The casualties were identified as Colonel Castro Mberabagabo, responsible for intelligence and relations with M23 and its supporters, and Colonel Erasto Bahati, an advisor to General Sultan Makenga, who succumbed to injuries on Tuesday.
According to Major Willy Ngoma, M23 military spokesperson, the killing of these soldiers was seen as a provocation by the Congolese forces, despite a previous agreement to cease hostilities.
Major Ngoma emphasized the crucial roles played by the deceased M23 members in supporting and comforting the local population during conflicts, highlighting the significant gap their loss has left within the movement.
In response, Major Ngoma accused the DRC State Army of initiating the attack, stating, “They came to attack us. Then two officers were involved in comforting the people, like when the government dropped bombs on houses, hospitals, and schools, men who lived close to the people, listened to the people, helped them, they were brave commanders, they killed them.”
He issued a warning of consequences for the Congolese forces, stating, “They will pay a heavy price. We are strong, we are ready for our purpose. This is seeking death. They did what they shouldn’t have done. We are prepared as professional soldiers.”
The DRC army, with the support of the Southern African Community (SADC), declared its readiness to swiftly expel M23 from the areas it has occupied, urging the displaced population to trust their efforts.
The University of Kigali’s Board of Promoters, management and staff take this opportunity to recognize and appreciate the 7 CAT students who emerged the best nationally and all UoK CAT students for achieving results above the national pass rates.
The exemplary performance by UoK students in the just-released results is a testimony to the quality tuition that is provided at the University. The success is attributed to the adequate, competent and high-quality teaching staff with international experience who deliver the professional courses.
The University further provides study notes and past examination question banks to all students registered for professional courses. Additionally, UoK offers discount on tuition fees to all internal undergraduate and graduate students pursuing professional programmes.
As a result of the standards implemented, UoK has consistently delivered pass rates which are above the national pass rates in exams over the past 14 examination sittings. These high pass rates are a major contributor to the increase in the enrollment of students pursuing professional programmes.
The continuous choice of UoK at every examination sitting by both private and Government sponsored staff is an evidence of the vital role UoK plays in the enhancement of professional capacity-building in Rwanda and the entire East African Region.
The University in partnership with the Government of Rwanda has also been offering Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) training to all Government Accountants and Internal Auditors. From August 2016 to date, the programme has attracted over 3,000 Government Staff. Apart from the certification, it is proven that all the staff who have gone through the tuition process have had a significant increase in productivity and the country has benefited tremendously.
UoK is committed to enhancing training, professionalism and capacity-building across all Public Financial Management (PFM) disciplines. The University is fostering valuable partnerships with relevant stakeholders to continuously ensure that this huge deficit is filled.
The university has encouraged all and sundry to register for professional education at University of Kigali. Registration for the May ICPAR exams is in progress. Classes will start on 9th February, 2024. Interested individuals can call: +250 781 833 731 for professional programmes admissions
Registration for undergraduate and graduate programmes is also ongoing. Individuals are requested to apply online via: mis.uok.ac.rw/apply or Call: +250 788 303 386/ +250 789 009 221/ /+ 250 788 669 642.
Ecobank is a proud official sponsor of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 and is leveraging the unifying, exhilarating, and progressive spirit of African football to demonstrate its commitment to the continent’s sustainable growth. The campaign highlights Ecobank’s drive to empower its clients and customers to achieve their goals for a better future and therefore a better Africa.
Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said: “At Ecobank, we drive growth in Africa by our delivery of affordable, reliable, and innovative financial services to our clients and customers, while making a significant contribution to Africa’s development. ‘A Better way : A Better Africa’ reflects our unwavering dedication to our continent. Driven by our commitment to continuous improvement, we deliver enhanced financial services, greater customer experience, and more customer-centric solutions.”
This brand campaign is based on the results of an extensive pan-African brand survey, addressing the perspectives and opportunities shared during the research.
Jeremy Awori added: “Our pan-African purpose and single gateway platform, as well as the diversity of our leading workforce operating from 35 countries, position us as an enabler and partner for our clients and customers to identify and seize new opportunities.”
The campaign also highlights Ecobank’s digital network and its continent-wide connectivity, including its unified payment ecosystem, which supports market access and business growth, while capitalising on the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The fully integrated campaign features a diverse mix of digital and traditional media and includes a television commercial filmed on the continent. Following the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023, the campaign will continue to be rolled out across Africa.
{{About Ecobank Group (or ‘Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’ or ‘ETI’)}}
Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, UAE and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels, including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit ecobank.com.
Dr. Twagirashema Ivan, the Deputy CEO of RMB, recently briefed Members of Parliament on the ongoing exploration efforts. He emphasized the substantial financial investment required for such exploration, stating, “The research started a long time ago. We have started research which is also time-consuming.”
The initial phase involved analyzing mud samples taken from Lake Kivu, an 800-meter long body of water. Dr. Twagirashema explained, “First, they analyze the muds under Lake Kivu… The result gives you the idea that there may be oil in the lakebed.”
