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☆ 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.

☆ Opinion | If the Pandemic Is No Longer a Public Health Emergency, Then What Is It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Quammen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Is malaria an emergency? Is tuberculosis of international concern? I’m neither a public health expert nor a scientist, so I offer a citizen’s opinion: Yes, it’s time to cease calling Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, Covid is still certainly a public health situation of international concern. We will need to keep improving laboratory techniques and manufacturing capacity for potentially ever-revised Covid vaccines.

☆ ‘Catastrophic’ Congo Flooding Kills More Than 400 People
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The death toll of last week’s deadly floods and landslides in the Democratic Republic of Congo climbed to more than 400 people, the government said on Monday, as rescue workers and family members searched through debris and mud for victims and survivors of the disaster. The flooding began on Thursday, as heavy rains pushed rivers to overflow their banks, causing rushing water and mud to flow into villages, washing away homes and ravaging farmland. “The situation is catastrophic,” said Remy Kasindi, a representative for a civil society group in South Kivu, where the floods took place. “It’s a humanitarian crisis that troubles our consciences.”Mr. Kasindi said that survivors were looking for their family members in the mud, and that some bodies were pulled from nearby Lake Kivu.

☆ Death toll from Congo floods rises to 401: governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 8 (Reuters) - The death toll from flooding that hit two villages in east Democratic Republic of Congo last week has risen to 401, provincial governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi said on Monday. Kasi told Reuters by message on Monday that the death toll now stood at 401. He did not provide any other details. The central government has sent a delegation to Kalehe and declared Monday a day of national mourning. Reporting by Sonia Rolley Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —At least 400 people have died after floods and landslides hit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province last week, officials told CNN. “We have 401 deaths in Bushushu and Nyamukubi villages in Kalehe territory,” Kasi said. Congolese Red Cross volunteers and residents of Nyamukubi wrap in blankets the bodies of people who died in heavy flooding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 6, 2023. People are crossing the lake, another danger.”This aerial photograph taken on May 6, 2023 shows a landslide that engulfed Nyamukubi village, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. People walk next to a house destroyed by the floods in the village of Nyamukubi, South Kivu province, in Congo, Saturday, May 6, 2023.

☆ Corpses pile up after nearly 200 killed in Congo floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The rainfall in Kalehe territory in South Kivu province caused rivers to overflow on Thursday, inundating the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi. South Kivu governor Théo Ngwabidje Kasi put the death toll at 176 and said that others were still missing. Floods and landslides are not uncommon in South Kivu, which shares a border with Rwanda. Heavy rains also triggered flooding and landslides in Rwanda this week, killing 130 people and destroying more than 5,000 homes. The last incident of a similar scale in Congo occurred in October 2014, when heavy rainfall destroyed over 700 homes.

☆ WHO dismisses lead COVID origins investigator for sexual misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a response to Reuters, Ben Embarek said he contested the accusation of harassment and was challenging the sanction. "Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed last year following findings of sexual misconduct against him that were substantiated by investigations, and corresponding disciplinary process," said WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole. Ben Embarek said that a single incident in 2017 "was settled immediately in a friendly way." "I am not aware of any other complaints and no other complaints have ever been brought to my attention," Ben Embarek said in a digital message. The agency said that people are more willing to come forward about sexual misconduct and that it is taking action where allegations are substantiated.

☆ 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".

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ The steps that could help address biodiversity loss could also help fix the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Biodiversity loss doesn't always get as much attention as the climate but the crises are linked. The animal, named Sudan, was the last male northern white rhino. The loss of biodiversity doesn't always get as much attention as the climate crisis but the two challenges are linked. "Anybody who's working with these issues — biodiversity, climate change, and the underlying drivers of it — realize the interconnectedness of it," Chomba said. Nachmany said some parts of the financial world are recognizing that biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are two parts of the same problem.

☆ In Congo camp, Muslims celebrate Eid with much-needed food aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Djaffar Al Katanty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Internally displaced Congolese Muslim women attend Eid al-Fitr prayers in the Munigi camp site near Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 21, 2023. At the Munigi camp in the compound of a mosque outside the city of Goma, hundreds live in makeshift tents crowned by rugs or plastic sheets to keep out the rain. Eid marks the end of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during sunlight hours, when Muslims fast during sunlight hours. We are happy, we thank God," she said. But in the Munigi camp people of both religions live side by side.

☆ UN paints Congo helicopters orange to protect against attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

World Food Programme/Handout via REUTERSKINSHASA, April 20 (Reuters) - The United Nations has painted bright orange its two white helicopters providing humanitarian relief in eastern Congo in an effort to protect them from militia attacks by distinguishing them from other aircraft. Last year, the U.N. recorded 293 security incidents that affected relief missions to east Congo, resulting in the death of nine humanitarian workers. The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) unveiled the two repainted World Food Programme helicopters this week. Their colour is meant to avoid confusion with the white ones used by the U.N. peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, which have been attacked in the past. Eight peacekeepers were killed when a MONUSCO helicopter on a reconnaissance mission crashed in the midst of rebel fighting in March last year.

