Republic of the Congo

The guitarist Passy Mermans, alias Mermans 1st, died on Wednesday 28 December in Brazzaville aged 80; he was part of The Bantous de la Capitale, the first Congolese orchestra, created in 1959

New agents from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Humanitarian Action attended a workshop in Brazzaville to learn about their missions on the ground in favour of vulnerable people

The economy is recovering, with an estimated growth rate of 2,6 % in 2022; growth is linked to higher oil prices on international market, reforms undertaken as part of programme with IMF and reforms in Central African Union

The construction of a fishing bridge was considered during an exchange between Minister of the River Economy and Waterways, Guy Georges Mbacka, and Maltese Ambassador for the two Congo, Henri Nsika

The country has 16,3% of premature babies - continent average is around 10%

The President will take part in the fifth edition of the Paris Peace Forum to be held from 11 to 12 November

The start of the soccer national championship has been postponed to 25 October; it was originally scheduled for 22 October 2022

52.000.000.000 CFA francs (€80 million) is the Marien-Ngouabi University's budget for the year 2023; this is an increase of 5,65% compared to 2022 and takes into account factors such as the additional hours of civil servants and contract lecturers

Apart from large shops and other establishments that comply with public health regulations, in markets, neighbourhood shops or on street corners, baby nappies, which should be part of the body care assortment, do not appear to meet hygiene standards

Teachers and supervisory staff in the public sector in the departments of Pointe-Noire and Kouilou are meeting to learn how to manage the new educational programmes

What is the profile of the teacher in the education system; the question is at the centre of the 24th session of the National Council for Pre-school, Primary Secondary and Literacy Education, which opened on Thursday

In a statement made public, the Congo Parents' Association of Pupils and Students proposes to set up a task force to resolve pending student passport paperwork

Télé Congo will be the only broadcaster of the 22nd FIFA World Cup on national territory: aware that sport is a factor of social cohesion, the Minister of Communication and Media signed the exclusive agreement with the organization