INSIDER
Authorities say the mystery disease in Congo might be malaria but more testing is needed
Read full article: Authorities say the mystery disease in Congo might be malaria but more testing is neededAuthorities say the mystery flu-like illness that has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks might be malaria.
Takeaways from AP's report on Chinese gold mining threatening endangered protected site in Congo
Read full article: Takeaways from AP's report on Chinese gold mining threatening endangered protected site in CongoFor eight years a Chinese mining company has been vastly expanding inside an endangered World Heritage Site, accused by locals and conservationists of decimating the environment.
Morocco produces Africaās first mpox tests as the continent tries to rely less on imports
Read full article: Morocco produces Africaās first mpox tests as the continent tries to rely less on importsAfter African countries struggled to get testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imported medical supplies.
A mystery illness has killed dozens of people in Congo. UN experts are now investigating
Read full article: A mystery illness has killed dozens of people in Congo. UN experts are now investigatingThe World Health Organization said Friday it deployed experts to investigate a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people in southwest Congo.
Thousands cheer Biden's arrival in Angola for his long-promised sub-Saharan Africa visit
Read full article: Thousands cheer Biden's arrival in Angola for his long-promised sub-Saharan Africa visitPresident Joe Biden has arrived for his long-awaited first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa to the cheers of thousands in Angola.
WHO says mpox cases in Congo's epicenter where the new variant was detected may be 'plateauing'
Read full article: WHO says mpox cases in Congo's epicenter where the new variant was detected may be 'plateauing'The World Health Organization says mpox cases in the region of Congo where a new and more infectious variant was first detected appear to be āplateauing,ā even as the virus continues to increase in other regions of the country, as well as in Burundi and Uganda.
UK identifies 4 cases of new mpox variant, the first cluster outside Africa
Read full article: UK identifies 4 cases of new mpox variant, the first cluster outside AfricaBritish health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a cluster of illness outside of Africa.
Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa
Read full article: Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for AfricaThe African health agency says that Rwanda has started a vaccination campaign against mpox with 1,000 doses it obtained from Nigeria.
Vaccinations against mpox in Congo will begin next month, authorities say
Read full article: Vaccinations against mpox in Congo will begin next month, authorities sayAuthorities say a vaccination campaign against mpox in Congo will begin Oct. 2, with workers focusing on the three most affected provinces first.
Africa has almost 4,000 new mpox cases in a week, but the wait for vaccines continues
Read full article: Africa has almost 4,000 new mpox cases in a week, but the wait for vaccines continuesAfrica's public health body is seeing a rapid increase in mpox cases, with almost 4,000 reported on the continent in the last week.
Congo says it will receive its first mpox vaccines next week to address new global emergency
Read full article: Congo says it will receive its first mpox vaccines next week to address new global emergencyCongo's health minister says the country will receive the first vaccine doses to address its mpox outbreak next week from the United States.
Southern African leaders meet amid mpox concerns and a political crackdown in summit host Zimbabwe
Read full article: Southern African leaders meet amid mpox concerns and a political crackdown in summit host ZimbabweAfrican leaders will meet in Zimbabwe on Saturday for a scheduled summit of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community.
Mpox outbreaks declared in Kenya and Central African Republic. The race is on to contain the spread
Read full article: Mpox outbreaks declared in Kenya and Central African Republic. The race is on to contain the spreadKenya and the Central African Republic have declared new outbreaks of mpox as Africa's health officials are racing to contain the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines.
Hundreds of asylum-seekers are camped out near Seattle. There's a vacant motel next door
Read full article: Hundreds of asylum-seekers are camped out near Seattle. There's a vacant motel next doorA cluster of tarp-covered tents in a grassy lot south of Seattle highlights the strain facing many communities are facing.
Fire at a displacement camp in Congo leaves dozens of families without shelter, UN says
Read full article: Fire at a displacement camp in Congo leaves dozens of families without shelter, UN saysThe U.N. says a fire at a displacement camp in eastern Congo has destroyed around 50 makeshift tents, leaving dozens of families without shelter.
Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemics
Read full article: Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemicsPresident Joe Biden's administration is launching a program that will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak.
African Development Bank chief criticizes opaque loans tied to Africa's natural resources
Read full article: African Development Bank chief criticizes opaque loans tied to Africa's natural resourcesThe head of the African Development Bank is calling for an end to loans given in exchange for oil or critical minerals used in smartphones and electric car batteries.
UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreak
Read full article: UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreakThe World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak.
