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☆ Four Lawmakers Denounce Plan to Ease Sanctions on Israeli Mining Executive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A bipartisan group of four congressional lawmakers have objected to the Biden administration plan to boost access to metals needed for electric vehicle batteries by easing sanctions on an Israeli mining executive accused of corrupt practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The objection came as the Biden administration moves to allow Dan Gertler, an Israeli billionaire, to sell his financial stake in three mines in Congo as part of an effort to remove him from the mining trade there. Senior Biden officials have argued this will help Congo, the largest producer of cobalt in the world, by enticing more Western-leaning investors. Mr. Gertler has said that all his investments in Congo were aboveboard. But the four lawmakers — two senators and two House members — disputed that, saying the Biden administration was wrong to propose allowing Mr. Gertler to profit as he sells off his holdings in Congo.

Persons: Biden, Dan Gertler, Gertler, — Organizations: Democratic, Biden Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo

☆ DR Congo: Americans involved in foiled deadly coup, military says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —American citizens were involved in an attempted coup d’état that left at least three people dead on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a military spokesperson told CNN Monday. Malanga was killed in a gun battle between the armed putschists and the presidential guards, Ekenge said. Videos widely shared on social media, but not verified by CNN, showed a man with a bloody face being surrounded by Congolese military personnel. Sunday’s incident was the second coup attempt by the now deceased Malanga, a former Congolese military veteran, Ekenge told CNN. The African Union condemned Sunday’s coup attempt in the DRC and welcomed the “control of the situation” by the country’s security forces.

Persons: d’état, Vital Kamerhe, Christian Malanga, General Sylvain Ekenge, Malanga, Ekenge, “, ” Ekenge, Marcel, Benjamin Reuben Zalman, Polun, Patrick Ducey, Taylor Thomson, “ Patrick Ducey, Lucy Tamlyn, ”, Felix Tshisekedi, Kamerhe’s, Sunday’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Palais, Nation, Congolese, United Congolese Party, Reuters, World Bank, Central, African Union Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Congolese, Kinshasa, Africa, Gabon

☆ Congolese Army Says It Foiled a Coup Involving Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The military of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Sunday that it had foiled a coup attempt involving foreigners, hours after a gunfight near the presidential palace in which at least three people were killed. In a brief statement on state television, an army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, initially offered little detail about the purported putsch in the capital, Kinshasa, other than to say that the plotters and their leader had been “put out of action.”But he later told The Associated Press that three Americans were among the perpetrators, and the United States ambassador to Congo, Lucy Tamlyn, acknowledged publicly that American citizens may have been involved. The United States will cooperate “to the fullest extent” with the Congolese authorities “as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any U.S. citizen involved.,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.

Persons: Sylvain Ekenge, “, Lucy Tamlyn, ” Organizations: Democratic, Associated Press, United, Congolese Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, United States, Congo

☆ C.D.C. Warns of a Resurgence of Mpox
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With Pride events scheduled worldwide over the coming weeks, U.S. officials are bracing for a return of mpox, the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox that struck tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men worldwide in 2022. A combination of behavioral changes and vaccination quelled that outbreak, but a majority of those at risk have not yet been immunized. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of a deadlier version of mpox that is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo and urged people at risk to be vaccinated as soon as possible. But the escalating epidemic in Congo nevertheless poses a global threat, just as infections in Nigeria set off the 2022 outbreak, experts said. Dr. Rimoin has studied mpox in Congo for more than 20 years, and first warned of its potential for global spread in 2010.

Persons: ”, Anne Rimoin, Rimoin Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Democratic, University of California Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Congo, Nigeria, Los Angeles

☆ Seeking Access to Congo’s Metals, White House Aims to Ease Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three years after Biden administration officials tightened sanctions on a billionaire Israeli mining executive for corrupt business practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have reversed themselves and are offering the executive a deal they hope will bolster the supply of a metal vital to electric vehicles. The plan would allow the executive, Dan Gertler, to sell off his remaining stakes in three giant copper and cobalt mining operations in Congo. Once Mr. Gertler sells his positions, the Biden administration hopes Western-leaning companies will be more willing to invest in Congo, perhaps delivering a greater supply of cobalt to the United States as automakers race to increase domestic production of batteries. But certain State and Treasury Department officials strongly opposed the effort, saying that Mr. Gertler should not be allowed to profit from his deal-making, which the Biden administration earlier argued had cheated the citizens of Congo out of more than $1 billion in mining revenues.

