In a press statement released on Wednesday, the bank expressed its appreciation for Reynolds’ leadership and contributions, which have played a key role in its growth over the years.
Ubalijoro’s appointment was confirmed by a resolution of the Board of Directors of BK Group Plc, the sole shareholder of Bank of Kigali Plc.
A Rwandan national, Ubalijoro brings over 30 years of experience in the beverage industry, having held various commercial and management roles across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
He spent a significant portion of his career with Heineken International, serving on the boards of several joint ventures in Sierra Leone, Panama, The Bahamas, St. Lucia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Suriname.
In August 2020, he joined Molson Coors Beverage Company, a leading North American brewer, as Central Region Vice President based in Dallas, Texas. He was also a Board Director at Revolver Brewery, a Molson Coors subsidiary in Texas.
After retiring from the beverage industry on April 1, 2024, Ubalijoro shifted his focus to non-executive board roles and various sports initiatives in Rwanda and France.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (1986), and an MBA from the University of Sherbrooke in Canada (1989).
The growth of ice and snow tourism has transformed how Chinese people perceive and experience winter, according to Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, who shared his views during the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.
In the past, particularly in northeast China, where bitter winter temperatures are the norm, people tended to stay indoors during the cold months. However, a noticeable shift is occurring as more people now embrace outdoor activities during winter.
Many people are flocking to Harbin, the capital of China’s northernmost province of Heilongjiang, which is renowned for its abundant snowfall and stunning ice sculptures, to immerse themselves in the icy atmosphere.
Research by the tourism academy projects that over 500 million people will participate in ice and snow tourism during the peak season in 2024-2025, driving consumption by more than 600 billion yuan (about 83.7 billion U.S. dollars), said Dai.
The passion for ice and snow sports has also ignited, noted Ai Yu, an official with the General Administration of Sport of China. The scope of people participating in winter sports has extended beyond traditional northern regions; additionally, winter sports have now shifted from winter-only activities to year-round offerings that are accessible both indoors and outdoors, Ai highlighted.
Regions with rare snowfall are also capitalizing on the trend, as winter wonderlands created by artificial snow are popping up in southern China to meet growing demand, Dai added.
China aims to boost its ice and snow economy as a new growth sector, targeting an economic scale of 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to guidelines issued by the General Office of the State Council in November 2024.
The annual Central Economic Work Conference, held in December last year, also called for active efforts to develop the country’s ice and snow economy.
Tourists are now more willing to pay for leisure and cultural activities related to ice and snow tourism, said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, at the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.
Dai said that various new business models are arising from the thriving industry. “Once tourists arrive at their destinations, they look for accommodation, dining options and interactions with locals. What attracts them most is often the unique folk customs and cultural heritage of the region.”
Harbin, China’s northernmost provincial capital, exemplifies the country’s thriving ice and snow economy. During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday that concluded on Tuesday, Harbin Ice-Snow World attracted over 610,000 visits. This ice theme park, featuring dazzling ice sculptures, saw more than 100,000 visits on Feb. 1, setting a new record for daily attendance compared to previous years.
In addition to Harbin, various new ice and snow tourism attractions have emerged across Heilongjiang Province. These include the snow-covered forests of Yichun, one of China’s most forested cities, winter birdwatching in Qiqihar, where native red-crowned cranes can be spotted, and aurora viewing in Mohe, near the China-Russia border, according to Qi Bin, deputy director of the Heilongjiang provincial department of culture and tourism.
Peng Fuwei, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, said that China has established a dual manufacturing-service model to develop its ice and snow economy. According to Peng, the country can now produce 15 kinds of ice and snow sports equipment, ranging from snowboards to snow-making machines.
In ice and snow services, Peng said multiple sectors flourish simultaneously, including competitions and performances, catering and accommodation, winter sports training, and leisure tourism.
Looking ahead, Peng said that the central budget will continue to support the construction of public service facilities for eligible ice and snow sports and tourism. Also, qualifying ice and snow tourism equipment will receive support through ultra-long special treasury bonds for equipment upgrades.
According to China’s national blueprint for the ice and snow economy, the industry is expected to play a greater role in expanding employment and promoting high-quality development by 2030. Ice and snow consumption will be a key growth driver for domestic demand.