Over 200 dead, many more missing after Congo floods
Read full article: Over 200 dead, many more missing after Congo floodsThe death toll from flash floods and landslides in eastern Congo has risen beyond 200, with many more people still missing, according to local authorities in the province of South Kivu.
UN report charges South Sudan officials of rights violations
Read full article: UN report charges South Sudan officials of rights violationsA United Nations-backed panel of investigators alleges that several officials in South Sudan have perpetrated serious human rights violations and should be held accountable for their crimes, in a report released Monday.
Ugandan forces take over east Congo town as M23 rebels leave
Read full article: Ugandan forces take over east Congo town as M23 rebels leaveA spokesman for the East African regional force says that Ugandan troops took control of Bunagana, a strategic town in eastern Congo that had been in the hands of M23 rebels for more than nine months.
Former rebel leader is named Congo's new Defense Minister
Read full article: Former rebel leader is named Congo's new Defense MinisterCongoās former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congoās Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.
āHeās close to usā: Wheelchair users in Africa await pope
Read full article: āHeās close to usā: Wheelchair users in Africa await popeWhen Pope Francis arrives in Congo and South Sudan next week, thousands of people will take special note of a gesture more grounded than the sign of the cross.
Kenya's president dismisses suggestions of unlimited terms
Read full article: Kenya's president dismisses suggestions of unlimited termsKenyan President William Ruto urged lawmakers not to remove presidential terms limits from the countryās constitution, dismissing comments by a legislator that there should be no such limits on a capable leader.
WHO launches drive to fight bacterial meningitis in Africa
Read full article: WHO launches drive to fight bacterial meningitis in AfricaThe World Health Organization says it is launching a $1.5 billion campaign, hopefully including a new vaccine, to eliminate outbreaks of bacterial meningitis across Africa by 2030.
Africa CDC in 'advanced' talks to obtain monkeypox vaccines
Read full article: Africa CDC in 'advanced' talks to obtain monkeypox vaccinesAfricaās public health agency says the continent of 1.3 billion people still does not have a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine, but āvery advanced discussionsā are underway with at least two partners.
Blinken rebukes Rwanda over rights, suppression concerns
Read full article: Blinken rebukes Rwanda over rights, suppression concernsU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday rebuked Rwandan authorities over democracy and human rights concerns, saying the central African country may not reach its full potential without opening up political space and protecting freedoms.
Outbreaks from animals in Africa surge by 60% in last decade
Read full article: Outbreaks from animals in Africa surge by 60% in last decadeThe World Health Organization says that the number of outbreaks of diseases that jumped from animals to humans in Africa has increased by more than 60% in the last decade, a worrying sign the planet could face increased animal-borne diseases like monkeypox, Ebola and coronavirus in the future.
France urges WHO chief to keep pledge on fighting sex abuse
Read full article: France urges WHO chief to keep pledge on fighting sex abuseThe French government has called on the head of the World Health Organization to uphold his pledge for an āaction planā to combat sexual abuse and exploitation by WHO employees.
Panel finds 80 alleged abuse cases tied to WHO's Congo work
Read full article: Panel finds 80 alleged abuse cases tied to WHO's Congo workA panel commissioned by the World Health Organization has identified more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse implicating at least 21 WHO staffers during its response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo, making it the biggest-ever sex abuse scandal in U.N. history.
Thousands return home in east Congo after volcano eruption
Read full article: Thousands return home in east Congo after volcano eruptionThousands of people are returning to Goma and a surrounding region in eastern Congo hoping to find their homes intact weeks after a volcano erupted, but fearing the worst.
Thousands evacuate Congo's Goma amid renewed volcano threat
Read full article: Thousands evacuate Congo's Goma amid renewed volcano threatTens of thousands of people are fleeing the city of Goma in eastern Congo fearing another volcanic eruption by Mount Nyiragongo, which spewed lava near the city last week.
Death toll from Congo volcano eruption rises to at least 32
Read full article: Death toll from Congo volcano eruption rises to at least 32Officials say the volcanic eruption in eastern Congo two days ago has killed has risen to at least 32 people, while residents search for missing loved ones amid destroyed homes on the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma where aftershocks were detected.
