Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Swiss food giant Nestle announced Sunday that it would close its factory in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a potential market of 80 million people but one beset by poverty and political instability. “We will close our factory and offices by the …
Read More »Brazzaville: Journalists attacked meeting opposition lawyers
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A group of plainclothes men attacked journalists in the Republic of the Congo on Thursday as they tried to attend a press conference held by the legal team of a jailed opposition figure, an AFP correspondent said. The assault took place outside the offices of …
Read More »Bishops urge DR Congo president to vow to stand down
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Influential bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday urged President Joseph Kabila to pledge he will not seek a third term in office in order to ease fears of unrest. Roman Catholic bishops last year helped broker a deal under which elections …
Read More »DR Congo bans marches over delayed polls
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday banned rallies due this week in the capital Kinshasa over the extended rule of President Joseph Kabila despite global concern over a crackdown. Mineral-rich but chronically poor, politically unstable and saddled with a reputation for entrenched corruption, DR …
Read More »DR Congo court suspends trial over mass rape of children
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | The trial of 18 suspected militiamen over the kidnapping and rape of some 40 girls in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended after a defendant demanded the recusal of two judges, a judicial source said Friday. The demand was made by a …
Read More »Pope prays for peace in South Sudan and DR Congo
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis led a special prayer for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, saying the mass murder of women and children is where “war shows its most horrid face”. “This evening, in prayer, we want to sow …
Read More »Chinese firm probes if children work in African mines
Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese metal trading firm said Thursday it is investigating whether children are toiling in Congolese mines that supply it with cobalt, a key resource for mobile phones and electric cars. Yantai Cash, a cobalt exporter based in eastern Shandong province, told AFP that it is …
Read More »‘Mum, they’re killing me’: Child kidnappings surge in DR Congo’s Goma
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Valerie pulls a pair of blue shorts and a small white shirt out of a plastic bag. The shirt is stained with blood. It’s the school uniform of her eight-year-old son Nathanael, who was kidnapped on his way to class in Goma in the …
Read More »DR Congo makes arrests ahead of anti-Kabila protests
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Dozens of people were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, following warnings from authorities that they would break up planned protests against the extended rule of President Joseph Kabila. The Lucha citizen movement said at least 27 were detained by police in …
Read More »33 killed as DR Congo train carrying fuel derails: report
Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP | Up to 33 people were feared dead Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a freight train carrying fuel plunged into a ravine. The UN’s radio Okapi said there had been 33 fatalities with an unknown number of others injured or burned in the …
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