Diplomatic efforts are ongoing to put an end to the conflict in eastern DR Congo. What should have been a major breakthrough – the Congolese government meeting the M23 rebel group in the first direct negotiations – has now been on hold. At the last minute, the M23 pulled out. One of the reasons given is the new EU sanctions against several Rwandan officials over Rwanda’s alleged support for the M23 armed group. But DR Congo says it will attend peace talks in Luanda on Tuesday despite the snub.

In tonight's edition, Sudan retaliates after Kenya hosted the paramilitary force RSF last month, banning all imports from the country. Also, more than 30,000 tons of Russian fuel donated to the Central African Republic remain stuck in Cameroon. And, big African football stars playing in major leagues are now choosing to join their home country's national team. 

Southern African countries are to pull their peacekeepers out of DR Congo. The troops were sent to help Kinshasa rein in the M23 rebels but failed to prevent them from seizing eastern towns in a lightning offensive this year. Angola says direct peace talks are on the horizon. 

Angola says that it has convinced all combatants in DR Congo's conflict to meet at the negotiating table on March 18 for peace talks. Luanda had been trying to mediate a ceasefire as M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have advanced through eastern DR Congo this year. Kinshasa says that over 8,500 people have been killed by the militia since January and had refused to negotiate with the M23.

Angola announced its plan to get DR Congo and the M23 militia leaders at the negotiating table after Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi met with his Angolan counterpart. More than 7000 people have died in the M23's offensive with Burundi experiencing the biggest influx of refugees it has seen in decades.

As Sudan's brutal conflict drags on, doctors without borders and aid workers are working tirelessly to provide relief to victims of the world's biggest humanitarian crisis from the coastal city and now de facto capital – Port-Sudan. 

The United States is no longer part of a climate agreement that should have helped South Africa to switch from coal to green energy. Also, Rwanda faces recurring accusations of exploiting neighbouring DR Congo’s natural resources. And Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurial activity in the world, but many obstacles continue to hold women back.

In tonight's edition, as Sudan's war deepens, the army takes the UAE to court, accusing it of breaching the genocide convention by funding the paramilitary RSF. Also, the WFP warns that millions in Somalia are going hungry because of the fallout from a deadly combo of drought, conflict and rising prices. And In Tunisia, a new law on cheques is proving to be divisive. 

South Africa has been racing to pivot its HIV treatment plans following the withdrawal of US aid globally. Determined to keep its hands on the tiller, the Department of Health is aiming to increase the number of people treated by one million by the end of the year. 

The use of rape as a weapon of war has once again been uncovered in the midst of a major conflict. Investigators for the UN children's agency UNICEF say hundreds of little girls and boys, some not even a year old and more than a dozen under the age of five, have been sexually abused by armed men in Sudan's civil war. Both the army and RSF paramilitaries have been accused of the atrocities, adding a horrific new dimension to a brutal conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since April 2023.