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Musings From Abroad

US President Biden to visit Germany, Angola next month

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The White House announced on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden will make his first trip to Africa as president, visiting Germany and Angola from October 10 to 15.

According to the White House, Biden’s first destination will be Germany, where he will thank the country for helping Ukraine’s defence against Russia, among other things.

Biden is scheduled to meet with President Joao Lourenco from October 13–15 while in Angola. According to the White House, the two presidents will talk about stepping up their cooperation on common goals, which include strengthening economic connections and advancing peace and security.

Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out in October of last year, Biden’s intended visit to Angola was cancelled. As Beijing makes significant investments on the African continent, Biden has committed to strengthening US ties with democratic nations there.

According to President Biden, the key to realising the potential of this pivotal decade is for the United States to work in partnership with African leaders as well as leaders from civil society, business, the diaspora, women, and youth.

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Musings From Abroad

US CDC issues second-highest Marburg travel advisory for Rwanda

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As a result of the Marburg disease epidemic in Rwanda, the United States government has announced that its agency will be issuing its second-highest level of travel advisory, advising citizens to avoid unnecessary travel. Rwanda is located in East Africa.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC will begin screening visitors who have visited Rwanda within the last 21 days before they enter the country.

The organisation advised travellers to Rwanda to take extra care when they visited the nation last week when it released its “level 2” travel advisory.

Since the first epidemic of the Ebola-like illness in Rwanda was discovered in late September, 46 cases and 12 fatalities have been documented. The death rate in Marburg might reach 88%.

Fruit bats carry the virus, which subsequently spreads to people who come into touch with the bodily fluids of infected people.

Rwanda has started to distribute vaccination doses against the virus, giving priority to those who are most at risk, healthcare staff who are most exposed, and those who have close contact with confirmed cases.

The first known outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever in Rwanda was discovered in late September; to yet, 36 cases and 11 fatalities have been reported. The death rate in Marburg might reach 88%.

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Musings From Abroad

US ‘conflict minerals by disclosure rule’ has not lessened Congo bloodshed, monitor claims

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In a study released on Monday, a United States congressional watchdog stated that it had not discovered any proof that the conflict minerals disclosure rule implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2012 had lessened bloodshed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office study, armed factions are still engaged in conflict over control of gold mines located in the country’s east.

 

It said that the regulation, which mandates that certain businesses disclose how they utilise gold, tungsten, tantalum, and tin, has probably had little impact on the bordering nations.

 

 

“GAO found no empirical evidence that the rule has decreased the occurrence or level of violence in the eastern DRC, where many mines and armed groups are located,” the report said.

 

 

“GAO also found the rule was associated with a spread of violence, particularly around informal, small-scale gold mining sites,” it said, adding that gold is the most difficult to trace, and easiest to smuggle, of the four minerals covered by the rule.

 

The top producer of tantalum in the world is Congo; both the US and the EU view it as a vital material.

 

The report further stated that “the SEC disagreed with some of GAO’s findings and raised concerns about some of its methodology and analyses.” According to the GAO, some of its modifications had no appreciable impact on its conclusions.

 

 

“As the agency noted in comments shared with GAO, SEC staff has serious concerns about the report, including that it makes assertions and reaches conclusions that rest on several erroneous factual assumptions, draws causal inferences that are not supported by GAO’s statistical analyses, and deviates significantly from the GAO’s previously issued reports,” the SEC said.

 

 

“GAO had not shared its final report with the SEC until today, so staff is reviewing it to determine if and how GAO addressed the SEC’s concerns,” it added.

Last year, GAO said that some U.S. companies buying minerals from Congo and its neighbours were failing to meet disclosure requirements.

 

The UN Security Council was informed on September 30 by Bintou Keita, the head of the U.N. mission in Congo, that M23 rebels in the east are making $300,000 a month in a zone they have taken over for coltan mining.

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