Persons: Dan Gertler, Gertler, Biden Organizations: Biden, Democratic, Treasury Department Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, United States

☆ Nicholas Kristof says press ‘shouldn’t be neutral’ with coverage of Trump’s threats to democracy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The American press, he writes in clear-eyed terms, “shouldn’t be neutral about upholding democracy” and must not “dispassionately observe our way to authoritarianism.”We spoke with Kristof over email for a Q&A about this and more. This is strange for a pundit to admit, but I think there’s too much punditry in journalism today and not enough reporting. … We journalists shouldn’t dispassionately observe our way to authoritarianism; we shouldn’t be neutral about upholding democracy.” Do you believe your colleagues in the press are as clear-eyed about this as you are? I believe that journalism — along with law and the civil service — restrained the Trump presidency and is a force for civilization and democracy. He believed it and I believe it, and that is why I say that journalism is an act of hope.

Persons: Nicholas Kristof, “, Kristof, Gray Lady, Donald Trump, ”, James Bond, scoff, I’ve, That’s, It’s, I’m, we’re, aren’t, it’s, William Safire, shouldn’t, Joe McCarthy, Edward R, Murrow, McCarthy, Martin Luther King Jr, George Wallace, Jim Crow, Trump, Joe Kahn, — that’s, Will, Let’s, — Organizations: New York CNN, New York Times, The New York Times, Times, Trump, Endowment, Arts, CNN, State Security, State, “ Locations: New York, Congo, Iraq, Syria, Aleppo, America, Washington, China, —, Oregon, U.S, Gaza, Russia

☆ Photographer Platon sits presidents and protesters on the same wooden box
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Caitlin Chatterton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“More world leaders have sat on that box than any chair in history,” the photographer Platon, owner of that very box, told CNN in an interview conducted over Zoom. One of the girls that Platon photographed there was Esther Faraja. Vladimir Putin, photographed by Platon for Time’s Person of the Year in 2007, initially liked the image that Platon produced. Platon photographed Burmese politician and activist Aung San Suu Kyi in 2010, shortly after she was released from nearly 15 years of house arrest. Platon photographed members of the Burmese LGBTQ+ community who are living in exile and fighting against legislation that criminalizes same-sex behaviour.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi, Mark Zuckerberg, Platon, “, ” Platon, it’s, Platon Antoniou, George, John Kennedy Jr, Barack Obama, ”, Esther Faraja, Josue, Mukwege's, Denis Mukwege’s, you’re, ” Vladimir Putin, doesn’t, Vladimir Putin, Putin, who’s, Clinton, Platon Bill Clinton, there’s, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, “ Hillary, Aung, Suu Kyi, Platon Anastasia Smirnova, we’re Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Royal College of Art, New Yorker, Kremlin, Downing, Mukwege's Panzi, Denis Mukwege’s Panzi, Society Locations: Greece, London, New York, George Clooney’s, Congo, Russian, Suu, Burma, Russia

☆ His Skull Was Taken From Congo as a War Trophy. Will Belgium Finally Return It?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | Koba Ryckewaert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Once a powerful local Congolese leader, Lusinga Iwa Ng’ombe fought back against Belgian colonial invaders in the late 19th century. He was such a thorn in their side that Émile Storms, who commanded Belgian troops in the region, predicted his head would “eventually end up in Brussels with a little label — it would not be out of place in a museum.”That is exactly what happened. Troops of Mr. Storms killed and decapitated Mr. Lusinga in 1884, and his skull ended up in a box in the Brussels-based Institute for Natural Sciences, along with over 500 human remains taken from former Belgian colonies. His descendants are struggling to have his remains returned, their efforts unfolding against the backdrop of a larger debate about Europe’s responsibility for the colonial atrocities, reparations and restitution of plundered heritage.

