News

BUJUMBURA,(Burundi Times) — Burundian authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown on price speculation and cross-border smuggling, warning of arrests and asset seizures for those who violate trade and market regulations. The directive, issued Thursday by Interior Minister Martin Niteretse during a security meeting in Muyinga, took immediate effect. Officials said the move is aimed...

KIVUVU, Burundi (July 17, 2025) —All mining operators in Kabarore have been formally instructed to sell their extracted minerals exclusively to Comptoirs Miniers des Exploitations Minières du Burundi (COMEBU), government officials said Thursday. “COMEBU holds exclusive rights to exploit and market minerals in areas where landowners have been compensated,” declared Alain Ndikumana, Head of the Strategic Studies and

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (July 8, 2025) — Leaders from East Africa have raised alarm over fragmented and incompatible digital payment systems that continue to stall the region’s economic potential, calling for urgent legal and regulatory reforms to enable seamless cross-border transactions. At a five-day workshop co-hosted by the East African Community (EAC) and the...

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (Burundi Times) — A high-level regional aviation workshop opened this week in Bujumbura, focusing on the implementation of the Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) concept—an initiative aimed at modernizing airspace management, cutting airline operating costs, and unlocking intra-African trade. Organized under the European Union-funded Support to Air Transport Sector Development (SATSD) programme,...

BUJUMBURA, Burundi— Burundi’s five newly appointed provincial governors officially took office Friday, completing a sweeping administrative overhaul that reduced the country’s provinces from 18 to 5. The Senate approved the nominations Thursday after Interior Minister Martin Niteretse presented the candidates proposed by President Évariste Ndayishimiye. The reorganization, first announced in 2022, aims to streamline...

WHAT HAPPENED? Jota, 28, and his brother Andre, also a professional footballer, both died shortly after midnight on Thursday when the vehicle they were travelling in came off the motorway in the municipality of Cernadilla, in the province of Zamora in the north west of Spain. Spain's Civil Guard told the BBC the brothers were...

GITEGA, Burundi Burundi’s government is firmly denying allegations that its citizens have been trafficked as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, following a TV5 Monde investigation that uncovered serious abuses, including forced confinement, wage theft, passport confiscation, and at least one reported death. The investigation, conducted in collaboration with Afrique XXI and...

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Burundi Times) — The East African Business Council (EABC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed a $1 million grant agreement aimed at accelerating sustainable industrialization and strengthening manufacturing value chains across East Africa. The funding is expected to enhance regional economic integration, spur growth, and increase the competitiveness of priority...

WASHINGTON — Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in Washington on June 27, pledging to halt years of cross-border violence and usher in a fragile stability. At a ceremony at the U.S. State Department, the two nations’ foreign ministers made key commitments to withdraw foreign troops, disarm militias...

NAIROBI, Kenya— Extreme poverty is rising rapidly in countries plagued by conflict and political instability, with the vast majority of the world’s poorest now living in such fragile environments, the World Bank warned Thursday in a sweeping new report. According to the assessment—the first comprehensive analysis of conflict-affected economies in the aftermath of COVID-19—more...