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Under the watchful eye of M23 rebels in the hills around the Congolese town of Rubaya, a line of men in rubber boots ferry sacks full of crushed rocks up winding paths cut into the slopes. The laborers are hauling coltan ore, a mineral that powers the modern world. The ore will be loaded onto motorbikes and eventually shipped thousands of kilometers away to Asia. There its processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that fetches more than $300 a kilogram and is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. Rubaya produces around 15% of the worlds coltan, all dug manually by impoverished locals who earn a few dollars per day. Control of this mine is the biggest prize in a long-running conflict in this central African nation. The area was seized in April 2024 by M23, a rebel group the United Nations says has plundered Rubayas riches to help fund its insurgency, backed by the government of neighboring Rwanda. The heavily-armed rebels, whose stated aim is to overthrow the government in Kinshasa and ensure the safety of the Congolese Tutsi minority, captured even more mineral-rich territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year. The region and its mineral wealth are in the spotlight as M23 and the DRC have pledged to sign a peace deal at a ceremony in Qatars capital, Doha, this month. The United States is mediating parallel talks between Congo and Rwanda, dangling potentially billions of dollars in investment if hostilities cease. The United States Treasury on Tuesday sanctioned other alleged participants in minerals smuggling in Congo, including PARECO-FF, a pro-government Congolese militia that the U.S. said controlled the Rubaya mining site from 2022 to early 2024, prior to M23s takeover. PARECO-FF could not be reached for comment. Asked at a press briefing why Washington was targeting PARECO-FF rather than M23, a senior U.S. government official noted that M23 has been under U.S. sanctions since 2013 for fueling conflict in the region. The Treasury Department will not hesitate to take action against groups that deny the United States and our allies access to the critical minerals vital for our national defense, John K. Hurley, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a separate statement. Jason Stearns, a former U.N. investigator in Congo, said the fact that M23 was not targeted by the new mining-related sanctions was surprising, adding the move might be aimed at keeping the Doha talks on track. M23s advance poses the most serious threat to the Kinshasa government in at least two decades of conflict rooted in Rwandas 1994 genocide, which saw around 1 million of Rwandas Tutsi ethnic group killed by Hutu militias. Rwandas government has long denied that it traffics in coltan looted from its neighbor or that it backs M23. But Rwandas ruling party, mainly headed by Tutsis, shares the same concerns as the Tutsi-dominated M23 insurgents over the purported threat posed by rival Hutu groups operating in eastern Congo. A July 3 U.N. report, reviewed by Reuters, says that as of April, Rwanda had placed at least 1,000 to 1,500 troops in Congos rebel-controlled areas. M23 now controls two key Congolese cities Goma and Bukavu on the border with Rwanda. U.N. investigators say that it is through these cities that Congolese minerals are illegally trucked to Rwanda, often at night, where the ore is mixed with Rwandan coltan production in a bid to disguise its provenance before export. M23 and the Rwandan and Congolese governments did not respond to requests for comment. Congolese officials have repeatedly accused Rwanda of fomenting the conflict to plunder Congos mineral wealth. According to a December U.N. report, the scale of the trade reached new heights after the capture of Rubaya by M23. The rebels went on to establish a parallel administration controlling mining activities, trade, transport and the taxation of the minerals produced there, the U.N. reported. Reuters reporters visited Rubaya in March this year and were told by M23 officials that the rebels had imposed a tax on mineral traders of 15% on the value of coltan they purchase from the informal miners who work the area. M23 was taking in $800,000 monthly from levies collected from coltan mining in eastern Congo, according to the December U.N. report. Mud and motorbikes Simply reaching Rubayas sprawling, beehive-like maze of pits is a major undertaking. Reuters journalists who visited the mining sites in March had to abandon their four-wheel-drive Land Cruisers after the vehicles became stuck on the muddy road from Goma. They walked 5 kilometers (3 miles) to reach the town and then hopped on the back of motorcycles with rebel officials to reach the pits. Activity in Rubaya begins before dawn, when thousands of miners descend on the pits cut into the rolling hills of Congos North