Building upon this analysis, RMB researchers employed technology to identify 13 potential oil-rich locations within Lake Kivu. Dr. Twagirashema clarified, “We’ve gone to the second stage now of using technology that helps to go into the interior of the Earth… It gives you proof, and tells you that in two miles of the Earth’s interior, we have found something similar to oil.”
Despite the progress, the next step involves deploying a machine to the lake’s bottom to extract a sample for further analysis. However, this undertaking comes with a hefty price tag—each hole drilled costs a staggering 15 million dollars.
Dr. Twagirashema cautioned against premature optimism, noting that even if oil is present, extracting it might be more economically viable from foreign sources. He highlighted the potential challenges and expenses associated with the extraction process, stating, “One hole is 15 million dollars… getting it from underground could be more expensive than getting it from abroad.”
Understanding the intricacies of oil extraction becomes essential in evaluating the feasibility of this venture. While three-quarters of the Earth is covered by water bodies, most oil and natural gas deposits are found underwater. Extracting these resources is both difficult and expensive, necessitating specialized equipment and stringent environmental precautions.
Historically, the first underwater oil drilling took place in 1986 off the coast of California, USA. Advances in drilling techniques have since evolved. In the case of Lake Kivu, Gaz Methane is the preferred method due to shared equipment requirements between the two activities.
The extraction process involves creating a deep hole underground, preparing a tank, and utilizing specialized equipment to draw oil from beneath the water. Dr. Twagirashema outlined the complexity of the process, emphasizing that the oil may sometimes be as hard as stone, requiring additional measures to facilitate extraction such as a pipe to pull it from down like someone pulling a drink using a straw.
He concluded, “The journey is in progress and has reached a certain point, but you would not confirm its existence as it is still early.”
The bill, key to the government’s Rwanda plan, passed the House of Commons with 320 votes in favor and 276 votes against on Wednesday. It will now go to the House of Lords, Parliament’s upper chamber, for its first reading.
“The passing of the bill tonight marks a major step in our plan to stop the boats,” said a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office.
In April 2022, Britain reached a deal with Rwanda, under which illegal immigrants and asylum seekers would be sent to the East African country to have their claims processed there. If successful, they would be granted permanent residency in Rwanda rather than being allowed to return to Britain.
However, the scheme has met with resistance. The first flight scheduled to take seven migrants to Rwanda in June 2022 was canceled after intervention by the European Court of Human Rights. Two months ago, Britain’s Supreme Court ruled that the government’s scheme was unlawful.
The British government later introduced emergency legislation known as the Safety of Rwanda Bill that would override domestic and international human rights laws.
A vote on amendments to the bill on Tuesday revealed the division and rebellion facing the prime minister in his governing Conservative Party, as some 60 Conservative MPs voted against the government.
In addition, three Conservative lawmakers, including two deputy chairmen of the party, resigned Tuesday evening over the vote on the amendments.
Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said earlier Wednesday that Sunak has been “brutally exposed by his own MPs yet again” and called the government’s plan “a farce.”
The British government said that it has given Rwanda 240 million British pounds (about 304 million U.S. dollars) under the scheme.
In a press statement, Faki said he has appointed Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe and Francisco Madeira as members of the AU High Level panel on Sudan.
Ibn Chambas is a Ghanaian diplomat with several decades of experience particularly in the United Nations, while Wandira-Kazibwe is a former vice president of Uganda.
Madeira is a Mozambican diplomat who has previously served in various national and AU roles.
“The appointment, which takes effect immediately, is in line with the conclusion of the AU Peace and Security Council and in furtherance of the AU’s mandate and determination to entrench peace and stability on the Continent,” Faki said in a statement.
The members of the AU High-Level Panel will work with all the Sudanese stakeholders: all civilian forces, military belligerents and regional and global actors including IGAD, the UN, the League of Arab States, to ensure an all-inclusive process towards the swift restoration of peace, constitutional order and stability in Sudan, the statement said.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023.
More than 12,000 people have been killed, and over 7.4 million have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since the fighting broke out, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Long March-7 Y8 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-7, blasted off at 10:27 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, the CMSA said.
After about 10 minutes, Tianzhou-7 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels soon unfolded. The agency declared the launch a complete success.
Wednesday’s launch is the first mission of China’s manned space project this year. It is also the 507th mission of the Long March rocket series.
The mission is the sixth flight of the space station cargo delivery system consisting of the Tianzhou cargo craft and the Long March-7 carrier rocket.
The cargo craft and launch vehicle were respectively developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, both of which are affiliated with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Tianzhou-7 will take three hours for the rendezvous and docking with the space station. Previous Tianzhou missions regularly took about 6.5 hours in rendezvous and docking. The exception was the Tianzhou-5 mission, which only took about two hours.
Tianzhou-7 will adopt a new mode of rendezvous and docking yet to be verified in orbit, which is expected to give better play to the guidance, navigation, and control systems of the spacecraft, according to Li Zhiyong, a researcher at the CAST.
Tianzhou-7 is the seventh cargo craft developed by the CAST. “As an improved fully-sealed cargo craft, it has the largest cargo transport capacity, the highest cargo-delivery efficiency, and the most complete in-orbit support capability in the world,” said Li.
