Congo

Congo is the name applied to two states, the much larger Democratic Republic of Congo (also known as Congo-Kinshasa, after its capital, and formerly known as Zaire) and the Republic of Congo, whose capital is Brazzaville. They are in Central Africa, on either side of the Congo River, with their capitals only a few miles apart.

The Republic of Congo was a French colony until 1960, while the DRC was a personal possession of the Belgian King Leopold II, who oversaw a regime of notable savagery. It was then a colony of the Belgian state from 1908 to 1960, and after independence soon descended into conflict.

Since the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide spilled across its border in 1994 Congo-Kinshasa has endured two invasions and a civil war. After that discord officially ended in 2002, in 2008 an estimated 45,000 people a month were still dying as a result of internal conflict.  Unicef says that one in five children dies before the age of five, and 13 of every thousand pregnancies ends in death for the mother.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Congo”

• Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Aid in War-torn Congo: Video Report

  
  CafeSentido.com — Authority: 502
  This video is a report from Doctors without Borders (MSF) on their ongoing efforts to deliver much-needed medical aid to civilian populations across the war-torn Democratic Republican of Congo. MSF got into delivering aid to the DR Congo after the ethnic clashes in Rwanda that turned into the brutal Rwandan genocide. ...
  4 hours ago

• MSF Says DR Congo Military Killed Civilians at Vaccination Clinics

  
  CafeSentido.com — Authority: 502
  Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF/Doctors without Borders) is accusing the military of the Democratic Republic of Congo of firing on civilians at vaccination clinics it was running. MSF goes as far as to allege it was “used” as a means of luring large numbers of civilians to 7 different locations where Congolese ...
  4 hours ago

• Experts fear Africa "pandemic" from rise in smoking

  
  AlertNet Newsdesk — Authority: 718
  Source: Reuters * Smoking rates seen doubling in half of Africa * Experts say anti-smoking policies could prevent "pandemic" * Smoking expected to kill 6 million worldwide in 2010 By Kate Kelland ...
  6 hours ago

• Polio vaccination for 2.6 million children in DR Congo (AFP)

  
  Blogger — Authority: 164
  AFP – Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun vaccinating 2.6 million children under five against polio and measles in three provinces, the health minister said Tuesday. Read more: (AFP)"> (AFP)">Polio vaccination for 2.6 million children in DR Congo (AFP)
  12 hours ago

• Congo plan is a dirty cocktail of climate destruction projects

  
  Global Compact Critics — Authority: 110
  By Daniel Kessler . Riddle me this. What do you get when you combine rainforest destruction, tar sands, and palm oil plantations in one project? You guessed it, an environmental nightmare. This perfect storm of climate disruption badness can all be found in oil company Enis plans to develop tar sands and oil palm ...
  15 hours ago

• DR Congo War Criminal:Maj Gen James Kazini Killed

  
  uganda — Authority: 113
  DR Congo War Criminals War Criminal James Kazini, the former army commander, died Tuesday morning after his girlfriend, Lydia Draru, allegedly hit him with an iron bar. Family and security sources say that, the War Criminal was killed at his home in Namuwongo, a Kampala subur Lydia Draru, the lady in whose shanty ...
  15 hours ago

• Kayaking the Congo River

  
  Gadling — Authority: 686
  Filed under: Paddling , Africa , Congo The Congo River runs through some of the most remote and wild regions of Central Africa, stretching 2914 miles in length, and reaching as much as 750 feet in depth at certain points. It is the eighth longest river in the world and second only to the Amazon in terms of the ...
  17 hours ago

• مدير عام المصرف يزور جمهورية الكنغو

  
  Database of Press Releases related to Africa — Authority: 494
  مدير عام المصرف يزور جمهورية الكنغو BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, November 10, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ –وصل اليوم الثلاثاء الموافق 10 نوفمبر 2009، معالي السيد/ عبد العزيز خلف مدير عام المصرف ...
  20 hours ago

• Is A Tin Roof The Better Solution?