Persons: Iwa Ng’ombe, “, Storms, Mr, Lusinga Organizations: Iwa, Belgian, Natural Sciences Locations: Congolese, Belgian, Brussels

☆ First British royal visits Ukraine since Russian invasion began
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Duchess of Edinburgh has become the first member of the British royal family to visit Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday. The duchess is a champion of the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Sophie met survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and torture, as well as children who were allegedly forcibly separated from their families by Russia, according to Buckingham Palace. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh lights a candle as she visits Saint Andrew's Church on April 29, 2024 in Bucha, Ukraine. In March 2023, Prince William visited the Ukrainian-Polish border to meet British and Polish troops and learn more about their collaboration in supporting Ukraine.

Persons: Duchess, Buckingham, Sophie, Edinburgh, Prince Edward , King Charles ’, “, ” “, ”, Anatolii, Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, ” Buckingham, Prince William Organizations: CNN, United Nations, CNN’s Royal, Ukraine, Andrew's Church, Democratic Locations: Edinburgh, Ukraine, Russia, Buckingham, Bucha, Kyiv, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Colombia

☆ Fact checking Trump and Johnson’s election integrity announcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Facts First: The system, as it is currently set up, is working, and effectively prevents mass voting by non-citizens in US elections. Despite Johnson’s focus on this topic, it is extremely rare, according to decades of voting data and nonpartisan experts. In federal and state elections, where voting by non-citizens is illegal, it occurs on a microscopic level. This system, as shown from decades of data, is very effective at stopping non-citizens from registering and voting in federal elections. Further, from a common-sense perspective, there’s little to gain for an undocumented immigrant who theoretically wants to vote in a presidential election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, ”, Johnson, ” Johnson, David Becker, Brennan, There’s, they’d, Rick Hasen, you’re, Trump, Hillary Clinton, CNN’s Marshall Cohen, ” Trump, Trump’s, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Daniel Dale Trump, Biden, Trump baselessly, “, Matthew Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Colangelo, Joe Biden, Gainor Trump, ’, Roe, Wade, Roe V, Wade ”, Read, Daniel Dale Organizations: CNN, Election Innovation, Research, Brennan Center for Justice, UCLA School of Law, Trump, Democratic, Mar, Manhattan District Attorney, Biden, Justice Department, US Customs Locations: United States, Venezuela, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, York, Manhattan, Mar

☆ The next total solar eclipse: When and where to expect it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Monday’s total solar eclipse, one of the most highly anticipated events of 2024, has come and gone. But the next total solar eclipse won’t occur until August 12, 2026, said Amir Caspi, a principal scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. The next total eclipse in the USThe US won’t catch a glimpse of a total solar eclipse again until March 30, 2033, and even then the Russia-centric path includes only Alaska, with totality lasting 2 minutes and 37 seconds. A partial solar eclipse will shine over most of the country during that celestial event. The next total solar eclipse with a coast-to-coast path spanning the Lower 48 states will occur on August 12, 2045.

Persons: it’s, Amir Caspi, Caspi Organizations: CNN, NASA, Southwest Research, New Zealand, Democratic Locations: Chile, Argentina, South America, Boulder , Colorado, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Europe, Africa, North America, Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Kansas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Australia, New, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, North, South Korea, Japan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines

☆ Guns, Machetes and Illness: The Perils of Running the Length of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Going for a run can get a bit more difficult when it lasts for a year and is complicated by robbery, illness and men with machetes. Russ Cook, a 27-year-old Englishman, completed his south-to-north run across the continent of Africa on Sunday in Cape Angela, Tunisia. He had set off from Cape Agulhas, South Africa, on April 22, 2023. After his start in South Africa, he mostly skirted the west side of the country, sticking fairly close to the ocean. He said he chose the West African route primarily for safety reasons, although he nonetheless ran into dangerous situations.

