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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 26 april 2024
Congo questions Apple over knowledge of conflict minerals in its

supply chain

By GERALD IMRAY Apple, which has a market
Associated Press value of around $2.6 trillion,
CAPE TOWN, South Africa has denied using miner-
(AP) — Congo ‘s govern- als from mines and regions
ment is questioning Apple where human rights viola-
about the tech company’s tions take place, saying it
knowledge of “blood min- conducts business ethically
erals” from a conflict zone and “responsibly” sources
in the African country that minerals in Congo and
could be smuggled into its neighboring countries.
supply chains and is de- The minerals it buys don’t
manding answers within finance war or armed
three weeks. groups, it says. The lawyers
A group of international for the Congo government
lawyers representing Con- said “those claims do not
go said Thursday that they appear to be based on
sent letters to Apple’s CEO concrete, verifiable evi-
Tim Cook and its French dence.”
subsidiary this week, rais- The Congo government
ing concerns about hu- said it has suspicions that
man rights violations involv- some of the tin, tungsten,
ing the minerals extracted tantalum and gold known
from mines in the country’s as the 3TG critical minerals
troubled east that might that Apple sources from
end up being used in the A Congolese miner sifts through ground rocks to separate out the cassiterite, the main ore that’s suppliers is smuggled out
company’s products. processed into tin, in the town of Nyabibwe, eastern Congo, Aug. 16, 2012. Associated Press of Congo to neighboring
They included a list of ques- Rwanda and then infiltrat-
tions challenging Apple to clear to us that year after ers around the world rely ian disaster, with the armed ed into the global supply
show how it monitors its sup- year, Apple has sold tech- on supply chains that are groups fighting for years chain. The 3TG minerals are
ply chains in a region where nology made with miner- too opaque, and that are for control of the mines key components in elec-
more than 100 armed rebel als sourced from a region tainted by the blood of the and the valuable miner- tronics.
groups operate, some of whose population is being Congolese people,” the als in them, and millions of In response to a request for
whom have been accused devastated by grave viola- lawyers said. people displaced and af- comment, Apple pointed
of carrying out mass killings tions of human rights.” Eastern Congo is one of the fected by the worsening to a section from a com-
of civilians. “The iPhones, Mac com- most mineral-rich regions violence. The situation has pany filing on conflict
Writing to Cook, the law- puters and accessories that in the world but is also the deteriorated badly in the minerals.q
yers said “it has become Apple sells to its custom- site of a huge humanitar- last few months.

EU military officer says a frigate has destroyed a drone launched

from Yemen’s Houthi-held areas

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A in the Red Sea to protect controlled by Houthi rebels Greek for “shields.” take part in any military
top European Union military merchant shipping de- on Thursday morning. He said that it’s the first time strikes. The southern part of
officer said that a frigate stroyed a drone launched Austrian Gen. Robert Brieg- that the EU has launched the Red Sea is deemed a
that’s part of an EU mission from an area in Yemen er, who is chair of the EU’s a naval operation in a high-risk zone.
military committee, said hostile environment that’s Iran-backed Houthi reb-
that it would be crucial for twice the size of the 27-na- els, which control much of
the bloc to “conserve re- tion bloc, calling it a “litmus Yemen’s north and west,
sources” over the long haul test” that the bloc will pass launched a campaign of
because the threat posed successfully. drone and missile attacks
by Houthi attacks “will not The commander of an EU on shipping in the Red Sea
disappear” due to its con- naval mission in the Red in November. They have
nection to the Israel-Hamas Sea, Greek Rear Adm. Vasi- also fired missiles toward Is-
war. “The task given to the lios Gryparis, wants to sig- rael, although those have
military is simply to protect nificantly increase its size to largely fallen short or been
merchant ships and to better defend against pos- intercepted. The attacks
show the public that the sible attacks by Houthi reb- have hit maritime trade
European Union is not will- els based in Yemen. Nine- to Egypt and Europe, with
ing to accept a terrorist or- teen of the 27 EU nations only around half the usual
ganization will interrupt the are involved in the mission, number of ships moving
freedom of movement at but only four frigates are through the area. It’s add-
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU’s Military Committee sea,” Brieger said. patrolling an area twice ed up to two weeks of tran-
talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting Brieger said that he’s asking the size of the bloc. sit time for vessels that want
with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the EU members to provide the The EU mission was estab- to avoid the Suez Canal,
Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April
25, 2024. necessary resources to the lished in February to defend hiking transport costs and

Associated Press EU mission dubbed Aspides civilian vessels and doesn’t shipping insurance.q