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Introducing Democratic Republic of Congo
Travel Alert: The Democratic Republic of Congo remains a very risky travel proposition. Travellers should exercise extreme caution, check the BBC for news updates or Safe Travel for current government warnings.
More a geographical concept than a fully fledged nation, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaïre) is a bubbling cauldron of untamed wilderness carpeted by swathes of rainforest and punctuated by gushing rivers and smoking volcanoes. Rendered almost ungovernable by the central administration in Kinshasa, the country remains closed to all but the most brave-hearted travellers. The nation’s history reads like something out of Dante’s Inferno – from the brazen political folly of King Leopold of Belgium to the hideously corrupt ‘kleptocracy’ of maverick megalomaniac Mobutu Sese Seko, and the blood-stained battlegrounds of Africa’s first ‘world war’.
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Latest headlines for Democratic Republic of Congo
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Rare gorillas make Facebook debut
24 September 2009 6:56AM
Hollywood actors are helping to launch a campaign to raise money for gorillas in Uganda via Facebook.
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Fear level rises as LRA rebels return
21 September 2009 10:06PM
An increasing number of attacks by the notorious LRA rebels sends a shudder of fear through central Africa, reports the BBC's Peter Martell.
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DR Congo deports genocide suspect
20 September 2009 5:36PM
A Rwandan ex-mayor accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide is sent to a UN tribunal from DR Congo.
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