Exposing The Brutality Of Sexual Violence In Congo

A journalist in Congo encourages rape survivors to share their stories to publicize the use of rape as a weapon of war.

“Rare earth” metals: Supply, demand and recycling

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Host Lisa Mullins speaks with industrial ecologist Thomas Graedel about the sudden interest in “rare earth” metals.China currently controls the global market in the metals, which are crucial for many new high-tech products. Professor Graedel is a co-author of a new U.N. report on recycling of rare earths and other specialty metals. Download MP3

Afghans say US team found huge mineral wealth

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Afghanistan may have more than a trillion dollars worth of untapped mineral deposits, a spokesman for the ministry of mines has suggested. The statement came after reports in the New York Times of the work of a team of Pentagon officials and US geologists. They discovered large quantities of iron and copper as well as valuable deposits of lithium. The World’s Laura Lynch reports that being rich in natural resources is not always a direct road to riches for developing nations. Download MP3 (flickr image: US Army)

• BBC coverage
• New York Times story
• NY Times graphic: Afghanistan’s mineral deposits

Entire program – August 12, 2009

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Today on The World: How the trade in minerals used in cell phones and laptops fuels the violence in eastern Congo; China’s foreign investors are shaken by the arrest of four employees of British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto; and water polo in Afghanistan.

The violence behind Congo’s mineral trade

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The World’s Jeb Sharp reports on how the trade in minerals used in cell phones and laptops fuels the conflict in eastern Congo.