Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu told his supporters to have no fear as he appeared in court on Monday for the first time since his arrest on charges that include treason.

Lissu refused to participate in a hearing on April 24 because authorities conducted a virtual, rather than an in-person trial, with him appearing via video link from prison.

On Monday he entered the court with his fist raised in the air as supporters chanted “No Reforms, No Election,” according to a video of the courtroom shared by his CHADEMA party on X.

“We will be fine. You should not fear,” Lissu said as he took his place in the dock, waving victory signs.

Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was charged with treason last month over what prosecutors said was a speech calling upon the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October.

A series of high-profile arrests has highlighted the rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who plans to seek re-election. Hassan says the government is committed to respecting human rights.

Lissu’s CHADEMA party has demanded changes to an electoral process they say favors the ruling party before they participate in the ballot.

Several Kenyan rights activists, including a former justice minister, said they were denied entry to Tanzania as they traveled to attend the trial.

Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua, a prominent lawyer and opposition politician, and former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga were among those detained when they landed at Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, they said on X.

Tanzania’s immigration spokesperson Paul Mselle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Today was going to be a big day and we went out there in solidarity,” Karua told Kenyan broadcaster NTV on Monday after she was denied entry and sent back to Nairobi.

“The state cannot be used as a personal tool. You cannot deport people whom you don’t like, who are not aligned to your views.”

Mutunga and rights activist Hussein Khalid were being held in an interrogation room at Julius Nyerere airport on Monday and expected to be deported, Khalid said on X.

An Iranian official has warned that nuclear talks with the United States “will not actually get anywhere” if Washington insists Tehran abandons enrichment of uranium – a process that can also be used to make a bomb.

“Regarding zero enrichment, we said from the beginning that if this is their (American) position, it is natural that the work will not actually get anywhere,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi was cited as saying by Iran’s Nour News on Monday.

“Our position on enrichment is clear, and we have repeatedly stated that enrichment is a national achievement for us,” added Ravanchi. We will not back down on the issue of enrichment.”

Iran and the US capped their fourth round of talks in Oman earlier this month, aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the American delegation to the talks, told ABC over the weekend that Washington “cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability” under an agreement. “We’ve delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,” he said.

While enriched uranium can be used for peaceful purposes like energy production, it can be weaponized if refined to high levels.

“Enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here. But short of that, there are all kinds of ways for us to achieve our goals in this negotiation,” Witkoff said, adding that the next round of talks may take place in Europe this week. “We hope that it will lead to some real positivity.”

Iran has repeatedly said that any suggestion that it abandons enrichment would be a non-starter, insisting that it reserves the right to enrich uranium under the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Witkoff had previously suggested that Iran could be allowed some uranium enrichment.

On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that the issue “is not negotiable under any circumstances,” criticizing American negotiators for reversing their positions after each round of negotiations.

“This creates repeated uncertainty, making it more difficult for any negotiation process and raising more doubts about the seriousness of the other side in this process. This is a question that the American parties naturally have to answer,” he said, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

‘We are not afraid of threats’

The war of words between both nations spiraled after the Iranian president seemingly clashed with his US counterpart, saying his country favors negotiations with the White House to avoid fighting but rejecting threats by US President Donald Trump.

“We are not seeking war, we favor negotiation and dialogue, but we are not afraid of threats either, and we will in no way retreat from our legal rights,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at an event in the port city of Bandar Abbas Saturday.

He didn’t specify which comments he was referring to, but Trump told reporters on a Middle East tour last week that Iran has to “move quickly” in negotiations with the US or “something bad’s gonna happen.”

The Iranian leader insisted “no one but Trump himself believes his words against the Iranian nation.”

“On the one hand, he speaks of peace and stability and, on the other hand, he threatens (us) with the most sophisticated tools for homicide and with contradictory statements,” added Pezeshkian. “He simultaneously sends messages of peace, bloodshed and insecurity.”

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to unspecified comments by Trump on Iran, calling them a “disgrace to the American nation” and “not worthy of a response at all.”

Over his Gulf tour, Trump repeatedly cautioned Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon, threatening to strike the country if it fails to reach a nuclear deal with the US. But he has not explicitly ruled out Iran enriching uranium.

On Friday, Trump said the US had put forward a formal proposal for a nuclear deal, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the same day that Iran had not received any such written proposals from Washington, either directly or indirectly.

“There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other (Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatories, too,” Araghchi said.

In an interview with Breitbart last week, Witkoff said Iran’s uranium enrichment program must be dismantled, though in an earlier interview with Fox News he had suggested that Iran could be allowed to enrich uranium to low levels.

The most recent round of talks between the US and Iran, in the Omani capital Muscat, was described by the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson as “difficult.”

Leo XIV, the first ever American pope, will be formally inaugurated as the 267th pontiff Sunday during a special Mass in St. Peter’s Square attended by world leaders, royalty, and thousands of believers.

