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☆ Congo woman saves young mothers from unpaid maternity bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Paul Lorgerie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo has no universal health coverage, and most cannot afford what limited care there is. Bethesda's head doctor Emmanuel Mpumpa, whose sister died in labour a few years ago because she could not afford hospital care, said keeping patients in was regrettable but necessary. "We bought a few of the prescribed medicines but could not afford the doctors and hospital," said Annaelle's mother, Yvette Kalongo. When Umek paid, the ordeal was over. The young mothers uttered their thanks, wrapped their babies in blankets and made their way home through the neighbourhood bustle.

Persons: Grace Mbongi Umek, Read, she'd, Annaelle, Felix Tshisekedi's, Bethesda's, Emmanuel Mpumpa, Yvette Kalongo, Umek, Paul Lorgerie, Sofia Christensen, Edward McAllister, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bethesda Medical Center, Democratic, United Nations, World Bank, Bills, Thomson Locations: Ngaba, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, KINSHASA, Bethesda, Congo's, Saharan Africa

☆ Regional force tackling east Congo violence extended to September
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 31 (Reuters) - A regional force set up to tackle militia violence in east Democratic Republic of Congo has been extended to September, a minister and a spokesperson for the force said on Wednesday. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) set up the EACRF military force in April last year to try to end bloodshed linked to decades of militant activity in Congo's east. The force's future had been uncertain since its mandate expired in March, and EAC leaders had expressed differing views on how it should operate. An EAC spokesperson confirmed reports that the force's mandate had been extended to September during a summit in Burundi on Wednesday. Reporting by Sonia Rolley; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jeff Nyagah, Jean, Pierre Bemba, Felix Tshisekedi, Tshisekedi, Sonia Rolley, Sofia Christensen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: East African Community, EAC, Congo's, Thomson Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo's, Burundi

☆ Congo could seize Peru's No. 2 copper spot as Andean output slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

2 copper producer Peru in the next few years and close the gap on top dog Chile as output growth slows in the Andean copper giants, a new report from Wood Mackenzie showed on Tuesday. Congo's copper production almost equaled Peru's in 2022, when Peru reported output of 2.44 million tonnes, Ruben Arrieta, a director at Wood Mackenzie, said during a mining event in Lima, citing official data. 2 copper spot for years, but a lack of new mining projects and regular protests have put its standing at risk. "Congo now has mines with a high degree of ore, greater than those in Chile and Peru." Congo's copper output is likely to overtake Peru to take second place around 2026/27, the Wood Mackenzie report showed.

Persons: LIMA, Wood Mackenzie, Ruben Arrieta, Arrieta, Marco Aquino, Carolina Pulice, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Democratic, Thomson Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, Chile, Lima, Congo

☆ Gunmen kill two rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 28 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed two rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park on Sunday, the Congo Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) said in a statement, the second attack this month in the country's restive east. Fighters from the Mai Mai militia were likely to blame, the ICCN said, based on its sources. Reuters was unable to confirm this and the Mai Mai could not be reached for comment. The Mai Mai comprise several armed bands that formed to resist two invasions by Rwandan forces in the late 1990s. The ICCN warned of a resurgence of violence in February after suspected Mai Mai militants killed a ranger in a third attack.

☆ After fleeing conflict, displaced women face rape in east Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Djaffar Sabiti | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"He raped me," she recalled two weeks later in Bulengo, one of several camps near Goma sheltering about 600,000 people that have fled conflict zones. Over half were assaulted by armed men, it said last week, noting that its figures were likely to be underestimates. Hungry mouths to feed push women outside the camp in search of food and firewood to sell, making them vulnerable to sex crimes, said MSF worker Delice Sezage Tulinabo. Most survivors reported being attacked by armed and displaced men in and around the camps. In Bulengo, women said they had to pay soldiers to enter the forest.