Kivu province, where many toil in 12-hour shifts. The tunnels can be as deep as 15 meters (49 feet) underground. Once fragments of ore are dislodged, porters carry sacks of the rubble to the surface where laborers have dug shallow basins that are filled with water. There, other workers, including women and children, wash the ore and separate it from sand and other debris before laying it into the sun to dry. The journalists were supervised by unarmed M23 personnel throughout their visit to the mining area. A reporter saw a rebel official jotting down in a notebook how many sacks each porter covered in a fine white dust carted to each collection point. Once the ore is dry, it is stacked on the backs of motorbikes that carry it to one of several depots in the nearby town of Rubaya, where it is sold to traders. With a M23 chaperone listening, Pascal Mugisha Nsabimana, a 32-year-old miner, told Reuters that working under rebel occupation was preferable to toiling under the supervision of Congos military and its allies, who fled when M23 moved in on the area last year. Previously, there was too much harassment, there were many different taxes, and often we, the diggers, were not paid. And even if we got something, it was poorly paid, the miner said. He added that his current day rate had at least tripled to 15,000 Congolese francs ($5.15) with M23 in charge. In the early months following M23s takeover of Rubaya in April 2024, smugglers used motorcycles to sneak the ore into Rwanda via backroads to avoid scrutiny by Congolese forces remaining along the border, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the situation, including current and former smugglers, miners and local businessmen. The journey could take an entire day, according to two ex-smugglers who transported coltan this way until last year. They said they loaded their bikes each trip with three 50-kilogram bags and were paid about $34 for delivering it to coltan traders. But alterations implemented by M23 have proven a game changer in terms of efficiency, nine of those people said. Motorcycles are no longer the primary means of transport and are used only to ferry the coltan from the mine to the town of Rubaya. From there, the ore is loaded into four-wheel drive SUVs, pickups and other vehicles capable of hauling anywhere from two tons to 20 tons each, according to the people and the July U.N report. The system is faster, too. Since M23 drove Congolese troops from Goma and took control of that border city, coltan trucks can now pass freely through it on paved roads into Rwanda, slashing transport times, the people said. U.N. experts and human rights activists have long warned that profits from illegal mining are funding conflict. They say the trade has brought little wealth to local people nd that child labor is common. Reuters witnessed at least a dozen children working at the Rubaya mine: Young boys entered the shafts to haul out ore and carry it to the basins where girls worked alongside adults washing and drying the coltan. Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a former U.N. expert on Congo who now does consulting on conflict minerals, said broad efforts by the mining industry, U.N. agencies and non-government organizations that began around 2010 to clean up the regions supply chain and prevent human rights abuses have largely failed. Here we are, 15 years later, (and) the same thing is happening, said Mthembu-Salter, director of Phuzumoya Consulting. U.S. investors eye Rubaya’s riches Some U.S. entrepreneurs have also set their sights on Rubayas coltan treasure as President Donald Trump seeks to broker a peace deal to end the conflict and promote development of the regions mineral wealth. In Congo, those riches include huge reserves of cobalt, gold, copper, lithium and diamonds in addition to coltan. The countrys formal mining sector at present is dominated by Chinese companies. Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach, who is chairman of investment firm America First Global and helped raise funds for Trumps election campaign in 2016, was part of a consortium looking to negotiate rights to the Rubaya mine, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The Financial Times earlier reported Gentrys interest in Congos coltan. The source told Reuters that Beach’s group had proposed to the Congolese government taking a majority stake in the mine, with Kinshasa retaining a 30% interest. Beach confirmed his interest in the project to Reuters but declined to provide additional details. Some U.S. lawmakers are pushing back. In an Aug. 8 letter to Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, more than 50 Democratic congress members criticized what they said was the administrations lack of transparency in its negotiations with the DRC. They also raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest in a Trump ally angling for rights to develop the Rubaya mine. