Briefly

AFRICA

DR Congo, Rwanda initial peace accord

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have initialed a peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DR Congo, a joint statement said on Wednesday. A document will be formally signed on June 27. The text, which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April, "includes provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities" in eastern DR Congo, according to the statement released by the two countries, as well as Qatar and the United States, which acted as mediators. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will witness the signing in Washington later this month, the statement said.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Government survives no-confidence vote

The Czech government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote called by the main opposition party on Wednesday over a bitcoin-related scandal. The motion gained only 94 votes, seven short of the 101 needed to topple the four-party coalition led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The principal opposition, the centrist ANO, which leads opinion polls ahead of an Oct 3-4 election, initiated the vote concerning a $46 million donation in bitcoins of questionable origin to the Justice Ministry. Local media reported that the donation came from a man previously convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes. The case ultimately resulted in the resignation of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek.

UNITED STATES

SpaceX Starship rocket explodes

SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded into a fireball during testing in Texas late on Wednesday — the latest in a series of setbacks for billionaire Elon Musk's Mars rocket program. The explosion occurred around 11 pm while the Starship was on a test stand at its Brownsville, Texas, Starbase while preparing for the 10th test flight, SpaceX said in a post on X. The company attributed it to a "major anomaly", and said all personnel were safe. "Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure," Musk said on X, referring to a nitrogen gas storage unit known as a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel.

SYRIA

First SWIFT transfer since war completed

Syria has carried out its first international bank transaction via the SWIFT system since the outbreak of its 14-year civil war, its central bank governor said on Thursday. It was a milestone in Syria's push to reintegrate into the global financial system. Central bank Governor Abdelkader Husriyeh told Reuters in Damascus that a direct commercial transaction had been carried out from a Syrian to an Italian bank on Sunday, and that transactions with United States banks could begin within weeks. "The door is now open to more such transactions," he said.

Agencies - Xinhua