Republic of Congo candidate Kolelas dies of COVID-19
Read full article: Republic of Congo candidate Kolelas dies of COVID-19FILE- In this Sunday March 7, 2021 file photo, people walk past an election poster featuring opposition presidential candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, in downtown Brazzaville, Congo. Kolelas, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 complications on election day, has died, a spokesman said Monday, March 22, 2021. The 61-year-old politician was last seen in a video circulating Saturday on social media in which he told supporters he was fighting death. (AP Photo/Lebon Chansard Ziavoula, File)BRAZZAVILLE ā Republic of Congo's top presidential opposition candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 complications on election day, has died, a spokesman said Monday. Republic of Congo, with a population of about 5.4 million people, has had fewer than 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with 134 confirmed deaths.
WFP: Security protocols, leaks a focus of Congo probe
Read full article: WFP: Security protocols, leaks a focus of Congo probeLuca Attanasio, Italian ambassador to the Congo, an Italian Carabineri bodyguard and a Congolese driver were killed in the area that is home to myriad rebel groups, according to the Foreign Ministry and local people. The U.N. has said the road had been declared āgreenā by the U.N. and cleared for travel without security escorts or armored vehicles. The WFP says it is cooperating in the Italian, Congolese and U.N. investigations. Barrow said the U.N. probe would scrutinize the preparatory meetings leading up to the mission itself as well as whether security protocols were followed. āThe main focus of the fact-finding mission will be on what security protocols were undertaken, how they were followed and what steps were taken to minimize any sort of risk to any of those who were on this mission,ā he said.
Italian ambassador among 3 killed in attack on Congo convoy
Read full article: Italian ambassador among 3 killed in attack on Congo convoyIn this image taken from video, United Nations peacekeepers guard the area where a U.N. convoy was attacked and the Italian ambassador to Congo killed, in Nyiragongo, North Kivu province, Congo Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. The Italian ambassador to Congo Luca Attanasio, an Italian carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said. (AP Photo/Justin Kabumba)ROME ā The Italian ambassador to Congo, an Italian Carabinieri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday when gunmen attacked a U.N. convoy traveling to a school in eastern Congo, the Italian Foreign Ministry and residents said. Eastern Congo is home to myriad rebel groups all vying for control of the mineral-rich Central African nation that is the size of Western Europe. The interior ministry said the provincial authorities of North Kivu were not aware of the presence of the Italian ambassador, which did not allow them to provide him with security measures.
6 rangers killed in latest attack at Congo's Virunga park
Read full article: 6 rangers killed in latest attack at Congo's Virunga parkFILE-In this Aug. 12, 2012 file photo, Park rangers patrol in the Virunga National Park near Rumangabo, some 60 kms (40 miles) north of Goma, eastern Congo. Gunmen have killed at least six rangers Sunday Jan. 10, 2021, in the Virunga National Park, the latest attack in the part of eastern Congo that is home to some of the world's last mountain gorillas, officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay,file)KINSHASA ā Gunmen have killed at least six rangers in Virunga National Park, the latest attack in the part of eastern Congo that is home to some of the world's last mountain gorillas, officials said Sunday. In April 2020, an ambush near the Virunga National Park killed 12 rangers and five civilians, and critically injured several others. More than 200 rangers have been killed since Virunga became a national park in 1925, officials say.
More than 1,300 inmates escape from prison in eastern Congo
Read full article: More than 1,300 inmates escape from prison in eastern CongoU.N peacekeepers soldiers patrol at the entrance of Kangbay prison in Beni, Congo, Tuesday, Oct. 20. 2020, An official in eastern Congo says more than 1,300 inmates have escaped from the central prison in Beni after an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro)BENI ā More than 1,300 inmates have escaped from the central prison of Beni in eastern Congo after an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces, the town's mayor said Tuesday. Mayor Modeste Bakwanamaha told The Associated Press that one inmate had died in the attack on Kangbayi prison. The escape comes three years after another attack on the Kangbayi prison in which about 100 inmates had fled and dozens were killed.
Activist fined for dislodging African art from Paris museum
Read full article: Activist fined for dislodging African art from Paris museumDiyabanza was fined 2,000 euros ($2,320) for trying to take a 19th-century African funeral pole from a Paris museum. He streamed the incident online in a protest against colonial-era injustice like the plundering of African art. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)PARIS ā A Congolese activist was fined 2,000 euros ($2,320) on Wednesday for trying to take a 19th-century African funeral pole from a Paris museum in a protest against colonial-era injustice that he streamed online. In the Quai Branly protest, Diyabanza and other activists dislodged the funeral pole from its perch while he gave a livestreamed speech about plundered African art. The presiding judge insisted the trial should focus on the specific funeral pole incident and that his court wasnāt competent to judge Franceās colonial era.
