The announcement was made by Rwanda Community Abroad – Canada (RCA-Canada) in partnership with the High Commission of the Republic of Rwanda in Canada in a public notice dated September 23.
The decision means that the programme previously envisaged for Calgary will not take place as originally planned. According to the organizers, the Calgary programme is expected to be held at a later date, with details to be communicated in the coming months.
RCA-Canada said the change followed consultations among the organizing partners and expressed regret for any inconvenience it may cause members of the Rwandan community.
The organization has invited members of the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda from across Canada to attend the Ottawa convention.
Further information on the programme, venue, registration and other practical arrangements will be released through RCA-Canada’s official communication channels in due course.
“RCA-Canada, in partnership with the High Commission of the Republic of Rwanda in Canada, is grateful for the continued engagement and cooperation of all those involved in the preparations, and looks forward to welcoming the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda to Ottawa for this important gathering,” the organizers said.
The convention is expected to bring together members of the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda for a two-day gathering in Ottawa, featuring discussions involving the Rwandan diaspora, networking opportunities, cultural activities and conversations on how participants can contribute to Rwanda’s development and strengthen ties between Rwanda and Canada.
The Rwanda Convention Canada 2026 will be held in Ottawa on October 10–11, 2026.
The call was made during a two-day Global Coffee Conference held in Kigali from September 24, 2026.
Organised by Sustainable Growers, the conference brings together farmers, buyers, coffee processors, private-sector players, investors and other stakeholders involved in the coffee value chain.
It was preceded by visits to two coffee cooperatives involved in growing and processing coffee in Rwanda: Nyampinga Cooperative in Nyaruguru District and KOPAKAKI DUTEGURE in Karongi District.
The conference has attracted participants from more than 17 countries and also featured coffee tasting sessions showcasing specialty coffees from different countries.
Minister of Gender and Family Promotion Uwimana Consolée, who officially opened the conference, said Rwanda’s coffee sector has made significant progress and generated substantial export revenues, but women involved in the sector should also benefit more from its growth.
“Rwanda’s exports reached more than $1.1 billion in the 2025-2026 financial year, with coffee generating a record $148.6 million. These figures demonstrate the strength and potential of our coffee sector. But this growth must be reflected in the pockets of our women,” she said.
“Women may produce coffee and create its value, yet remain excluded from the decisions, capital, and market that determine who benefits. Participation is not ownership, and producing value is not the same as having a stake in it. This is where our next phase of transformation must focus,” Uwimana added.
She said women coffee farmers around the world continue to face challenges in accessing financial services, markets and decision-making opportunities, calling for stronger collaboration to address them.
“It requires strong and coordinated partnership among governments, the private sector, financial institutions, producer organizations, and the global trade network,” she said.
NAEB Chief Operations Officer Urujeni Sandrine said Rwanda’s coffee value chain has made progress through partnerships supporting the sector, but more needs to be done to strengthen collaboration across the entire chain.
“We grow coffee and there are partnerships in different projects related to the sector, but we need to go beyond that and establish collaboration across the coffee value chain,” she said.
“As NAEB, we are there on the government side, development partners are there, and coffee processors and farmers are also there. What is missing is bringing everyone together and working with a business-oriented approach that can attract adequate and sustainable investment.”
She said stronger collaboration would help coffee farmers improve production while ensuring that increased productivity translates into higher incomes.
Brazilian Ambassador to Rwanda Irene Vida Gala also stressed the importance of cooperation between coffee-producing countries and international partners.
Highlighting that coffee connects countries, communities and people by strengthening cooperation between coffee-producing countries and international partners, the envoy stressed the need to build a sustainable value chain that benefits farmers, fosters innovation and gives farmers a stronger role in shaping the future of the coffee sector.
Dr. Innocent Ndikumana, Chairperson of the Board of Sustainable Growers, said the organisation has trained more than 77,000 women in Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo on improved coffee farming and value addition.
He said 97% of the women trained have applied the knowledge they acquired.
According to Dr. Ndikumana, the programme has also contributed to improvements in access to financial services and health insurance, while some women have been able to acquire personal assets and contribute to the development of their households.
Nyirandimubanzi Jacqueline, who heads Association Hingakawa, a women coffee growers’ association in Gakenke District, said women coffee farmers in Rwanda have made progress compared with the past.