☆ U.N. paints Congo helicopters orange to protect against attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's refined copper imports and exportsIMPORT SLUMPChina imported 408,174 tonnes of copper in March, down by 19% year-on-year and the lowest monthly intake since October. The preliminary customs report aggregates arrivals of refined metal, anode, alloy and semi-manufactured products. The country also imported 1.8 million tonnes of recyclable materials, the largest amount since 2018, and a record 25.3 million tonnes of mined concentrates. National refined copper output rose by 11% year-on-year in January-February, according to the country's official statistics body. So far this year it seems to have lost its appetite for more refined copper.

But it serves to highlight the importance of one of the most inaccessible parts of southeast Asia to the global tin supply chain. Imports from Myanmar grew from 30,000 tonnes in 2012 to 89,000 tonnes in 2013 and mushroomed to almost 500,000 tonnes in 2016. CHINESE DEPENDENCEThe Myanmar tin boom occurred at the right time for China's tin smelters, many of which were struggling to bring on new mining capacity as Beijing steadily tightened environmental controls on the mining sector. However, the threat alone underscores the fragility of tin supply at a time when Indonesia, the largest exporter of the metal in refined form, is mulling an export ban to stimulate the build-out of downstream processing capacity. This is probably not going to be the last time tin gets spooked by unexpected news from Myanmar.

☆ Apple to use only recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said on Thursday it would use only recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025 as a part of its efforts to make all its products carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Magnets in Apple devices will use recycled rare earth elements, and in-house designed printed circuit boards will use recycled tin soldering and gold plating, the company said. Apple is pushing to become carbon neutral through its entire supply chain and the life cycle of every product by 2030. A quarter of all cobalt used in Apple products came from recycled material in 2022, up from 13% a year earlier, Apple said. It now sources over two-thirds of all aluminum, nearly three-quarters of all rare earths, and more than 95% of all tungsten in its products from recycled material.

☆ Islamist rebel attack kills around 20 in eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KINSHASA, April 8 (Reuters) - Suspected Islamists killed around 20 people in an attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said on Saturday. "We counted about 20 dead on Friday in the village of Musandaba," said the military administrator of Beni territory, Colonel Charles Omeonga. An army spokesman in the North Kivu region where the attack took place, Anthony Mwalushay, said the assailants used machetes "to avoid confrontation with the army". The attack took place in one of two conflict-hit provinces where Congo replaced civilian authorities with military administrations more than a year ago in an attempt to halt the violence. This week, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo condemned another massacre committed by the ADF in neighboring Ituri province, which it says killed 30 people.

☆ Uganda’s anti-gay bill is the latest and worst to target LGBTQ Africans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aditi Bhandari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

Same-sex activity in Africa is punishable by … Map of the 32 African countries where same-sex activity is illegal. Same-sex activity in Africa … Map of the 22 African countries where same-sex activity is legal. In 1993, Guinea-Bissau became the first African country to legalise LGBTQ activity when it adopted a new Penal Code that didn’t include any laws criminalising it. Country Constitutional protection Broad protections Employment Hate crime Incitement Marriage or civil union Adoption Angola No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Botswana No No Yes No No No No Cape Verde No No Yes Yes No No No Gabon No No No No No No No Guinea-Bissau No No No No No No No Lesotho No No No No No No No Mozambique No No Yes No No No No Sao Tome and Principe No No Yes Yes No No No Seychelles No No Yes No No No No South Africa Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes YesNote: Broad protections include laws protecting against discrimination in at least 3 of 4 categories: the provision of goods and services, housing, healthcare and education. Namibia and Mauritius criminalise same-sex activity, but around 35% of respondents said they would dislike having a gay neighbour.

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.

☆ Fact Check-Video purporting to show Kenya protests on March 20 dates to at least August 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of clashes between a large group of people is circulating online as showing a March 20 cost-of-living protest in Kenya that left one person dead. However, Reuters traced the clip to August 2022 when it featured in a report about a football tournament in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Reuters dated the video back to at least August 2022 when it was shared in relation to a football tournament in DRC. According to a local report, clashes erupted during the competition, and one person fainted after being hit by projectiles (here ) (here ). Video does not show protests in Kenya but dates to at least August 2022 and has been shared in relation to clashes during a football tournament in DRC.

☆ Freed 'Hotel Rwanda' hero departs Doha for Houston for family reunion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Imad Creidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, March 29 (Reuters) - The man who inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda", Paul Rusesabagina, has boarded a plane in Qatar bound for Houston after being released from prison in Rwanda last week, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. He was released last Friday after Kagame commuted his sentence, following months of negotiations between Washington and Kigali, and arrived in Doha on Monday. Rusesabagina was feted around the world after being played by actor Don Cheadle in the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda" which portrayed him as a hero who risked his life to shelter hundreds of people as manager of a luxury hotel during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Washington's historically close ties with Rwanda had been strained by Rusesabagina's detention and by U.S. allegations, denied by Kigali, that Rwanda has sent troops into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and supports rebels there. Rwanda has said that Rusesabagina's release is the result of a shared desire to reset the U.S.-Rwanda relationship.

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