  
  Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo — Authority: 425
    A tin roof on a mud-walled building is better.  But how much better is it over a mud-walled building with a thatched-roof?  Thats the question, I am asking. What defines better?  I am defining better as a long-lasting building.  Since cement is so expensive, it is out of the reach of average rural ...
  20 hours ago

• BADEA / Director general visits Congo

  
  Database of Press Releases related to Africa — Authority: 494
  BADEA / Director general visits Congo  BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, November 10, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz KHELEF, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) arrived today Tuesday the 10th of November 2009, at Brazzaville capital of the ...
  20 hours ago

• Le directeur général de la BADEA se rend en visite officielle au Congo

  
  Database of Press Releases related to Africa — Authority: 494
  Le directeur général de la BADEA se rend en visite officielle au Congo  BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, 10 novembre 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — S.E.M. Abdelaziz KHELEF, Directeur Général de la Banque Arabe pour le Développement Economique en Afrique (BADEA), est arrivé le 10 novembre 2009 à ...
  20 hours ago

• Région des grands lacs / L’Envoyé spécial souligne, devant le Conseil de Sécurité, les résultats positifs pour la paix et la stabilité du rapprochement entre la RDC et le Rwanda

  
  Database of Press Releases related to Africa — Authority: 494
  Région des grands lacs / L’Envoyé spécial souligne, devant le Conseil de Sécurité, les résultats positifs pour la paix et la stabilité du rapprochement entre la RDC et le Rwanda  NEW YORK, 10 novembre 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — L’Envoyé spécial du Secrétaire général pour la région ...
  21 hours ago

• Let’s Go Congo!

  
  Lakers-Fan.com — Authority: 121
  Mr. Dacos has put together a nice string of games as a starter, completing his first triple double last night, with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Let’s go Congo! Free Dacos every night Mbenga has a double double! That should be the new rule.
  1 day ago

• DJ Menga setting career highs with Lakers

  
  Interbasket — Authority: 545
  In the last two games, DJ Mbenga has stepped into the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers, to fill in for the injured Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, and Mbenga did a serviceable job in the pivot. Mbenga, who was born in the Congo and raised in Belgium , registered 5 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks in his ...
  1 day ago

• Kimberly Abbott: Working together, NGOs and journalists can create stronger international reporting

  
  Nieman Journalism Lab — Authority: 734
  [This is the first essay in our series examining the evolving relationship between NGOs and journalism, produced with Penns Center for Global Communication Studies. Kimberly Abbott of the International Crisis Group leads off by exploring the pros and cons of established news organizations relying on NGOs for ...
  1 day ago

• Children Can Surprise You But They Are Predictable

  
  Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo — Authority: 425
  It was amazing!  It all happened in a matter of minutes.  What was amazing? The number of children that heard about the candy give-away.  Typically, we always take a few bags of candy to pass out to the Congolese children.  American sweets!  Within a matter of a five minutes hundreds of children were ready for ...
  1 day ago

• Rare virus poses new threat to troops

  
  Question Everything — Authority: 141
  EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troopsWashington Times | Sara A. CarterKANDAHAR, Afghanistan | U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.Dr. ...
  2 days ago

• “Friends” Get Together To Help Women In Congo

  
  Charities Blog — Authority: 98
  They were the best of friends in the long running TV show Friends, and they are really close friends in real life as well. I am sure you know the people I am talking about – Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. These girls have taken their friendship to great lengths, and now, they are getting together to extend a ...
  2 days ago

• £8 Billion Foreign Aid Budget Untouched, But £350 Million Cut off British Youth Training

  
  The British National Party — Authority: 650
  The Government’s austerity measures include a £5 billion reduction in spending in Britain. This includes a £350 million cutback in job training for young British people — while the £8 billion foreign aid budget remains untouched. According to newspaper reports, official Government documents show that the ...
  2 days ago

• Military Operations Begin on Venezuela’s Western Border to Fight Drug Trafficking

  
  Net News Publisher — Authority: 155
  Venezuela has announced the expansion of military operations along its western border in order to fight drug trafficking and protect a recently discovered reserve of coltan from illegal mining. In what is titled Operation Blue Gold, 15,000 Air Force, Army, and Navy personnel will protect the coltan reserve, which ...
  2 days ago

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