Democratic Republic of Congo

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SEC Moves to Stop ... Central African Bloodshed

New rule to require companies to disclose 'blood minerals' use, eventually

(Newser) - The SEC voted yesterday to impose a new rule forcing companies to reveal their use of so-called "blood minerals" ... eventually. The rule, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, requires companies to disclose their use of gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum mined in and near the Democratic...

60 Killed in Congo Mine Shaft Collapse

Landslide causes accident amid illegal operation

(Newser) - A mine shaft collapsed Monday in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 60 gold miners inside, officials tell Reuters today. "It was deep in the forest; there was a landslide," says a provincial mining official. The miners were working in an illegal operation, and at 327...

Rwanda, Congo OK Border Army to Hunt Rebels

African nations set differences aside at summit

(Newser) - Presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo mended fences today by agreeing on an international force to hunt down rebels in the Congo's chaotic borderlands, Reuters reports. Rwanda's Paul Kagame and the Congo's Joseph Kabila signed the surprising agreement at an African Union summit in...

Congo Warlord Gets 14 Years for Using Child Soldiers

ICC hands down first-ever sentence

(Newser) - Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, which is longer than many of the child soldiers in his rebel army had been alive when he commanded them in the country's civil war. The sentence was handed down by the International Criminal Court, which found...

New Neighbors Hold Black Man, Family at Gunpoint

They thought the Kalonji family was trying to break into newly purchased home

(Newser) - The Kalonji family got a nasty surprise when it tried to change the locks on its newly-purchased Georgia home last week: Their new neighbors threatened them with guns, called the police, and had them arrested, WSBTV reports. Jean Kalonji says a man and someone who might have been his son...

Congo Warlord First to Be Convicted by World Court

Lubanga guilty of recruiting child soldiers

(Newser) - The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal has recorded its first verdict, finding Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty of recruiting child soldiers as young as 11 and sending them into battle. The International Criminal Court will sentence Lubanga, who led a militia during an ethnic conflict in the Democratic...

Explosions Rock Republic of Congo

But defense minister says fire, not war, is to blame

(Newser) - Blasts rocked the capital of the Republic of Congo this morning after a weapons depot caught fire, officials say. The explosions shook houses in Brazzaville and echoed across the Congo River to the capital of the neighboring country. Defense minister Charles Zacharie Boawo appeared on national television to urge calm...

Ben Affleck Lends Star Power on African Atrocities

He and 'Washington Post' columnist hear tales of LRA brutalities

(Newser) - Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army have been terrorizing central Africa for years, "but the net around him tightens," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . Gerson accompanied Ben Affleck, who founded the Eastern Congo Initiative , to the region to hear first-hand the tales of atrocities...

Violence Roils Congo After Disputed Vote

Opposition leader says results fixed, declares himself victor

(Newser) - With opposition leaders rejecting yesterday's re-election win for Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, fighting and unrest has broken out in Kinshasa and threatened to plunge the fragile African country back into war, reports Al Jazeera . Protesters burned tires and gunshots rang out last night in the capital,...

Congo Polling Stations Attacked

Violence mars start of elections

(Newser) - Today’s presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo have gotten off to a violent start. Reuters reports that masked gunmen fired on one polling station in Lubumbashi, while locals burned down three others in a neighboring province. The AFP reports 15 burned polling stations in that...

$40K Baby Gorilla Saved From Poachers

But experts worry about ones they miss

(Newser) - A baby gorilla has been saved from poachers seeking $40,000 for the highly protected infant. But experts worry about how many more infants have been stolen from parents likely butchered by animal traffickers, reports MSNBC . The baby gorilla, hidden in a small backpack, was "extremely tense and stressed,...

1K Prisoners Escape in DR Congo Jail Break

Militia attacked prison to free leader

(Newser) - A militia attack on a prison in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo province of Katanga has led to nearly 1,000 prisoners escaping, reports the BBC . The militia aimed to free a leader of the group, Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga, who had been sentenced to death in 2009 for his...

Family Planning Is Pro-Life: Michael Gerson
 Family 
 Planning 
 Is Pro-Life 
OPINION
Aug 30, 2011 3:21 PM CDT

Family Planning Is Pro-Life

Congo women offer proof of benefits: Michael Gerson

(Newser) - The American debate over family planning may seem “like a culture war showdown.” But “close up, family planning is undeniably pro-life,” writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . To understand that, look to Bweremana, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where “the complications of childbirth...

UN: Congo Rape Victims Suffer Reprisal Attacks

Sexual assaults continue a year after mass attacks

(Newser) - The United Nations says survivors of a horrific mass rape attack in Congo last year have suffered reprisal attacks. A report issued today says a judicial inquiry into the Walikale rapes was suspended because of concerns about the attacks against victims. At least 387 people were raped in late July...

100+ Women Assaulted in Mass Congo Rape

(Newser) - More than 100 women were sexually assaulted and many more injured in a mass rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo two weeks ago, international aid workers said today. The attacks are believed to have been carried out by a group of 200 rebels who had been integrated into the...

Congo's Rape Crisis Isn't What You Think

Weapon of war? That's not the full picture: Laura Seay

(Newser) - News that 48 women are raped in the Congo every hour has led to understandable condemnation of how rape has become a weapon of war, writes Laura Seay in the Atlantic . The problem is that "a growing body of literature suggests that the prevailing journalistic and activist accounts of...

In Congo, 48 Women Raped Every Hour

New survey finds numbers even worse than thought

(Newser) - Reports of mass rape as a weapon of war have been common in Congo for years, but a new survey shows the problem to be far worse than thought. An estimated 1,152 women are raped every day, or 48 per hour, according to a study to appear in the...

UN Plane Crash in Congo Kills 10
 UN Plane Crash 
 in Congo Kills 32 
UPDATED
Apr 4, 2011 11:43 PM CDT

UN Plane Crash in Congo Kills 32

Only one survivor from Kinshasa crash

(Newser) - More heartbreak for the UN : A small passenger plane carrying United Nations staffers crashed yesterday in the Congo and broke into pieces, killing 32 of 33 people onboard, UN officials have confirmed.The UN peacekeeping mission in New York described the craft as a small passenger plane and said it...

International Women's Day: Yemen Has the Lowest Ranking in How it Treats Female Citizens
 5 Worst Countries for Women 
Mar 8, 2011 3:55 PM CST

5 Worst Countries for Women

Yemen, Congo, Niger among lowest ranking

(Newser) - To mark International Women's Day, AoL News takes note of countries that treat their women the worst. The findings are based on a UN index that factors in categories such as jobs, education, political representation, and reproductive health. The worst offenders:
  1. Yemen: Its female citizens routinely face "violence and
...

Congo Commander Accused in Mass Rapes

Assaults on 51 women linked to death of soldier

(Newser) - An army commander of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been accused by a victim and local officials of leading a mass rape of some 50 women. It's the largest single rape attack linked to the Congo army, reports the BBC . "Those who raped me were members of the...

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