“In the past, a woman in Rwanda would grow coffee and simply harvest it. Today, we know how to process our coffee and take it to the market, and we understand what it generates and how the income can be used in household planning,” she said.
Participants at the conference are drawn from countries including Rwanda, Tanzania, Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Puerto Rico, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, France, Switzerland, Finland and Italy.
The conference brought together participants from more than 17 countries.Experienced coffee growers shared their knowledge and expertise with fellow participants.Participants discussed ways to advance the coffee sector.Minister of Gender and Family Promotion Uwimana Consolée said Rwanda’s coffee sector is making significant progress.Brazilian Ambassador to Rwanda Irene Vida Gala stressed the importance of cooperation between coffee-producing countries and international partners.Nyirandimubanzi Jacqueline, head of Association Hingakawa, said women coffee farmers in Rwanda have made significant progress compared with the past.Participants were trained on how to market coffee to generate greater returns.
According to Haitian media, the discussions focused on efforts to restore national security in Haiti, strengthen the country’s security forces, consolidate state institutions and hold credible elections.
The Haitian government said it wants to strengthen its partnership with Rwanda and, more broadly, with African countries in areas including security, training, governance and development.
The meeting comes as Haiti continues to face a severe security crisis linked to armed groups, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haitian authorities have been seeking support to build the capacity of the country’s security forces and strengthen state institutions as they work to restore security and create conditions for credible elections.
Rwanda has previous experience of security cooperation with Haiti through UN peacekeeping missions. The Rwanda National Police concluded its peace-support deployment in Haiti in 2019, after nine years of rotational deployments.
Rwanda remains one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations and has deployed security personnel to missions in several countries.
According to Haitian media, the discussions focused on efforts to restore national security in Haiti, strengthen the country’s security forces, consolidate state institutions and hold credible elections.The Haitian government said it wants to strengthen its partnership with Rwanda and, more broadly, with African countries in areas including security, training, governance and development.The meeting comes as Haiti continues to face a severe security crisis linked to armed groups, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined real-world sleep patterns and their relationship with more than 1,000 health outcomes.
Researchers analysed data from 95,559 UK Biobank participants who wore wrist accelerometers continuously for seven days and nights. Participants were then followed for a median of 8.9 years.
Using a deep-learning algorithm, researchers estimated participants’ REM, deep and light sleep, as well as total sleep duration, periods of wakefulness during the night and night-to-night sleep irregularity.
The researchers found that greater amounts of REM sleep were associated with a lower risk of 83 diseases. These included heart failure, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
An increase of about 47.6 minutes in REM sleep, representing the interquartile range used in the analysis, was associated with a 26% lower risk of heart failure, a 46% lower risk of dementia and an 80% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease.
The study also found that greater amounts of deep sleep were associated with a lower risk of seven conditions, including type 2 diabetes and major depressive disorder.
Sleep consistency also appeared to matter. Greater night-to-night sleep irregularity and more time awake after initially falling asleep were associated with higher risks of several conditions, including anxiety and substance use disorders.
The researchers also found a non-linear relationship between total sleep duration and disease risk.
For many conditions, the lowest levels of risk were concentrated among people who slept between six and eight hours per night.
By comparison, people who slept for less than five hours had an increased risk associated with 37 conditions.
However, the researchers stressed that the findings show associations rather than proof of cause and effect.
Because the study was observational, it cannot establish that getting more REM or deep sleep directly prevents disease.
The study also relied on sleep measurements collected over seven days, meaning those measurements may not fully represent participants’ long-term sleep patterns.
The authors said the findings provide additional evidence that sleep duration and the distribution of different sleep stages may be important for health, particularly among middle-aged and older adults.
They identified 156 significant associations between sleep patterns and diseases after statistical correction, highlighting the broad relationship observed between sleep characteristics and long-term health outcomes.
More REM and deep sleep were associated with lower risks of several diseases in a study of more than 95,000 UK Biobank participants.
The beneficiaries are residents of the model villages of Busanza, Mpazi, Karama, Ayabaraya and Rugendabari.
The distribution programme began on September 23, 2026, in Busanza Model Village, where 450 households received modern cookstoves and 20 kilogrammes of pellets each.
