Latest news with #Kivu

Wall Street Journal
05-07-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Congo Braces for HIV Surge After U.S. Funding Stops
The mineral-rich provinces of South and North Kivu along the eastern flank of the Democratic Republic of Congo should be among its most productive. They are home to a fifth of the vast country's population and are the site of some of its most valuable mines, where men flock to extract coltan and other critical minerals used to produce smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles. Women run roadside restaurants and bars. Millions of people live in camps, displaced by roaming militias, near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda.


Washington Post
01-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Solar minigrid brings light and hope to a Goma neighborhood, offering blueprint for rest of Congo
GOMA, Congo — Street lights erase the shadows where attackers once hid. Noisy, polluting diesel generators have gone silent. New businesses are taking root. In several Goma neighborhoods where almost nobody had electricity just five years ago, a small solar network is offering a flicker of hope despite widespread poverty and the city's violent takeover by Congolese rebels early this year.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Students in rebel-held eastern Congo brave insecurity to take exams
BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of secondary school students sat for state exams in rebel-held eastern Congo this week, a complicated logistical feat requiring rare cooperation between the government and M23 rebels. The Rwanda-backed insurgents seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in an offensive earlier this year and are now trying to show they can govern. African leaders along with Washington and Doha are meanwhile trying to broker a peace deal that would put an end to a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. The state exams, administered across the sprawling central African country for students hoping to go to university, began on Monday and will continue through mid-June. Administering them throughout the east of Democratic Republic of Congo required having education officials personally escort documents and other materials from the capital Kinshasa into M23-held cities and towns. "We were among those who went to Kinshasa to collect the items," said Jean-Marie Mwayesi, an education official in South Kivu province, where M23 claims considerable territory. "Thanks to the combined efforts of our teams and partners, all 111 centres we cover have been served." President Felix Tshisekedi's government announced last month it was waiving exam fees - which normally exceed $40 - for students in North and South Kivu provinces, citing insecurity. While M23 has previously said it seeks the ouster of Tshisekedi's government, the group's leader Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters that it still recognised Kinshasa as the administrator of national exams. "Our presence in the eastern part of our country does not make this a separate country," Bisimwa said. "The education of our children is apolitical. It must be protected against any political divergence because we all work for the interest and well-being of our children." Human rights groups have repeatedly accused M23 of executing civilians including children - allegations the group has denied. Exauce Katete was among the students who sat for exams at a school in the South Kivu regional capital Bukavu, which fell under M23 control in February and where insecurity including vigilante violence has increased since then. "Yes, security is there. I can still see a few people outside, responsible for keeping us safe. There are no disturbances, no noise, everything is going well," Katete said, referring to plainclothes officers positioned by M23 outside the school. Mwayesi, the local education official, said that of 44,000 students who registered in his zone, nearly 42,000 showed up, speculating that the remainder may have been displaced by fighting.


Reuters
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Students in rebel-held eastern Congo brave insecurity to take exams
BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of secondary school students sat for state exams in rebel-held eastern Congo this week, a complicated logistical feat requiring rare cooperation between the government and M23 rebels. The Rwanda-backed insurgents seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in an offensive earlier this year and are now trying to show they can govern. African leaders along with Washington and Doha are meanwhile trying to broker a peace deal that would put an end to a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. The state exams, administered across the sprawling central African country for students hoping to go to university, began on Monday and will continue through mid-June. Administering them throughout the east of Democratic Republic of Congo required having education officials personally escort documents and other materials from the capital Kinshasa into M23-held cities and towns. "We were among those who went to Kinshasa to collect the items," said Jean-Marie Mwayesi, an education official in South Kivu province, where M23 claims considerable territory. "Thanks to the combined efforts of our teams and partners, all 111 centres we cover have been served." President Felix Tshisekedi's government announced last month it was waiving exam fees - which normally exceed $40 - for students in North and South Kivu provinces, citing insecurity. While M23 has previously said it seeks the ouster of Tshisekedi's government, the group's leader Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters that it still recognised Kinshasa as the administrator of national exams. "Our presence in the eastern part of our country does not make this a separate country," Bisimwa said. "The education of our children is apolitical. It must be protected against any political divergence because we all work for the interest and well-being of our children." Human rights groups have repeatedly accused M23 of executing civilians including children - allegations the group has denied. Exauce Katete was among the students who sat for exams at a school in the South Kivu regional capital Bukavu, which fell under M23 control in February and where insecurity including vigilante violence has increased since then. "Yes, security is there. I can still see a few people outside, responsible for keeping us safe. There are no disturbances, no noise, everything is going well," Katete said, referring to plainclothes officers positioned by M23 outside the school. Mwayesi, the local education official, said that of 44,000 students who registered in his zone, nearly 42,000 showed up, speculating that the remainder may have been displaced by fighting.


Times of Oman
12-05-2025
- Climate
- Times of Oman
At least 100 dead as floods hit eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Kinshasa : At least 100 people have died in floods that swept through the Fizi territory in South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, overnight from Friday to Saturday, the provincial government confirmed on Sunday. Torrential rains triggered flash floods in the locality of Kasaba, destroying approximately 150 homes, according to a provisional toll. The provincial government expressed deep concern over the heightened risk of waterborne diseases, respiratory infections, and malnutrition amid ongoing heavy rains.