Intrigues big and small: every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.
The announcement, made by the minister of mines, of strict export controls from April onwards, appears to be aimed primarily at the country's two leading producers, the Société Minière de Boké and Chalco, both of which have links to Beijing.
Criticised since taking charge of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Congolese doctor Jean Kaseya is facing fresh allegations brought to the attention of the chair of the African Union Commission.
Despite a tentative return to normal in Franco-Algerian relations, the French President is no longer showing much enthusiasm for symbolic gestures aimed at the "reconciliation of memories" between the two countries.