This comes as part of the UAE’s leading global humanitarian role in supporting the healthcare sector across Africa and taking immediate measures to prevent the spread of diseases.
Dr. Tareq Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman of the UAE Aid Agency, affirmed that the UAE, under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, continues its international humanitarian commitment to address health challenges wherever they arise, by developing appropriate solutions in coordination with international organisations and relevant entities across the world.
He said, “The World Health Organisation has recently warned that the global cholera situation continues to deteriorate, expressing concern after more than 390,000 cases and 4,332 deaths in 31 countries reported so far this year. The organisation’s alert highlighted the spread of the disease in several countries, including the Republic of Chad.”
He noted that the UAE’s urgent humanitarian response reflects its steadfast international commitment to intensifying global efforts to prevent such diseases and to providing timely medical treatments to ensure both prevention and cure.
He further explained that the UAE Aid Agency would continue implementing foreign aid programmes in line with the country’s policy on international humanitarian affairs, including humanitarian response and relief plans, early recovery and stabilisation programmes, as well as providing vital assistance to improve living conditions and support communities facing challenges or crises.
This will be achieved through cooperation with international organisations and local entities in target countries, with the aim of creating tangible and sustainable impact.
According to the organizers, doors will open at 2:00 PM. Guests will have access to activities throughout the day, with performances running into the night.
The lineup will include Rwanda’s Bruce Melodie, Kivumbi King, and Mike Kayihura, as well as regional artist Bien-Aimé.
“Friends of Amstel is all about creating moments of connection, and this year we’re excited to host it at Zaria Court, a new venue that perfectly reflects the vibrancy of Kigali,” said Lieke Bouwhuis, Marketing Director, Bralirwa Plc. “With an incredible lineup and a refreshed experience, this edition will be one of the most memorable yet.”
Tickets will be available in solo and group packages for two, four, or six people. Organizers indicated that sales will be launched on Friends of Amstel’s social media platforms.
Friends of Amstel is part of a regional series of events supported by Amstel. Organizers said the initiative is designed to promote social connection through music and shared experiences.
DMCC was established in 2002 with just 28 member companies. Over the years, it has grown remarkably, and by 2025 it has more than 25,000 members from 180 countries and employs over 90,000 people.
Speaking on the program Business With Bartawi, Ahmed reflected on how difficult DMCC’s early years were. Between 2001 and 2004, money was being invested but growth was slow, largely because there were no similar models around the world to learn from.
He recalled that one of the turning points in his journey came during a meeting in 2002 or 2003, which was attended by President Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame.
At the time, Kagame was visiting Dubai to explore projects that Rwanda might replicate.
“I had a few meetings that triggered me in different ways. One was with President Kagame and his wife. He was visiting multiple initiatives in Dubai to see what could be replicated in Kigali,” he noted.
“When I met him, I was anxious, just the operating officer, while my CEO wasn’t present. I felt I was being set up. My focus was to get through the slides without stuttering,” added Sulayem.
During the presentation, he explained DMCC’s plans around diamonds, gold, silver, commodities, and the 360-meter Almas Tower.
“It was probably around 2002 or 2003. We didn’t yet have a coffee center, but we had decided to create storage and service facilities for tea and grow it organically,” he noted.
At the end of the presentation, Kagame made a remark that stayed with him.
“Kagame said; ‘When your tea center is ready, let me know. I’m going to have all of our tea sent there’” he recalled.
Surprised, Sulayem thanked him but asked why Rwanda would want to send all its tea directly to DMCC, given that it had no track record at the time.
Kagame responded: “Because I am tired of our tea leaving Mombasa and being sold abroad as Kenyan tea. I want to protect our brand.”
Ahmed said this was a powerful lesson. “At the time, I didn’t even know where Rwanda was on the map, or that it was landlocked—meaning no seaport, only transport through neighboring countries. For a country like that, protecting its national brand was crucial. That day I learned how much identity and positioning matter in trade,” he stated.
Today, two decades later, the United Arab Emirates stands as Rwanda’s leading export destination.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the UAE received the largest share of Rwanda’s exports, mainly minerals, coffee, and tea.
According to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), Rwanda produced 40,003 tonnes of tea in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, generating $114.8 million (approximately Frw 166 billion).
In the same period, coffee output reached 17,038 tonnes, earning $78.7 million (Frw113.8 billion), with 16,479 tonnes shipped abroad.
