Amazon and Sony among firms that may have sourced coltan, used in phones, from supply chains controlled by the M23 rebels, says Global Witness

Leading global brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony are “likely” to have sourced minerals linked to a militia accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture, a new investigation claims.

The companies allegedly, but unknowingly, acquired coltan smuggled from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are occupied by the M23 militia, which has committed myriad atrocities in eastern DRC.

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© Photograph: Camille Laffont/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Camille Laffont/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Camille Laffont/AFP/Getty Images

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predict

Central Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases to more than 20,000. In the west Africa outbreak, more than 28,000 cases were reported.

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© Photograph: Glody Murhabazi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Glody Murhabazi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Glody Murhabazi/AFP/Getty Images

Islamic State-linked militia blamed for raids in North Kivu as governor says three patients with disease fled clinics

Rebel attacks around a town that is one of the centres of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have left more than 30 people dead over the past few days, complicating the response to the disease.

At least 10 people were massacred in raids on three villages around the city of Beni, in North Kivu, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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© Photograph: Seros Muyisa/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Seros Muyisa/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Seros Muyisa/AFP/Getty Images

To effectively combat disease outbreaks like Ebola, it is necessary to strengthen and expand local health systems, rather than rely on temporary and often ineffective measures from foreign organizations. The Associated Press (AP) reported on May 26 that the ongoing outbreak had infected around 1000 people in both the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) […]