Congo

Health officials to take ‘proactive measures’ in response to the ongoing Ebola virus epidemic in the DRC and UgandaSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailUS health authorities confirmed on Monday that an American has developed Ebola after being exposed during their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); officials also said that they are taking “proactive measures” to protect US citizens in response to the ongoing Ebola virus epidemic in the DRC and Uganda.Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the case on Monday and said the individual was being evacuated to Germany. They developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday, said Satish K Pillai, an incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response in a press conference. Continue reading...

Étienne Davignon, 93, was last living person targeted in investigation into assassination of DRC’s first PM, Patrice LumumbaA 93-year-old Belgian former diplomat who became the first person to be charged in the murder of the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba has died before he could stand trial.The death of Étienne Davignon, an aristocrat who served as a European commissioner during a decades-long career as one of Belgium’s leading diplomats and industrialists, was confirmed by the Jacques Delors Institute thinktank, where he had served on the board. Continue reading...

Concerns raised that cases were caused by a new strain of the virus as African health officials race to coordinate and contain the infectionAn outbreak of Ebola has killed 65 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to African health officials.There have been 246 suspected cases of the deadly haemorrhagic fever reported so far in Ituri province, which shares borders with Uganda and South Sudan. Continue reading...

Discussions reportedly come after Trump’s decision to stop initiative that allowed group to apply to resettle in the USThe Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send up to 1,100 Afghans who helped US forces during the war in Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a non-profit confirmed on Tuesday.The resettlement talks, first reported by the New York Times, come after Donald Trump’s decision to stop an initiative that allowed Afghans who assisted US war efforts to apply to resettle in the US. Continue reading...

Football federation president on the run with wife and sonConviction in absentia of wide-ranging corruption chargesAuthorities in Congo-Brazzaville have applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant against Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, the president of the country’s football federation, Fecofoot, after he was convicted of embezzling $1.1m in Fifa funds.Mayolas is on the run with his wife and son after they were all sentenced to life imprisonment this month for embezzling funds provided by world football’s governing body as part of its Covid-19 relief plan in February 2021. As the Guardian revealed last year, that included almost $500,000 earmarked for the Congo women’s team. Continue reading...

Étienne Davignon is charged with participation in war crimes in relation to killing of then PM Patrice LumumbaA former Belgian diplomat , 93, should stand trial over alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congolese state, a Brussels court has ruled.Étienne Davignon, the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family accuses of involvement in the killing, is charged with participation in war crimes. Continue reading...