Low-cost system will improve communications among industrial machines

An advanced signal transmission tag saves power for wireless systems by efficiently reflecting signals at high frequencies using no battery power, eliminating the need for power-hungry signal transmitters

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Princeton University, Engineering School

 

image: 

The silver tag sends information back to the reader in an experimental setup. The technology is an advanced version of a device that transmits data in a wireless system, commonly known as a tag. The new tag can support data transmission for a large network of devices using a technique called backscattering. This is where a central reader sends a signal to a sensor tag to gather information, and the tag reflects this signal directly back to the reader. This is the first backscatter tag that operates in the subterahertz frequency range. This frequency range makes it possible for the first time to use this technique for for large numbers of devices at once.

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Credit: Princeton University/Sameer A. Khan

Researchers have found a low-power, inexpensive way for large numbers of devices, such as machines in factories and equipment in labs, to share information by efficiently using signals at untapped high frequencies.

The technology could immediately enable low-cost, efficient real-time monitoring in industrial settings, such as tracking the condition of manufacturing robots or detecting gas leaks in refineries, by eliminating the need for power-hungry signal transmitters. The researchers said that with some engineering improvements, the technology could be used for large-scale applications like smart cities and agriculture.

The technology is an advanced version of a device that transmits data in a wireless system, commonly known as a tag. The new tag can support data transmission for a large network of devices using a technique called backscattering. This is where a central reader sends a signal to a sensor tag to gather information, and the tag reflects this ambient signal directly back to the reader. Backscattering is already used in simple systems like smart payment and building entry cards, but until now has only been possible at low frequencies.

The low frequency limit poses a problem when many devices try to communicate at the same time because when more signals are introduced, they are more likely to run into one another and get jumbled up. Conventional backscatter designs also have slow communication speeds, as lower frequency signals have limitations on how much information can travel back and forth at once.

The new tag, developed by researchers at Princeton, Rice University and Brown University, is the first of its kind that can use backscattering in the sub-terahertz range, a high-frequency portion of the radio spectrum. This range can support high-speed data transmission across broad bandwidths. The development means it could be possible to power signal transmission for dense networks of devices using passive tags, saving significant power and infrastructure compared to conventional wireless systems.

“I believe this technology will find applications in many interesting settings,” said Yasaman Ghasempour, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton and the study’s principal investigator. “Despite the conventional wisdom, this paper shows that it is possible to have low-power, scalable communication in the sub-terahertz range.”

The paper was published Oct. 9 in Nature Communications.

Using backscattering at higher frequencies is challenging because the signals are more susceptible to fading as they propagate and must be very precise to travel long distances. “The reader has to form a narrow pencil-shaped beam to shine into the tag’s precise location, and the low-power tag should do the same without consuming any power. That’s the real challenge,” Ghasempour said.

Traditional backscatter tags reflect signals back to their source using simple antennas that typically broadcast the energy in all directions, causing only a portion of the energy to reach back to the reader. While some advanced tags can adjust the direction of their signal, their ability to do so is limited, and they’re restricted to a narrow range of frequencies. Ghasempour said that achieving sub-terahertz backscattering required the team to rethink the entire architecture of the tag. “It wouldn’t work to use the same old hardware design and scale it up,” she said.

To address these limitations, the researchers came up with an entirely new antenna structure. The new antennas allow the direction of the signal to change automatically in response to changes in frequency. By doing this, the tag can steer the signal to enable longer range communication and avoid interference from other signals. In other words, the interference footprint of each tag is limited in spatial and spectral domains.

Ghasempour said she hopes that others will read this paper and find engineering improvements for advanced applications. By implementing a way to amplify signals in the system at low costs, for example, the technology could power sensor networks across cities to monitor air quality or traffic flow.

The tags could be placed on traffic signs to be detected by self-driving cars, as they can use radio waves to convey messages like “stop” or “yield” even when visibility is blocked by fog or snow. In agriculture, the technology could help create expansive networks of soil sensors across fields or forests, providing real-time data on moisture levels or temperature.

Ghasempour said that developing low-power data modulators in these kinds of systems is an active area of research, and that this innovation is a step toward decreasing cost and power consumption for the entire wireless system.

