Thousands of Guinean opposition supporters gather in Conakry for a mass rally against President Alpha Conde’s purported desire to stand for a third term in office. Wearing the opposition colour red, protesters carry placards reading “No to a new constitution” and “No to a third mandate for Alpha Conde”. After becoming the country’s first democratically-elected president in 2010, Conde was re-elected in 2015, though under the present constitution, presidents are limited to two terms in office. IMAGES
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, accompanied by his mother and twin brothers, organised a charity match in Tours to raise money to create access to drinking water and education in Guinea.
This week on Africa Weekly, we head to to Guinea, where for the past two months, opposition supporters have been protesting a new draft of the constitution that could allow President Alpha Conde to remain in power for a third term. Then we head to Somalia where the African Union Mission is due to withdraw in 2021, but many are worried that local forces will not be ready to take on this role in time for the withdrawal deadline.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrives in Goma, DRC, in a visit for a first-hand assessment of the fightback against Ebola. It is the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history after more than 11,000 people were killed in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia between 2014 and 2016. IMAGES
In Guinea, members of the political opposition demonstrate in the capital Conakry to demand the implementation of the political agreement on the establishment of communal elected officials and to denounce the violence of the defence and security forces. Several hundred people demonstrate on “The Prince” road, one of Conakry’s two main roads, before the situation turns into clashes between groups of young people armed with stones and the police, who respond with tear gas. IMAGES
Sixteen migrant farm laborers died this month in two separate road crashes within 48 hours of each other in Italy, sparking the workers to stage a mass walkout by the workers that has drawn international attention to the dire conditions endured by seasonal tomato pickers.
The crashes occurred close to the southern city of Foggia, which hosts half a dozen makeshift camps for illegal workers. Both accidents involved overcrowded vans carrying migrant laborers home from long shifts in the region’s tomato fields.
The vans are often operated by illicit gang members, known as the Caporali, who act as middlemen in Italy’s $3.5 billion tomato industry, supplying farm owners with cheap labor and taking a cut of the workers’ wages.
That leaves workers like Mohamed Doumbé Keita, an undocumented migrant from Guinea, earning less than $30 for a shift that can last up to 15 hours in scorching heat.
“It’s like the return of slavery,” Mohamed told VICE News. “Life is tough here. There’s no medical care, and each man fends for himself. If you don’t put in ten hours a day, you won’t even make €20.”
Though Italy’s previous government passed a new law to criminalize the Caporali as a mafia crime, it’s only now being enforced for the first time.
But the legislation targets farmers rather than the middlemen themselves, threatening a jail term of up to eight years for landowners found to be hiring laborers through the Caporali, and imposing penalties for using illegal workers.
That has angered some farmers, who feel their earnings are already squeezed by big retailers and consumer demand for cheap produce. VICE News went to Italy to see what the situation is really like.
The Guinean capital of Conakry is paralysed as a 25 percent hike in oil prices fuels a general strike. The movement, originally triggered for one day on July 4 by the intersyndicale CNTG-USTG (National Confederation of Guinean Workers-United Trade Union of Guinean Workers) is renewed from 9 July to 11 July. IMAGES
For around a year, the French region of Hautes-Alpes has seen migrant influx from Guinea and Ivory Coast grow exponentially. The young asylum seekers often leave bad living conditions back home in the hopes of a better life in Europe.
Thousands of opposition activists take to the streets of Guinea’s capital to demand local elections be held after a 12-year absence, pressuring President Alpha Conde to set a date.
The VICE News Capsule is a news roundup that looks beyond the headlines. Today: Guinea copes with an increase in Ebola cases, Rome’s first civil unions, China’s success in reducing carbon emissions, and Brazilian scientists propose saffron to fight dengue fever.
GUINEA
Government Responds to Spike in New Ebola Cases
A public awareness campaign aims to get residents in the country’s west to frequently wash their hands and stop improper burials.
ITALY
Couples Sign Rome’s First Civil Union Registry
They get tax and housing benefits, as well as access to family health and social services.
CHINA
Government Reports Decrease in Carbon Emissions
The country recorded a nearly 5% drop in the first four months of 2015, compared to the same period last year.
BRAZIL
Researchers Say Saffron Could Help Combat Dengue Epidemic
With light exposure, an active compound in the spice produces molecules highly toxic to mosquitos.
Kayla Ruble joined On The Line to discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the global response to the spread of the virus.
Since the outbreak began, the contagion has infected more than 25,000 people and claimed more than 10,000 lives — mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Although transmission rates have slowed, new cases continue to be reported, and the economies of the hardest-hit nations remain at risk.
VICE News reporter Kayla Ruble has been following the global effort to combat the disease – both on the ground in Liberia, and from our newsroom – and answered your questions live.
Read “Life After Ebola: Pain, Flashbacks, and ‘Post-Ebola Syndrome’” – http://bit.ly/1Pb0Z9j
Read “The End of Ebola: Inside the Race to Finish Vaccine Trials in Liberia” – http://bit.ly/1zGoSMU
VICE News and On The Line want to hear from you! Let us know your questions on Twitter with the hashtag #ontheline, or send us a video message on Skype.
On Thursday at 12pm EDT Kayla Ruble will join On The Line to discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the global response to the spread of the virus.
Since the outbreak began, the contagion has infected more than 25,000 people and claimed more than 10,000 lives — mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Although transmission rates have slowed, new cases continue to be reported, and the economies of the hardest-hit nations remain at risk.
VICE News reporter Kayla Ruble has been following the global effort to combat the disease – both on the ground in Liberia, and from our newsroom – and will take your questions live.
