Blood cheese?  Conflict cows?

Seriously - I have never bought or asked for a diamond ring, although occasionally I've thought about it.  I haven't bought a cell phone in years by just begging other people's hand-me-downs.  I don't own a PlayStation or Wii or anything like that.  I haven't even owned a car in five years.  I'm not the best ( Read more... )

Dear Elise Vincent,

I'm not sure who you are, but if you are going to report on health statistics, it would be a great idea to learn a) how to find them, and b) how to source and interpret them. I am shocked and amazed to learn that, although UNAIDS reports HIV/AIDS prevalence for ages 15-49 at 5.4% in Uganda and 2.8% in Rwanda, you have decided ( Read more... )

If your bandwidth can handle it, please take a few moments to check out these amazing photographs.

1. My friends that have seen this exhibit have told me that it's amazing.  You can see many of the photos here.  If you're connected to any institution that can host this exhibit, I would encourage you to contact them.  I'm brainstorming to see what I  ( Read more... )

[Emphasis mine]

Goma - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wrapped up a two-day visit to war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, repeatedly lashing out at those responsible for the epidemic of sexual violence and rape in the vast Central African country.

Standing in the Kibati II refugee camp, 10km outside the provincial capital ( Read more... )

Laurent Nkunda has guaranteed a humanitarian corridor so the UN can reach Rutshuru ... for now.  But I can't believe that this will hold for long.  
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called for the mandate of UN forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be strengthened.

I don't know what will come of this.  I am extremely apprehensive ( Read more... )

“This is very much the worst it's been in the last 10 years, even during the war, I've never been this scared,” said Stuart.


"Last night I was in my home with my family,” Stuart, a resident who fled to Gisenyi in Rwanda, told IRIN. “Government troops were shooting outside, in the street, all over the neighbourhood. They were shooting heavy guns and ( Read more... )

I'm worried because two of my friends recently moved to Goma with the UN and I had heard in September that one of the reasons I was given a hard time by the presidential guards in Kinshasa was that the government believes the UN mission, MONUC, to be protecting one of the routes in the east along which Laurent Nkunda is attempting to advance.

UN ( Read more... )

First, the DRC supreme court has validated the poll results and made official Kabila's claim to the presidency for another five years.  They have also rejected Bemba's contention of the poll results.

Second, Bemba has accepted defeat, although he still does not believe in Kabila's victory.

And third, a volcano erupted in eastern DRC but did not cause ( Read more... )