Police imposed a curfew beginning late Tuesday in Mbuji-Mayi, a major mining town in central Democratic Republic of Congo, following violent demonstrations in which at least two people died and 12 others were wounded.

At a ceremony held on Monday to present the Democratic Republic of Congo's newly adopted draft constitution, President Joseph Kabila urged all Congolese to rally in support of democracy, saying that following the adoption, the country's electoral process was irreversible.

An attempt to secede from the Democratic Republic of Congo was foiled recently in the southeastern province of Katanga, the deputy government spokesman, Simon Tshitenge, told IRIN on Friday.

A Belgian company has been picked to organise the identification and registration of voters for the Democratic Republic of Congo's first post-transition elections, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Apollinaire Malumalu, announced on Thursday.

At least 30 civilians and military personnel suspected of plotting the secession of Katanga Province from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been arrested, Deputy Provincial Governor Chikez Diemu said on Monday.

A cargo aircraft crashed in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday killing 10 people on board. There was one survivor, a UN official told IRIN.

The European Union (EU) announced on Monday it would be assigning EU military and security advisers to posts within various key security sections of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s administration, including the private office of the minister of defence

Hearings ended on Friday in a case brought by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands, accusing Uganda of invading its territory and committing human rights violations.

Mayi-Mayi militiamen released on Thursday five local reporters they had taken hostage earlier this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo's southern province of Katanga

The Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral commission asked parliament on Thursday to extend the government's transition to democratic rule beyond June 2005 as scheduled, an official told IRIN.