The paper “A frequency-agile retrodirective tag for large-scale sub-terahertz data backscattering” was published Oct. 9 in Nature Communications. Besides Ghasempour, authors include Atsutse Kludze, Junichiro Kono and Daniel M. Mittleman. Support for this research was provided in part by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The first signal-transmission device that can use an efficient data sharing technique called "backscattering" in a relatively untapped high-frequency range. By operating in the subterahertz frequency range, this low-power, inexpensive technology enables large numbers of devices, such as machines in factories and equipment in labs, to share information by efficiently piggybacking off of a singal sent by a central transmitter. This eliminates the need for numerous power-hungry signal transmitters in a wireless system.

Credit

Credit: Princeton University/Sameer A. Khan

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-53035-5 

Article Title

A frequency-agile retrodirective tag for large-scale sub-terahertz data backscattering

 

CDC funds UC San Diego pandemic preparedness study

The CHARM Network will leverage expertise from across the country to help the nation better prepare for respiratory virus outbreaks

University of California - San Diego

 

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The PREVENT project within the CDC-funded CHARM Network will be led by UC San Diego and includes investigators from Scripps Research, San Ysidro Health, and The Global ARC.

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Credit: PREVENT/UC San Diego Health Sciences

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected University of California San Diego as one of three partner institutions to establish a groundbreaking pandemic preparedness initiative, the Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring (CHARM) Network. The new five-year cooperative agreement will help generate information on how respiratory viruses spread and provide insights into factors impacting susceptibility to respiratory illnesses. At UC San Diego, the cooperative agreement supports the $5.7 million project, “PREVENT: Preparedness through Respiratory Virus Epidemiology and Community Engagement” led by Louise Laurent, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a perinatologist at UC San Diego Health. The project will also include investigators at Scripps Research, San Ysidro Health and The Global ARC.

“Responding to COVID-19 was a real challenge, but programs like the CHARM Network can ensure that we are better equipped to handle future pandemics,” said Laurent, whose previous work with the San Diego-wide SEARCH Alliance, the RADx-UP funded CO-CREATE and CO-CREATE-Ex studies, and UC San Diego’s PREPARE Institute has been instrumental in developing strategies for pandemic preparedness and public health management of respiratory infections. “The substantial and varied accomplishments of the PREVENT team will serve as a strong foundation for the initiative, and it’s an honor for UC San Diego to be able to lead this crucial effort.”

CDC’s newly-established CHARM Network will monitor members of the community for infection by and immune response to a variety of respiratory viruses, gathering vital information that can be used to guide public health responses and help the nation better prepare for respiratory virus outbreaks. The CHARM Network will contain three types of research cohorts, or study populations, which will allow researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of respiratory illnesses. Longitudinal cohorts will track how respiratory illnesses spread over a long span of time; immunological assessment cohorts will look closely at how the immune system responds to respiratory viruses; and household transmission cohorts will study the spread of respiratory diseases through individual households. Two additional CHARM sites will be located in Seattle (led by the University of Washington) and the Greater Boston area (including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital).

UC San Diego will participate in all three categories of research cohort, enrolling and retaining about 2,000 individuals and collecting comprehensive data about their health. UC San Diego will also serve as the CHARM Network’s centralized data hub, supporting protocol development and data management, analysis and dissemination. This will include ensuring timely access for public health authorities to results on the incidence of the most common respiratory infections.

More about the partnership

UC San Diego is a leading public research university known for its rigorous research programs and strong community engagement. Scripps Research is a world-renowned research institution with a focus on biomedical sciences and translational research. San Ysidro Health is a non-profit organization committed to providing quality health services to the communities of San Diego County. The Global ARC (Global Action Research Center) is a social change organization that works to connect grassroots organizing to policy makers and researchers.

The transdisciplinary team at UC San Diego has expertise in large-scale COVID-19 clinical testing, viral genomic epidemiology, dissemination and implementation science, data and biospecimen management, and community partnership. UC San Diego investigators bring a wealth of experience from previous projects that have traced the spread of COVID-19 variants within health systems locally, nationally and internationally, and have developed, implemented and refined innovative approaches to increase community access to COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

UC San Diego team members include: Maryann Betty, Carrie Byington, Aaron Carlin, Rebecca Fielding-Miller, Marni Jacobs, Kristen Jepsen, Rob Knight, Niema Moshiri, Borsika Rabin, Marva Seifert, Nicole Stadnick, Ilya Zaslavsky, and Jingjing Zou at UC San Diego; Kristian Andersen and Karthik Gangavarapu at Scripps Research; Jeannette Aldous and Edgar Diaz-Pardo at San Ysidro Health; and Paul Watson at The Global Action Research Center.

