News

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases, and shamed corporations for their lack of corporate diversity and failure to support voting rights, has died. He was 84. Jackson was hospitalized on Nov. 12...

Burundi’s president returned home Sunday after being elected chairperson of the African Union, greeted along the route from the international airport by government officials, supporters of the ruling party and students in a show of public welcome. President Évariste Ndayishimiye arrived from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he formally assumed the rotating chairmanship of the...

The Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) has issued a new regulatory framework strengthening the country’s fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, representative government and financial sector officials said Friday. The regulation, issued on January 30, 2026, implements Law which amended Burundi’s principal anti‑money laundering and counter‑financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) law. BRB officials said...

Officials from nine African countries, including Burundi, convened Feb. 10–12 in Nairobi for the ASCENT Carbon Days 2026 forum, a regional meeting focused on expanding clean-energy access and helping countries tap carbon markets to finance development. The event, organized by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the World Bank, brought together...

Évariste Ndayishimiye was formally elected chairperson of the African Union for 2026 during the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, according to official statements from the continental bloc. The Burundian leader assumed the rotating position Feb. 14, succeeding Angolan President João Lourenço as heads...

Burundi remains among the lower-ranked countries in the East African Community (EAC) in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), highlighting ongoing governance challenges. The global index, released Tuesday, ranks 182 countries on perceived public-sector corruption, scoring from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Burundi’s score reflects continued concerns about transparency, oversight, and...

The International Crisis Group has warned that escalating tensions between Burundi and Rwanda, fueled by the worsening conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, could trigger a “fully blown inter-state confrontation” unless urgent diplomatic measures are taken. The warning appears in the organization’s 2026 peace and security priorities for Africa, which identifies the Burundi-Rwanda...

Burundi’s petroleum supply agency, SOPEBU, met Monday with owners of 114 public transport vehicles after data showed possible irregularities in fuel usage. SOPEBU Director General Samuel Ndayisenga said the vehicles had completed fewer than 10 rotations, based on information collected through digital monitoring systems. “These 114 vehicles completed fewer than ten...

The United States and Burundi have signed a five-year health cooperation agreement worth nearly $156 million aimed at strengthening the country’s health system, expanding treatment and prevention programs for major infectious diseases, and reinforcing outbreak surveillance capacity. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed Feb. 6, 2026, according to the U.S. Embassy in Burundi,...

African business magnate Aliko Dangote visited Burundi this Saturday as part of a high-level Nigerian and African economic delegation, in a trip Burundian officials say is aimed at strengthening investment ties and accelerating the country’s industrial ambitions. Dangote, chairman and chief executive officer of the Dangote Group and widely regarded as Africa’s richest man,...