| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. A three-decade-old crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has exploded once again. Gunfire and mortars shook Goma, the mineral-rich region's main trading hub, as Rwandan-linked militants tried to seize control of the border city of 2 million people. The M23 rebels are up against a Congolese army backed by United Nations peacekeepers, troops from the Southern African Development Community and local militias. Fighting is ongoing and it's unclear who has the upper hand.  An armored personnel carrier belonging to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in eastern Congo. Photographer: Jospin Mwisha/AFP/Getty Images The rebels previously seized Goma in 2012, but international pressure against Rwanda forced them to withdraw after a little over a week. Rwanda may not buckle as quickly this time around. President Paul Kagame is contemptuous of his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, and the way he's running the country. While Kagame has repeatedly denied dispatching his forces to back the M23, UN officials say there's clear evidence of their involvement in the fighting. Rwanda and Congo have been at loggerheads ever since the Hutu perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled across the border. A series of conflicts followed and armed groups proliferated across eastern Congo, with more than 100 of them currently active.
 WATCH: Bloomberg's Ondiro Oganga discusses the fighting. At stake are gold, coltan, tin ore and other resources worth billions of dollars that are being smuggled across Congo's borders. One of the main destinations is Rwanda, according to the government in Kinshasa. It wants the UN to embargo all mineral exports emanating from its neighbor and sanctions to be imposed on its political and military leaders. The latest round of fighting has drawn condemnation from the US, the UN and African leaders, but calls for a ceasefire have gone unheeded so far. — Michael J. Kavanagh Key stories and opinion:
Rwanda-Backed Rebel Gains in Congo Show Kagame's Growing Power
Rwanda-Backed Rebels, Congo Forces Clash in Goma for Second Day
How Rebel Advances in Congo Threaten War With Rwanda: QuickTake
South Africa Congo Death Toll Rises to 13; 4 More Soldiers Die
Africa Is Heading Toward Another Deadly War: Justice Malala International aid groups warned that the Trump administration's "stop-work order" on foreign assistance risks both lives and American influence across Africa, where the US funds everything from military exercises to local hospitals. The State Department has issued a directive freezing all foreign aid programs and pausing new ones — except for assistance to Israel and Egypt. The order is likely to affect programs that make a significant impact in Africa, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and support for malaria prevention, maternal health and clean-water access.  US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington. Photographer: Bloomberg South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pressing ahead with his party's policy agenda despite it having lost its parliamentary majority in last year's elections — raising the ire of other members of the nation's ruling coalition. Ramaphosa has approved laws that will make it easier for the state to expropriate land and give it increased sway over schools policy. The Democratic Alliance, which joined the government to ensure Ramaphosa's African National Congress didn't team up with populist rivals, says it wasn't adequately consulted. It doesn't plan to quit the administration though. World Bank President Ajay Banga said boosting access to electricity is key to unlocking the demographic dividend in the world's youngest continent. The Washington-based lender is driving a program dubbed Mission 300 that seeks to bring power to 300 million people by 2030. The International Monetary Fund and African Development Bank are backing the initiative that aims to draw in private investors. About 570 million Africans lack access to electricity.  A worker inspects an array of photovoltaic solar panels at the Senergy Santhiou Mekhe plant in Thies, Senegal. Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg Ghana's proposed anti-LGBTQ law, which could put support from international lenders at risk, lapsed when a new government took power this month, but it's likely to be resurrected. Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin said he would take steps to revive the measure and present it to President John Mahama, according to footage screened by Accra-based broadcaster TV3. Parliament backed the legislation that provides for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ to be jailed, but it wasn't signed into law by the previous president, Nana Akufo-Addo. Oil loadings from two key Libyan ports are being brought to a standstill as protests hinder about a third of the OPEC member's crude exports. The stoppages got underway on Tuesday at Ras Lanuf and Es Sider — which between them handle more than 400,000 barrels a day — after they were ordered by the so-called Oil Crescent Region Movement, sources say. Libya has been an on-off oil supplier after the ouster of long-time ruler Moammar Al Qaddafi resulted in a power vacuum more than a decade ago.  An oil facility in the northern Libyan town of al-Buraqah. Photographer: Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images Chevron's Cabinda Gulf Oil operations are running normally after an oil sheen and debris were reported along Angola's coast. "A survey of the facilities and pipelines is currently underway, with no abnormalities detected so far," the company said. The incident was first detected on Jan. 21 at a dock in Cabinda on the Atlantic Ocean. The cause of the release of an estimated 4.8 barrels of crude is being investigated, Chevron said. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Orson Gard, who was first to identify Mozambique as the African nation whose former finance minister was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in the US for his role in a corruption scandal. African nations that generate almost three-quarters of the continent's gross domestic product are set to stake out different approaches to interest rates over the next month, as they weigh the risks of protectionist US policies on their economies and inflation. Mozambique's central bank cut rates on Monday and South Africa, Kenya and Egypt are expected to follow suit. Policymakers in Ghana meanwhile kept borrowing costs on hold, a stance those in Nigeria are likely to emulate. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
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