The title of the cooperative agreement, awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is “PREVENT: Preparedness through Respiratory Virus Epidemiology and Community Engagement,” (U01IP001238).

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New perspective highlights urgent need for US physician strike regulations

WHITE, BLUE, PINK, NO MATTER THE COLOR OF YOUR COLLAR, WE ARE ALL PROLETARIANS NOW!

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute

Key Takeaways:

• A new Perspective piece in The New England Journal of Medicine led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute examined the increasing frequency of physician strikes around the globe.

• The piece is one of the first to provide international lessons on balancing physician collective bargaining rights with patient protections in the U.S.

• The findings underscore the urgent need for regulatory reforms to address the increasing frequency of physician strikes and ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system.

Boston, MA – A new Perspective published in The New England Journal of Medicine led by researchers from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute calls for urgent regulatory reforms to address the rising trend of physician strikes in the United States. The piece provides a comprehensive analysis of the increasing frequency of physician strikes and offers a framework for U.S. policymakers to learn from international best practices.

The piece was led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and co-authored by a collaborator from Harvard Law School.

The paper, “Striking a Balance — Advancing Physician Collective-Bargaining Rights and Patient Protections,” appears in the January 11 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Over the past two years, there have been significant physician strikes around the globe, including three physician strikes in the U.S. in the last year, with potentially more strikes anticipated in the coming years. Concerns about higher workload, lower compensation, and increased financial pressures have contributed to the rise in unionization among medical residents, fellows, and attending physicians.

The Perspective documents the significant rise in physician strikes globally, citing notable examples from South Korea, France, and the U.K.  "Physician strikes are a growing reality that we can no longer ignore,” said lead author Tarun Ramesh, research fellow at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. “We examined the impacts of these strikes on healthcare delivery and patient outcomes with the goal of finding potential solutions that, if implemented, can support all sides during times of unrest."

To address the challenges posed by physician strikes, the authors propose several actionable solutions:

• Address Regulatory Gaps: Despite the growing risk of strikes, the U.S. lacks comprehensive regulations to manage them. Policies mandating minimum staffing levels during strikes are critical to ensuring patient safety, as demonstrated by successful models from countries like France and Italy.
• Reduce Legal Challenges: Current U.S. labor laws exclude many physicians from unionizing. Modernizing these laws can empower more physicians to negotiate better working conditions without compromising patient care.
• Prevent Punitive Actions: Protecting striking physicians from punitive actions to align with International Labor Organization guidelines can protect employee–employer relations, public confidence in the medical system, and physicians’ working conditions.
• Engage Stakeholders: Involve key stakeholders such as hospitals, healthcare systems, the American Medical Association, and State Medical Boards in developing and implementing these policies.

“Our findings underscore the urgent need for regulatory reforms to balance the rights of physicians with the imperative of patient safety," said Hao Yu, senior author and Harvard Medical School associate professor of population medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. "By learning from international examples, we can develop policies that protect both healthcare providers and patients."

“Striking a Balance — Advancing Physician Collective-Bargaining Rights and Patient Protections,” Tarun Ramesh, Carmel Shachar, Hao Yu, N Engl J Med, January 11, 2025, doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2411647.

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The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute's Department of Population Medicine is a unique collaboration between Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School. Created in 1992, it is the first appointing medical school department in the United States based in a health plan. The Institute focuses on improving health care delivery and population health through innovative research and education, in partnership with health plans, delivery systems, and public health agencies. Follow us on Bluesky, X , and LinkedIn.

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Journal

New England Journal of Medicine

DOI

10.1056/NEJMp2411647 

Article Title

Striking a Balance — Advancing Physician Collective-Bargaining Rights and Patient Protections

Article Publication Date

11-Jan-2025

Thousands rally in Austria as far-right Freedom Party eyes power

Up to 50,000 people demonstrated across Austria on Thursday against the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) as it begins coalition talks to form a new government.

People in Vienna hold up their cell phones during a protest on 9 January against Austria's far-right Freedom Party. © Denes Erdos / AP

By:RFI
10/01/2025 -

The FPOe won parliamentary elections in September for the first time ever, with almost 29 percent of the vote.

While other parties initially refused to form a cabinet with the FPOe, the conservative People's Party (OeVP) reversed its position this week and agreed to negotiations.

The talks begin Friday, with the FPOe holding a strong bargaining position.



