Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The second largest country in Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo is blessed with oil, timber, diamonds and gold but cursed with violence, instability, graft and poverty. Here are five facts about DR Congo following the outcome of talks to defuse its latest crisis: – …
Read More »Who’s behind the massacres in DR Congo’s Beni region?
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | The official explanation for a two-year wave of massacres in a restive corner of DR Congo centres on a shadowy rebel group accused of having ties to the global jihadist underground. But some basic details about the alleged killers of more than 700 victims …
Read More »ADF blamed as 22 killed in DRC
Twenty-two civilians killed in DR Congo bloodbath: official Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 22 civilians were killed in a massacre in Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive North Kivu province over the weekend, an official said Sunday. The bloodshed occurred in Eringeti, a town 55 kilometres (35 miles) …
Read More »Christmas brings some relief for Kabila and DRC
DR Congo crisis talks suspended, hopes for deal by year end Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Talks to end DR Congo’s dangerous political crisis were suspended on Saturday until after Christmas after a fruitless 48 hours of negotiations over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to quit power. Kabila’s second and …
Read More »Congo crisis talks on as bishops urge deal by Christmas
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Talks on defusing an explosive crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resumed Wednesday, a day after bloody clashes, as the Catholic church appealed for a deal by Christmas over the future of President Joseph Kabila. The call by bishops sponsoring talks between the …
Read More »Troops patrol DRC streets as Kabila’s mandate expires
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | People stayed home across Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, leaving troops to patrol ghost cities as tension peaked hours before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate ends, but with no election in sight. Kabila’s second term expires at midday on December 20, but he …
Read More »INTERVIEW: Low infrastructure hampering internet usage
What key areas does your work portfolio focus on? When the Telecom duopoly was de-regularised in 2006, we were the first company to get a licence. We started the business as wholesalers of voice and data under the capacity re-sell licence. We spent the first three years doing only that. …
Read More »At least 20 dead in DR Congo gold mine collapse
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | At least 20 people were killed in a gold mine collapse in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local minister said on Sunday. The deaths occurred overnight at a mine in South Kivu region in the east of the country, the province’s mines …
Read More »KABILA: Young, enigmatic and still around
Joseph Kabila: DR Congo’s young, enigmatic leader Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Still relatively young after 16 years leading the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila is a secretive president at the centre of a political crisis in his vast, conflict-ravaged nation. Tuesday marks the end of the second …
Read More »DR Congo orders social networks blocked as Kabila’s term expires
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …
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