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☆ 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.

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.

☆ 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".

☆ 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.

☆ Ben Ferencz, last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, dies at 103
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

We mourn the death of Ben Ferencz—the last Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor. At Nuremberg, Ferencz became chief prosecutor for the United States in the trial of 22 officers who led mobile paramilitary killing squads known as Einsatzgruppen that were part of the notorious Nazi SS. The case we present is a plea of humanity to law," Ferencz added. "Genocide - the extermination of whole categories of human beings - was a foremost instrument of the Nazi doctrine," Ferencz said. After the Nuremberg trials, Ferencz worked to secure compensation for Holocaust victims and survivors.

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.

It suspended its probe in November 2021 at the request of the Philippines after Manila said it was carrying out its own investigations. The ICC investigation was reopened in January 2023 and on March 27 the ICC rejected Manila's request to suspend it pending an appeal questioning the court's jurisdiction and authority. It is not clear even among some government officials what cutting contact meant or whether the Philippines will completely drop its appeal against the ICC investigation. Police say they killed 6,200 suspects during anti-drug operations that ended in shootouts but reject accusations by human rights groups of systematic executions and cover-ups. There doesn't seem to be any political will within the Philippine government to seriously investigate," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, told CNN Philippines.

☆ Trapped miners in east Congo tumble out of rubble intact in viral video
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The video shows a man precariously perched on the side of a steep slope of rubble, frantically digging with a spade while a group of other men stand in a large circle around him, watching. The rescuer is then seen redoubling his efforts, forsaking the spade to dig through the rubble with his bare hands. Another miner soon appears, then another, and within two minutes a total of nine men have come out alive and well. Two miners died in a similar incident at a nearby informal digging site in early March. Reporting by Sonia Rolley; Editing by Sofia Christensen, Estelle Shirbon and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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.

During the session, which opens on Monday and runs until April 4, many states will seek to extend the mandate of a U.N investigation body set up to probe atrocities in Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies are disgruntled by the participation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who will address the council on Thursday. Filipenko said Ukraine did not welcome Russia's presence and would "act accordingly," without giving details. The Geneva-based U.N. human rights council is the only body made up of governments to protect human rights worldwide. Countries also will closely watch how Volker Turk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights since October, refers to China after his predecessor Michelle Bachelet was accused by some rights groups of being too soft on Beijing.

☆ Children accused of witchcraft find solace in east Congo shelter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Crispin KyalangalilwaBUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Feb 8 (Reuters) - After Ornella lost several family members within three years, relatives and neighbours in her east Congo village of Kabare began suspecting the 14-year-old girl of witchcraft. Hundreds of thousands of children across the continent are accused of witchcraft each year, according to a 2022 report by the African Child Policy Forum, an independent research group. "Here are at Eka Bana ... they show me that every child has rights," she told Reuters. Children who end up in Eka Bana are usually first taken in by the police, who either find them on the street or receive them from family members. Eka Bana Director Natalia Isella said it was often Evangelical pastors who convinced followers that a "witch" in the family was causing their problems.

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.

☆ One peacekeeper killed in Congo after U.N. chopper comes under fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo Feb 5 (Reuters) - One U.N. peacekeeper from South Africa was killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday when a helicopter operated by the peacekeeping force came under fire while in mid-air, the U.N. mission in Congo and South Africa's military said. The helicopter came under fire after taking off from the city of Beni in the early afternoon. The U.N. peacekeeping mission of around 18,200 personnel has been deployed in eastern Congo since taking over from a previous U.N. operation in 2010. Eight peacekeepers were killed last year when their helicopter crashed in a part of North Kivu province, where the Congolese army was fighting a rebel group known as the M23. Reporting by Fiston Mahamba, Erikas Mwisi Kambale, Sonia Rolley Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wildfires engulf central Chile
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The pope urged the Congolese people to grant each other a "great amnesty of the heart" and called on any Christians engaged in battle to lay down their arms. Eastern Congo has been plagued by conflict for decades.

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.

☆ Ukraine's army conducts drills in Chornobyl zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

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.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said. [1/9] Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023. The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa. On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people.

