DR Congo rebels kill dozens of farmers

DR Congo Launches Controversial Auction For Oil And Gas Blocks. The Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday launched a controversial auction of 30 oil and gas blocks, despite warnings that drilling in the country's rainforests and peatlands could be environmentally catastrophic.

Democratic Republic of Congo's government will re-evaluate the withdrawal plan of the United Nations peacekeeping mission after deadly anti-U.N. protests last week, it said late on Monday, suggesting it may ask the force to leave sooner than expected.

Rebels in Tigray said the government in Addis Ababa has launched a "large-scale offensive." The claims could not be independently verified as the Tigray region is under a communications blackout.

The President of the DR Congo told FRANCE 24 that he wants to launch a "cry of truth" and put an end to hypocrisy by denouncing in the Tribune of the United Nations "the direct military aggression" of Rwanda against his country. Tshisekedi added that he relayed this same message to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame during a meeting in New York, which was also attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Although Pope Francis has made the fight against paedophilia in the Catholic Church one of his priorities, this call is not always heard. Our correspondents in DR Congo met several men who claim to have been sexually abused by a Slovenian priest in the 1990s in the village of Mooto.

A Belgian court agrees to admit the findings of a 22-year-old parliamentary commission into its investigation. The court is looking into the 1961 assassination of DR Congo's Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, seen by many as one of the country's founding fathers.

M23 rebels have made gains in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, raising fears of a further deterioration of security. The African Union has called for a ceasefire and negotiations to ensure peace.

Thousands more flee their homes in eastern DRC amid fighting between M23 rebels and government forces. Locals don't believe new talks in Kenya will bring peace.

The region has been in the grip of an offensive by the M23 armed group and 900 Kenyan soldiers were recently sent to the area. Also in this edition: South Africa's disgraced ex-president Jacob Zuma could go back to prison, and we talk to Nigerian climate expert Chukwumerije Okereke, who is the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development. And lastly, guest Karim Baldé breaks down the Senegal's loss against the Netherlands in the World Cup.

Kenya's President William Ruto says East African troops will enforce peace in eastern DR Congo. The region has been in the grip of an offensive by the M23 armed group and 900 Kenyan soldiers were recently sent to the area.

DR Congo and Rwanda have struck a deal to end months of fighting between Congolese troops and rebels in eastern DRC. The agreement was reached with the mediation of the East African community, but it hinges on the withdrawal of M23 rebels from occupied areas.

The M23 rebel group said Thursday that a ceasefire announced a day earlier "doesn't really concern us," while calling for "direct dialogue" with Democratic Republic of Congo's government.