Fears for democracy

In Vienna, thousands gathered late Thursday to oppose the potential coalition. Protesters held signs reading "Fight fascism" and "Nazis out".

Authorities estimated the crowd at 25,000, while organisers said it was closer to 50,000. Some demonstrators formed a human chain around the chancellery and shone their mobile phone lights at the building.

"I find it very dangerous to see that right-wing extremism has reached the centre of our society," retiree Veronika told RFI, adding she worried about the normalisation of the far right.

"Nobody is ashamed anymore, people get used to it so quickly. I'm afraid for our democracy, I don't want things to turn out like they did in Hungary."

Hungary’s populist leader Viktor Orban has been criticised for rolling back democratic freedoms and aligning with Russia.

EU launches punitive measures against Hungary over 'anti-democratic' laws

The far right has been a member of Austria's government several times but has never led the country’s nine million inhabitants.

Student Ines is horrified by such a prospect.

"I believe many individual freedoms are under threat. It's the case for people from the LGBTQ+ community, for anyone from an immigrant background, for women, but also for all disadvantaged social groups," she said.

Racism towards black people is growing in Europe, report finds

Others underlined the radicality of FPOe leader Herbert Kickl, who has tapped into voter anxieties over migration, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic.

"Kickl spoke of keeping refugees in centres in a 'concentrated' way – it brings back one of the most terrible chapters in our history," said Felix, another demonstrator.

"Someone who is prepared to polarise and provoke using words like that is prepared to do a lot of things."

The rallies, which also took place in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Graz, were called by more than 30 organisations including anti-racism groups and Greenpeace.

The far right has had a strong presence in Austrian politics since the 1980s. In 2000, the FPOe, under Joerg Haider, joined a coalition government – a first in the European Union.

Today the party leads one regional government and participates in four others.

Protected areas offer hope for Africa's vanishing forests and wildlife

Africa is home to 13 percent of the world’s biodiversity and 20 percent of its forests, making it a crucial player in global environmental health. However, deforestation, driven primarily by agriculture, continues to threaten these vital ecosystems.

A group of zebras in the Akagera National Park in Rwanda. guenterguni/Getty Images

By: RFI

11/01/2025 

Forests act as the planet's lungs and are unique havens for biodiversity. But Africa lost nearly 4 million hectares of forest in the last decade, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned.

Agriculture remains the biggest threat to forest conservation, as communities clear land to feed growing populations. Other pressures come from urban development, mining and logging.

Preserving forests while meeting the needs of local populations is a challenge.

Family farming provides two-thirds of the continent's jobs. But, faced with soil degradation and a growing population to feed, agricultural land is gradually eroding forests hectare by hectare.

Protected areas

Protected areas are one solution. Africa already has more than 9,300 protected zones, covering nearly 15 percent of the continent’s surface.

The global goal is to expand this to 30 percent. Yet many of these areas lack funding, skilled staff, and effective governance.

Alternative management models are proving successful, such as community-based initiatives that involve local populations.

Public-private partnerships between governments and conservation groups are emerging as an effective solution.

Scientists found 127 such partnerships across 16 countries rich in biodiversity, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

Zambia leads solar shift amid southern Africa's hydroelectric drought

Research shows these partnerships cut deforestation by 55 percent in protected areas.

Rwanda's Akagera National Park demonstrates this success. The park had lost much of its wildlife in the late 1990s but has since recovered.

"The park is now managed by a South African NGO, African Parks Networks," said Sébastien Desbureaux, environmental economics researcher at INRAE in France.

"This has succeeded in strengthening management and implementing significant ecotourism since the mid-2000s. So much so that today, the park is financially self-sufficient thanks to tourism revenue, and its wildlife population has really recovered, reaching record numbers."

Scientists say developing alternative income sources to agriculture could help reduce pressure on natural environments while supporting local communities.

This story was adapted from the original article reported in French by RFI's climate journalist Jeanne Richard.

China courts African allies as tensions with Europe, US deepen

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is on a week-long trip to visit four countries in Africa, at a time of growing tensions between Beijing and the European Union, and an uncertain future for China-US relations on the eve of the second Trump presidency.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. REUTERS - Willy Kurniawan

By:J an van der Made

RFI

10/01/2025 -

Maintaining a 35-year tradition which sees China's top diplomat visit Africa on the first overseas trip of the year, Wang Yi – who is also a member of the all-powerful Standing Committee of China's Communist Party – will this week visit Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.

