The number of civilian deaths during a massacre last week in the Democratic Republic of Congo's east rose from 50 to over 270, officials said.

The M23 rebel group has said in a statement that they are ready to withdraw from occupied areas in eastern Congo. However, this comes amid reports of renewed fighting and as the DRC accuses M23 of killing 272 civilians.

In eastern DR Congo, fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army has already forced 400,000 people to flee. Since March, more than 100,000 civilians have found refuge in Uganda. Hundreds of families arrive every week in the country, which is already home to 1.5 million refugees.

Kinshasa's police chief says at least 50 people have died after intense rains triggered flooding and landslides.

The M23, a key rebel group in the eastern Congo, says it has agreed to a ceasefire but experts are skeptical. The European Union has meanwhile imposed new sanctions on M23 commanders.

The flood-prone capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo saw around 280 houses wiped out by the floods earlier this week. UN officials now have updated figures.

Picking up spoiled kernels from a sack of maize is the only job farmers like Valerie Kahindo can find in the eastern Congolese city of Goma. After rebel fighters seized her fields, she was forced to flee without her eight children.

The Congolese government wants to speed up the procurement of weapons to help it fight rebel groups in the east. The UN also renewed its peacekeeping mission in the DRC for another year.

For several months, the M23 rebel group has been pursuing an offensive in eastern DR Congo. The rebels are drawing ever closer to the provincial capital Goma, a city they conquered and briefly held during their last offensive 10 years ago. Our reporters spoke to residents of Goma who are still haunted by the fighting of 2012 and fear the rebels' return. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure is growing on Rwanda, with DR Congo, France and Germany openly accusing Kigali of supporting the group – something it denies.

MONUSCO and the Congolese army want to counter the movements of the M23 rebels in the North-Kivu region as swiftly as possible, while Rwanda continues to deny its support of the group.

For the first time in centuries, a sitting pontiff will preside over his predecessor's funeral. Pope Benedict was the first Roman Catholic pope in 600 years to leave his post before dying.

Prices of basic food commodities have doubled in the eastern Democratic of Congo. The spike is being attributed to the ongoing hostilities between government forces and M23 rebels. Among the affected areas is Bukavu, which lies in the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu.