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☆ Pope Francis to visit two fragile African nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Pope Francis attends the Vespers prayer service to celebrate the conversion of St. Paul at St. Paul's Basilica in Rome, Italy. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Pope Francis starts a trip on Tuesday to two fragile African nations often forgotten by the world, where protracted conflicts have left millions of refugees and displaced people grappling with hunger. Both countries are rich in natural resources - DRC in minerals and South Sudan in oil - but beset with poverty and strife. DRC is getting its first visit by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985, when it still was known as Zaire. Trott, a former ambassador in South Sudan, said he hoped the three Churchmen can convince political leaders to "fulfil the promise of the independence movement".

☆ Rwanda shoots at Congolese military jet over alleged airspace violation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video shared widely on Congolese social media showed a projectile shooting towards an airborne military plane, before exploding in the air near the plane, which continued to fly. Congo denied Rwanda's accusation that the jet had been in Rwandan airspace - the latest dispute between the two countries whose relationship has been strained by a rebel insurgency. Earlier the Rwandan government said Rwandan forces had fired at the jet after it violated Rwandan airspace in Rubavu - the same area as previous alleged violations, "prompting the government to take defensive measures." Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said last week that the rebels had not fully withdrawn from those areas. In December, Rwanda said another fighter jet from Congo had briefly violated its air space.

"It's important for us to have clear agreement because this is what we have now to finance our development," he said. President Felix Tshisekedi's government has been revisiting a 2007 deal struck by his predecessor Joseph Kabila under which Sinohydro Corp (SINOH.UL) and China Railway Group Limited agreed to build roads and hospitals in exchange for a 68% stake in the Sicomines venture as well as a 2008 contract with CMOC. "We have already a framework, we have some key elements of change that we want to bring in that agreement," Kazadi said of Sicomines, though he declined to provide further details. "In only five days they have managed to burn and export 27 kilograms," Kazadi said, speaking of the joint venture that is owned 55% by the United Arab Emirates with the remainder owned by Kinshasa. Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Jorgelina do Rosario, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Congo beer factory a beacon in region rocked by rebels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Erikas Mwisi Kambale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A general view shows the beer storage warehouse at the Brasimba beer production factory, a subsidiary of the Castel group, in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, December 21, 2022. REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi KambaleBENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Bottles of beer zip along a conveyor belt in a Brasimba factory which has weathered two deadly Ebola outbreaks and waves of fighting linked to rebel militias active in the nearby forests. After an initial investment of 125 million euros ($134 million), beer output at the plant in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Beni more than tripled to 600,000 hectolitres between 2013 and 2021. Along with warehouse expansion, this should help Brasimba manage supply disruptions as the impoverished province grapples with a major offensive by the M23 rebel group. Brasimba's brewery was founded in 1925 and its Beni factory employs around 130 people and a further 180 temporary workers, providing much-needed income in a country where the World Bank estimates 73% of people live on less than $1.90 a day.

☆ Congolese government ups toll in massacre to 272 civilians
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Paul Lorgerie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Arlette BashiziKINSHASA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Monday said 272 civilians were killed in a massacre in the eastern town of Kishishe last week, raising the death toll from a previous estimate of 50. It also said the rebels were backed by members of the Rwandan army, a frequent accusation by the Congolese government which Rwanda has consistently denied. Congo's army and the M23, a Tutsi-led militia, have been locked in fighting for months in the country's east. The death toll was announced by Congolese industry minister Julien Paluku, speaking at a press briefing with government spokesman Patrick Muyaya. "The United States urges Rwanda to honor commitments made in Luanda, including ending Rwanda's support to M23," Blinken said on Twitter.

☆ African leaders agree on ceasefire in east Congo from Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KINSHASA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - African leaders have declared a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo starting Friday, which is aimed in particular at stopping attacks by the M23 rebel group, they said in a statement. The declaration was issued by the leaders of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola, and former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, after a summit in Luanda on Wednesday aimed at finding solutions to the east Congo crisis. Eastern Congo is facing an insurgency by the M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group which the Congolese government claims is supported by neighbouring Rwanda. In addition to the ceasefire, the statement said the M23 must withdraw from its occupied territories or face intervention by regional forces. "If M23 does not withdraw the East African Community (EAC) heads of states shall authorize use of force to compel the group to comply," it said.