"This is a pillar of the relationship between China and Africa," said Eric Olander, CEO of the China-Global South Project, an NGO which monitors China's relations with the African continent. "It is surprising that other countries like the United States, France, the UK, and others have not emulated this tradition, because it's so easy and it is so effective."

Currently, China is at loggerheads with the European Union. After Brussels imposed high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Beijing took measures to restrict the activities of foreign car makers in China, hitting EU car giants such as Volkswagen, which have massive joint-venture operations in the country.

Beijing accuses EU of slapping unfair restrictions on Chinese firms

US tariffs

Beijing is also anxiously awaiting the upcoming second US presidency of Donald Trump.

The US has imposed 100 percent tariffs on some Chinese products, while Trump fulminates against US companies that have outsourced their operations to the country, criticising the massive China-US trade deficit and claiming repeatedly that China is "ripping off" the US.

African relations may help ease China's worries. "China's relationship with Nigeria is pivotal," says Olander. The latter competes with South Africa for the position of Africa's biggest economy.

"Nigeria is a 200 million plus super-market, like Brazil and Indonesia," Olander added. "They are going to be increasingly important for China as they get shut out of the US and Europe, as well as Japan and the G7 markets."
Nuclear energy

Namibia too is interesting for China, as a source of uranium, which is essential to feeding China's growing nuclear energy industry.

"China has made climate commitments, and it is going to be very difficult for them to meet those without nuclear energy," explained Olander.

Beijing's Africa trips, however, are primarily based on continental geography, rather than targeting specific countries.

"If they went to the east last time, they will focus more on the west this time. There is always the idea to have a mix of large and small countries. They also make sure that they visit as many countries as possible over the course of the years. Chad hasn't come up before, so they went there," Olander told RFI.

The Chinese went in there and said 'listen, we are not telling you what to do, we just want to make sure that our investments are stable.'

The Chinese went in there and said 'listen, we are not telling you what to do, we just want to make sure that our investments are stable.'

02:20

REMARKS by Eric Olander

Jan van der Made

Political support

Political support

While the focus is off the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative – a Chinese infrastructure project that aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through land and sea routes – due to China's internal economic problems, over the past 10 years Beijing has looked more to Africa for political support, according to Olander.

"Africa, more than any other region in the world, votes as a bloc in the United Nations," he said. "African countries have been very enthusiastic supporters of China's new alternative international governance architecture, the Global Civilization Initiative, the Global Defence Initiative and the Global Development Initiative."

In addition, most African countries support China in major international forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council. They have signed up alongside China on sensitive issues including the autonomous region of Xinjiang and disputes over the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet.

Mutual interest

"It is consistency, building up a long-term relationship, which is what the Chinese have always insisted on," said Michael Dillon, a history professor affiliated with the Lau China Institute at King's College London.

"The Africans don't like people who come in and make promises and then go out again. They want people who are prepared to take the rough with the smooth and to accept that a long-term relationship is the only way of developing mutual interest."

This is in contrast to the old model under colonial powers such as the UK and France. Wang's visit includes former French colonies the Republic of Congo and Chad, with the Chinese targeting countries where they perceive the West is pulling out.

China-Africa trade takeover 2000-2020. © Screengrab Statista

"France is having particular difficulty maintaining a presence" in Africa, said Dillon. "It is moving its military out of Chad. And [China is] looking to be targeting the Francophone African areas, and they will want to be able to push out European sales."Chad orders French troops to leave within six weeks as relations sour

But China will not send its troops to Africa, unless it is under the auspices of the UN. During his visit, Wang Yi announced military aid to Nigeria, but this will not involve sending troops.

"You will never see Chinese troops replace French or American troops in the Sahel," said Olander. "But first and foremost, we can expect a pretty robust diplomatic presence and engagement, the continuation of Chinese financial engagement with many of the West African countries."

Chinese military aid to Africa

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, 9 January pledged Beijing's full support and military aid for the world's poorest continent, as he wrapped up his Africa tour in Nigeria.

He pledged one billion yuan (€132 million) in military aid to Africa, and said China would help train 6,000 troops and 1,000 police officers across the continent. "China supports Nigeria in rallying countries in the region to achieve strength through unity, to build synergy through reconciliation, and to promote security through cooperation," Wang said on Thursday. On Wednesday, he visited the Chadian capital N'Djamena just hours before two dozen armed assailants tried to storm the presidential palace in a failed bid that left 20 people dead.