The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), the Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL), the City of Kigali and Innovate UK.
BioMassters Chief Executive Officer Claudia Muench said the cookstoves are designed to last for years while helping households reduce their cooking expenses.
“Our goal is to replace charcoal with a better and more affordable alternative. The pellets are made from sawdust and can reduce by nearly half the amount households normally spend on charcoal each month. When used in a BioMassters stove, they produce no smoke and also reduce cooking time,” she said.
Muench added that the company provides repair services for its cookstoves and offers a three-year warranty for each unit.
BioMassters currently has more than 40 outlets selling its pellets and is expanding its distribution network through company-owned shops and franchises in Kigali and other parts of the country. Each model village covered by the programme will also have a shop selling the fuel.
Director of Business Development & Sales at BioMassters, Sylvain Rucyaha said the company is investing in expanding its network of outlets to make the fuel more accessible to customers.
“We are not just selling cookstoves. We are building a system that ensures people can access the fuel they need,” he said.
Hitimana Jean Pierre, an official from the Rwanda Housing Authority, said the cookstoves were being provided to residents of model villages to promote cooking solutions suited to their modern housing.
“In these modern housing units, the kitchen is close to the living room. When a traditional charcoal stove is used in the kitchen, smoke can spread into the living room and settle on clothes and other household items, creating a problem. These cookstoves will address those challenges,” he said.
Mukarutesi Beatha, one of the beneficiaries, said the new stove would help keep her home cleaner.
“I had painted my kitchen and kept it in good condition, but it became dirty again because of the charcoal stove. Now I will have to repaint it. If I had this stove earlier, I could have used that money for other things,” she said.
She said she previously spent about Rwf32,000 a month on charcoal, using two bags, but expects to spend about Rwf8,000 on one bag of pellets under the new system.
Another beneficiary, Iyakaremye Jean Pierre, said charcoal was not suitable for their homes because it generated dirt and smoke, adding that the new cookstoves would help improve living conditions.
A BioMassters cookstove normally costs Rwf65,000, while its pellets are sold at Rwf430 per kilogramme. The pellets are produced using technology designed to minimise smoke emissions when they are burned.
BioMassters also provides repair and maintenance services for cookstoves that develop faults.
The initiative is being implemented with support from the Government of Rwanda, through the Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL), under the Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project (EAQIP), as well as support from the World Bank and Innovate UK.
Sylvain Rucyaha added that, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), BioMassters has already converted the kitchens of 10 schools to use pellets and plans to extend the programme to 250 schools in the coming years.
BioMassters is set to distribute more than 1,200 cookstoves and their pellets worth over Rwf94 million.BioMassters CEO Claudia Muench said the company aims to provide households with cooking stoves that are easy to use, affordable and environmentally friendly.BioMassters cookstoves are designed to minimise air pollutionBioMassters has helped 10 schools adopt cleaner cooking solutions.
The agreement was signed by ICT and Innovation Minister Paula Ingabire and her Jordanian counterpart Sami Smeirat on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Thursday, September 24.
Discussions between the officials focused on opportunities for knowledge exchange, institutional collaboration and reciprocal visits as the two countries work to translate the agreement into concrete areas of cooperation.
Jordan also highlighted its national digital platforms, including its Super App, as part of its experience in delivering digital public services. The app functions as a single gateway combining digital identity, government services, and everyday digital transactions into one platform.
“Both sides discussed opportunities for knowledge exchange, institutional collaboration and reciprocal visits to translate the MoU into concrete areas of cooperation,” the ministry said.
The agreement comes as Rwanda continues to expand the use of digital technologies in public service delivery and other areas of the economy.
During UNGA81, Minister Ingabire also participated in Anthropic’s Global Development Briefing, which brought together governments, development organisations, humanitarian actors and technology partners to discuss how artificial intelligence can support development.
The discussions covered the use of AI in healthcare, education, science and humanitarian response, as well as access to technology, infrastructure, skills and responsible deployment.
Ingabire highlighted Rwanda’s focus on practical AI applications, noting that more than 30 AI use cases are currently underway. She also pointed to opportunities to develop solutions that can be scaled across Africa.