Persons: Russ Cook Locations: Africa, Cape Angela, Tunisia, Cape Agulhas, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Algeria, West

☆ Southern Africa’s drought and floods could push tens of millions into hunger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The country’s top priority “is securing food for all Zimbabweans,” the president told journalists at the state house in Harare. Kb Mpofu/ReutersIn Zambia, Malawi and Central Mozambique, extreme drought has damaged more than 2 million hectares of crops, Oxfam said. Zambia declared its drought a disaster on February 29. In Mozambique — a country accounting for only 0.2% of global emissions — 3 million people face hunger, according to Oxfam. The country’s capital, Maputo, experienced devastating floods in March, after Tropical Storm Filipo hit followed a few weeks later by further intense rainfall.

Persons: South Africa CNN —, Emmerson Mnangagwa, El Niño, Zimbabwe —, Filipo, ” Teresa Anderson, Machinda Marongwe, ” Marongwe Organizations: South Africa CNN, Oxfam, Reuters, Democratic, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, United States Agency, International, Systems Network Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Harare, “, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Pumula East, Bulawayo, Central Mozambique, ” Southern Africa, Maputo

☆ Opinion: ISIS is making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —If ISIS was indeed responsible for the attack Friday at a Moscow-area concert venue that killed at least 133 people, it would suggest that, unfortunately, the terror group is making something of a comeback. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack; a US official told CNN the US has no reason to doubt it. Through that attack, ISIS-K showed that the group, which is very anti-Shia, could target a hostile state like predominantly Shia Iran. In March alone, a Russian state news agency said the country had thwarted multiple ISIS-related incidents, including a plan to attack a synagogue in Moscow. As for capability, the ISIS-K attack in Iran earlier this year demonstrated that the group could carry out a large-scale attack outside of its home base in Afghanistan.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Biden, Qasem Soleimani, Vladimir Putin, ”, Bashar al Assad, Assad, Putin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, ISIS, US, Kabul Airport, Democratic, US National Security Council, Government Locations: New America, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, United Kingdom, Europe, Paris, Orlando , Florida, Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iran, Russian, Russia, ”, Ukraine, Syrian

☆ The 26-year-old YouTuber conquering French journalism
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Travers, 26, is the founder and face of HugoDecrypte, a French media start-up that delivers news aimed primarily at young audiences. Travers' daily news round-ups, usually delivered from behind a desk, are very popular among younger French audiences. Joshua Berlinger/CNNThe first concerned the state of political coverage in French media. The HugoDecrypte channel launched with the mission to give young French audiences a fast, digestible way to understand the news. But he and editor-in-chief Aleberteau believe that, wherever there is social media, their model is viable.

Persons: Paris CNN — Hugo Travers, Travers, Le, “, ” Travers, there’s, ”, Alice Antheaume, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Gabriel Attal, Marie Flament, Francois Jost, Joshua Berlinger, Z, Travers ’, pander, “ You’ve, Benjamin Aleberteau, HugoDecrypte, Christopher Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, Omar Sy, Tahar Rahim, Virginie Efira, Jost, “ TikTok, …, it’s, I’m, they’re, Xavier Niel, Vincent Bollore, Rupert Murdoch, Aleberteau, ” Aleberteau Organizations: Paris CNN, YouTube, CNN, Sciences Po Journalism School, Franco, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Democratic, Sciences Po, Reuters Institute, Antheaume Locations: France, French, TikTok, Europe, Paris, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ Drones have turned the tables in recent African wars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Drones recently supplied to Sudan by Iran are already making an impact in that country's brutal civil war. Similar types of drones played decisive roles in turning the tables in two previous African civil wars in recent years and could do so again. "It should come as no surprise that these drones are being used in wars around the world," Rogers told BI. In this context, drones are useful to achieve specific objectives, but they will not win the war alone," Rogers said. RANE's Dodd also credited Ethiopia's drone procurements for decisively "turning the tide" of the Tigray War.