(AFP)

Beijing deftly handled the political transition in Guinea and Niger, while Western powers had issues with the new governments.

According to Olander: "The Chinese went in there and they said, we're not interested in telling you what to do. We just want to make sure that our investments stay stable, and also that Chinese nationals in the country are not targeted for attack.

"And for the most part, the different junta leaders across the Sahel said, if you stay out of our business, we'll stay out of yours. And that's what's happened. And it allowed the Chinese a certain level of continuity in the Sahel that the Europeans and the Americans have not had."
Disruption versus stability

Meanwhile, Russian influence has been growing in several African countries from which Western – predominantly French – forces are departing, with Russian state-funded private military company the Wagner Group taking a prominent position in their place.

But Western fears about a possible association between Russia and China in Africa are misplaced, according to Olander.

This undated photograph handed out by French military shows Russian mercenaries boarding a helicopter in northern Mali. Russia has engaged in under-the-radar military operations in at least half a dozen countries in Africa in the last five years, using a mercenary force analysts say is loyal to Vladimir Putin. AP

"In many respects Russia is a disruptive power in Africa and elsewhere," he said. "That does not benefit the Chinese in places like Africa. China prefers stability. China wants to do business and trade."

"China does support Russia when it comes to challenging the Western-led international system," Olander said, adding that Chinese interests are not served by the disruption caused by the Wagner Group or by Russian disinformation campaigns.

"Russia's presence in Africa is quite minimal. Their main exports are oil and minerals. You're not going to sell oil and minerals to Africa. Russia wants to sell nuclear power stations, weapons, but for the most part, Russian economic engagement is a mere fraction of [that of] the Chinese."

Rebels tighten grip on Congo mineral wealth as UN warns of long-term control

M23 rebels are establishing control over key mineral-rich territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United Nations experts have warned.

The United Nations accuses M23 rebels of setting up shadow administrations in eastern Congo to explot strategic mines and trade routes. 

© GLody Murhabazi / AFP

By: RFI

09/01/2025 - 

The Tutsi-led rebels, active in North and South Kivu provinces, have seized key towns since April 2024 – allegedly with support from Rwandan forces, though Kigali denies involvement and says it is committed to a ceasefire and peace talks.

A report by the UN Security Council's Group of Experts accuses M23 of setting up shadow administrations to explot strategic mines and trade routes.

"This constitutes the most important contamination of supply chains with ineligible minerals recorded in the Great Lakes region over the last decade," they said in their report, released Wednesday.

The rebels are also accused of using forced labour to expand roads, and patrolling mining areas to make sure minerals were only sold to authorised Congolese and Rwandan traders.

The UN said M23 was financing its operations by exporting minerals from areas under its control, including coltan, a resource used in electronics like smartphones and computers.

It added that M23 had created a "mining ministry" to oversee coltan exports from Rubaya, home to one of the world’s largest deposits of the mineral.

"In this way, the militants collected at least $800,000 per month in taxes on coltan production and trade in Rubaya", the report said.

The ongoing territorial expansion has continued despite agreed ceasefires, suggesting M23's true aim is long-term occupation and exploitation of conquered areas, the UN experts added.

Macron urges Rwanda to end support for DRC M23 rebels, withdraw troops

A global issue

The UN report highlights concerns about how M23’s actions could affect global electronics manufacturers, which face pressure to ensure conflict-free supply chains.

Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain.

Apple disputes the claims, saying it requires its suppliers to avoid sourcing from the region.

Conflict-mineral laws in the US and EU require companies to trace the origins of minerals from regions like eastern Congo. However, a 2022 Global Witness report said such regulations have failed to stop irregular trade.

Meanwhile the renewed violence has displaced more than 100,000 people in North Kivu since early 2025, reaching levels not seen in over a decade. This adds to the millions already displaced since M23’s resurgence in 2021.

DRC case against Apple brings new hope in conflict minerals crisis

Protests

Meanwhile, several hundred people demonstrated in Bukavu, South Kivu, on Wednesday to protest illegal mining in the country's east, where authorities are investigating claims of widespread illicit Chinese involvement.

The gathering followed the announcement on Sunday of the arrest of three Chinese nationals found in possession of gold bars and large sums of cash, according to South Kivu Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi.

Local authorities in the resource-rich province say hundreds of mining companies, mainly Chinese, extract gold without declaring profits and often without valid operating permits.

"South Kivu minerals should serve the development and well-being of communities," read one banner held aloft at the demonstration, called by pro-democracy movements and unions.

