[Premium Times] Across six host cities and nine stadiums, players have stepped up in crucial moments earning Men of the Match honours, shaping results and giving fans early markers of who could matter most as the tournament develops

[Premium Times] In Casablanca, Burkina Faso produced the most dramatic moment of the day, scoring twice deep into stoppage time to overturn Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in Group E.

[UN News] With Central Africans set to vote in presidential, legislative, regional and long-delayed municipal elections this weekend, the United Nations has appealed for calm and restraint, warning that the credibility of the process will be critical to consolidating peace after years of conflict and instability.

[RFI] The Rwandan government has reportedly closed about 10,000 churches for failing to comply with a 2018 law regulating places of worship, which introduced new requirements on health and safety, financial disclosures, and mandatory theological training for preachers.

[UN News] An estimated 500,000 people have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at the beginning of December.

[Agenzia Fides] Kinshasa -- A city suspended in limbo. This is the situation in Uvira, a city in South Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on the border with Burundi, which was captured on December 10 by M23/AFC (Congo River Alliance) guerrillas (see Fides, 15/12/2025).

[MSF] Bujumbura - According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 88,000 refugees have fled to Burundi since the recent escalation of violence in South Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. People face dire living conditions in the camps, with limited access to clean water, food, hygiene and basic needs, as people kept arriving during the last days. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is expanding its emergency response and warns about the risk of the spread of epidemic diseases

[New Times] Members of Parliament have cautioned against so-called «tied loans,» warning that restrictive financing conditions could undermine project implementation, drawing on past experiences with externally financed infrastructure projects.

[New Times] Congolese refugees living in Kiziba Refugee Camp in Karongi District say government-backed self-reliance initiatives have helped them adapt after external humanitarian aid was reduced, easing the impact of cuts that began in 2023.

[IPS] Kamvivira, DRC -- Fulgence Ndayizeye, a Burundian bicycle taxi driver who used to cross the Congolese-Burundian border every day to support his family, wanted to return home.

[New Times] Thirty students from Rwanda Polytechnic (RP) Musanze College have graduated in China after completing a year of advanced vocational training at Jinhua University of Vocational Technology (JUVT).

[New Times] Jamaican dancehall singer Chinsea Linda Lee, commonly known as Shenseea, and her countryman Mavado will perform in Kigali on January 3.

[New Times] Tour du Rwanda will return to the routes for its 18th edition with a renewed focus on both competitive racing and fan experience, as the event expands its reach beyond upcountry regions and makes a long-awaited return to Kigali's Pele Stadium.

[New Times] Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Goma on Monday, December 22, protesting the decision by the AFC/M23 rebel movement to withdraw from Uvira, a town in South Kivu.

[New Times] Chorale de Kigali on Sunday, December 21, delivered an evening of sacred music and celebration at the annual Christmas Carols concert, setting a reflective and joyful tone ahead of the festive season.

[New Times] Renovation works at Huye Stadium are expected to be completed in early February 2026, Times Sport has learnt.

[New Times] Childcare and child protection experts from SOS Children's Villages in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America gathered in Rwanda from December 17 to 19 for a workshop on childcare reform.

[New Times] The Government of Rwanda is seeking investors to develop a four- to five-star hotel worth up to $30 million along the shores of Lake Kivu in Karongi District, The New Times has learnt.

[UN News] The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for another year, as fighting in the country's east intensified amid renewed offensives by the M23 rebel group.

[Ghanaian Times] MR Richard Akpokavie Esq., President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), has arrived in Luanda, Angola for the ongoing African Youth Games which began on December 10, 2025.

[Namibian] The rebel group which last week seized the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) city of Uvira say they have begun withdrawing, promising to complete the pullout on Thursday, following pressure from the United States (US).

[Monusco] On December 18, the Ndoromo military camp on the outskirts of Bunia held a closing ceremony for troops who recently completed an intensive training course designed to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC).

[New Times] United States Senator Lindsey Graham has said he is saddened to hear that AFC/M23 movement forces withdrawing from Uvira, a strategic town in eastern DR Congo that they had captured on December 10, are being attacked by the Congolese army coalition.

[New Times] US-based Rwandan Jeff Mugongo went viral after sharing a deeply emotional video of his 93-year-old grandfather, Gatera, who traveled more than 9,000 miles ( approx. 14,500 kilometers) from Rwanda to surprise him at his wedding in Phoenix, Arizona in November.

[New Times] The AFC/M23 movement on Wednesday, December 17, begun pulling out its forces from the town of Uvira in eastern DR Congo in accordance with an announcement it made earlier this week, reports indicate.

[New Times] In the last piece in the series, we realised that rather than addressing the socio-economic issues inherited from the colonialists and the First Republic, the new regime continued dividing Rwandans by ethnicity, enforcing the continued persecution and discrimination of the Tutsi.

[New Times] The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) released the 2025 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) on December 17 in Kigali, showing progress as well as challenges in a number of areas.

[New Times] Rwanda has recorded a reduction in child undernutrition, with stunting declining from 33 per cent in 2020 to 27 per cent in 2025, according to the (2021-2025) Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

[CPJ] In his campaign to win an eighth term, Cameroonian President Paul Biya pledged to «strengthen measures to protect freedom of expression and journalists» in one of Africa's most dangerous countries for the press.

[JusticeInfo.net] On December 15, a French court sentenced 67-year-old former Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala to 30 years in prison. This comes as armed violence is intensifying in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

[allAfrica]

[HRW] Nairobi -- National Authorities Need to Address Rising Intercommunal Violence

[allAfrica]

[Monusco] Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including digital violence, continues to affect many communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite actions taken by MONUSCO and its partners, NGOs and associations working in the field believe that prevention and support mechanisms remain insufficient given the scale of the phenomenon, particularly in Ituri province.

[New Times] A centre of excellence for crop biotechnology is set be established to develop and deploy disease-resistant seeds under a new five-year project, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.