☆ Congo security forces fire tear gas, clash with anti-govt protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ange Kasongo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KINSHASA, May 20 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo security forces fired tear gas and fought running battles in the streets of the capital Kinshasa with anti-government protesters demonstrating on Saturday over alleged irregularities in voter registration. Around a dozen protesters were detained by security forces just after the start of the demonstration, which was called for by opposition leaders. "It's sad, you see, they are firing tear gas. Fayulu said by telephone that his vehicle was surrounded by security forces who continued to fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Congo's electoral commission is expected to publish voter registration data on Sunday.

☆ Congo security forces fire tear gas at anti-government protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ange Kasongo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Tires and other objects burn as anti-government demonstrators take part in a riot after security forces broke up an attempted demonstration organized by the opposition and civil society members... Read moreKINSHASA, May 20 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo security forces fired tear gas and fought running battles in the streets of the capital Kinshasa with anti-government protesters demonstrating on Saturday over alleged irregularities in voter registration. Around a dozen protesters were detained by security forces just after the start of the demonstration, which was called for by opposition leaders. Congo's human rights minister Albert-Fabrice Puela, in a statement on Saturday, condemned the violence by security forces against demonstrators and the minor, and called for an investigation. "It's sad, you see, they are firing tear gas. Fayulu said by telephone that his vehicle was surrounded by security forces who continued to fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

☆ World Bank suspends $1 bln worth of project funding in Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sonia Rolley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The suspension will affect more than 600,000 beneficiaries, including victims of sexual violence, the World Bank told Congo's finance minister last week in a letter seen by Reuters. A World Bank spokesperson confirmed its authenticity. On May 4, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi dissolved the structure, the "Social Fund of the Democratic Republic of Congo", by presidential order and created another public fund. A spokesperson for Congo's finance ministry said he was waiting for the go-ahead from the presidency before he could comment. Four of Congo's main opposition politicians wrote to the leaders of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank last week asking them to conduct an audit of their funds in Congo, saying they suspected misuse.

☆ A week after Congo floods, volunteers dig through debris for bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUSHUSHU, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 12 (Reuters) - With shovels, sticks and bare hands, Red Cross volunteers struggled to clear caked mud from around a body half buried in a landslide in Bushushu village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A week after torrential rains triggered deadly floods, the workers said they were exhausted and running out of equipment. But they keep finding corpses under piles of debris, buried in hillsides, floating in waterways and the nearby lake. It's a serious problem," Désiré Yuma Machumu, head of the Red Cross in Congo's South Kivu province, said. On Thursday, Reuters watched the volunteers painstakingly recover 17 bodies.

A fresh downpour loosened the earth on a hillside above a village in Vuveyi Lac area, burying the victims as they slept in their houses below, said Alain Kiwewa, Lubero's military administrator. Repeated recent downpours have also raised the water table in the broader region, increasing the likelihood of flooding, said meteorology and hydrology engineer Theodore Lokakao Ilemba. "It's everywhere in the Congo and in Rwanda, it worsens (the impact of) the rainfall and all pre-existing problems like water drainage and land use," he said. Rains also triggered flooding and landslides in neighbouring Rwanda last week, killing 130 people and destroying more than 5,000 homes. Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Over 5,500 still missing in flood-hit east Congo: local official
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoKALEHE, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9 (Reuters) - More than 5,500 people are still unaccounted for in an area in east Democratic of Congo where floods killed more than 400 people last week, a local official said on Tuesday, as shaken survivors waited for food aid. Kalehe administrator Thomas Bakenga Zirimwabagabo said on Tuesday that 411 bodies had been found so far and that at least 5,525 people were still missing. A government delegation arrived in the area on Monday evening and was expected to bring food and tents for the survivors. Government officials have told humanitarian workers to stop mass burials and wait for coffins to be delivered to the area. Reporting by Djaffar Sabiti Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trudeau: Canadian lithium costs more because it doesn't use slave labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Doina Chiacu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in China with "slave labor" as he discussed his country's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but, he added, China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. REUTERS/Blair GableThe United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. Last year, a U.S. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor.