Persons: —, Remi Dodd, RANE, it's, Dodd, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Turkey's TB2, Loong, Debretsion Gebremichael, RANE's Dodd Organizations: Service, Business, Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, United, Ethiopian, Tigray, Libyan National Army, Cornell Brooks Tech, Institute, Cornell University, American Warfare, Anadolu, Getty, Democratic Locations: Sudan, Iran, Iranian, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Libya, Tripoli, Omdurman, Tehran, Red, Yemen, Ukraine, Tigray War, Tigray, Addis Ababa, Ukrainian, New York, Donetsk, Nigeria, DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso

☆ ‘Everything he is saying isn’t true’: Congolese governments denounce Trump’s baseless stories about emptied prisons
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Everything he is saying isn’t true,” Democratic Republic of Congo spokesperson Patrick Muyaya Katembwe told CNN in a text message on Thursday. Facts First: Trump’s claims are baseless. And federal figures show that there is no “very big” influx of Congolese migrants of any kind, let alone former prisoners in particular. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, keeps making claims about emptied Congolese prisons as he criticizes President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration. Official federal data shows that Congolese migrants in general, not ex-prisoners in particular, represent a tiny fraction of overall arrivals.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, “, ” Serge Mombouli, ”, Joe Biden’s, Trump, “ I’ve, ” Lewis Mudge, Abdoulaye Diarra, Mark Krikorian, Michelle Mittelstadt scoffed Organizations: Washington CNN, Democratic, CNN, PAC, Trump, Fox News, Human Rights, Amnesty International, Patrol, US Customs, Center for Immigration Studies, Policy Institute Locations: Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic, Republic of, Republic of Congo, ’, United States, Central Africa, Congolese, America, “, Mexico, South America

☆ Sethembile Msezane on creating the iconic image “Chapungu — The Day Rhodes Fell”
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“Chapungu — The Day Rhodes Fell” has since become an iconic photograph, capturing the spirit of the #RhodesMustFall movement which led to the removal of 19th century colonist Cecil Rhodes’ statue at the University of Cape Town. “There is no way I could have conceptualized that moment and the way things unfolded on that day,” said Msezane, speaking to CNN from Cape Town. Artist Sethembile Msezane on a plinth in front of the statue of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes. While several have now been returned, to this day, it remains at Rhodes’ former home at the Groote Shuur estate in Cape Town, Msezane explained. The statue of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes was removed from South Africa's Cape Town University on April 9, 2015.

Persons: Sethembile Msezane, Rhodes, ”, Cecil Rhodes ’, Msezane, —, Sethembile, Cecil John Rhodes, Charlie Shoemaker, Zimbabwe —, Chapungu, Cecil Rhodes, ” Msezane, “, Schalk van, Lady Liberty, Rosie Organizations: CNN, University of Cape, Fine Arts, South London, South Africa's Cape Town University, Panzi, Democratic, University of Cape Town, Freedom, Worker’s Locations: University of Cape Town, Cape Town, “, Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe, Groote, London, Chile, Poland, United States, Iran, Bangladesh, South Africa's, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal

“If you have minerals or oil under the ground, how do you come up with a price for a long-term contract? The shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles has caused a spike in the demand for critical minerals, driving these kind of loans. Adesina, whose Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based institution helps finance development in African countries, said these arrangements come with a litany of problems. Photos You Should See View All 60 Images“These are the reasons I say Africa should put an end to natural resource-backed loans," Adesina said. After Chad, Angola and the Republic of Congo approached the IMF for support, the multilateral lender insisted on the renegotiation of their natural resource-backed loans.

