Congo rebel leader says sanctions or minerals deal with the US won’t stop fighting

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The leader of the rebels who captured two key cities in eastern Congo tells The Associated Press that international sanctions and Congo’s proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace will not stop the fighting. Corneille Nangaa says the rebels can only have a dialogue with Congo’s government if the country acknowledges their grievances. The fighting has led to fears of a regional war. Congo’s mineral resources are estimated to be worth $24 trillion and critical to much of the world’s technology. Congo’s president has said he is looking for a minerals partnership with the Trump administration.

Court in Japan orders the dissolution of the Unification Church

TOKYO (AP) — The Unification Church in Japan was ordered dissolved by a court after a government request spurred by the investigation into the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The church said it was considering an appeal of the revocation order, which would take away its tax-exempt privilege and require liquidation of its assets. The order followed a request by the Education Ministry in 2023 to dissolve the sect, citing manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that hurt followers and their families. The church called the court order regrettable and unjust. The investigation into Abe’s assassination revealed ties between the South Korea-based church and Japan’s government. The man accused of killing Abe blamed the church for his family’s troubles.

5 lions rescued from the war in Ukraine settle into a new life in England

SMARDEN, England (AP) — Five traumatized lions rescued from the war zone in Ukraine who are settling into a new home in England after an international effort to bring them to safety. Male African lion Rori and lionesses Amani, Lira and Vanda arrived this month at the Big Cat Sanctuary southeast of London. They join lioness Yuna, who arrived in August. All five were found near the front line in Ukraine, neglected and abandoned by their owners. They were brought to England after a fundraising campaign raised 500,000 pounds, about $650,000, to build a new Lion Rescue Center at the sanctuary. Managing director Cam Whitnall says staff are delighted with the progress the lions have made since they arrived.

Sudan aid groups say 54 killed in an airstrike blamed on the military in Darfur

CAIRO (AP) — Aid groups in Sudan said Tuesday at least 54 people were killed in a military airstrike on a local market in the country’s western region. The strike on Monday on the village of Tora caused a huge fire, according to Adam Rejal, a spokesman for the General Coordination, a local group helping displaced people in Darfur. Monday’s strike was the latest deadly attack in a war that started in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country.