[UN News] As the Security Council prepared to gather on Wednesday to debate the international community's response to the growing emergency in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN's top aid official there urged all warring parties to allow lifesaving relief supplies to reach the most vulnerable.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- Rwanda has announced the suspension of its development cooperation with Belgium, accusing the European nation of leading efforts to block Kigali's access to international development financing.

[UN News] The humanitarian emergency in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has deteriorated sharply with serious human rights violations and abuses, including reported summary executions of children and generalised sexual violence.

[New Times] Ncuti Gatwa, the Rwandan-Scottish actor who made history as the first Black actor to take on the iconic role of the Doctor, may be concluding his time in the TARDIS sooner than expected, according to reports.

[New Times] The government unveiled a new energy policy on Monday, February 17, which which is an update to policy of 2015. Rwanda will require at least Rwf2.5 trillion in investment in various energy sources.

[New Times] The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) will hear 19 cases involving East African Community (EAC) partner states between February and March during a rotational session in Kigali.

[UN News] The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the looting of thousands of tonnes of relief supplies in the city of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels swept in at the weekend, reportedly meeting little resistance.

[HRW] European Leaders Should Take Prompt Action against Warring Parties

[ANGOP] Luanda -- Angola registered 144 new cases of cholera in the last 24 hours in the provinces of Bengo, Luanda, Icolo e Bengo and Malanje, the Ministry of Health's information bulletin said Saturday.

[New Times] There have been hundreds of arrests of Rwandans and Congolese Banyamulenge in the Burundian capital Bujumbura and its suburbs on Sunday, February 16, according to reports.

[New Times] The AFC/M23 rebel movement in eastern DR Congo has called for direct peace talks with the Congolese government after seizing control of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province, on Sunday, February 16.

[UN News] A dire displacement crisis is escalating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as M23 rebels make headway while aid routes are cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.

[HRW] Stalled Trial a Case Study in Impunity

[allAfrica] The DR Congo's ongoing crisis, fueled by the M23's advances and regional rivalries, demands urgent action to prevent further escalation

[MSF] Hundreds of thousands of displaced people sheltering in camps in and around the city of Goma, in Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, have been severely impacted by extreme violence over the past three weeks, and many are now leaving the camps, according to our Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams on the ground. As departures from the camps accelerate, MSF calls for the movement of people to be voluntary and for urgent humanitarian assistance to be provided wherever it is most

[New Times] President Paul Kagame has reiterated that Rwanda will always prioritize its security over foreign pressure, dismissing threats of sanctions from some Western nations which falsely blame his country for the decades-long instability in eastern DR Congo.

[allAfrica] Monrovia -- Lawyers representing Rwanda have questioned the jurisdiction of the African Court of Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) in adjudicating a case brought before it by the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DR Congo government accuses Rwanda of sponsoring the M23 rebels making advances against Congolese troops in the mineral-rich eastern region of the country.

[Unicef] "I am deeply alarmed by the intensifying violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and its impact on children and families. In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we have seen in recent years.

[New Times] The government has set a goal of phasing out the use of firewood and charcoal in schools by 2032, replacing them with fuel-efficient stoves and cleaner alternatives, such as liquified natural gas (LPG).

[UNFPA] The Democratic Republic of the Congo - As fighting intensified in North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Francine Toyata clutched her pregnant belly, waves of pain coursing through her.

[New Times] The government is looking for a major, internationally recognised investor to take over Gako meat project located in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, with hopes of finalising the deal by the end of 2025, according to Didace Rushigajiki, the CEO of Gako Meat Company.

[New Times] Advocates for people with disabilities are calling for urgent solutions to challenges such as stigma and the shortage of trained teachers, which continue to hinder the full implementation of inclusive education in Rwanda.

[New Times] Imported goods packaged in plastic materials and single-use products will pay an extra tax starting in July, Yusuf Murangwa, the Rwanda's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said on Tuesday, February 11 a day after the government approved new tax reforms.

[New Times] Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Ndungirehe, held talks with Amb. Troy Fitrell, the Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, on February 12, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations, the security situation in eastern DR Congo, and the outcomes of the extra-ordinary joint EAC-SADC Heads of State and Government meeting held in Tanzania, on February 8.

[UN News] Despite significant challenges, humanitarians «plan to stay and deliver» in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as fighting between the Rwandan-backed M23 Movement and national forces continues, a senior UN aid official said on Tuesday.

[New Times] The government of Rwanda has sent condolences to families of victims of a bus accident that killed 20 people and injured several others in Rulindo District on Tuesday, February 11.

[The New Humanitarian] Utrecht and Dakar -- «Most reporting on the conflict is using questionable framings, suggesting it is purely driven by a desire to plunder the region's rich mineral resources.»

[VOA] Yaounde, Cameroon -- Gabon's courts are effectively closed because the magistrates who run them refuse to work due to what they call poor working conditions and pay. They have rejected pleas by leaders to return to work while waiting for conditions to improve.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- Seychelles has emerged as Africa's top performer in the newly released 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), scoring 72 out of 100.

[GAVI] Geneva -- A shipment of 200,000 mpox vaccine doses donated by Canada and facilitated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has arrived in the DRC The doses - allocated based on an agreed Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) - bring the number of mpox doses facilitated by Gavi to 1,215,460 from various donors and 500,000 funded directly by Gavi Gavi CEO Dr Sania Nishtar: "We appreciate Canada's generous contribution to the DRC's mpox response, which comes at a time when the DRC is refining its vaccination strategy to

[SAnews.gov.za] International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, has dismissed the proposal to withdraw South African soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), stating that this action would be worse than surrender.

[The Conversation Africa] Since it became independent in 1960, the Central African Republic has grappled with poverty, instability and governance challenges.

[Parliament of South Africa] The Joint Standing Committee on Defence seeks clarity on a delay in communication regarding the deployment and subsequent extension of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

[Nile Post] The EAC-SADC summit in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on Saturday was only a show of supposed unity and full of rosy speeches, but nothing hopeful to write home about, unless like they say, the walls saw more and decided not to share.

[ANGOP] Luanda -- Angolan President João Lourenço sent a message of condolences to his Namibian counterpart, Nangolo Mbumba, for the death, Saturday, of the Father of the Namibian nation, Sam Nujoma.