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in an Aug. 5 emailed statement that the agreement between Congo and Rwanda arranged by Trump has the potential to lead to lasting peace and stability in the region. The presidents vision is a win-win outcome where all parties benefiteconomically and politicallythrough cooperation and shared prosperity, the statement said. She did not respond to a follow-up query about the letter from congressional Democrats. The U.S. State Department did not comment. On Aug. 1, the State Department said in a statement that it was committed to supporting efforts being made by Rwanda and Congo to advance security and economic cooperation. Heads of state would soon be invited to Washington for a summit, according to the statement, which did not elaborate. The U.S.-backed accord does not include M23. The rebel group is part of a separate, parallel mediation led by Qatar that seeks to end hostilities. The success of those talks in Doha is key to any lasting peace and in making Rubaya safe for investment and development by Western mining interests. Some diplomats and analysts are dubious about the prospects for a speedy resolution. Congo and M23 rebels pledged in Doha to reach a peace deal by August 18. But progress has been jeopardized by the killing of at least 319 civilians in eastern Congo last month, according to the U.N., which says the attacks were carried out by M23. Reuters could not independently confirm those killings. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa told the news agency last month that it would investigate, but he said reports of atrocities could be a smear campaign against the insurgent group. Meanwhile, the U.S.-brokered deal calls for Rwandan troops to pull out of Congo. But Rwandan President Paul Kagame said last month he was not sure the agreement would hold. Kagame said Congo first must live up to its promises to subdue the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an eastern Congo-based ethnic Hutu militia linked to the Rwandan genocide, which Kigali sees as an existential threat. Josaphat Musamba, a Congolese researcher and Ph.D student at Ghent University in Belgium, said suppressing the militia would be a tall order for the DRCs military, which is no longer present in large swathes of M23-controlled territory. Its difficult to neutralize the FDLR as long as M23 are there and the Congolese army has not redeployed, Musamba said. He described both peace initiatives as piecemeal efforts that arent dealing with the reality on the ground. Another formidable undertaking would be transforming Rubayas current crude system of coltan extraction into a modern operation, said a senior diplomat who is closely following events. No one talks about the feasibility of giving out these mining concessions and running these concessions, especially since the whole mine is artisanal mining, done almost entirely by hand, the diplomat said. Giulia Paravicini and David Lewis, Reuters Additional reporting by Sonia Rolley and Jarrett Renshaw.
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Beneath red banners and a gold bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi’s central party school, Communist Party chief To Lam declared the arrival of a new era of development late last year. The speech was more than symbolic it signaled the launch of what could be Vietnams most ambitious economic overhaul in decades. Vietnam aims to get rich by 2045 and become Asias next tiger economy a term used to describe the earlier ascent of countries like South Korea and Taiwan. The challenge ahead is steep: Reconciling growth with overdue reforms, an aging population, climate risks and creaking institutions. There’s added pressure from President Donald Trump over Vietnams trade surplus with the U.S., a reflection of its astounding economic trajectory. In 1990, the average Vietnamese could afford about $1,200 worth of goods and services a year, adjusted for local prices. Today, that figure has risen by more than 13 times to $16,385. Vietnam’s transformation into a global manufacturing hub with shiny new highways, high-rise skylines and a booming middle class has lifted millions of its people from poverty, similar to China. But its low-cost, export-led boom is slowing and it faces a growing obstacle to its proposed reforms expanding private industries, strengthening social protections and investing in technology and green energy from climate change. Its all hands on deck. . . . We cant waste time anymore,” said Mimi Vu of the consultancy Raise Partners. The export boom cant carry Vietnam forever Investment has soared, driven partly by U.S.