Pope Leo to hold peace meeting in Cameroon

Pope Leo was scheduled to travel to the biggest city in Cameroon's conflict-hit anglophone region on Thursday, the latest stop on an ambitious four-country Africa tour amid attacks on the pontiff by U.S. President Donald Trump.



Trump's attacks on Leo, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Iran war, have caused dismay in Africa, where more than a fifth of the world's Catholics live.

Leo said on Monday that he would not stop speaking out about the war and has avoided responding to Trump directly since then.



After arriving in the Cameroon capital Yaounde on Wednesday, he urged the government of the Central African nation - led by President Paul Biya, at 93 the world's oldest ruler - to root out corruption and resist "the whims of the rich and powerful".



Cameroon, a former German colony, was partitioned by Britain and France after World War One.



The French part won independence in 1960 and was joined a year later by the smaller English-speaking British area to the west.