☆ Trudeau points to 'slave labor' in China lithium production
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Doina Chiacu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in China to "slave labor" as he discussed his own country's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels.

☆ Head of regional force tackling east Congo violence resigns, Kenya denies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GOMA, April 28 (Reuters) - The Kenyan commander of a regional force set up to tackle militia violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo said he had resigned due to obstruction and threats to his safety, adding to doubts over whether the mission can be effective. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) set up the EACRF military force last April to try to end bloodshed linked to decades of militant activity in Congo's east. In the letter, Nyagah alleged foreign military contractors were sent to survey his residence in January, placing monitoring devices that forced him to relocate. "My security as the Force Commander is not guaranteed," Nyagah said. Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya previously acknowledged the presence of foreign military contractors in Congo as "instructors".

☆ Rebel attacks deepen displacement crisis in Congo's Ituri
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paul Lorgerie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Semire said members of the Hema herding community started to abandon Drodro in mid-March ahead of a rumoured advance by CODECO. "There are repeated attacks - this delays the return of people here, because it creates doubts," he said. Its population has nearly doubled to 65,000 since the beginning of 2023, according to camp representative Samuel Kpadjanga. The presence of fighters in the forests and fields around the camp makes attacks on those who venture out a regular occurrence, Kpadjanga said. My life is safe, but they took everything from me, my scythe, my money," she lamented back in a hut at Rhoe camp, as a toddler peeked at her from the doorway.

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - The problems around artisanal cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will take "a coalition to solve", according to Microsoft (MSFT.O). Yet the West still needs Congo's cobalt and everyone agrees that formalisation is the solution to the high human and economic costs of artisanal mining. ETHICAL DILEMMAThe ethical dilemma facing Western cobalt users, which is just about everyone with a mobile phone, is headline news again after the publication of "Cobalt Red" by Siddarth Kara. Mutoshi's artisanal miners have lost their collective pricing power and their cobalt is once again flowing down opaque channels into the industrial supply chain, the report claims. Most of the country's estimated 150,000-200,000 cobalt miners have never even had the chance of formalisation.

KINSHASA, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed the country's former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was detained for over 10 years for war crimes, as the country's defence minister in a sweeping government reshuffle. The reshuffle, which was more extensive than observers had predicted, came ahead of an expected presidential election on Dec. 20, in which Tshisekedi is likely to seek a second term. "This a deeply political shuffle," said Jason Stearns, Director of the Congo Research Group and Professor at Canada's Simon Fraser University. Tshisekedi appointed Vital Kamerhe, his former chief of staff who was released from prison in Dec. 2021 following as embezzlement conviction, as economy minister. Bemba, a former rebel leader was arrested in 2008 by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his troops in the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

☆ East Congo militants kill at least 22 in string of attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19 (Reuters) - Suspected militants killed at least 22 people in a string of attacks across the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces overnight Saturday, officials and activists said on Sunday. The incidents were the latest in a stream of continuous violence that has plagued eastern Congo for years, despite increasing interventions from the country's army and U.N. peacekeepers. At least 12 people were killed Saturday in simultaneous raids across several villages in Ituri province. Congo's government declared a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri in 2021, in an attempt to stem rampant militia violence in the country's vast mineral-rich east. "Even when we are under siege, the enemy still surprises us every day," said Delphine Malekani, an activist in North Kivu.