According to AP, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled that 34 cities and counties—including major urban centers such as Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles—cannot be denied federal grants because of their policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration had attempted to use executive orders to pressure local governments, making access to federal funds conditional on their compliance with immigration directives.
One executive order issued by Trump directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal money from sanctuary jurisdictions.
Another order directs every federal agency to ensure that payments to state and local governments do not “abet so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.”
Judge Orrick found this approach unconstitutional, saying it amounted to coercion and exceeded the authority of the executive branch.
His decision not only broadens an earlier ruling, which covered a smaller number of jurisdictions, but also blocks the government from attaching immigration-related conditions to specific grant programs.
The ruling highlights the continuing clash between the federal government and local authorities over immigration enforcement.
Sanctuary jurisdictions maintain that their policies are designed to build trust with immigrant communities, while the administration argues they undermine national immigration law.
In a phone call, the two sides discussed threats by France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, to reinstate international sanctions on Iran on the verge of the expiration of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, said a statement released by the Iranian foreign ministry early Saturday.
The statement said the E3 has no legal and moral competence to resort to the snapback mechanism and reinstate the Security Council’s sanctions on Tehran as it has “flagrantly violated” Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 JCPOA, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The “snapback” clause, part of the JCPOA, allows world powers to reimpose international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the deal.
The statement added that the ministers also exchanged views on the path ahead of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West, stressing that Resolution 2231 should end at the scheduled date, which falls on Oct. 18.
Earlier in the day, Araghchi held a joint phone call with the E3 foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, elaborating on Iran’s positions regarding the potential triggering of the snapback mechanism and the resumption of negotiations between Iran and the Europeans.
During the phone call, it was decided that Iran and the E3 would resume nuclear talks next Tuesday at the level of deputy foreign ministers.
Since September last year, Iran has held several rounds of talks with the three European states, most recently in Istanbul in late July.
The year 2024 marked the hottest one on record, with daytime temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade, even 50 degrees centigrade in some regions, a phenomenon which is becoming increasingly common, according to a comprehensive report and technical guidance jointly released by the WHO and WMO.
“Heat stress is already harming the health and livelihoods of billions of workers, especially in the most vulnerable communities,” said Jeremy Farrar, assistant director-general for health promotion, disease prevention and care at the WHO.
Health risks including heatstroke, dehydration, kidney dysfunction and neurological disorders are undermining the long-term health and economic stability of workers worldwide, said the report, adding that approximately half of the global population have already experienced adverse effects from high temperatures.
Occupational heat stress has become a global challenge, not just confined to countries close to the Equator, as highlighted by the recent heatwave in Europe, said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett. “Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity,” Barrett said.
The guidance outlines a multi-stakeholder approach to mitigate risks, including developing national policies, prioritizing vulnerable groups, as well as fostering collaboration among governments, employers, trade unions and health experts.
The most recent report was released on August 20, 2025, by Human Rights Watch (HRW), alleging that M23 fighters killed at least 140 civilians in villages located in Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu Province. The report says the incidents occurred in areas under the control of the FDLR rebel group, near Virunga National Park.
According to HRW, most of the victims were ethnic Hutu civilians, killed between July 10 and July 30, 2025, across 14 villages in Binza groupement. The affected villages were listed as Busesa, Kakoro, Kafuru, Kasave, Katanga, Katemba, Katwiguru, Kihito, Kiseguru, Kongo, Lubumbashi, Nyamilima, Nyabanira, and Rubare.
Earlier, on August 6, 2025, the OHCHR reported that M23 fighters had killed 319 civilians in four villages in Binza between July 9 and July 21.
However, during a press conference held in Goma on August 22, 2025, the AFC/M23 leadership rejected these reports, dismissing them as fabricated and unverified.
The group argued that the organizations behind the allegations had not deployed investigators to the areas where the killings were reported, raising questions about the credibility of the findings.
{{Attempts to undermine the peace process}}
Bertrand Bisimwa, deputy coordinator of AFC/M23 in charge of Politics and Diplomacy, claimed that the reports were based on information provided by the FDLR, which he described as a terrorist group fueled by hatred against the Tutsi community.
He questioned the credibility of the findings, saying: “HRW is based in New York, London, and Paris. How could they verify and confirm events that allegedly happened thousands of kilometers away, a month later? In our previous press briefing, we stated clearly that this is propaganda, and it is not the first time they have done it. They are well-known spokespersons of the FDLR.”