Tianzhou-7 carries more than 260 items of supplies, including those for the astronaut system, space station system, application tasks, and cargo spacecraft system, as well as other engineering goods, featuring a variety of cargo and large-sized items. The total weight of onboard materials reached about 5.6 tonnes.
Customized cargo packages for experiment payloads and other large-scale goods, each weighing over 100 kilograms, will be applied in the operation of the space station, space science experiments, and astronaut life support.
Tianzhou-7 also sends 2,400 kilograms of living supplies for the astronauts, including Lunar New Year goods and fresh fruits and vegetables. The packaging design has been optimized to ensure longer storage time and freshness.
The application system has loaded Tianzhou-7 with a total of 61 items weighing 473 kilograms, including experiment payloads, experiment units and samples, consumable items, and spare parts, to support continuous space experiments, according to Liu Wei, a researcher at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The items also contain a set of life support devices to keep cell samples in good condition during this mission and a set of microfluidic chips with the temperature kept at 4 degrees Celsius, said Liu.
Those items will be transferred to the space station’s experiment facility to carry out a total of 33 scientific experiments, such as the effect of space microgravity on human bone cells, the propellant fluid transport and stability under variable gravity, and the growth of nano precious metals in solution under microgravity. The experiments cover fields such as space life science, space material science, microgravity fluid physics, and combustion science, Liu added.
According to the plan, China will launch the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site this year. The site is the country’s fourth launch site and the only one by the seaside.
On Wednesday, January 17, Minister Gasana and Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Minister of Interior and Commander of Lekhwiya Force of Qatar, oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CG Namuhoranye and the Director-General of Public Security of Qatar, Maj. Gen. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Suwaidi, to formalize partnership on security between institutions under their portfolio.
The cooperation pact outlines partnership in security and crime control, including fighting terrorism, transnational organized crime, human and drug trafficking, trafficking of firearms and explosives, money laundering, cybercrime and corruption, among others.
Minister Gasana and his counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa, also reviewed bilateral cooperation in security fields and discussed ways expedite them.
The Rwandan delegation will also attend the graduation ceremony of the 6th batch of junior officers from the Police College.
Ibrahim Darraz, Managing Partner at IBS, stated “We are thrilled to expand the presence of IBS iKiosks in the African market through our esteemed partner Centrika. We eagerly anticipate the growth of this project in subsequent phases”.
Centrika’s vision for a smart solution for transport and payment services aligns seamlessly with the custom-designed iKiosks that will be deployed across various locations in Kigali.
Willy Claude Karasira, Co-founder & Executive Director of Centrika welcomed this partnership, stating, “We are excited to introduce our new iKiosks in Rwanda, which will revolutionize the way our customers handle transport tickets, sport and entertainment tickets, bill payments, government transactions through Irembo, remittance, etc. These multilingual kiosks will provide convenient and efficient self-service options, enhancing the overall customer experience.”
IBS is set to deliver bespoke software, customized hardware, and seamless integration services. “With a dedicated focus on R&D, we ensure our products stay at the forefront. Centrika’s compact and secure iKiosks accept both cash and cashless payments, providing 24/7 fast and easy accessibility”. stated Mohammad Al-Azzeh, Managing Partner at IBS.
{{About IBS (www.infinitebs.net)}}
IBS, the FinTech powerhouse was founded by visionary Jordanian entrepreneurs to spearhead digital transformations with cutting-edge solutions tailored to diverse industries. IBS handles millions of transactions monthly and earned the prestigious “Best Multi-Channel Automated Payment Solutions Provider 2023 – Middle East” at the FinTech Awards 2023, hosted by Wealth and Finance International magazine.
{{About Centrika (https://centrika.rw)}}
Centrika stands at the forefront of innovation, dedicated to delivering cutting-edge solutions that anticipate the evolving needs of tomorrow. As a trailblazer in the realm of digital transformation, Centrika offers a range of solutions that redefine convenience for processing transport and payment services. Committed to excellence, Centrika’s insights and achievements, such as being the first to issue a UnionPay card with transportation functions in Rwanda, underscore their pioneering spirit.
The child’s body was found on the morning of Wednesday, January 17, 2024, in Kadasumbwa Village, Ntunga Cell, Mwulire Sector.
According to sources, the child was with his mother at the charcoal store in Ntunga station two days ago. While the mother was attending to clients, the child went missing, claiming that he had gone home. A search was conducted, and there were suspicions of a possible abduction. However, it has now been discovered that the child was strangled with a bag of charcoal, resulting in his tragic death.
In response to this heartbreaking incident, Zamu Daniel, the Executive Secretary of Mwulire Sector, emphasized the importance of parents sending their young children, aged three and above, to kindergartens. By doing so, children can benefit from the guidance of teachers while their parents can fulfill their responsibilities without constantly having to manage their children’s needs.
Furthermore, parents are advised to closely monitor their children whenever they are in their care, as the safety and well-being of a child are of utmost importance.
Currently, the Sector administration is awaiting the involvement of security agencies and medical professionals to determine the cause of the child’s death, specifically if it was a result of the charcoal bag. Once the investigation is complete, the child’s body will be released to the parents for burial.
