Tag: Democratic Republic of Congo

WHO says DRC Ebola outbreak not a ‘global’ emergency

By Ben Simon Agence France-Presse GENEVA, SWITZERLAND —  (AFP) The World Health Organization said Friday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not qualify as an international threat, despite the spread of the virus to neighbouring Uganda carried by an infected family. The closely-watched decision followed advice from WHO’s emergency committee, which only meets to review the world’s most severe outbreaks. The head of the UN health agency Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is in […]

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UN hits out at surge in extra-judicial ‘executions’ in DR Congo

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday reported a surge in summary “executions” in the country, notably in the southern Kasai region. In 2017, “state agents” carried out 1,176 extra-judicial killings, “including at least 89 women and 213 children,” the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said in an annual report on human rights violations in the DRC. Such killings have tripled over the past two years, […]

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Haley rushed out of UN camp as South Sudan protesters turn up

JUBA, South Sudan (AFP) – (Eagle News) – US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Wednesday was quickly escorted out of a UN camp she was visiting in South Sudan when protesters angry with President Salva Kiir turned up, officials said. Haley, the most senior US administration official to visit Africa, was in Juba to meet with South Sudanese civilians affected by the nearly four-year war and has traveled on to Kinshasa as part […]

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Up to 250 feared dead in DRCongo mudslide

by Marthe Bosuandole Agence France-Presse BUNIA, DR Congo – As many as 250 people are feared dead after a massive mudslide swept over a fishing village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the government came under fire for its slow response. The search for survivors has been called off after last week’s disaster, which devastated Tara, a fishing village on the shores of Lake Albert on the country’s northeastern border with Uganda. Pacifique Keta, deputy head of […]

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US orders families of govt personnel to leave DR Congo

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday ordered families of government personnel stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo to leave amid fears about escalating violence, the State Department said. “The potential for civil unrest is high in parts of Kinshasa and other major cities,” it said, referring to the country’s capital in a statement. “As a result of the deteriorating security situation, family members of US government personnel have been ordered […]

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UN warns ‘large-scale crisis’ possible in DR Congo

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – by Bienvenu-Marie BAKUMANYA The UN rights chief on Thursday said DR Congo had used “excessive force” during deadly clashes with demonstrators in the capital and called on Kinshasa to reach out to the opposition to avert a “large-scale crisis” “The authorities need to pull back from their extremely confrontational position and build bridges with the opposition,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement issued in Geneva in the wake of […]

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Several killed in second day of DR Congo unrest

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – by Marthe BOSUANDOLE Several people died in a second day of violence in DR Congo Tuesday, with three opposition HQ buildings torched in fresh clashes between police and opponents of President Joseph Kabila. The violence came after a bloody day on Monday during which opposition groups said more than 50 people had died in protests calling for Kabila’s resignation. The national secretary of the main opposition group blamed a “commando” […]

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DR Congo bans opposition rally after two policemen killed

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – by Marthe BOSUANDOLE DR Congo authorities banned a huge opposition demonstration on Monday after two policemen died in clashes with protesters calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down. Police had fired tear gas earlier to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing opposition supporters in Kinshasa, as they tried to march on parliament ahead of a planned mass demo to demand that Kabila quit power when his mandate runs out in December. […]

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World’s largest gorillas ‘one step from going extinct’

by Kerry SHERIDAN HONOLULU, United States (AFP) — The world’s largest gorillas have been pushed to the brink of extinction by a surge of illegal hunting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and are now critically endangered, officials said Sunday. With just 5,000 Eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) left on Earth, the majestic species now faces the risk of disappearing completely, officials said at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s global conference in Honolulu. Four […]

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Study sounds alarm for slow-breeding forest elephants

PARIS, France (AFP) — Even without poachers, Central Africa’s forest elephants would need almost a century to get their numbers back up to 2002 levels, said a study Wednesday that pried into the elusive creatures’ slow-breeding ways. The population had been decimated by illegal hunting, with an estimated 65 percent decline between 2002 and 2013, said researchers. Roaming the tropical forests of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo, the tusker sub-species […]

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Fraught DR Congo faces national strike over election row

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – by Bienvenu-Marie BAKUMANYA The tense DR Congo faces a nationwide shutdown Tuesday after the country’s main opposition alliance refused to join talks with President Joseph Kabila’s government in a stormy row over delayed presidential elections. The fractured opposition recently came together in a new coalition — “Rassemblement” (Gathering) — headed by veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi to demand Kabila end his 15-year rule and step down when his mandate expires on […]

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NBA: Cavs’ Jones gets one-game ban for hit on Biyombo

NEW YORK , United States (AFP) — Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dahntay Jones was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Sunday for striking Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo in the groin. The incident happened with 17.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 99-84 Toronto home victory over the Cavaliers, which snapped Cleveland’s 10-game win streak to open the playoffs. The Cavaliers still have a 2-1 lead over the Raptors in the […]

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