Democratic Republic of Congo

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Congolese Exodus Begins as Rebels Reach Key City

(Newser) - The strategic Congolese city of Goma descended into chaos today, raising the likelihood of a bloody regional war. Government soldiers commandeered cars, taxis, and motorbikes in a retreat from advancing rebels, joining tens of thousands of terrified refugees struggling to stay ahead of the violence. Tutsi rebels said they had...

UN Pleads for Troops as Congo Battle Rages

Peacekeepers overwhelmed as rebels advance against government troops

(Newser) - The overwhelmed United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern Congo is urgently calling for reinforcements, the AP reports. A surge in fighting between Congolese government troops and forces led by a renegade general has sent tens of thousands fleeing. The UN currently has only 6,000 troops in North Kivu, where...

HIV/AIDS May Be 100 Years Old
 HIV/AIDS May Be 100 Years Old 
Oct 2, 2008 3:03 AM CDT

HIV/AIDS May Be 100 Years Old

Evidence of old strain discovered in Congo

(Newser) - The HIV/AIDS epidemic exploded in the 1980s, but new research shows HIV was plaguing the human population in Africa for a century before that. Old collections of human tissue samples from the Congo have produced evidence of old strains of HIV that may have emerged in 1908, reports Nature.

Congo Probes Witchcraft Stampede Deaths

13 killed after accusations of sorcery provoke fighting, panic

(Newser) - Accusations of witchcraft led to a deadly stampede at a soccer game in the Congo, the BBC reports. Fighting broke out between rival teams after players from one team accused the rival team's goalkeeper of casting spells. Police intervened but were pelted with rocks by the crowd. They fired tear...

Huge Gorilla Population Found in Congo

125,000 endangered primates located in northern Congo Republic

(Newser) - As recently as last year, the western lowland gorilla was listed as one of the world's most critically endangered primate species, nearly wiped out by the Ebola virus. But an arduous survey has revealed that 125,000 gorillas are living in the northern Congo Republic, deep in a swampy region...

Ben Affleck Does Congo Essay for 'Nightline'

Actor capitalizes on celebrity for humanitarian purposes

(Newser) - "Nightline" will focus on the humanitarian crisis in the Congo with the help of an unusual correspondent—Ben Affleck. The actor took a TV crew on his recent African mission to spread the word on a story little noticed in the United States, AP reports. His motive was to...

Congo's Gorillas Victims in War Over Charcoal

Corruption, poverty, unrest combine for conservationists' nightmare

(Newser) - Who murdered seven mountain gorillas in the Congo last year? Perhaps, National Geographic finds, the question should be how any of the magnificent apes stay alive at all. A three-way military standoff—a holdover from neighboring Rwanda’s haunted past—enveloping Virunga National Park has left gorillas, people, and the...

UN Troops Traded Guns for Gold

Pakistani, Indian troops armed rebels in Congo, BBC finds

(Newser) - UN peacekeeping troops sold weapons to guerrilla fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a BBC investigation claims, charging that the UN suppressed the story for political reasons. Pakistani and Indian troops, part of the UN's largest peacekeeping force of 17,000, are said to have traded munitions for gold....

Congo Plane Crash Kills 75
 Congo Plane Crash Kills 75 
Apr 15, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Congo Plane Crash Kills 75

(Newser) - A Congolese jetliner carrying around 85 people failed to take off today from an airport in Goma, crashing at high speed into a busy market neighborhood at the end of the runway. Local officials said dozens of bodies—as many as 75 people—were pulled from the wreckage.

Nations Unite to Save Gorillas
Nations Unite to Save Gorillas
Feb 25, 2008 5:00 AM CST

Nations Unite to Save Gorillas

10-year effort is the first to help dying species

(Newser) - Three African nations where the world's last 720 wild mountain gorillas live are finally working together to save the critically endangered animal, the Guardian reports. Until the 10-year plan was announced last week, mistrust and conflict had kept Rwanda, Uganda and the Congo from collaborating as another 10 apes were...

