[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.

[ANGOP] Luanda -- Angola has, so far, a cumulative of 2,886 confirmed cases of cholera in the provinces of Bengo, Icolo and Bengo, Cuanza-Norte, Cuanza-Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huíla, Luanda, Malanje and Zaire.

[Capital FM] President William Ruto has urged international support for joint EAC-SADC efforts to stabilize the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the merged Nairobi-Luanda processes.

[allAfrica] Geneva -- If nothing is done in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, worse could follow for the people of the eastern DRC, as well as for the country's neighbours and the region, the United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk warned on Friday.

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- During a call yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Kenyan President William Ruto for «Kenya's leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti, which remains fully operational, and Kenya's role in promoting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo».

[New Times] The High Court in Kigali on February 6 resumed the trial of YouTuber Theoneste Nsengimana and his co-accused, including Sylvain Nsanzimana, Claudine Uwimana, and Alexis Rucubangana, among others, who face charges related to conspiracy against the government.

[UN News] Now is the time to end the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday in a briefing to journalists in New York.

[RFI] In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congolese authorities said its troops and its allies clashed with the M23 rebel group, supported by Rwandan soldiers, in the mining town of Nyabibwe in South Kivu.

[New Times] The Government of Rwanda has expressed its condolences to the people of Germany following the passing of former President Horst Köhler on February 1, in Berlin. He was 81.

[New Times] Congolese soldiers who fled from the battle with the AFC/M23 rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo have praised the hospitality they have received in Rwanda.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka over what he termed as «reckless remarks» regarding Kenya's involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crisis.

[Egypt Online] Egypt's Ambassador to Congo Eman Yakout reiterated Egypt's commitment to expanding cooperation with the Republic of Congo, reinforcing efforts to enhance bilateral relations.

[The Herald] The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called for an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss the situation in the eastern city of Goma following its seizure by M23 rebels, a UN spokesperson said.

[VOA] United Nations -- A senior U.N. official in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday that nearly 3,000 people have been killed in a fighting between M23 militants and the national army over control of a key eastern city.

[New Times] President Paul Kagame's Press Secretary, Stephanie Nyombayire has accused American broadcastet CNN of editing Kagame's remarks in an interview to suit the network's predetermined narrative.

[New Times] The AFC/M23 alliance has called out the United Nations, alongside the Congolese regime to stop engaging in the «shameful controversy» surrounding the deaths of civilians in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, which the rebels captured last week.

[Parliament of South Africa] Parliament -- The joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence has implored the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to ensure that the remains of the SANDF members who died in the Eastern DRC will be repatriated.

[UN News] Regional conflicts, murderous militias, the exploitation of natural resources, innocent civilians forced to flee their homes; these recent developments in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are just the latest in the central African nation's troubled history.

[UN News] The UN's top humanitarian official in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday called for Goma airport to be urgently reopened, warning its continued closure is paralyzing relief operations.

[VOA] Yaounde, Cameroon -- More than 400 civilians rendered jobless by the departure of French troops from Chad are asking the government to hire them and provide the job benefits they had when they worked for the French. The last French troops left Chad on January 31, following an order by President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.