Persons: Akinwumi Adesina, paydowns, Adesina, ” Adesina, Glencore, Trafigura, ”, Mao Ning Organizations: African Development Bank, Associated Press, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Chartered, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Railway Group, Gecamines, Alliance for Green Infrastructure Locations: Lagos, NIGERIA, China, Congo, Nigeria, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Africa, Chad, Angola, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ghana, Beijing, Nigerian, AP.org

☆ Federal appeals court throws out lawsuit against Apple, Google, Tesla and other tech giants over alleged child labor in Congo
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit that sought to hold Apple, Google, Tesla and other major tech companies liable for their alleged use of child labor to mine cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “The plaintiffs have not adequately alleged the Tech Companies participated in a venture because there is no shared enterprise between the Companies and the suppliers who facilitate forced labor,” Rao wrote. “The Tech Companies own no interest in their suppliers. A federal judge in DC had previously thrown the case out. The defendants in the case were Apple, Alphabet (which owns Google), Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Tesla.

Persons: Neomi Rao, “, ” Rao, Rao, Michelle Toh Organizations: CNN, Apple, Google, Democratic, DC Circuit, Appeals, “, Tech Companies, Companies, DC, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, International Rights Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo

☆ The Endangered Languages of New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Alex Carp | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

Most people think of endangered languages as far-flung or exotic, the opposite of cosmopolitan. All told, there are more endangered languages in and around New York City than have ever existed anywhere else, says Perlin, who has spent 11 years trying to document them. She has published children’s books in Wakhi and other endangered languages of the Pamir mountains in Central Asia. By the start of the pandemic, the city had begun official outreach in nine Indigenous languages and recorded videos in several other endangered languages. We cross-referenced E.L.A.’s New York City language list with three independent databases that track the threat level of languages around the world: Ethnologue, which catalogs all known living languages in the world; UNESCO’s World Atlas of Languages, a survey of all the languages spoken in UNESCO member states; and the Endangered Languages Project, a site to which the public can contribute content, managed by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the Endangered Languages Catalogue (ELCat) project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Persons: Bukhori, Zaza Bartangi, Alex Carp, Ross Perlin, Perlin, Zenaida Cantu, Ikhiil Mardakhayev, Ken Hale, Michael Krauss, Krauss, ” Eleanor Castillo Bullock, Eleanor Castillo Bullock, Gloria Angeles, Gloria Tadii, ’, Daniel Kaufman, Trung, Kaufman, ” Kaufman, Gola, Rasmina Gurung, Safiyatou, E.L.A, ”, “ Ahh, “, —, Ganja Perlin, Ibrahima Traore, Kamel Mrowa, Kante, Husniya Khujamyorova, Pamiri, ” Perlin, Seke, ” Gurung, ” Irwin Sanchez, ” Patricia Tarrant, Patricia Tarrant, Thelma Carrillo, Carrillo, Uttam Singha, Singha, Jean James, Jean, Gurung, doesn’t, Ibrahima Traore's, Coleman Donaldson Organizations: Lenape, Scottish, U.S, Arts Medicine Agriculture Education International, Rebeldía, Language Alliance, Perlin, Rockefeller Center, American Indian Community House, city’s Health Department, Manipuri, New York City, Endangered Language Alliance, of, UNESCO, First, Cultural, University of Hawaii Locations: Syrian, Pangasinan, Nauaran, Kurdish Moroccan, Zaza Bartangi Puerto, Taíno, New York City, New York, Nepal, Brooklyn, Bangladesh, India, Queens, Central Mexico, Mexico, Israel, Hope, Belize, Kukaa, Oaxaca, Manhattan, E.L.A, QUEENS, Pangasinan Kham, Woodside, Elmhurst, Jackson, Tshugsang, Kathmandu, Brooklyn , New York, America, Roosevelt, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Language, ”, Australian, — Culiacán, Mexico City , New York, Los Angeles, Ganja, Harlem, Bronx, Montclair , N.J, “, Bouaké, Lebanon, Midwood , Brooklyn, Wakhi, Central Asia, Pamir, Tibet, city’s, New, Latin America, United States, Jamaica Estates, Staten, Lummi, Manoa

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Authorities in Rwanda on Monday rejected U.S. calls for the withdrawal of troops and missile systems from eastern Congo, saying they are defending Rwandan territory as Congo carries out a "dramatic military build-up” near the border. The U.S. State Department in a statement Saturday criticized the worsening violence caused by M23, describing it as a “Rwanda-backed” armed group. That statement also urged Rwanda “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the (Congo) and remove its surface-to-air missile systems." M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups active in eastern Congo, seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings. After being largely dormant for a decade, M23 resurfaced in late 2021 and has since captured wide parts of eastern Congo.