☆ Explainer: What is driving the violence in eastern Congo?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sonia Rolley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Djaffar SabitiGOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 31 (Reuters) - A focus of Pope Francis' visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo is a meeting on Wednesday with around 60 victims of the decades of violence in the east of the country who have made the cross-country journey to see him. Millions have been killed, and millions more have been displaced by the violence in the east since the 1990s. WHAT IS DRIVING THE VIOLENCE IN EASTERN CONGOThe conflict in Congo goes back decades, making it difficult to isolate a few causes, said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group. The name refers to the March 23 date of a 2009 accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo. Rwanda has accused Congo of using the FDLR a proxy, while Congo has accuse Rwanda of backing the M23.

☆ Part of stage built for pope collapses in Democratic Republic of Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KINSHASA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A canopy overhanging a stage built for Pope Francis in a Kinshasa stadium collapsed overnight during a heavy storm, Congo authorities said on Monday, three days before he is due to appear there for a public event. Francis is scheduled to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday afternoon and address young people and catechists in the Martyrs' Stadium in Kinshasa, the capital, on Thursday morning. The canopy was being fixed on Monday, Kinshasa police chief Sylvano Kasongo told Reuters. Pictures posted on social media showed one side of the canopy resting on the stage while the other side was still aloft. Reporting by Justin Makangara and Stanis Bujakera; Writing by Estelle ShirbonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Congo revivalist churches draw in Catholics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi KambaleBENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Congolese event organiser Deo Malela was born to Roman Catholic parents and identifies as such. But like more and more Catholics in the central African nation, 28-year-old Malele also regularly attends an evangelical church where he says he finds solutions to everyday problems. Pope Francis is expected to visit Congo from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, the first visit of a pope since 1985. Today there are over 30,000 revivalist churches in Congo, where they also known as "churches of awakening", according to the association representing them. The Catholic church still gives him a stronger sense of community and "political protection", he explained.

☆ Rwanda shoots at Congolese military jet over alleged airspace violation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video shared widely on Congolese social media showed a projectile shooting towards an airborne military plane, before exploding in the air near the plane, which continued to fly. Congo denied Rwanda's accusation that the jet had been in Rwandan airspace - the latest dispute between the two countries whose relationship has been strained by a rebel insurgency. Earlier the Rwandan government said Rwandan forces had fired at the jet after it violated Rwandan airspace in Rubavu - the same area as previous alleged violations, "prompting the government to take defensive measures." Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said last week that the rebels had not fully withdrawn from those areas. In December, Rwanda said another fighter jet from Congo had briefly violated its air space.

"It's important for us to have clear agreement because this is what we have now to finance our development," he said. President Felix Tshisekedi's government has been revisiting a 2007 deal struck by his predecessor Joseph Kabila under which Sinohydro Corp (SINOH.UL) and China Railway Group Limited agreed to build roads and hospitals in exchange for a 68% stake in the Sicomines venture as well as a 2008 contract with CMOC. "We have already a framework, we have some key elements of change that we want to bring in that agreement," Kazadi said of Sicomines, though he declined to provide further details. "In only five days they have managed to burn and export 27 kilograms," Kazadi said, speaking of the joint venture that is owned 55% by the United Arab Emirates with the remainder owned by Kinshasa. Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Jorgelina do Rosario, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Congolese artist paints politicians' portraits in plastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Congolese artist Patrick Cikuru Cirimwami applies finishing touches on portrait images of Congolese leaders, made from plastic waste, which he melts after collecting it near the banks of the Ruzizi I hydroelectric plant, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Crispin KyalangalilwaBUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Near the banks of Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, artist Patrick Cikuru Cirimwami wades knee-deep through a mountain of plastic bottles, scooping as many as he can carry into a large sack. Later he will melt down the plastic to make a thick liquid which he uses to paint portraits of politicians - intended to be a condemnation of what he says is their inaction in protecting the environment. As a Congolese artist, I can send a message," said the 26-year-old. Congo, like other African nations, has insisted on its right to develop its economy by exploiting its vast natural resources.

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