Ebola Surge & Response: DR Congo’s health ministry says confirmed Ebola cases jumped to 710 with 149 deaths, while officials deny any lockdown and push surveillance, contact tracing, targeted vaccination and community engagement amid rising geographic spread. Health System Strain: Reports highlight operational gaps—limited treatment capacity, shortages of infection-control supplies, weak alert reporting and a funding shortfall—while frontline workers describe testing and protection shortfalls. Political Tension in Kinshasa: Opposition-led protests in Kinshasa over constitutional reform turned violent, with security forces clashing with demonstrators as the referendum battle intensifies and leaders vow to escalate resistance. Digital ID for Services & Finance: Kinshasa launched RDC-Pass, a national digital identity platform under a 20-year PPP with Trident Digital Tech, aimed at e-government, financial inclusion and fraud reduction. Mining Data Sovereignty: Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba met Belgium/EU officials on digitising and returning colonial geological archives, seeking faster discovery of new copper, cobalt and lithium deposits. Cobalt Supply Risk: Energy constraints are said to threaten cobalt output stability as grid unreliability forces costly self-generation or reduced processing. Justice in UN Expert Killing Case: A military court sentenced 54 people to death over the 2017 killings of UN investigators in Kasai, including a senior officer whose appeal escalated his punishment. Conflict Minerals Trade: An NGO alleges looted coltan from M23-controlled areas is smuggled via Rwanda into global supply chains, raising pressure on regional enforcement and corporate sourcing.