World Kiswahili Day in Bujumbura: East African Kiswahili leaders used the celebrations to push Kiswahili into the digital era, calling for investment in AI tools, multilingual systems, and youth participation to keep the language central to regional integration. Reproductive health award: UNFPA named Senegal’s Prof. Serigne Magueye Gueye for individual work on obstetric fistula care, while Burundi’s Fondation Bonne Action Umugiraneza won the institutional prize, spotlighting dignity-focused reproductive health support. Burundi-China ties: China’s special envoy Liu Xianfa attended Burundi’s National Day reception, praising the partnership and urging deeper cooperation under FOCAC and AU priorities. Agroecology for food security: East African policy briefs urge agroecology to boost yields, incomes, and climate resilience, drawing lessons from projects in Tanzania and Burundi. Human rights pressure in Burundi: The Iteka League warned of a worsening rights climate, citing hundreds of deaths, abductions, and major prison overcrowding over the past year. Refugee shelter crisis (regional): Reports from Durban describe refugees, including Burundians, stuck for weeks outside Home Affairs centres with little protection or housing. Culture & design: Kéré Architecture’s timber “stacked” kindergarten in Munich turns a tight urban site into a playful, five-floor learning space. East Africa animation at Annecy: Studios from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda gained global attention with original, culture-rooted animation projects at the Annecy market.