Hostility between Rwanda, Congo persists as the two cancel talks to end a conflict in eastern DRC
M23 is one of about 200 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
Syrian Christians attend Sunday services in test of Islamist rulers’ promise to protect minorities
In the coastal city of Latakia, long an Assad stronghold, Lina Akhras, a parish council secretary at the St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, said on Sunday that Christians had been “comfortable” under his rule in terms of freedom of belief but that they just wanted to live in peace and harmony.
At least 11 dead in French territory of Mayotte as Cyclone Chido causes devastating damage
Chido brought winds in excess of 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, ripping metal roofs off houses and destroying many small structures in Mayotte, which has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 800 kilometres (500 miles) off Africa’s east coast.
Forced out of school by war some 17m Sudanese children currently rely on aid groups for succour
International aid groups and UN agencies are providing some education assistance in parts of the country where there has been less fighting. And schools have also reopened in some areas that are fully controlled by the army-aligned government.
South Korea’s Acting President Han holds talks with US President Biden, calms financial markets
South Korean shares rose for a fourth straight session on Friday on hopes that the political uncertainty would ease after the impeachment vote in parliament, which followed a failed vote a week earlier.
Study by scientists at Chinese university finds widely used insecticide harms maize soil health
Locomotion behaviour, due to basic nervous system functions, for nematodes is assessed through three actions, body bends, head thrashes and pharyngeal pumping. After 24 hours of exposure to imidacloprid, the researchers noted that the frequencies of all three behaviours were suppressed, confirming neurotoxicity to nematode species.
Fierce fighting intensifies between national army and rebels in eastern Congo ahead of peace talks
M23 is one of about 200 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
Police in Brazil turn to forensic technology aids to crack down on illicit Amazon gold trade
Once dominated by prospectors with gold pans, artisanal mining in Brazil has become an industrial-scale activity with heavy excavating machinery and million-dollar river dredgers. Criminal organisations fly people, equipment and gold into and out of the region with helicopters and planes that land at clandestine airstrips.