(with newswires)

Military drones deployed as Nigeria loses billions to oil theft gangs

Nigeria is ramping up its battle against oil theft in the Niger Delta, aiming to boost national production to 3 million barrels per day and address energy insecurity.

An abandoned illegal refinery in Bayelsa, Nigeria. Some 200,000 barrels per day are siphoned off pipelines across the Niger Delta region. © AP/Sunday Alamb

By: Zeenat Hansrod

RFI

09/01/2025 

Oil exports make up 80 percent of Nigeria’s revenue, with current production at 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), placing the country among the world's largest oil producers.

The Niger Delta, where most of the country’s oil is extracted, has long been a hotspot for illegal refineries and theft, costing Nigeria millions each month.

Chief of defence staff General Christopher Musa said security forces have been relying on technology, in land and air operations, to monitor and protect the region.

“We have drones and helicopters that fly [over], [and] patrols that go on water,” Musa said.

The government has also been tackling illegal operations that, in 2022, cost an estimated $23 million per day, according to Nigeria's Senate. Losses continued into 2023, with $1.43 billion reported in the first quarter alone.

The country suffers frequent blackouts due to load shedding – the interruption of the electricity supply to avoid excessive load on its electricity plants.

"We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria... We must increase electricity generation and distribution throughout the country," President Bola Tinubu said in June 2024.

"As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5 gigawatts of electricity."
Institutional criminality

“The issue of theft would have been far more successfully tackled decades ago, had so many people not been profiting from it," said Jon Marks, editorial director of energy consultancy and news service African Energy.

He told RFI that criminality has become embedded in Nigeria's regional and national politics, as well as its business world.

“Oil theft has become institutionalised, with gangs tapping into pipes and often exporting via small ships that offload to bigger ships. This has been achieved by local gangs becoming very powerful, but even more so by the connivance of local politicians and the military – who, in turn, have become very rich."

He believes that nothing much has changed since a 2013 report by think tank Chatham House, carried out under Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, which concluded that no concerted action against illegal oil operations could be expected soon.
Change within the military

“The big potential change under Tinubu – who desperately needs more formal revenue for an ailing economy – comes with changes within the army. He has appointed new top brass, more in tune with his thinking and factional alliances," added Marks.

In June 2023, following a meeting with Tinubu, Asari Dokubo, Ijaw leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, declared that: "The military is at the centre of oil theft in Nigeria."

Prominent Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and a member of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, has also chimed in, saying that the government should be able to tell Nigerians who is stealing the country’s crude oil. “Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels into our territorial waters, and we don’t know?"
Foreign interference

According to Marks, the authorities may be “looking the other way” because they are in on the deal. He also claims that the Russians too have become involved in the oil theft business.

“By providing more ships, the Russian shadow fleet and other players – who use unregistered carriers – transport illegally obtained crude oil offshore where bigger ships wait to pick it up,” he said.

Any action taken by Tinubu and the military chiefs he has recently appointed may be limited, Marks argued, by their concern not to upset existing power balances within Nigeria, where powerful factions would suffer from any disturbance to the oil theft business, and other sectors where reform is vital.

Mayotte crisis

Aid flows from French cities to Mayotte a month after devastating cyclone

Communities from Mayotte and the Comoros living in France are rallying to send aid to the Indian Ocean archipelago devastated by Cyclone Chido. Donations are pouring in from cities such as Marseille, home to France’s largest Comorian community, and nearby Toulon.

A woman holds a placard reading "We are with you Mahoran brothers and sisters" during a rally in support of the victims of Cyclone Chido, in Marseille on December 21. 

© AFP - TEA ZIADE

By: RFI

 10/01/2025 -

One month ago, Cyclone Chido wreaked havoc on the French overseas territory of Mayotte, with 39 people confirmed dead and more than 5,000 injured in the most devastating cyclone to hit the island in 90 years.

Thousands of families were left homeless after high winds flattened the shanty towns where between 100,000 and 200,000 of the population of 300,000 lived – among them many undocumented migrants from neighbouring Comoros.

On Monday, volunteers in Marseille and Toulon were busy preparing donations to ship to Mayotte.

“We’re heading toward Toulon. We’re going to pick up food supplies,” said Naer Abdallah from the Ambre organisation.


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“We’re currently loading water and milk. After that, we’ll load other food items like pasta, rice, canned goods and couscous.”

