US diplomat Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo XIV amid White House-Vatican tensions
via Punch Nigeria3 min read
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Vatican for talks with Pope Leo XIV, against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the White House and the Vatican. This visit follows criticism from President Trump regarding Pope Leo's anti-war stance. Rubio, a devout Catholic, aimed to de-escalate the rift ahead of his private audience with the Pope, which was to be followed by discussions with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. The US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, indicated it would likely be a "frank conversation." Parolin noted that Washington initiated the meeting and that they would discuss recent events, as well as international issues including Latin America, Cuba, and Lebanon. Relations between the Trump administration and the Holy See have deteriorated since Pope Leo's election a year ago. Trump had previously criticized the Pope on social media, calling him "WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy," after Leo called for peace in the Middle East and condemned Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization. Rubio stated that the trip was planned before the clash and that there was "a lot to talk about with the Vatican," particularly religious freedom. Despite attempts at peace-making, Trump again criticized the Pope, alleging that Leo believes it is "OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon." Pope Leo responded by emphasizing the Catholic Church's mission to "preach peace" and the Gospel, stating that the Church has long opposed all nuclear wea
Free daily or weekly digest of the most important stories from across 18 African countries. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
The Nigerian Communications Commission NCC and the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC have jointly announced new compliance requirements for telecommunications companies in Nigeria. The directive mandates that telecom companies obtain a Letter of No Objection from the NCC before transferring shares amounting to 10 percent or more of their total share capital. This requirement, based on the Nigerian Communications Act NCA 2003, takes immediate effect for NCC-licensed companies proposing changes in ownership or control, including multiple share transfers that collectively exceed the 10 percent threshold. Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, NCC Director of Public Affairs, stated that the CAC will ensure evidence of NCC approval before registering shareholding changes. The policy aims to prevent anti-competitive practices, preserve a fair and competitive market structure, strengthen oversight of ownership changes, and improve transparency, investor confidence, and regulatory certainty, ultimately safeguarding the long-term stability of Nigeria鈥檚 communications sector. Both agencies are committed to promoting a transparent business environment and fair market practices to support the industry's sustainable growth.
Must ReadNigeria experienced 279 kidnappings and 842 deaths across 156 violent incidents in May 2026, according to new data from Nextier鈥檚 Nigeria Violent Conflicts Database. These figures represent a rise in insecurity compared to May 2025, with violent incidents increasing by 51.5 percent, casualties by 90.1 percent, and kidnap victims by 19.7 percent. Amid concerns that peacebuilding efforts are not yielding measurable results, development practitioner Jamilu Musa and Dr. Chukwuma Okoli, a Political Science lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, warned in a Nextier policy article that weak impact assessment frameworks undermine intervention effectiveness. They noted that measuring peacebuilding outcomes is challenging due to intangible indicators like trust and social cohesion, and shrinking international funding partly due to global crises and shifting economic priorities. Musa and Okoli proposed four key indicators for peacebuilding assessments: conflict dynamics, social cohesion, governance and inclusion, and resilience/conflict prevention. They identified challenges such as attribution bias, short donor funding cycles, and poor baseline data. To address these, they recommended modern evaluation tools, institutionalizing peace measurement frameworks, and stronger collaboration among stakeholders to ensure interventions make communities safer, more inclusive, and more resilient.
US President Donald Trump issued a threat to Iran on Sunday, stating that the US would strike if Iran did not prevent Hezbollah from "causing trouble." This warning came as peace talks between senior US and Iranian officials commenced in Switzerland. The negotiations are taking place against a backdrop of recent clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which could jeopardize the preliminary peace deal between Tehran and Washington. Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran must immediately stop its "highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble," adding, "If they don鈥檛, we鈥檒l hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!" Israeli airstrikes on Saturday in eastern and southern Lebanon killed at least 30 people before a halt in fighting that evening. A memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday between the United States and Iran mandates a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. US Vice President JD Vance stated at the start of the talks in Switzerland that he had observed "great progress in the last just couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon." Vance also claimed that Trump and the United States have done more to stop the conflict in Lebanon than any other country recently.