Two US soldiers missing after military exercises in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco 

Two US soldiers who went missing during a training deployment in southern Morocco are feared to have fallen into the ocean near seaside cliffs, a US defence official told AFP, as a large-scale multinational search continued into Sunday evening.

The troops disappeared late Saturday in the Cap Draa Training Area, triggering an extensive land, air and sea rescue operation involving US, Moroccan and allied forces.

The search was still underway shortly before 2000 GMT on Sunday, with helicopters, vessels, drones, mountaineers and divers deployed across the rugged coastal terrain.

“I can confirm this incident is not related to terrorism but appears to be an accident,” the US official said, adding that initial reports indicate the soldiers may have fallen into the ocean.

US media reports suggested the pair may have gone on a hike after completing their training, though AFP has not independently confirmed that information.

CBS News reported that helicopters were heard operating throughout the night after a base-wide headcount failed to account for the two soldiers.

Morocco’s armed forces confirmed their involvement in the search operation, highlighting ongoing military cooperation between Rabat and Washington.

The soldiers were participating in African Lion, the US military’s largest annual joint exercise in Africa, which brings together more than 10,000 personnel from more than 20 countries, including NATO allies.

Hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, the drills aim to enhance coordination and readiness among partner forces.

The incident echoes a previous tragedy in 2012, when a US military aircraft crash during the same exercise in the region killed two Marines and injured two others.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 4/5/2026

 

United States Secretary of State to visit Vatican, Rome after Trump row

ROME, Italy 

United States Secretary of State,  Marco Rubio will visit Rome and the Vatican this week, an Italian government source said Sunday, weeks after President Donald Trump's stinging criticism of Pope Leo XIV.

Italian media reported that Rubio would meet the US pontiff himself on Thursday, but there was no immediate confirmation of this.

Newspapers presented the visit by Rubio -- a Catholic -- as a meeting to "thaw" relations.

The government source told AFP that Rubio would meet Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

The meetings come just weeks after Trump's extraordinary criticism of Pope Leo over the Catholic leader's anti-war rhetoric.

The source said Rubio had asked for a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump's closest European allies, whom he turned on after she defended the pope.

Media reports said he was also due to meet Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, amid a deepening rift in transatlantic ties over the Middle East war.

Leo, 70, will on Friday mark one year as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, after being elected by cardinals on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.

As the first ever pope from the United States, his words have arguably carried more weight in Washington than previous pontiffs -- and he has used them, criticising notably the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration.

But it was the pontiff's increasing anti-war rhetoric, particularly following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, that triggered Trump's ire.

Leo declared Trump's threat to destroy Iran "unacceptable" and urged Americans to demand that US lawmakers "work for peace".

The US president slammed the pontiff in a social media post as "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy".

Trump also said he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo" and that he does not "want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

The pontiff responded by saying he had a "moral duty to speak out" against war -- and then sparked more headlines with a speech in Cameroon lambasting "tyrants" ransacking the world.

However, he insisted afterwards that the remarks were written long before the row, and said he had not intended to start a new debate with the US president.

Christians across the world expressed their solidarity with the pope, and Meloni condemned Trump's remarks as "unacceptable" -- prompting the president to turn his fire on her.

"I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," the US president said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

He accused Meloni -- a far-right leader who has sought to act as a bridge between diverging US and European views -- of failing to help the United States with NATO.

Trump has threatened to pull US troops from Italy, saying Rome "has not been of any help to us" in the Iran war.

He has made a similar threat towards Spain, while the Pentagon has announced it will withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.

As of December 31, 2025, there were 12,662 active-duty US troops in Italy and 3,814 in Spain. In Germany, there were 36,436.

Rwanda president visits Tanzania to strengthen bilateral relations

DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has arrived in Tanzania for high-level talks aimed at strengthening the historically strong bilateral relations between the two East African neighbors, as trade and investment ties continue to expand rapidly across multiple economic sectors.

President Kagame touched down in Tanzania for a one-day working visit scheduled to include substantive discussions with Tanzanian President Samia Hassan at the State House in Dar es Salaam.

The visit underscores the growing strategic partnership between Rwanda and Tanzania, which has been steadily developing through their Joint Permanent Commission framework. 

Economic data reveals the substantial investment flows between the two nations. From 1990 through March 2026, Tanzania has registered 42 Rwandan investment projects valued at approximately $325.53 million. 

These investments have created 2,225 jobs across diverse sectors of the Tanzanian economy, including manufacturing, transport, financial services, natural resources, and tourism.

The high-level meeting follows earlier visits involving regional leaders, suggesting an increased focus on East African integration. 

Regional analysts note that these diplomatic engagements reflect a broader trend of strengthening intra-African economic and political ties, particularly within the East African Community (EAC).

Economic experts suggest that increased cooperation between these neighboring countries could help accelerate regional integration goals and potentially create a more unified market approach within the East African Community. 

