President Joseph Kabila and three of his four vice-presidents are on the final list of 33 presidential candidates published by the Democratic Republic of Congo's Independent Electoral Commission, known by its French acronym CEI.

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution endorsing the deployment of a European Union (EU) reserve force to serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a period ending four months after the date of the first round of upcoming general elections slated for later this year.

The vanguard of a new contingent of United Nations peacekeepers has arrived in embattled Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to boost security for forthcoming elections that it is hoped will cement the vast country's transition from years of bloody conflict to peace and democracy.

Final list from the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) of all 33 candidates to the 2006 presidential elections

Seven soldiers in the Congolese army have been sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity, including the mass rape of at least 119 women in the northwestern province of Equateur. This was the first sentence against the country's military personnel for crimes against humanity.

The Supreme Court in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to examine a petition against President Joseph Kabila's candidature in general elections set for later this year.

The Security Council today authorized the temporary redeployment of peacekeepers from the Organization's operation in Burundi (ONUB) to its mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to strengthen security and oversight for the upcoming Congolese elections.

The United Nations began airdrops of food relief on Wednesday to tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting between the national army and Mayi-Mayi malitiamen in Katanga, the south-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN official said.

Some 73 presidential candidates have registered for the upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the main opposition leader was not among them and the commission has not set a date for the elections.

A human rights group is warning that the Democratic Republic of Congo's street children risk being manipulated by political parties during and after elections this year.