☆ Heaviest Fighting in Years Breaks Out in Congo as Rivals Seek Control of Minerals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Long-simmering ethnic tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo—fed at times by its neighbors—have erupted into the most intense clashes in a decade as warring militias fight for control of the region and its mineral riches. In recent days, the M23 rebel group has advanced to within 12 miles of the city of Goma, pushing United Nations-backed Congolese government forces from several surrounding towns. More than two million people are suffering shortages of food and fuel as a result of the fighting.

☆ Civilians attack U.N. peacekeeping convoy in eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Civilians attacked a United Nations peacekeeping convoy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday evening, injuring two people, the U.N. mission said on Wednesday. The convoy was attacked when it stopped at an army checkpoint near an internally displaced persons site in Kanyarutshinya, 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the city of Goma. A crowd assembled and threw stones at the convoy, setting fire to at least one truck, the U.N. mission, MONUSCO, said on Twitter. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi 1 2 3Frustration has grown in the region this year with the U.N. mission, which civilians accuse of failing to protect them from worsening militia violence. Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. announced a "strategic and tactical" withdrawal of 450 peacekeepers from Rumangabo, located further north, near Virunga Park.

☆ Kenya deploys troops to Congo to help end decades of bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Edwin Waita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaNAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23 rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the warring groups in eastern Congo. "We have been working very hard to mobilise the international community to support the east African force," Kenya's defence minister Aden Duale said at the event.

☆ Congo expels Rwanda ambassador as M23 rebels capture strategic town
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The rebel group, which Congo authorities accuse Rwanda of backing but Rwanda denies, seized the town of Kiwanja in eastern Congo on Saturday, effectively cutting North Kivu's capital Goma off from the upper half of the province. The army has conducted strategic retreats from populated areas to move fighting away from towns and protect civilians. Neither General Sylvain Ekenge, the army's national spokesman, nor Colonel Ndjike Kaiko, the army's spokesman for North Kivu, immediately responded to calls and messages requesting comment. Unrest in North Kivu has broken months of relative calm in eastern Congo after the resumption of clashes between the army and the M23 militants. read moreWhen it formed in 2012, M23 was the newest in a series of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgencies to rise up against Congolese forces.

☆ Eastern Congo attacks kill civilians, hit major power plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAKAR, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Suspected rebels have killed civilians and damaged a major hydropower plant under construction in Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the park operator said on Wednesday. Tuesday's attack, which included the use of artillery, came from the direction of positions held by the M23 rebel group, the park service said in a statement. It is just one of many armed groups fighting in eastern Congo over minerals and land. It was not clear how many people died in the Virunga Park attack, which also appeared to target a 28-megawatt hydropower plant at Rwanguba, which the park says will be the largest energy project in eastern Congo when it comes online in two years. A generator and concrete structures inside the plant were hit, but at this stage the construction timeline is not in jeopardy, the park said.

☆ Moldova, țara cu cea mai mare rată a testelor pozitive la COVID-19 din Europa; Legătura cu numărul deceselor
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-24 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +3 min

Până astăzi, Republica Moldova a realizat un total de aproape aproape 373 de mii de teste primare, dintre care pozitive s-au dovedit a fi 98.418. Asta înseamnă o rată a pozitivității de 26,4%, de departe cea mai mare din Europa. Pe locul 2 în Europa la capitolul teste pozitive este Bosnia Herțegovina, cu o rată de 21,05%. Medie de 4 ori mai mare decât cea europeană, în ultima săptămânăRata testelor pozitive a explodat însă de-a dreptul în ultima săptămână, odată cu majorarea semnificativă și a numărului de îmbolnăviri. Potrivit Organizației Mondiale a Sănătății, pe lângă restricții, cea mai bună metodă de control a pandemiei este testarea suficientă a populației, depistarea pozitivilor și izolarea lor și a celor cu care au intrat în contact.

Persons: OMS Organizations: Media, Medie, Organizației Mondiale a Sănătății, m23, PCR Locations: Republica Moldova, Europa, Bosnia Herțegovina, Macedonia de Nord, Danemarca, Finlanda, Islanda, Norvegia, România, Ucraina, Moldova, Albania, Slovaciei, Estonia

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