The Southern African Development Community or SADC said Thursday that a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and decided on a "phased withdrawal." SADC lost more than a dozen soldiers in conflict in January. The 16-nation bloc took the decision at a virtual summit on the conflict in the area that has seen some three decades of unrest and claimed millions of lives. "Summit terminated the Mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC," the Southern African bloc said in a communique after the summit. The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, SAMIDRC, — made up of soldiers from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa — was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, also a SADC member, restore peace and security. SADC extended its mandate late last year.

University students in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are gradually returning to class for the first time since M23 rebels took their city last month. Toto Mufungizi, a student, said while they were home “during these months, we have endured many strange things.” “We stayed at home for at least one month and three weeks. We were confined due to this security situation. Even today, there is no serenity, we cannot move around safely," he told Reuters. The M23 rebel group captured Bukavu, South Kivu's capital, in mid-February, forcing a weeks-long suspension of academic activities. The Official University of Bukavu, UOB, and other institutions have now reopened, but security concerns persist. "We are afraid because we heard rumors that in Goma, students were kidnapped. Here, we are also afraid," third-year student Patient Kaliwe said. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

Even as U.S.-led peace negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine recently faced setbacks, talks between Washington and Kyiv are set to take place this week in Saudi Arabia. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

A Trump administration hostage negotiator called his recent meetings with representatives of U.S.-designated terror group Hamas “helpful.” Discussions focused on the release of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas. This, as Israel says it plans to deploy a delegation this week to discuss ceasefire talks. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.

Russians are carefully watching U.S. President Donald Trump's push for an end to the war in Ukraine after his heated encounter last week with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a "pause" Monday to military aid shipments to Ukraine with immediate effect, which his administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to peace talks. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv — but there are doubts over how long Ukraine can keep on fighting.