The minister further participated in a session hosted by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and the UN Development Programme on strengthening digital public infrastructure across borders.
The session brought together experiences from Africa, Brazil and Latin America, with discussions focusing on digital identity, interoperable payments, federated data exchange, common application programming interfaces (APIs) and shared standards.
The participants also discussed governance frameworks needed to sustain digital public infrastructure systems across borders.
Rwanda shared its experience with digital identity and payment interoperability, with the discussions examining how national digital public infrastructure can support deeper regional integration and enable more seamless cross-border services.
The agreement was signed by Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire and Jordan’s Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Minister Sami Smeirat on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Kanziga, Habyarimana’s wife, was frequently portrayed in accounts from the period as a powerful figure in political affairs despite holding no official government position.
Various documents, intelligence reports, testimonies from security officials and media reports from the period have described her as having influence that extended beyond her formal role as the President’s wife.
In a June 24, 1994 letter, Lt Col Charles Uwihoreye, an officer in the defeated Rwandan Armed Forces (Ex-FAR), wrote to Col René Galinié, a security adviser at the French Embassy.
He described the hierarchy within the Akazu as appearing to place Habyarimana at the top, followed by Kanziga, while noting that her activities suggested an influence that went beyond that position.
Historical accounts have also linked Kanziga to influential members of her family, including Col Elie Sagatwa and Protais Zigiranyirazo, popularly known as “Monsieur Z.” They were among figures who were described as having significant influence over political and security affairs during the final years of Habyarimana’s government.
One incident often cited in accounts of Kanziga’s influence occurred on February 27, 1994, when Habyarimana reportedly went to Hôtel Rebero l’Horizon but was prevented from entering by security personnel.
According to the account, the guards told him that he could enter only after receiving permission from Kanziga and her brothers.
At the time, Kanziga and her brothers were reportedly holding a fundraising meeting at the hotel to raise money for the Interahamwe militia, which played a role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Three million Rwandan francs were reportedly raised during the meeting.
Documents revealed by French media outlets Mediapart and Radio France in February 2019 also indicated that several senior Ex-FAR officers were closely associated with Kanziga and Zigiranyirazo. The group was reportedly referred to as the “Colonels de Madame,” or “Madame’s Colonels.”
Those named included Col Sagatwa, Col Théoneste Bagosora, Lt Col Anatole Nsengiyumva, Lt Col Nkundiye, Lt Col Tharcisse Renzaho, Col Laurent Serubuga and Col Pierre Célestin Rwagafilita.
‘She is the real leader of this country’
Kanziga’s reported influence was also recalled by Belgian journalist Colette Braeckman during a discussion on the shooting down of Habyarimana’s plane held in Paris on September 9, 2026.
The event, organised by French magazine Le Nouvel Obs, brought together former investigating judge Marc Trévidic, writer Michel Bussi, journalists Patrick de Saint-Exupéry and Colette Braeckman, and François Graner of the Survie organisation.
Braeckman, who spent many years reporting from the Great Lakes region, spoke about the structure of Habyarimana’s government and the political situation in Rwanda before the President’s plane was shot down.
She recalled travelling to Rwanda several times from the beginning of the 1990s, including shortly after the RPA launched its war on October 1, 1990.
“From the beginning of the 1990s, I made as many trips as possible to Rwanda because I was there when the war began. I saw people detained in Kigali Stadium before meeting President Habyarimana, who told me, ‘Yes, there are many economic problems.’ At the time, we were waiting to visit people, and the country did not have much money,” she said.
Braeckman then recalled an encounter with Habyarimana that she said particularly surprised her.
“What surprised me was that President Habyarimana introduced me to his wife and told me, ‘This is my wife, and she is the real leader of this country.’ It was in the 1990s, a few days after the war began in October,” she said.
The account provides another perspective on the influence attributed to Kanziga during Habyarimana’s presidency, at a time when she held no formal government position.
Lt Col Uwihoreye, who died in 2009, also wrote to Col Galinié that following Habyarimana’s death on April 6, 1994, Kanziga assumed a more visible leadership role.
Before she was evacuated by France, Kanziga was accused of ordering the killing of politicians opposed to the regime and Tutsi neighbours in Kanombe.