The May 18 service will be rich in symbolism and include the formal bestowing on Leo of the symbols of office including the pallium – a lamb’s wool vestment symbolizing his pastoral care for the church and role as shepherd to his flock – and the fisherman’s ring, which symbolizes the Pope’s authority as the successor of St. Peter, a fisherman by trade and who Catholics hold to be the first pope.

Among those expected to attend Sunday’s two-hour long liturgy include US Vice-President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, the leader of the country where Pope Leo served as both a missionary and a bishop for several decades. Countries from across the globe will be represented, with the Vatican hosting delegates from more than 150 nations.

The 69-year-old Chicago-born pontiff is expected to greet delegations from different countries after his inauguration Sunday, a Vatican spokesman said.

Although Leo was elected as pope on May 8, the official beginning of his papacy begins on May 18, with his first general audience with the public scheduled for May 21.

In his first Mass as pontiff on May 9, Leo called on the clergy to show humility, has made repeated appeals for peace and explained his choice of name. Later in the week, he used his first Vatican address since his election to call for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, saying “Never again war!”

The first American pope, who is an avid tennis player, has also met with journalists and men’s tennis number one seed, Jannik Sinner.

Symbols of office

On Sunday morning , Pope Leo will use the popemobile for the first time and greet people in St Peter’s Square before heading inside the basilica for the Mass.

He will be joined by leaders of Eastern Orthodox churches for the first part of the service as he descends to pray at the tomb of St.Peter. The pallium, the ring and a book of the gospels will then be taken by two members of the clergy towards the altar in the square.

The scripture readings at the Mass will largely focus on the figure of St. Peter and the central passage from John’s Gospel, a text seen as foundational to the pope’s ministry as St. Peter’s successor.

Following this reading, three cardinals will then present the pope with the symbols of office.

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, who announced the news that Leo had been elected, will place the pallium over the new pontiff. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will say a special prayer. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines will present Leo with the signet “ring of the fisherman,” which was traditionally used to seal official documents but is now ceremonial.

The Vatican has released details of the ring, which has an image of St. Peter on the outside band, with “Leo XIV” and the pope’s coat of arms engraved on the inside.

All bishops wear rings to show their bond to the local church they lead and the ring of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, symbolises his “betrothal” to the entire church.

After receiving the symbols of office, representatives of ordinary Catholics from across the world will show their “obedience” to the pope, something that in the past was done by cardinals. The decision to include non-cardinals in this part of the service shows the pope’s commitment to a church which seeks to deepen the involvement of Catholics who are not part of the hierarchy. The inclusion of ordinary Catholics in the ceremony is also a nod to Leo’s intent to continue reforms started by his predecessor, Pope Francis.

During the Mass, Pope Leo will also give a homily, where he will likely set out some of the key themes of his pontificate, something he would have spent time considering carefully.

After the Mass ends, the pope will lead the Regina Caeli, or “Queen of Heaven” prayer before meeting the international delegations inside the basilica.

Papal inauguration ceremonies have changed over the years. For centuries it also involved a “coronation,” which included placing the papal tiara on the new pope’s head. The last papal “coronation” was of Paul VI in 1963. He however, decided to sell the tiara and give the proceeds to charity. Catholics in the US bought that tiara, which is now on display at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Russia has battered Ukraine overnight with its largest drone attack since the war began, Ukraine’s military said Sunday, as Moscow intensified its military assault despite holding direct peace talks with Kyiv Friday.

Russia launched 273 Shahed drones in one night, the Ukrainian Air Force said, predominantly targeting the central Kyiv region.

A 28-year-old woman was killed, and three others including a four-year-old child were injured, according to Mykola Kalashnik, the governor of the Kyiv region.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of Ukraine’s parliament, said in a social media post Sunday: “The air raid alarm lasted almost nine hours. This is what Putin’s ‘sincere desire for peace’ looks like.”

The attack destroyed residential buildings, damaged a high-rise and set garages on fire, Stefanchuk wrote, adding: “This is terror in its purest form.”

The “massive attack” caused a number of fires, Ukraine’s emergency services also said, adding that 55 rescue workers had been deployed.

Elsewhere, Russian shelling killed one person and injured eight in the Donetsk region Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin. Russian drones also targeted the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, regional military chiefs said.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have downed 75 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours, TASS, a Russian state news agency, reported Sunday, citing Russia’s defense ministry.

The latest assault comes after a Russian drone attack on a bus in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Sumy killed at least nine people and injured seven Saturday, just hours after the two countries met for the first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The negotiations in Turkey failed to produce a major breakthrough. The two countries discussed a possible meeting between their presidents, a ceasefire and agreed a prisoner swap.

The talks capped days of back-and-forth: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called for the face-to-face meeting but did not attend himself, instead sending a junior delegation after rejecting Ukraine’s proposal of a 30-day ceasefire.

Donald Trump is set to speak with Putin Monday on ending the Ukraine war, the US president announced Saturday. Trump has previously said he doesn’t think there will be a significant breakthrough on peace talks until he speaks with Putin directly.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Saturday that preparations were underway for a phone conversation between the two leaders.