Worldcrunch
An accident in an illegal mine near Kolwezi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has left at least 70 people dead. It is yet another tragedy in a region where hundreds of thousands of people work with no rules or safety measures, extracting the minerals used in our digital devices. It’s the latest chapter of a recurring story of exploitation.
War is eroding the foundations of the health care system in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Months of violence between government forces and M23, an armed group with backing from neighboring Rwanda, have spurred looting and closures of medical clinics around Lubero territory. Facilities that remain open are grappling with supply shortages, staff departures and mounting difficulties transporting patients.
In February, Stino Muhindo Sivyaghendera lit a match and held it to the grass in the field of eucalyptus trees he’d planted three years earlier. In the months before, the army had set up a position there, and left deadly ordnance behind. He’d heard about two young men who were killed by an explosion in the area, and he didn’t want anyone to come to harm in his field.
With striking photographs from Poland, the DR Congo, Gaza and the Shetlands, among other places.
Rwanda is under scrutiny for the advance of M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the capture of the regional capital, Goma. However, the international community remains powerless to halt the escalation of conflict in this mineral-rich region.
Kinshasa is suing Apple in France and Belgium for “complicity” in the use of rare minerals pillaged by armed groups to build their products. Apple denies the accusations and guarantees traceability, but the case highlights the fragile balance of power in Silicon Valley’s global supply chains.
Health officials in Uganda told Global Press Journal to ignore information provided by health workers at the border.
Conspiracy theories about France’s involvement in every twist and turn of African politics abound. Yet, writes Adama Wade for Dakar-based Financial Afrik, using leftover grievances of colonial influence is often a way for Africans to make excuses for their political failings.
French President Emmanuel Macron has outlined a new policy for France’s relationship with Africa, recognizing the need for a departure from post-colonial mindsets. But he faces challenges at home and abroad.
Before heading to South Sudan to continue his highly anticipated trip to Africa, the pontiff was in the Democratic Republic of Congo where he delivered a powerful speech, in a country where 40 million Catholics live.
Welcome to Monday, where Belarus agents hijack a Ryanair flight, a freak storm in China kills 21 marathoners and Bob Dylan gets sung in 11 languages for this 80th birthday. We also feature a Le Monde reportage from Siberia on Nikita Ouvarov, the Russian teenager busted for hanging anti-government posters, who was jailed without a […]
Looking coooool….This selfie of two park rangers at the Virunga National Park with two female gorillas mimicking human behavior went viral after it was posted on Instagram this week. “Those gorilla gals are always acting cheeky so this was the perfect shot of their true personalities!” said the park, which is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fact that the two gorillas, Ndakazi and Ndeze, were walking upright is apparently not so rare. The cool posing on the other hand may be linked to the fact that the pair were rescued and raised by humans. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/NSYN1WOokic expand=1] […]
There is a religious litmus test for teachers in schools in this eastern stretch of Democratic Republic of Congo.
MUTWANGA — At the foot of mount Rwenzori, locals erupt in joy when they see their homes lit with electric light bulbs for the first time in their lives. Meanwhile, at the nearby Pic Hotel in Mutwanga, a small village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), tourists are finally returning. Over the past few […]
It seems only the Church has managed to curb the ambitions of recent Congolese rulers Mobutu and Joseph Kabila. Now Church leaders are trying to peacefully nudge Kabila from power to avoid the bloodshed many are predicting.
LIPUA LIPUA — He’d been away for some time in Mbandaka, the capital of the northwestern Équateur province along the Congo River. But when Pierrot Mawambe returns to Lipua Lipua, a fisherman camp on an islet 80 kilometers downstream, he was stunned by the void where huge waka trees used to stand. “Timber harvesters cut […]
MATADI — Elie Luemba says her youngest son fooled her and her husband for far too long. “We used to give him a little money every morning to buy himself donuts at school,” she says. “But he was actually using the money to bet on sports results with his classmates.” The irony is that Luemba […]
Since the gradual reduction of subsidies from Rome to diocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo, vicars have turned to the faithful to ensure survival of parish churches.