Among the politicians reportedly killed on her orders were Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Minister of Social Affairs Landouald Ndasingwa, Foreign Minister Boniface Ngulinzira, Agriculture Minister Frédéric Nzamurambaho and Health Minister Faustin Rucogoza.
Historical accounts indicate that Agathe Kanziga wielded significant influence within the government, backed by family members who were part of the Akazu.Colette Braeckman recalls being surprised when Habyarimana told her Agathe Kanziga was Rwanda’s real president
Netanyahu used his speech to defend Israel’s military actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the region, amid growing international criticism and diplomatic isolation.
Rejecting allegations of genocide in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister claimed that Israel “didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
He accused several countries, including Western European nations, of “succumbing to the antisemitic mobs” and refusing to stand with Israel.
As Netanyahu began speaking, dozens of delegates walked out, leaving a large number of empty seats in the hall.
Accusing his critics of spreading what he called lies about Israel, Netanyahu called the delegates who walked out “moral cowards.”
Earlier in the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the assembly that the existence of the Palestinian people is under threat and the two-state solution has been undermined severely.
Addressing world leaders via pre-recorded video, he said Palestinians in Gaza were being subjected to killing, destruction, starvation, attempted forced displacement and “a war of genocide,” while in the West Bank settlement expansion was accelerating.
“The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the realization of the Palestinian state, it threatens the very existence of the Palestinian people,” Abbas said.
“Israeli extremism is expanding its colonial project to create the so-called Greater Israel,” he warned.
Abbas called for greater international efforts to preserve the two-state solution, noting that “neither military occupation nor settler terrorism will pave the way to that solution.”
He criticized the U.S. decision to deny visas to the Palestinian delegation for a second consecutive year, and called on Washington to lift the sanctions and restrictions against Palestine.
Abbas thanked countries that had banned products from Israeli settlements and urged Washington to honor its commitment to prevent the annexation of Palestinian territory.
“We will not leave our homeland, we will not accept displacement, we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” he said.
Outside the UN headquarters, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest Netanyahu’s appearance and express support for the Palestinian people.
Delegates walk out in protest as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 24, 2026. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
The decision was based on Colombia’s foreign policy principles concerning national and hemispheric security and the fight against transnational crime, taking into account alleged links between the Iranian government and international terrorist groups and other “narco-terrorist” organizations that Colombia considers a security threat, the ministry said.
“These events have eroded Colombia’s confidence in the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement stressed that the severing of diplomatic relations does not constitute a break in consular relations, in accordance with the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations.
The celebration of the harvest festival by Rwandans living in Northern Europe was held as part of a major regional event organised by the 3F trade union. The event brought together union members living in Denmark, including people from different countries around the world.
Nkubana Paul, the representative of the Rwandan Diaspora in Jutland and Funen, told IGIHE that the gathering provided a valuable opportunity for the different communities to showcase their cultures.
“It was a great opportunity to come together, with each community presenting its culture through traditional cuisine, songs, dances, traditional clothing and other cultural expressions.”
Nkubana said Rwandans showcased their culture through traditional dances as well as agricultural products prepared as local dishes.
“We had the opportunity to talk about today’s Rwanda. We realised that quite a number of people already knew Rwanda and asked us many questions because they were interested in what we were presenting,” he explained.
He also said that participants from other African countries had asked Rwandans to represent them, believing that greater cooperation among African communities would help showcase the continent in a stronger and more united way.
According to him, the African communities present agreed to strengthen their cooperation through various activities, with the aim of promoting greater awareness and understanding of their respective countries and cultures.
During the event, the Rwandans also presented the Visit Rwanda programme, explaining to participants the ease of travelling to Rwanda, including the possibility of obtaining a visa upon arrival at the airport.
They also highlighted some of Rwanda’s main tourist attractions, including its national parks and the diverse wildlife found there.
People from different countries came together to celebrate their diverse cultures at the cultural festival.Nkubana Paul, the representative of the Rwandan Diaspora in Jutland and Funen, told IGIHE that the gathering provided a valuable opportunity for the different communities to showcase their cultures.The Rwanda stand displayed the national flag and welcomed visitors interested in learning more about the country.The day brought together both young and old, dressed in traditional cultural attire.Members of the Abarerwa ba Danmark cultural troupe perform during the event.