Freddy Kaniki Rukema, deputy coordinator of AFC/M23 in charge of Economy and Finance, added that the reports were aimed at sabotaging peace negotiations currently underway between AFC/M23 and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He stressed that this pattern had occurred before.
Kaniki said: “They talk about hundreds of people killed, yet provide no photos, no videos, not even names. Out of 319 alleged victims, not a single name? This is not new. In 2012, as peace talks were about to conclude and M23 was close to signing an agreement, a similar report suddenly appeared.”
He recalled that in 2012, such reports led the UN Security Council to authorize the peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, to launch large-scale offensives against M23 fighters. “That was the context in which MONUSCO fought M23 on this very ground. The same game is being played again,” he said.
On July 19, 2025, the DRC government and AFC/M23 signed the Declaration of Principles intended to pave the way for peace agreement addressing the root causes of the conflict in eastern DRC. The process has been mediated by the State of Qatar, which continues to work with both parties to resolve outstanding issues.
Kaniki warned that the recent reports were deliberately designed to derail the peace process in Doha. “The objective is to disrupt the peace talks in Doha, to push the international community to declare that these people are not partners for peace but killers who must be fought. The aim is to restart the war,” he said.
He concluded by stressing that certain actors profit from instability and therefore resist efforts to end the conflict. “There are those who benefit from war, those who need it to continue,” he said.
{{Stirring ethnic tensions}}
Freddy Kaniki argued that another goal of the organizations behind the reports is to incite ethnic divisions. He said that if Hutu communities are led to believe that M23 is killing their people, they may retaliate against Tutsi communities, since M23 is often portrayed as being dominated by Tutsi fighters.
He explained: “They want to bring in an element of ethnic hatred. If they claim that we killed the Nande or the Hutu, it can push Hutu and Tutsi back into conflict. Yet one of our main missions has been to fight against ethnic hatred.”
Bertrand Bisimwa added that accusations of M23 killing Hutu and Nande civilians are intended to legitimize attacks against Tutsi communities. He argued that the reports were designed to fuel the perception of a Hutu–Tutsi confrontation.
“They want to encourage Hutu to fight against Tutsi, and that is extremely dangerous. Secondly, statistics show that the majority of our fighters are Hutu. In Rutshuru, where they claim we attacked Hutu civilians, the population itself is predominantly Hutu. How could we have attacked Hutu people using Hutu fighters within our own ranks? How do you explain that?” he wondered.
Bisimwa further claimed that these narratives were influenced by the DRC government, which he accused of spreading “poison” aimed at dividing communities in the Kivu provinces. “This is poison meant to turn us against each other and prolong the war in Kivu,” he said.
He also suggested that organizations such as HRW were trying to draw parallels with Rwanda’s past by framing the allegations in terms of genocide.
“Because Rwanda experienced the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, HRW now wants to present a narrative that Hutu in the DRC are also being subjected to genocide. This is part of the so-called ‘double genocide’ theory. It is not accidental—it is deliberate, planned, and given a clear political objective. Do not mistake this for a simple humanitarian narrative. It is about maintaining conflict in the Great Lakes Region so that we remain under their watch,” he noted.
The AFC/M23 leadership called on international organizations seeking the truth about these allegations to conduct independent investigations in the villages of Rutshuru. The group pledged to grant access to any areas under its control for proper verification.
The envoy made the remarks on August 22, 2025, during the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the DRC.
Amb. Ngoga delivered this message after UN Security Council member states endorsed reports by organizations, including Human Rights Watch, which accused fighters of the M23 armed group of killing 140 civilians in Rutshuru territory — “mainly Hutu” — while allegedly “operating alongside Rwandan forces” in July 2025.
He told the Council that Rwanda is deeply concerned by what he called “grave and utterly unfounded allegations” against his country, particularly surrounding reports of civilian massacres in Rutshuru. He emphasized that only an independent and impartial investigation could provide credible facts.
“On the alleged massacre of civilians in Rutshuru, the initial reporting of facts has been contradictory, vague, and in many respects outright implausible. Only an impartial and independent investigation can provide the Council with a reliable set of facts,” Amb. Ngoga said.
The envoy further warned that misinformation threatens the credibility of UN institutions themselves, citing what he described as a “long-standing pattern of selective reporting of human rights matters in the DRC, where victims are painted as perpetrators, and vice versa.”
He criticized the Council’s silence on the activities of the FDLR, a group he described as the principal driver of violence and abuses in eastern Congo.