Cyclone-hit Mayotte reopens airport but displaced families remain in limbo

French PM Bayrou unveils ‘Mayotte standing’ reconstruction plan

With one truck already packed with more than 60 large boxes, Abdou Ouirdani, president of the Mahoran union of Toulon, said they were looking for a second truck to transport the remaining supplies.

"We're going to try to find a second truck to fit everything in. We have a lot of food, a lot of clothing, but there's everything, really. Toys, hygiene products, toothpaste… you name it," Ouirdani said.

Donations have been steadily arriving in Toulon for weeks. Kassim, a volunteer, said the aid will continue for as long as necessary.

“The crisis won’t end today. If we need to organise donations once a month, we will. Mayotte’s reconstruction won’t happen overnight.”

At a warehouse in Marseille, volunteers are taking stock of the collected items.

“We have almost seven to eight tonnes of food, along with clothing and medical supplies,” Abdallah said.

The latest shipment of donations from Marseille and Toulon is set to leave for Mayotte on 24 January.

Los Angeles residents exposed to increased health risks due to wildfires

Issued on: 10/01/2025 - 

Video by:

Vedika BAHL

Los Angeles authorities urged people to stay inside on Thursday, as health experts worry that the massive wildfires burning around Los Angeles could cause significant health risks due to the "alarming" air quality and skyrocketing quantity of noxious particles.

WORSE THAN LOOTERS

Los Angeles fire evacuees face price gouging

Santa Monica (United States) (AFP) – Five days after an inferno razed Pacific Palisades, Maya Lieberman is desperate to find somewhere to live. But unscrupulous landlords who are jacking up prices are making it hard.

Issued on: 12/01/2025 -

A man waters the front of his house as smoke and flames from the Palisades Fire burn toward the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles 

© AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP

"The price gouging is going haywire, it's obscene," the 50-year-old stylist told AFP.

"I can't find anywhere for us to go."

Huge fires that have torn through Los Angeles since Tuesday have levelled whole neighborhoods, turning swathes of the city to ash.

More than 150,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as authorities try to keep down a death toll that has already reached 16.

One blaze devastated Pacific Palisades, an upmarket enclave that was home to celebrities like Billy Crystal and Kate Beckinsale, which -- until this week -- was some of the most desirable real estate in the United States.

With the area now under a compulsory evacuation order, even those whose homes survived the inferno need to go elsewhere for the forseeable future.

Burned-out beachfront homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire are seen along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California 

© VALERIE MACON / AFP

The higher-than-average incomes of people forced to leave homes there appears to have tempted chancers, who see the opportunity to make money from others' misery.

"We put in an application at a house... that was listed at $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn't pay $30,000, we weren't going to get it," Lieberman said.

"They told me they have people ready to offer more and pay cash. It's absolutely insane."
Illegal

Similar stories of apparent price gouging abound.

"I have friends who booked a hotel outside Los Angeles, and when they arrived there, they were asked for a higher price," said TV producer Alex Smith, who has been forced to leave his home.

Fires have destroyed entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California 

© Cecilia SANCHEZ / AFP

The sharp practice has drawn the ire of California's Attorney General Rob Bonta, who warned Saturday there are laws against it.

"Price gouging is illegal. We will not stand for it. We will hold you accountable. We will prosecute," he told reporters, adding those found guilty could land themselves a year in jail.

Once a state of emergency is declared -- as it has been for the out-of-control fires -- vendors cannot increase their prices by more than 10 percent.

That applies to small businesses as well as to mega companies whose automated tools use supply and demand to set the cost of everything from hotel stays to concert tickets.

"If those algorithms lead to prices higher after the declaration of emergency than before, by more than 10 percent, you're violating the law," he said.

"You need to figure out how to adjust your prices consistent with the law. And if that means departing from your algorithm, depart from your algorithm."

For Brian, a retiree who has been sleeping in his car since the evacuation order was raised, the short term rules protecting against price gouging are almost beside the point.

The 69-year-old, who did not want to give his full name, has been living in a rent-controlled studio apartment in Pacific Palisades for two decades.

Firefighters work to put out flames behind a home in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles 

© AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP

That has now gone, along with it the guarantee that his rent cannot rise.

His pension, he fears, will not stretch far in a city where rents have doubled in the last 10 years -- a problem likely to be exacerbated by the sudden rush of people needing somewhere new to live.

"I'm back on the market with tens of thousands of people," he said.

"That doesn't bode well."

© 2025 AFP