-China trade tensions, and the U.S. is now Vietnam’s biggest export market. Once-quiet suburbs have been replaced with industrial parks where trucks rumble through sprawling logistics hubs that serve global brands. Vietnam ran a $123.5 billion trade surplus with the U.S. trade in 2024, angering Trump, who threatened a 46% U.S. import tax on Vietnamese goods. The two sides appear to have settled on a 20% levy, and twice that for goods suspected of being transshipped, or routed through Vietnam to avoid U.S. trade restrictions. During negotiations with the Trump administration, Vietnam’s focus was on its tariffs compared to those of its neighbors and competitors, said Daniel Kritenbrink, a former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. As long as theyre in the same zone, in the same ballpark, I think Vietnam can live with that outcome,” he said. But he added questions remain over how much Chinese content in those exports might be too much and how such goods will be taxed. Vietnam was preparing to shift its economic policies even before Trump’s tariffs threatened its model of churning out low-cost exports for the world, aware of what economists call the middle-income trap, when economies tend to plateau without major reforms. To move beyond that, South Korea bet on electronics, Taiwan on semiconductors, and Singapore on finance, said Richard McClellan, founder of the consultancy RMAC Advisory. But Vietnam’s economy today is more diverse and complex than those countries were at the time and it cant rely on just one winning sector to drive long-term growth and stay competitive as wages rise and cheap labor is no longer its main advantage. It needs to make multiple big bets, McClellan said. Vietnam’s game plan Following China’s lead, Vietnam is counting on high-tech sectors like computer chips, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, providing strategic tax breaks and research support in cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang. It’s also investing heavily in infrastructure, including civilian nuclear plants and a $67 billion NorthSouth high-speed railway, that will cut travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to eight hours. Vietnam also aspires to become a global financial center. The government plans two special financial centers, in bustling Ho Chi Minh City and in the seaside resort city of Danang, with simplified rules to attract foreign investors, tax breaks, support for financial tech startups, and easier ways to settle business disputes. Underpinning all of this is institutional reform. Ministries are being merged, low-level bureaucracies have been eliminated and Vietnam’s 63 provinces will be consolidated into 34 to build regional centers with deeper talent pools. Private business to take the lead Vietnam is counting on private businesses to lead its new economic push a seismic shift from the past. In May, the Communist Party passed Resolution 68. It calls private businesses the most important force in the economy, pledging to break away from domination by state-owned and foreign companies. So far, large multinationals have powered Vietnam’s exports, using imported materials and parts and low cost local labor. Local companies are stuck at the low-end of supply chains, struggling to access loans and markets that favored the 700-odd state-owned giants, from colonial-era beer factories with arched windows to unfashionable state-run shops that few customers bother to enter. The private sector remains heavily constrained,” said Nguyen Khac Giang of Singapores ISEASYusof Ishak Institute. Again emulating China, Vietnam wants national champions to drive innovation and compete globally, not by picking winners, but by letting markets decide. The policy includes easier loans for companies investing in new technology, priority in government contracts for those meeting innovation goals, and help for firms looking to expand overseas. Even mega-projects like the North-South High-Speed Rail, once reserved for state-run giants, are now open to private bidding. By 2030, Vietnam hopes to elevate at least 20 private firms to a global scale. But Giang warned that there will be pushback from conservatives in the Communist Party and from those who benefit from state-owned firms. A Closing Window from climate change Even as political resistance threatens to stall reforms, climate threats require urgent action. After losing a major investor over flood risks, Bruno Jaspaert knew something had to change. His firm, DEEP C Industrial Zones, houses more than 150 factories across northern Vietnam. So it hired a consultancy to redesign flood resilience plans. Climate risk is becoming its own kind of market regulation, forcing businesses to plan better, build smarter, and adapt faster. If the whole world will decide its a priority…it can go very fast, said Jaspaert. When Typhoon Yagi hit last year, causing $1.6 billion in damage, knocking 0.15% off Vietnams GDP and battering factories that produce nearly half the countrys economic output, roads in DEEP C industrial parks stayed dry. Climate risks