Read “Life After Ebola: Pain, Flashbacks, and ‘Post-Ebola Syndrome’” – http://bit.ly/1Pb0Z9j
Read “The End of Ebola: Inside the Race to Finish Vaccine Trials in Liberia” – http://bit.ly/1zGoSM
VICE News and On The Line want to hear from you! Let us know your questions for Kayla on Twitter with the hashtag #ontheline, or send us a video message on Skype.
Already firmly established as one of Europe’s leading taste-maker drum & bass labels, Blackout follow Telekinesis’ rip-roaring ‘Fight Club’ EP with Edge – a collaborative five tracker from German duo Neonlight & fellow German producer Wintermute.
Set for release on March 29th, ‘Edge’ adopts a diverse approach to the genre by moving away from the neurofunk style Blackout have become synonymous with, to craft something altogether harder, darker and edgier. Lead track ‘Guinea Pig’ is all broken beat, sharp synths and raging percussion, whilst ‘Influx’ works more conventional drum & bass rhythm, amidst a darker, almost gothic backdrop. Neonlight – having already released twice via Blackout – and Wintermute also extend their collaborative imagination on the lighter ‘Posthuman’ with faded, bleepy news-bulletin interludes serving as just one example of how intricate and well-balanced their sound design is right across the EP.
Given the vibrancy and darker, club-ready feel of ‘Edge’, Neonlight & Wintermute thus feel like natural choices to continue Blackout’s fast-building legacy and further cement themselves as some of Europe’s go-to drum & bass producers.
Already firmly established as one of Europe’s leading taste-maker drum & bass labels, Blackout follow Telekinesis’ rip-roaring ‘Fight Club’ EP with Edge – a collaborative five tracker from German duo Neonlight & fellow German producer Wintermute.
Set for release on March 29th, ‘Edge’ adopts a diverse approach to the genre by moving away from the neurofunk style Blackout have become synonymous with, to craft something altogether harder, darker and edgier. Lead track ‘Guinea Pig’ is all broken beat, sharp synths and raging percussion, whilst ‘Influx’ works more conventional drum & bass rhythm, amidst a darker, almost gothic backdrop. Neonlight – having already released twice via Blackout – and Wintermute also extend their collaborative imagination on the lighter ‘Posthuman’ with faded, bleepy news-bulletin interludes serving as just one example of how intricate and well-balanced their sound design is right across the EP.
Given the vibrancy and darker, club-ready feel of ‘Edge’, Neonlight & Wintermute thus feel like natural choices to continue Blackout’s fast-building legacy and further cement themselves as some of Europe’s go-to drum & bass producers.
The VICE News Capsule is a news roundup that looks beyond the headlines. Today: Haitian public transport workers continue strike over what they claim are unreasonably high gas prices, secret documents allege HSBC helped thousands of wealthy clients dodge taxes, Ebola cases double in Guinea over one week because of previously unknown cases, and implanted microchips help Swedish office workers perform daily tasks.
HAITI
Public Transport Workers Strike Over High Fuel Prices
The government cut prices to $4.25 a gallon, but that’s still exorbitant for the more than 60 percent of Haitians who live on $2 a day.
SWITZERLAND
HSBC Implicated in Massive Tax Evasion Scandal
Leaked documents show evidence of accounts linked to royal families, dictators, celebrities, arms dealers, and others.
GUINEA
Unreported Ebola Infections Make Accurate Reporting Difficult
Health workers have finally gained access to remote parts of the country where villagers had previously refused them access.
SWEDEN
Microchips Do Away With Office Badges and Passcodes
Workers implanted with the tiny device can open doors and make photocopies with the quick wave of a hand.
The VICE News Capsule is a news roundup that looks beyond the headlines. Today: Protests break out in Boston and Washington, D.C., fighting escalates between the Libyan government and opposition forces in Benghazi, Libya, medical workers in Guinea are going door-to-door to check on people who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus, and Indian parents in the eastern state of Jharkhand are using an age-old tribal tradition of marking children with hot iron rods to cure disease.
U.S.A.
Protests break out in Boston and Washington, D.C.
Protests break out in two U.S. cities calling for improved relations between police and citizens.
LIBYA
Fighting Continues Between Warring Factions
Fighting escalates between the Libyan government and opposition forces in Benghazi.
GUINEA
Health Workers Follow up on Ebola Threats
Medical workers in Guinea are going door-to-door to check on people who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus.
INDIA
Parents Mark Children with Iron Rods in Tribal Practice
Indian parents in the eastern state of Jharkhand are using an age-old tribal tradition of marking children with hot iron rods to cure disease.
The VICE News Capsule is a news roundup that looks beyond the headlines. Today: Pakistani officials hanged six militants after lifting their 2008 moratorium on the death penalty, Egypt has opened the Rafah Crossing for the first time in two months, UNICEF health workers encountered resistance in rural Guinea, and an independent Russian TV station has been forced to broadcast from a cramped apartment.
PAKISTAN
Pakistani officials have waved a 2008 ban on capital punishment and hanged 6 prisoners over the weekend. Pakistani officials tried to paint the executions as a retaliation to the Peshawar school massacre last week, but the militants hanged were being held for unrelated crimes.
EGYPT
Rafah Crossing
Egyptian officials have opened the Rafah Crossing for the first time in two months. Egypt shut down the crossing after militants from the Sinai region killed 33 members of its security forces.
GUINEA
UNICEF health workers encountered resistance Sunday as they tried to educate locals in the Diawasou Village, which is located on Guinea’s Southeastern border with Liberia and the Ivory Coast, on the best ways to combat the deadly Ebola virus. A villager threw a rock at the aid workers, who evacuated.
RUSSIA
DOZHD TV
Independent TV station Dozhd TV has been forced to broadcast out of a cramped apartment because businesses find it too risky to lease space to a news outlet that is critical of the Kremlin.
