Global Crises: Boy Returns, Gaza Ban, DRC Mine Kills Hundreds

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Over 200 Killed in DRC Mine Collapse; ICE Releases Detained Father and Son; Other Global Developments

More than 200 people died this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said, according to The Guardian. The Rubaya mine produces approximately 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a material used in mobile phones.

In other news, a five-year-old boy and his father, who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota, have returned home after being released. Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, announced on Sunday that Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were released from the Dilley detention center in Texas and had traveled back to Minneapolis, according to BBC World. Castro stated, "Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack." The detainment of the pair had sparked protests outside the detention facility.

Meanwhile, Israel is moving to ban Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from operating in Gaza after the medical charity refused to provide a list of its staff in the territory, BBC World reported. The Israeli government had ordered 37 organizations to submit documents about their local and international workers in Gaza, claiming some in MSF had links to armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. MSF denied these allegations and stated on Friday that it would not share the list without "assurances to ensure the safety of our staff."

In Switzerland, the death toll from a New Year's Eve bar fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana has risen to 41 after a teenager died from injuries sustained in the blaze, BBC World reported. The local public prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said in a statement that "An 18-year-old Swiss national died at a hospital in Zurich on January 31." The bar was known to be popular with a younger crowd in the ski resort town.

Finally, in Mexico, the government has announced a sweeping array of tactics to combat industrial pollution, following investigations by The Guardian that revealed high levels of contamination in a neighborhood around a factory processing US toxic waste. The government will pursue tactics including 4.8m in fines against a plant processing toxic waste.