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WHAT ARE THE GABONESE PRIVATE EMPLOYERS WORTH? QUE VAUT LE PATRONAT GABONAIS ?

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English version  When reading this article in L'Union, it is entirely legitimate to wonder whether the Gabonese employers' association deserves such high praise, as there is a disconnect between what is written in this institutional newspaper and the business climate; that is, the reality on the ground. In Gabon, while one can say there are local entrepreneurs, one can also assert that the structuring of a truly independent and influential entrepreneurial class is still nonexistent. All bosses are beholden to the Bongos; yesterday as well as today. Historically and structurally, the formation of the employer network has faced several major obstacles. The historical dependence on extractive industries (oil, manganese, timber): The predominance of multinationals:  Sectors requiring heavy capital, such as infrastructure development or mining, have traditionally been captured by large foreign companies. The State as the main actor:  The State has long been the primary employe...
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WHAT DID MP ARNAUD LE GALL SAY ABOUT ERAMET AND GABON ? QU’A DIT LE DÉPUTÉ ARNAUD LE GALL À PROPOS D’ERAMET ET DU GABON ?

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English version  French Member of Parliament Arnaud Le Gall (La France Insoumise) recently spoke about Eramet's situation in Gabon in a written question addressed to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, focusing more broadly on France's lack of reaction to the authoritarian turn of the Gabonese authorities. Concerning more specifically the economic relations and Gabon's desire to become a shareholder in the French mining group Eramet, he emphasized that acquiring a stake at the group level would not give Gabon true control over its own resources. The illusion of control through Eramet shareholding:  He asserts that acquiring a stake in the Eramet group does not offer the Gabonese State direct control over the operations taking place on its soil. The real issue is local (Comilog and Setrag):  According to him, the true issue of economic sovereignty for Gabon lies in the control of two specific entities: Comilog  (Compagnie minière de l'Ogooué): Eramet's Gabon...
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A YOUNG AMERICAN BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO RECOVER FROM SICKLE DISEASE! UN JEUNE AMÉRICAIN DEVIENT LA PREMIÈRE PERSONNE AU MONDE À GUÉRIR DE LA DREPANOCYTOSE!

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English version  A young American by the name of Daniel Cressy, has become the first person in the world to be cured from sickle cell disease, thanks to a new therapy called  ex vivo  gene-editing. This therapy pharmacological mechanism doesn't involve cutting out the sickle mutation itself and Instead, utilizes CRISPR-Cas9 to induce a strategic genetic workaround. The therapy relies on reactivating the production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), which has a high oxygen affinity and does not polymerize like mutated adult sickle hemoglobin (HbS). The Target:  The CRISPR-Cas9 machinery is directed to the erythroid-specific enhancer region of the  BCL11A gene. The Edit:  It introduces double-strand breaks that are repaired via non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), resulting in indels that disrupt the enhancer. The Result:  BCL11A is a transcription factor that normally represses gamma-globin (HbF) expression after birth. By knocking down BCL11A expression specific...
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