GOMA — “They realized he wasn’t one of them because he didn’t speak Swahili. Then they pulled him off the bus he was traveling on, stoned him to death, opened his chest and ate his heart.” Hearing this story from a high-ranking United Nations official, one immediately asks if this is just a legend of […]
A 12-year-old from Goma, DRC, recounts how the international NGO persuaded her to keep her baby.
Local planners in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are clearing out homes and businesses that encroached over the years along the city’s main avenues.
GOMA — The situation inside Goma’s Muzenza Prison, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is highly charged and threatening to explode as severe overcrowding mixes with questions about the justice system itself. As many as 1,087 prisoners are crammed into a building designed for 150. Four out of every five prisoners are there in pre-trial […]
GOMA — Teachers raping their students is tragically all too common in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But in the eastern region of South Kivu, it is a reality that is now finally being confronted, with the establishment of local committees in which parents, education officials and students report and track sexual assaults in […]
WALIKALE — They swapped their firearms for spades, machettes and hoes. Until very recently, the young people here used to be members of armed groups in Congo’s North Kivu that boasted names such as Kifua Fua (Stuck-out Chest) or Raia Mutomboki (Revolutionary People). But on this Saturday in early November, they are repairing a road […]
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, people have come to rely on the ability to do basic financial transactions anywhere. The downside is when cellular connection crashes.
In the DRC, families increasingly send the remains of deceased loved ones back to their home villages rather than bury them in the city. It is both an age-old tradition and a way to protect against irreverence.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a new biometric system aims to prevent locals from pilfering supplies meant for victims of civil conflict. The aid often ends up at local markets.
MATADI — Diabetic patients in the Bas-Congo province, in the western region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have had enough with traditional practitioners. They insist they won’t be conned again by those who claim they can cure everything from AIDS to hypertension and even diabetes, which some 1.5 million people suffer from in this […]
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a crackdown on trafficking rings is not enough – there is also the question of parental responsbility. And extreme poverty.
MATADI — It’s one of the Internet revolution’s more twisted novelties. Men ready to do anything to get back at the girlfriend who left them or whom they suspect of cheating on them post naked photos or sex videos on social networks. And now, so-called “revenge porn” has also arrived in the Democratic Republic of […]
BUTEMBO — On the eve of the 2013-2014 academic year, the city of Butembo saw 22 new universities opening here, more than doubling the number of higher education institutions in a city of only 600,000 people. But they’re only universities by (pompous) name: “Superior Institute of Trade and Business,” “Doctoral School of Petrochemistry,” “Faculty of […]
The inhabitants of Butembo rely increasingly on solar energy, allowing households to save money and be self-sufficient.
In southeastern Congo, where a malaria outbreak is killing young children, some believe the disease has mystical origins and turn to higher powers rather than doctors.
BUKAVU – For the past two years, agricultural production has been increasing in the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And at least part of the credit goes to shopkeepers across the border in Rwanda. The neighboring store owners have been providing Congolese farmers with phytosanitary seeds and products that […]
MBANDAKA — Don’t tell Mfutu Etawale Ratis he’s a magician or a witch doctor. The self-proclaimed traditional practitioner says he can cure mental illness. And in this northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where modern treatments are often missing, Ratis is one of the only people trying to help patients with mental disorders. […]
LIMETE — Three times a week here, in this municipality within the Kinshasa province of Congo, street children gather in the square to practice Brazilian capoeira, a martial art that incorporates dance, music and acrobatics. For the past seven years, these unlikely enthusiasts of the disclipline have occupied a portion of an abandoned basketball court. […]
BENI — On a recent Friday, soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) were spending the morning helping civilians clean the road that leads to the new cemetery of this northeastern Congolese city. Here, AK-47s have been replaced by hoes, spades and rakes. Colonel Tito Bizuri, who is in charge […]
Street children often abandon their own infants, who are sometimes raised by grandmothers or dropped at convents. But these young parents all wish them a better life than they had.
Edged out for a time by greasy, imported food, traditional meals are staging a comeback in the Democratic Republic of Congo.