Nobel peace laureate calls for urgent justice in Congo
Read full article: Nobel peace laureate calls for urgent justice in CongoAnd this peace needs justice, truth and reconciliation.āThe doctor has a groundswell of support in Bukavu where thousands marched Thursday to demand justice and action from Congo's government and the international community. The report detailed mass killings, sexual violence, attacks on children, and other abuses by rebel groups, foreign armies and Congolese armed forces. In August, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi said that he wants the government to combat the abuses and crimes through justice for past and present crimes. International justice coupled with national jurisdiction could be key āto be able to say simply to all criminals: āThatās not accepted. The award was shared with Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who was raped by Islamic State militants in Iraq and has become a global advocate for victims of sexual violence.
UN food chief urges rich to help keep millions from starving
Read full article: UN food chief urges rich to help keep millions from starvingIn this Nov. 14, 2008, file photo, a woman receives a bag of maize meal from the World Food Program in the town of Rutshuru, eastern Congo. The World Food Program chief warned Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, that millions of people are closer to starvation because of the deadly combination of conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic and he urged donor nations and billionaires to help feed them and ensure their survival. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)TANZANIA ā The World Food Program chief warned Thursday that millions of people are closer to starvation because of the deadly combination of conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic and he urged donor nations and billionaires to help feed them and ensure their survival. And in Nigeria and South Sudan, millions more people have become food insecure because of the pandemic, he said. He said WFP needs $4.9 billion to feed 30 million people who will die without the program's assistance for a year.
More than 50 killed at collapsed gold mine in eastern Congo
Read full article: More than 50 killed at collapsed gold mine in eastern CongoPeople gather at the scene of a gold mine collapse near the town of Kamituga, South Kivu province, in eastern Congo Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. More than 50 people are dead after landslides collapsed three artisanal gold mines near the town of Kamituga in eastern Congo's South Kivu province on Friday, officials said. (Jeff Mwenyemali/Maisha RDC via AP)KINSHASA ā More than 50 people are dead after landslides collapsed three artisanal gold mining wells near the city of Kamituga in eastern Congoās South Kivu province on Friday, officials said. āThe diggers and the transporters of the stones were swallowed up by the waters,ā said the Kamituga mayor, Alexandre Bundya. Artisanal mining quarries are often unsafe in eastern Congo and the Kasai region.
Belgium to return tooth to family of slain Congolese icon
Read full article: Belgium to return tooth to family of slain Congolese iconThe family of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba will soon receive the only known remains of the assassinated leader, a tooth removed after his death by a Belgium man whose family apparently held on to it for nearly 60 years, the federal prosecutor's office in Belgium announced on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. (AP Photo, File)BRUSSELS The family of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba will soon receive the only known remains of the assassinated leader, a tooth removed after his death by a Belgium man whose family apparently held on to it for nearly 60 years. If such a test had been done it would have destroyed the tooth itself, he said. A Belgian parliamentary probe later determined that the government was morally responsible for Lumumbas death. However, Belgian authorities say they only have recovered one tooth, which will soon be returned to his family.
Congo marks 60th anniversary of independence from Belgium
Read full article: Congo marks 60th anniversary of independence from BelgiumFILE - In this June 30, 1961 file photo, Congo celebrates the first anniversary of independence from Belgium with a large military parade in Leopoldville, the capital before it was later renamed in 1966 to Kinshasa, in Congo. On Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Congo is marking the 60th anniversary of achieving independence from the colonial rule of Belgium. (AP Photo/Horst Faas, File)KINSHASA Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi vowed to root out the corruption and impunity that has hindered the country since its independence from Belgium as the nation marked its 60th anniversary amid a global reckoning over racial inequality. After independence in 1960, Congo soon fell under the repressive rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled for 32 years. Education, employment, health, infrastructure nothing works because of the poor management and mediocrity of the Congolese political class, Lutunu said.
As protests grow, Belgium faces its racist colonial past
Read full article: As protests grow, Belgium faces its racist colonial pastIn this June 10, 2020, photo, a statue of Belgium's King Leopold II is smeared with paint and graffiti in the center of Brussels. The protests sweeping the world after George Floyd's death in the U.S. have added fuel to a movement to confront Europe's role in the slave trade and its colonial past. On Wednesday, an internet petition to rid the capital, Brussels, of any Leopold statue swept past 70,000 signatures. Leopold ruled Congo as a fiefdom, forcing many of its people into slavery to extract resources for his personal profit. Museum Director Guido Gryseels fully understands the challenges and the sensitivities, especially after a Leopold statue was defaced in the gardens outside the museum last week.