By then, several high-quality destinations for ice sports and tourism will be established, and the total scale of the ice and snow economy is projected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan (about 209.2 billion U.S. dollars), the document says.
During the eight-day-long Spring Festival holiday that ended Tuesday, over 610,000 trips were made to the park. Daily trips on Saturday exceeded 100,000, setting a new record for single-day attendance. Since opening its doors this season, the park has received over 2.66 million visits.
The ice and snow tourism fervor is not limited to Harbin, but palpable nationwide. With its ambitious plans and growing public enthusiasm, China’s winter economy is poised to become a cornerstone of its cultural and economic landscape, experts noted in the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.
{{Embrace the winter}}
The increasing popularity of Harbin Ice-Snow World is partly attributed to the city’s upcoming role as the host of the 2025 Asian Winter Games, marking China’s second major winter sports event following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Ai Yu, a senior official of the General Administration of Sport of China, noted that the success of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has reshaped China’s relationship with winter sports, and transformed the landscape of ice and snow activities across the country.
Public enthusiasm for winter sports has surged, extending far beyond traditional hubs such as Heilongjiang. The trend is now moving southward, westward, and eastward, with activities no longer limited to winter but available year-round, both indoors and outdoors, Ai said.
Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, highlighted the role of technology and investment in promoting winter sports, with artificial snow and ice facilities making winter sports accessible even in the warmest regions.
A survey from the academy showed more than 70 percent of the respondents are willing to engage in winter leisure activities, with over 60 percent planning to maintain or increase their spending on winter tourism. The 2024-2025 winter season is expected to attract some 520 million trips, generating over 630 billion yuan (about 87.87 billion U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue.
Winter has evolved from a season of dormancy to one of vibrant activities, Dai noted. “In the past, winter meant freezing temperatures and a pause in daily life. Now, people embrace the cold and explore northern regions.”
{{More than just fun}}
China’s winter economy is not just about sports and tourism; it’s also driving significant growth in manufacturing and services, experts said.
Peng Fuwei, a senior official of the National Development and Reform Commission, noted that the industry has formed a “dual-engine” structure, with winter manufacturing and services leading the way.
“China now produces a comprehensive range of winter sports equipment, from personal gear to high-end snowmaking machines and snow groomers. In 2023, winter equipment sales reached about 22 billion yuan,” he said.
Related service sectors are also thriving, with winter sports fueling growth in areas like event hosting, catering, accommodation, and training.
Heilongjiang, for example, has developed cutting-edge technologies like multi-robot ice sculpting and has established itself as a hub for testing and refining automobiles under extreme cold conditions. “Thanks to robotics, our ice sculptures are built faster and more efficiently,” said Qi Bin, deputy director of Heilongjiang’s culture and tourism department.
New cultural experiences, such as snowfield hot springs and concerts, are also emerging, further enriching the winter tourism ecosystem, Dai observed.
{{To make the snowball bigger}}
Seeking to leverage its vast ice and snow resources to drive economic growth, China is doubling down on its commitment to expanding its winter economy, which encompasses sports, culture, equipment, and tourism.
The sector has already reached a trillion-yuan scale, and the country aims to grow it to 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to an official guideline released in 2024.
To achieve these goals, the government is integrating winter sports and tourism into its national development plans.
“We will continue to support the industry through policies, funding, and infrastructure development,” Peng said, adding that key regions in places including Heilongjiang and Xinjiang will receive targeted support to become world-class winter sports destinations.
There are also plans to sustain the momentum of winter sports participation, expand their reach, and integrate sports events with tourism, according to Ai.
To further tap the industry’s potential, Dai called for extending the winter industry’s value chain. This includes combining winter equipment with personal gear and creating new travel routes, all in a bid to build a robust ecosystem for the winter economy.
Ultimately, the goal is to make winter sports and tourism an integral part of people’s lives, Dai added. “When people fall in love with winter activities, the foundation for a thriving winter economy will be firmly established.”
Powerful gangs, armed with weapons largely trafficked from the United States, have united in the Caribbean country’s capital Port-au-Prince under a common alliance and now control most of the city and are expanding to nearby areas.
The international security mission, while approved by the UN Security Council, is not a United Nations operation and currently relies on voluntary contributions. The mission has so far made little progress toward helping Haiti restore order.