are no longer theoretical: If Vietnam doesnt take strong action to adapt to and reduce climat change, the country could lose 1214.5% of its GDP each year by 2050, and up to one million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, Vietnam is growing old before it gets rich. The countrys golden population window when working-age people outnumber dependents will close by 2039 and the labor force is projected to peak just three years later. That could shrink productivity and strain social services, especially since families and women in particular are the default caregivers, said Teerawichitchainan Bussarawan of the Centre for Family and Population Research at the National University of Singapore. Vietnam is racing to pre-empt the fallout by expanding access to preventive healthcare so older adults remain healthier and more independent. Gradually raising the retirement age and drawing more women into the formal workforce would help offset labor gaps and promote “healthy aging, Bussarawan said. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org Aniruddha Ghosal, Associated Press
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How did you react to the August 7 release of GPT-5, OpenAIs latest version of ChatGPT? The company behind the model heralded it as a world-changing development, with weeks of hype and a glitzy livestreamed unveiling of its capabilities. Social media users reactions were more muted, marked by confusion and anger at the removal of many key models people had grown attached to. In the aftermath, CEO Sam Altman unwittingly revealed why the gulf between OpenAIs expectations for GPT-5s reception and the reality was so wide. It turns out that large numbers of us arent using AI to its fullest extent. In a post on X explaining why OpenAI appeared to be bilking fee-paying Plus users (full disclosure: that includes me)who hand over $20 per month to access the second-highest tier of the modelby drastically reducing their rate limits to the chatbot, Altman revealed that just 1% of nonpaying users queried a reasoning model like o3 before GPT-5s release. Among paying users, only 7% did. Reasoning models are those that think through problems before answering them (though we should never remove those air quotes: AI models are not human, and do not act as humans do). Not using themas was the case with the overwhelming majority of users, paying and nonpaying alikeis like buying a car, using only first and second gear, and wondering why its not easy to drive, or going on a quiz show and blurting out the first thing that comes to mind for every question. Many users prioritize speed and convenience over quality in AI chatbot interactions. Thats why so many lamented the loss of GPT-4o, a legacy model that was later restored to paying ChatGPT users after a concerted campaign. But when youre querying a chatbot for answers, you want good ones. Its better to be a little slowerand often it is only a littleand right than quick and completely wrong. Reasoning models are built to spend more computational effort planning, checking, and iterating before answering. This extra deliberation improves results on tasks where getting the logic right matters. But its slower and costlier, which is why providers tend to offer the non-thinky versions first and require users to opt in via a drop-down box for alternatives. Then theres OpenAIs previously impenetrable habit of naming modelsa problem GPT-5 attempted to fix, not altogether successfully. Users still cant easily tell whether theyre getting the good thinky GPT-5 or the less-capable version. After receiving complaints, the company is now tweaking that. To me, waiting a minute rather than a second isnt an issue. You set an AI model off and do something else while you wait. But evidently, its a wait too long for some. Even after GPT-5s releasewhere the difference between flagship model GPT-5 and GPT-5 thinking, which offers to get more thorough answers, is more obviousonly one in four paying users are asking for thoroughness. This quickly tossed-out data answers one big question I had about AI adoption: Why do only a third of Americans who have ever used a chatbot say its extremely or very useful (half the rate among AI experts) and one in five say its not useful at all (twice the rate among experts)? The answer is clearer now: Most folks are using AI wrong. Theyre asking a chatbot to handle tough, multipart questions without pausing for thought or breath. Theyre blurting out What is macaroni cheese on The Price is Right and $42 on Jeopardy! So if youre going to try a chatbot, take advantage of OpenAIs moves to keep users from canceling their subscriptions by opening up more access to models. Set them thinking while remembering theyre not actually doing thatand see if you stick around. Its the right way to use generative AI.
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