The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Tuesday they would only withdraw from Goma if the government meets their demands, despite earlier announcing they would pull out of the key eastern city.

The M23 wants the government to dissolve the country's election commission and ensure freedom of movement for opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi among other demands "before a pullout", political leader Jean-Marie Runiga told a press conference in Goma.

Regional leaders called on DR Congo rebel group M23 Saturday to end hostilities and leave a key eastern town they seized in a rampant advance that has sparked fears of a wider conflict.

The meeting of east African heads of state went forward without a key player -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose country the United Nations accuses of backing the rebels -- and wrapped up after less than an hour.

Uganda maintained a threat to withdraw troops from international peacekeeping operations after U.N. talks on Monday over accusations that it has backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Uganda's Communications and Information Minister Ruhakana Rugunda told AFP his country felt "stabbed in the back" by a U.N. report which said Uganda and Rwanda have helped M23 rebels who are battling DR Congo government forces.

Canada's top diplomat blasted Iran for human rights violations and religious intolerance at a meeting Monday of world parliamentarians, drawing an angry response from Tehran's delegation.

Addressing 1,400 lawmakers at the gathering in Quebec City, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Bahais and Christians in Iran were "consistently threatened with death and torture, simply for believing."

Uganda will contradict U.N. accusations that it supports the M23 rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo, and does not fear threatened sanctions, Kampala's acting foreign minister said Saturday.

The U.N. Security Council said Friday it intends to sanction leaders of M23 and implicitly threatened Rwanda and Uganda, accused in a recent U.N. report of arming the movement.

Regional leaders meeting to end the chronic violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo failed to find a breakthrough, with Rwanda saying only that "steady progress" had been made.

DR Congo President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met Monday at a lakeside resort hosted by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and also attended by the leaders of Burundi, South Sudan and Tanzania.

Regional heads of state began talks Saturday in an effort to find a lasting solution to chronic unrest in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo but less than a third of those invited turned up.

The mini-summit opened in the Ugandan capital a day late after officials said that regional defence ministers failed to agree on the proposals to be discussed and it was unclear what if anything they had decided.

Friends Samson and Olu share a beer and a moment of confidence after a game of pool at a typical Ugandan bar.

"Olu, you know I'm gay," Samson confides haltingly, with the admission sparking a chain of events that tears his existence as a successful businessman apart.

The United States is experiencing the worst outbreak of West Nile virus since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected in 1999, health officials said Wednesday.

At least 41 people have died so far this summer and health officials have identified a total of 1,118 cases across the country.

Uganda is tightening its Internet security after hackers attacked the prime minister's website to post statements supporting gay rights, the country's Internet regulator said Friday.

Activists hacked into the website of the prime minister's office earlier this week and posted a fake press release announcing the minister's support for a gay pride parade.