As both nations continue developing their respective economies, their deepening partnership represents an important model for regional cooperation in Africa.

President Kagame’s visit is expected to conclude with joint statements outlining specific areas for enhanced cooperation and potential new agreements between the two nations.

Tanzania shuts camp housing thousands of Burundi refugees

NAIROBI, Kenya 

Tanzania government has closed a camp housing thousands of Burundian refugees and repatriated all but a handful, activists and the United Nations said on Friday.

Burundian refugees have complained in recent months of being forcibly evicted from the Nduta camp in northwestern Tanzania, following a deal between the governments in Dar Es Salaam and Bujumbura to repatriate around 100,000 of them by June.

As of late 2025, there were an estimated 142,000 Burundian refugees housed in two Tanzanian camps -- Nduta and Nyarugusu, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

They had fled years of civil war, political repression and entrenched poverty in their small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

"The approximately 3,000 refugees who remained in the (Nduta) camp were forcibly loaded onto vehicles to be sent back to Burundi on Thursday," the Coalition for Human Rights/Living in Refugee Camps (CDH/VICAR) said.

"Only around 10 families remained on site, awaiting transfer to the Nyarugusu camp, where 198 families had already been sent following a widely contested selection process."

Nyarugusu is scheduled to close on June 30, according to authorities.

CDH/VICAR said refugees in Nduta had been subjected in recent months to "increasingly coercive measures".

These included "restrictions on freedom of movement, pressure to register for repatriation, the linking of humanitarian assistance to registration for return, and the gradual demolition of homes in the camp", as well as "night-time violence, intimidation, arrests and enforced disappearances".

The NGO said these coercive measures had "culminated in recent days in a sudden surge in departures, leading to the complete closure of the camp".

The charity also condemned UNHCR for facilitating the Tanzanian government's operations instead of "fulfilling its mandate" to protect the refugees.

A UNHCR spokesperson told AFP the camp had been closed by the Tanzanian government.

This move, they said, was in line with an agreement on "the voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees" between the UN agency and the governments of the two east African countries.

The UNHCR had "consistently raised concerns with the authorities whenever reports of pressure or abuse emerged, reiterating clearly that all refugee returns must be voluntary, safe and dignified", the spokesperson said.

A separate UNHCR official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the repatriations but declined to comment on accusations of coercion.

Dominant display sees Gunners extend Premier League lead

LONDON, England 

Arsenal pushed themselves six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a dominant victory over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening. A Viktor Gyökeres brace and a first goal in eight appearances for Bukayo Saka were enough to seal the win.

Just like last weekend, the Gunners opened the scoring after nine minutes. However, unlike that 1-0 win against Newcastle seven days earlier, Mikel Arteta’s side continued to push forward after netting first and put Fulham to the sword.

It was Gyökeres who scored the opener this time around, prodding into the net from close range after excellent work from Saka. The England forward twisted Raúl Jiménez in knots on the right before firing in a low cross for his teammate to convert.

Much-maligned since for much of 2025-26 signing in the summer from Sporting CP, Gyökeres’ goal took him to 20 in all competitions at Arsenal.

That made him the first player to net 20+ goals across all competitions in their first season for the club since Alexis Sánchez in 2014-15 (25 goals). The only other player to his 20+ goals for Arsenal in their debut season at the club in the Premier League era was Thierry Henry in 1999-00 (26).

The Gunners thought they’d doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark, but Riccardo Calafiori had stepped into an offside position when Leandro Trossard crossed into the box before the Italian headed into the net.

They did make it 2-0 five minutes from half-time, though, with Saka turning from provider to scorer and Gyökeres doing the opposite. A clever pass inside from the Swede was met by Saka, who ran into the box and smashed the ball into the back of the net past Bernd Leno. That goal was Saka’s 150th goal involvement across all competitions (80 goals, 70 assists).

Arsenal added a third before half-time, with Gyökeres scoring his second of the day. Brilliant work from Trossard on the left saw him break into the box before a lofted cross into the centre was met by Gyökeres’s head.

It ended a truly dominant first-half display from Arsenal, who fired 14 shots at the Fulham goal while restricting the away side to only two shots from long range. It was the first time that they’d been three goals ahead at half-time in a Premier League match since November 2024 vs West Ham.

With the game won inside the opening 45 minutes, Arsenal took their foot off the gas in the second half and saved their legs. Marco Silva’s side may have attempted twice as many shots as the home side in the second half but can’t really claim to have laid a glove on them.

For Fulham, their horrendous record away at Arsenal continues. That’s now 33 away trips to their London rivals without a win across their league history (L26 D7) – the most any side has faced another without victory in away games across English Football League history.

Arsenal’s six-point lead over Man City does come with the crucial caveat of Pep Guardiola’s side having two games in hand – the first of which is away at Everton on Monday night.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 3/5/2026

 

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 2/5/2026