“While there has been overwhelming focus on alleged violations by AFC/M23, I did not hear a single delegation talk about Kinshasa-backed FDLR. Even within your own reports, you acknowledge the DRC government backs the FDLR, but why is it not presented in that manner?” Amb. Ngoga asked.
Amb. Ngoga reminded members that the FDLR is composed of remnants of those responsible for mass killings during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and stressed that their continued presence in the DRC is central to the conflict.
The ambassador also highlighted Rwanda’s commitment to peace, pointing to its ratification of the Washington Peace Agreement in July and support for the Doha talks and other regional frameworks. He said Rwanda will continue to meet its obligations under these agreements but insisted that peace requires equal accountability from all parties.
“Yes, the territorial integrity of the DRC is non-negotiable, but so is the territorial integrity of neighbors of DRC, including Rwanda,” Ngoga said. “Sovereignty comes with obligations. The DRC must stop treating part of their population as lesser citizens, and the Council must defend the principle that all people must be equally protected.”
RURA fined MTN Rwanda on July 28, 2025, after the operator experienced a major system malfunction that disrupted several of its services, including voice calls, mobile money transactions, and other services accessed via USSD codes.
On the same day, MTN Rwanda announced through its official social media platforms that the connectivity issues affecting its customers had been resolved.
Article 26 of the Law governing Information and Communication Technology provides that any licensee who fails to comply with an enforcement decision issued by the regulator is subject to administrative penalties, including “a fine ranging from Frw 500,000 to Frw 15 million for each day of non-compliance, starting from the date of notification of the reinforced decision.”
Speaking to IGIHE, RURA’s Head of ICT Regulation department, explained that MTN Rwanda paid fines equivalent to two days, as the company had quickly addressed the problem.
“As of today, the issue has been resolved. After we fined them, they invested significant effort, found a solution, and informed us that the problem had been fixed,” Gahungu said.
He emphasized that service providers have a duty to ensure reliable service delivery at all times.
“We are still monitoring the situation because what happened was a widespread outage. To prevent recurrence, we, as regulators, continue to monitor compliance. However, it is also the operators’ responsibility to regularly assess their systems and adopt preventive measures.
“They must align their capacity with the size of their customer base by hiring adequate staff, acquiring modern equipment, and making other necessary investments,” he added.
Gahungu noted that, based on the corrective actions taken, there is confidence that such disruptions will not happen again.
The incident was largely attributed to network congestion, as the number of users accessing MTN’s platform exceeded its system capacity, resulting in instability and degraded service quality.
MTN Rwanda’s Chief Executive Officer, Ali Monzer, who attended a consultative meeting organized by RURA with lecturers, university leaders, and students on the draft ICT law, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to strengthening its infrastructure and delivering high-quality services.
General Lucien René Likulia, representing the public prosecutor’s office, called on the High Military Court to sentence Kabila to death for “war crimes,” “treason,” and “organising an insurrectional movement.” The prosecution also requested 20 years in prison for “glorifying war crimes” and 15 years for “conspiracy.”
Kabila, who has been living abroad for over two years, returned briefly to eastern Congo in May, visiting Goma and Bukavu—cities under the control of the M23 group. There, he held consultations with political and civil society representatives, which he said were intended to “contribute to the return of peace” in the country. His visits, however, were viewed by the government in Kinshasa as attempts to legitimise the rebel movement.
Eastern Congo has been plagued by conflict for over 30 years. Violence escalated early this year when M23 seized control of Goma and Bukavu, capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu. The prosecution argued that Kabila bears “criminal and individual responsibility” for the “harm” caused by the rebel group.
According to General Likulia, Kabila allegedly planned a coup against President Félix Tshisekedi, who succeeded him in 2019 following a contested election. Prosecutors claim he intended to “overthrow the constitutional regime by force” with support from figures such as Corneille Nangaa, former head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), before joining M23 in 2023 and heading its political branch, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC).
Prior to his May visit, Kabila released a 12-point peace proposal, calling for disbanding armed groups, national dialogue, engagement with neighbouring countries, and ending authoritarian rule. While his supporters hailed the plan as a step toward peace, authorities deemed it a threat to national stability.
The trial, which opened on July 25 in Kinshasa, marks the first time a former Congolese president has faced prosecution before a military court. Kabila is not expected to appear in person, but the hearings will continue in his absence.
A moratorium on the death penalty had been in place in the DRC since 2003 and was lifted in 2024, though no executions have occurred since.
