIV will visit Wednesday, shows the divide.

Centuries-old European tales about Gold Coast traders adulterating precious metals hundreds of years ago are challenged by the famous Whydah Gally shipwreck.

Romuald Wadagni received 94 percent of the vote, according to provisional results. He faces the challenge of a growing jihadist insurgency in the region.

Some theologians say the pontiff’s understanding of Augustine’s teachings helped inform his response to President Trump’s negative comments about him.

Nigerian officials said they attacked a terrorist enclave, but locals and rights groups said the airstrikes hit a popular market, killing many civilians.