There are around nearly 900 police and troops from Kenya, El Salvador, Jamaica, Guatemala and Belize. As at the end of 2024. US$110.3 million had been pledged by several countries, including the USA, Canada, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Algeria.
$85 million had been received by the Trust Fund, including substantial amounts from the United States.
“The US had committed $15 million to the trust fund, $1.7 million of that had already been spent, so $13.3 million is now frozen,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “We received an official notification from the U.S. asking for an immediate stop work order on their contribution.”
Just hours after taking office on January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day pause so foreign aid contributions could be reviewed to see if they align with his “America First” foreign policy.
Trump has said that he thinks he will wind down the US Agency for International Development, in what would be a dramatic overhaul of how the world’s largest single donor allocates foreign assistance.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson, Dr. Isaac Mwaura has dismissed claims that the US funding freeze for the Haiti Multi-National Security Support mission (MSS) will jeopardize the operations as false and lack any factual basis.
The MSS mission is supported by the UN Trust Fund for Haiti, established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 in October 2023.
“While a portion of the undisbursed US contribution amounting to $15 million has been temporarily held due to the US presidential directive, the Fund remains well-resourced to support the mission until the end of September 2025,” Mwaura said in a statement.
According to him, Kenya and its partners remain fully committed to ensuring the mission transitions to a full UN-led operation to guarantee its long-term financial sustainability and security mandate.
Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, fell into M23’s hands on January 26, 2025, forcing government forces, its allied militias and some foreign mercenaries to flee.
Upon occupying Goma, M23 fighters found abandoned FARDC military equipment scattered across the streets, including armored vehicles and firearms. Some civilians had fled the city, while others remained indoors, waiting for the situation to unfold.
Witnessing the aftermath of battle was unbearable as the streets were littered with FARDC military vehicles still containing the bodies of fallen soldiers, many of whom had been killed at their posts while those who survived managed to escape.
According to UN estimates, around 3,000 people were killed in the battle for Goma, with 2,500 of them being FARDC soldiers, Wazalendo fighters, and their allies. FARDC soldiers who fled to Rwanda told IGIHE that they had no choice but to cross the border after realizing they were completely surrounded by M23.
“The troops defending Goma were stationed at the airport, but the battle tactics were unclear. How were we supposed to defend the airport when the enemy had already surrounded the entire city and started firing? asked one of the soldiers
“There was no way we could secure a position that was already encircled. As soon as the shooting intensified, we suffered heavy casualties. When I realized we were being gunned down, I knew things had gone terribly wrong,” he added.
As the gunfire subsided in Goma, displaced civilians began returning home, and daily life slowly resumed. In other areas now under M23 control, those previously sheltered in internal displacement camps also started going back to their villages.
For instance, the Kanyarucinya camp has been closed as all its inhabitants returned to their homes in Nyiragongo territory. Reports indicate that M23 facilitated the repatriation of civilians from the Mugunga camp back to Masisi.
Analysts suggest that the UN, which has deployed MONUSCO troops in eastern DRC since 1999, has contributed to regional instability. They argue that the UN is now distorting facts on the ground to justify its continued presence in the country.
Meanwhile, many UN staff members have fled eastern DRC, crossing into Rwanda through the Rubavu border en route to Kinshasa and other locations.
The executive order also stops funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and requires the U.S. State Department to reevaluate the UN Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Trump made his announcement on the same day he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has consistently criticized both the human rights body and UNRWA for alleged bias against Israel.
During Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018. In February 2021, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the Joe Biden administration would reengage with the council as an observer.
Since 1950, UNRWA has been assisting Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
As the world enters a very turbulent period and the number of conflicts worldwide hits a new high since the Cold War, there is an increasing call in the international community, among the Global South in particular, for reforming and improving the global governance system, he said.
“At the Security Council, solidarity and cooperation are replaced by division and confrontation. Very often, the Council has been unable to do anything in the face of major security crises. This situation cannot continue,” Fu told a press briefing on the program of work of the Security Council for the month.
Under its initiative, China will chair a Security Council high-level open debate, scheduled for Feb. 18, on the theme of “Practicing Multilateralism, Reforming and Improving Global Governance.”
“As we mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations this year, the debate aims to encourage countries to revisit the original aspirations of the UN, reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and the important role of the United Nations, including the Security Council, and to explore ways to reform and improve the global governance,” the envoy said.