African Quakes Kill at Least 40
African Quakes Kill at Least 40
Feb 3, 2008 6:35 PM CST

African Quakes Kill at Least 40

Hundreds injured; residents avoid returning home after houses topple

(Newser) - A pair of earthquakes killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 400 in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo today, AFP and the AP report. The first quake measured 6.0 on the Richter scale and the second, less than 4 hours later, 5.0. Public buses carted...

Quakes Kill 39 in Rwanda, Congo
Quakes Kill 39 in Rwanda, Congo
Feb 3, 2008 1:56 PM CST

Quakes Kill 39 in Rwanda, Congo

Nearly 400 injured in pair of incidents

(Newser) - A pair of earthquakes shook Rwanda and the Congo today, killing 39 and injuring 380, the AP reports. Congo was hit first, with a 6.0 blast early this morning. Rwanda was shaken scant hours later, with a 5.0 shock. “I was at home when the earthquake hit,...

45K Dying Each Month in Congo
45K Dying Each Month in Congo
Jan 23, 2008 2:34 PM CST

45K Dying Each Month in Congo

Civil war's over, but disease, malnutrition keep killing

(Newser) - The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo officially ended in 2002, but it's still killing 45,000 people a month, a new study concludes.  Malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and malnutrition caused by 10 years of conflict—not to mention continuing armed skirmishes in the east—have left 5....

Africa's Child 'Witches' Abused, Abandoned

Superstition, poverty take ugly toll on Angolan, Congolese youth

(Newser) - Thousands of children in Angola, Congo, and the Congo Republic are being abused, abandoned, and even killed after being accused of witchcraft, the New York Times reports. Such accusations—born from tribal superstition and poverty that leaves some families unable to care for children—are a "massive" problem, sending...

Onion Atlas Redraws the World
Onion Atlas Redraws
the World
Nov 3, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Onion Atlas Redraws the World

No corner of the globe is safe from the masters of satire

(Newser) - You may never look at the world in quite the same way after reading the new atlas from the Onion, says a Newsweek reviewer. Our Dumb World is the best parody in 30 years, writes Malcolm Jones, with its mix of laugh-out-loud goofball humor and darker satire. The Iraq map,...

Thousands Flee Congo Fighting
Thousands Flee Congo Fighting
Oct 21, 2007 5:46 AM CDT

Thousands Flee Congo Fighting

Civilians in the middle as local militias clash with rebel general

(Newser) - Thousands of refugees are fleeing a new outbreak of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Renewed fighting has erupted between dissident Gen. Laurent Nkuda and local militias, as well as between Nkuda and regular government forces, following Nkuda's refusal to disarm his troops and reintegrate into the army....

Rapes Shatter Congo Women
Rapes Shatter Congo Women
Oct 7, 2007 1:20 PM CDT

Rapes Shatter Congo Women

27,000 attacks in a single province intended to 'destroy women'

(Newser) - A record number of brutal rapes has devastated the women of war-ravaged Congo. A single province reported 27,000 last year, with some assaults so brutal that victims' reproductive systems will never recover, the New York Times reports. "We don’t know why these rapes are happening, but one...

Plane Crashes in Congo Capital
Plane Crashes in Congo Capital
Oct 4, 2007 12:06 PM CDT

Plane Crashes in Congo Capital

At least 19 dead in all-too-common accident

(Newser) - A plane smashed into a crowded neighborhood in Kinshasa today, an all-too familiar occurrence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials don’t know how many were killed by the falling plane, which completely destroyed two houses, but witnesses told Reuters they saw at least six bodies pulled from the...

Ebola Outbreak Is Worst in Years
Ebola Outbreak Is Worst in Years
Sep 19, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Ebola Outbreak Is Worst in Years

Doctors being airlifted into Congo to help combat outbreak

(Newser) - Doctors are being airlifted into the Democratic Republic of Congo to help treat what may be the worst outbreak of Ebola virus in years, the Washington Post reports. Only nine cases of the disease have been confirmed in labs, but almost 550 are suspected, including 168 resulting in deaths. The...

Stranded by War, Forest Yields Treasures

Remote, unspoiled region of Congo conceals 6 new species

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered six animal species in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area closed to scientists for nearly 50 years. The region is rich in biodiversity, Reuters reports, and beyond the bat, rodents, frogs, and shrews found on a brief trip this past winter, the...

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