Persons: FLDR, Rwanda “, U.N, Goma Organizations: —, Monday, Rwanda's Foreign Ministry, Rwandan, U.S . State Department, Rwanda Defense Force, Rwandan Foreign Ministry Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, Congolese, United States, Africa's Great Lakes, Congo’s North Kivu’s, Goma

☆ Deadliest Cholera Outbreak in Past Decade Hits Southern Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( John Eligon | Jeffrey Moyo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sandra Mwayera wailed as her older brother slouched next to her in the back seat of a car — he had died from cholera as he waited for treatment among dozens of others outside a hospital in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. “My brother! My brother! Come back!”In neighboring Zambia, inside the 60,000-seat National Heroes Stadium in the capital, Lusaka, rows of gray cots lined rooms at a makeshift treatment center where 24-year-old Memory Musonda had died. Her family said they were not informed until four days later — the government buried her, and they have yet to locate her grave.

Persons: Sandra Mwayera wailed, slouched, ”, “, Musonda, Musonda’s, Stanley Mwamba Kafula Organizations: Democratic Locations: Zimbabwe’s, Harare, “, Zambia, Lusaka, Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique

☆ Sébastien Haller: After recovering from testicular cancer, Ivory Coast striker scores winner in AFCON final
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In the quarterfinals against Mali, Ivory Coast pulled off yet another great escape, once again scoring a last-minute equalizer before grabbing a winner in extra-time. The team’s uncanny ability to come back from the brink had earned them the nickname ‘Zombie Elephants’ and Ivory Coast lived up to its moniker again in the final. After Nigeria had taken a first-half lead through William Troost-Ekong’s header, the host nation fought its way back into the match. Cheered on from the stands by legendary striker Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast equalized just after the hour mark through Franck Kessié. Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and FIFA President Gianni Infantino also watched as Ivory Coast claimed its third AFCON title.

Persons: Sébastien Haller, Ouattara, Haller, Les Éléphants, Coast, Jean, Louis Gasset, Emerse Faé, –, Themba, Faé, William Troost, Didier Drogba, Franck Kessié, Simon Adingra’s, “, Ivory Coast’s Adingra, ” Drogba, Arsène Wenger, Gianni Infantino Organizations: CNN, Ivory, Africa, of Nations, German, Borussia Dortmund, Dortmund, Cancer, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Congo, Reuters, Arsenal, FIFA Locations: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory

☆ Host nation Ivory Coast continues miraculous run to AFCON final to set up a matchup against Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The host nation is seeking its third AFCON title, while Nigeria is looking to lift the trophy for the fourth time. ET on Sunday and will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast midfielder Ibrahim Sangare (L) fights for the ball with DR Congo's Simon Banza. Against Mali, Ivory Coast pulled off yet another great escape, grabbing a last-minute equalizer. Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali made two saves and striker Kelechi Iheanacho netted the deciding penalty to send Nigeria into the final.

Persons: Ouattara, Ivory, Les Éléphants, Jean, Louis Gasset, Emerse Faé, Ibrahim Sangare, DR Congo's Simon Banza, Franck Fife, Faé, Franck Kessié, Simon Adingra, Sébastien Haller, Ivory Coast's, Sia Kambou, William Troost, Ekong, Victor Osimhen, Osimhen, Percy Tau, Teboho Mokoena, Issouf Sanogo, Grant Kekana, Stanley Nwabali, Kelechi Iheanacho Organizations: CNN, Africa, of Nations, beIN Sports USA, DR Congo, Guinea, Equatorial, Coast, Ivory, DR Congo's, Getty, Senegal, Against, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Super Eagles, South Africa Locations: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ivory, Abidjan, South Africa, Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, AFP, Against Mali, Europe, AFCON, Cameroon, Angola, Africa

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