Regarding global and regional issues, Fu said that the 15-member body will continue to focus on the Middle East and strive to find lasting political solutions.
“It is necessary for the Security Council to pay close attention to the ceasefire in Gaza and take timely actions to ensure that the relevant agreement is fully and effectively implemented and that humanitarian access remains open and unhindered,” he told reporters. “China will urge the Council to closely follow the challenges confronting UNRWA (UN relief agency for Palestinians).”
In the meantime, the political and security situation in some parts of Africa is extremely volatile. There are huge challenges in terms of peacekeeping and peace-building, as well as humanitarian assistance, Fu said.
“The Security Council and the wider international community must maintain and increase their attention and support for Africa,” he said. “As the president, China will work with other Council members to promote dialogue and consultation and seek political solutions to African issues.”
The Security Council is composed of five permanent members — China, the United States, Britain, France, and Russia — and 10 non-permanent members. The presidency of the council rotates among its 15 member states based on the English-language alphabetical order of the countries’ names on a monthly basis.
China last held the rotating Security Council presidency in November 2023.
In a statement on Wednesday, the agency said only designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs will be exempt. Essential staff expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00 pm.
USAID also announced that it is also preparing a plan to bring home personnel currently posted outside the United States within 30 days, in coordination with the State Department and overseas missions.
The agency will cover the cost of return travel and will terminate Personal Services Contract (PSC), and Independent Services Contract (ISC) deemed non-essential. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for individuals facing personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other significant issues.
“For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming,” USAID said.
The move is the latest in a series of actions reflecting the Trump administration’s tough stance on foreign aid.
Since regaining office, President Trump has pursued efforts to curtail U.S. assistance programs, arguing that such initiatives are wasteful and should be significantly reduced or eliminated. Internal discussions about bringing USAID under the direct control of the State Department have sparked fears that the agency could be dismantled altogether.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed alarm at the administration’s handling of USAID, warning that its restructuring would require congressional approval.
Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Brian Schatz, along with Representatives Gregory Meeks and Lois Frankel, issued a statement stressing that USAID’s independence is protected by law, while Senator Chris Murphy affirmed that “a president cannot eliminate an appropriated federal agency by executive order.”
Adding to the uncertainty, billionaire Elon Musk has publicly attacked USAID following a reported clash between the agency’s security personnel and Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk leads.
On Sunday, Musk labeled USAID a “criminal organization” and called for its dissolution. His post on X (formerly Twitter), stating “Time for it to die,” has raised fears that the administration is committed to dismantling the agency.
USAID’s website also temporarily went offline over the weekend, and a bare-bones page appeared under the State Department’s domain, suggesting possible consolidation efforts. Senator Chris Coons responded by accusing Trump of attempting to “gut the agency altogether.”
As the largest provider of foreign assistance, the U.S. distributed $72 billion to nearly 180 countries last year—more than half through USAID. The agency’s projects in Africa, in particular, are at risk as funding freezes and personnel cuts threaten ongoing programs in health, education, economic development, and governance.
USAID has played a critical role in Rwanda since 1964, supporting initiatives that enhance economic capacity, healthcare, agriculture, and environmental resilience. The loss of U.S. assistance could leave a significant void, potentially opening the door for rival powers such as China to expand their influence in the region.
Among the bodies are soldiers who died fighting M23 in its battle to capture the city, as well as others who lost their lives in combat around Sake.
South African opposition politician Julius Malema revealed that a soldier stationed in Goma reported how his fallen comrades’ bodies had begun to rot.
“We were informed that the bodies are decomposing. There is no way to retrieve them. The South African military base near Goma’s airport has been taken over. Our soldiers are in M23’s hands. When they need to use the restroom, they have to ask M23 for permission, and they are escorted there. This was reported by a soldier on the ground,” Malema stated.
He accused the South African government of hiding the truth about the situation, claiming they have chosen to mislead the public about the real reasons behind the troops’ deployment to the DRC.
South Africa has announced that the bodies of the fallen soldiers will be repatriated on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. However, concerns remain over how this will be executed, given that air and sea routes have been blocked. The only viable option is to transport the bodies through Rwanda.
Reports indicate that Rwanda had granted South Africa permission to use its territory for repatriation, but South Africa allegedly refused the offer.