☆ EU releases funds, prepares aid flight for eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Saturday it is releasing over 47 million euros ($49.97 million) for humanitarian aid for Congo's North Kivu and plans to send a flight with medical supplies and food to the conflict-stricken eastern province. “The EU stands ready to mobilise all the necessary means to support humanitarian workers, including logistics and air, to meet the needs of the population in Democratic Republic of Congo," European Commissioner Janez Lenarcic said. The flight will head to Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and deliver aid including medical and nutritional supplies, the statement said. The funds will "be channelled through humanitarian partners to cover immediate needs such as nutrition, healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter and protection", the EU said. ($1 = 0.9406 euros)Reporting by Andrew Gray Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft calls for 'coalition' to improve Congo's informal cobalt mines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congo accounts for three-quarters of the world's mined cobalt supply. "In practice it is virtually impossible for them to completely exclude artisanal cobalt, especially when it is sent to smelters and refiners in DRC and China." Microsoft declined to reply to Reuters' questions about the visit or about its strategy on artisanal cobalt. The issues around artisanal mining are an existential threat to the cobalt industry, according to Marina Demidova, head of communications at the Cobalt Institute. Entreprise Generale du Cobalt, a unit of state mining company Gecamines, was granted a monopoly on artisanal cobalt by government decree.

Cobalt has lost share to lithium as the Chinese EV market in particular pivots towards non-cobalt battery chemistry. The abrupt turnaround in both narrative and price has led to a surge in trading activity on the CME cobalt contract as producers and consumers respond to the shifting landscape. CME cobalt price, total volume and market open interestCHANGE OF GEARCobalt's fortunes are still tied to the EV sector but the relationship is changing. That eye-watering growth rate would be stronger still were it not for a shift towards non-cobalt battery chemistries, led by China, the world's largest EV market. COBALT FUTURES TAKE OFFOne beneficiary of this turnaround in cobalt market dynamics has been the CME (CME.O), which has seen activity in its cobalt contract mushroom since the middle of last year.

☆ East African regional leaders demand ceasefire in eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Clement Manirabarusha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUJUMBURA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - East African regional leaders on Saturday renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that pits the country's military against a rebel group it has accused Rwanda of supporting. At a summit in Burundi's capital Bujumbura, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc called for an "immediate ceasefire by all parties," according to a communique issued at the end of the meeting. The conflict has inflamed regional tensions with Congo accusing neighbour Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and Western powers have also accused Rwanda of backing the M23, although Rwanda has denied any involvement. Saturday's summit was attended by heads of state from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi and senior officials from the region.

Summary Pope received vibrant welcome in KinshasaAddressed DR Congo's struggles with war, exploitationNow heads to predominantly Christian South SudanArchbishop of Canterbury joins for South Sudan legKINSHASA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Pope Francis wraps up an emotional visit to Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday and heads to neighbouring South Sudan, another nation struggling to overcome decades of conflict and grinding poverty. On Wednesday, he heard harrowing stories from victims of conflict in eastern Congo who had witnessed the killings of close relatives and been subjected to sexual slavery, amputation and forced cannibalism. The pope will be joined for the whole of his visit to South Sudan by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, leader of the global Anglican Communion, and by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields. It is the first joint foreign trip by the three Christian leaders, who have called it a "pilgrimage of peace". South Sudan broke away from Sudan to become independent in 2011 after decades of north-south conflict, but civil war erupted in 2013.

☆ Demonstrators in DR Congo demand pope meet sexual abuse victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Benoit Nyemba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Luc GnagoKINSHASA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Around two dozen activists and sexual abuse victims demonstrated in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on Thursday across the road from a cathedral where Pope Francis was meeting clergy. They held up placards, including some demanding that the pope meet with clergy abuse victims in the country. The demonstration in Kinshasa was organised by Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), an international group, one of many that have been bringing attention to sexual abuse in the worldwide Church. There were no plans for the pope to meet with victims of sexual abuse in Congo, where about 50% of the population is Roman Catholic. The 86-year-old pope has met with many victims of sexual abuse, both in Rome and on foreign trips.

Congo has some of the world's richest mineral deposits, but its abundant resources have stoked conflict between ethnic groups, militias, government troops and foreign invaders. He led the stadium in an impromptu chant of "no to corruption" in French, Congo's lingua franca. "The pope is right," said Joel Muhemereri Amani, 21, an art student. The United Nations says African economies lose nearly $150 billion to corruption each year. The 86-year-old pope, who arrived in Congo on Tuesday, flies to neighbouring South Sudan on Friday.

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