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Articles on Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

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The Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, which dropped the first atomic bomb in history. The bomb was made from Congolese ore. Reuters

How a rich uranium mine thrust the Congo into the centre of the Cold War

The Soviet Union tested its own atomic bomb in 1949, to the profound shock of the US. This heated up the Cold War dramatically and thrust the Congo to the centre of American geopolitical strategy
Artisanal miners at an illegal mine pit in the DRC. At severe risk to their health, some still go to abandoned sites to dig out uranium and cobalt. Reuters/Kenny Katombe

The link between uranium from the Congo and Hiroshima: a story of twin tragedies

The mine that produced the uranium that made the Hiroshima bomb has since been closed. But its troubling legacy continues to haunt the Democratic Republic of Congo and the local community.
Despite ongoing conflict in the DRC, the number of endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park has increased. Shutterstock

Conservation efforts can’t afford to shy away from high-risk conflict zones

For the survival of iconic species in Africa, it is crucial that conservation efforts do not ignore conflict zones.
Papa Wemba’s coffin at a memorial in Kinshasa on May 3 2016. EPA/Habibou Bangre

Papa Wemba: active ambassador for Congolese urban music

Papa Wemba was one of the most active ambassadors of Congolese urban music on the global stage. He did this by fusing international musical styles with authentic Congolese grooves.
Ivorians attend a memorial service for the late Congolese singer Papa Wemba in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 27 April 2016. EPA/Legnan Koula

Papa Wemba: strong, but ambiguous bonds, with his motherland

Congolese singer Papa Wemba might have been one of Africa’s best loved musicians - but his politics wasn’t popular with all his compatriots.
There are shortcomings in celebrity led campaigns against “conflict minerals” such as the one in which US actress Robin Wright is involved. Robin Wright's instagram

The problem with Western activists trying to do good in Africa

The relationship between advocacy organisations based in Western capitals and their marketed constituency of marginalised and disadvantaged African groups is tenuous. What then, is the goal?
Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the 2016 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He has drawn flack for seeking a third term. Reuters/Ruben Sprich

Why Kagame’s bid to serve a third term makes sense for Rwanda

Unlike the third-term fever afflicting the Great Lakes region, Rwanda is not mired in corruption and stagnation. Rwandans were fearful and anxious about what might happen after 2017 without Kagame.
The conflict mineral provision has hurt the victims of the violence more than the perpetrators. Reuters

Wall Street watchdog SEC can’t end violence in Congo

Congress tasked the SEC with reducing violence in Congo through Dodd-Frank’s conflict minerals provision. A laudable goal, but the SEC can’t achieve it.
Excavators and drillers at work in a copper and cobalt mine near Lubumbashi. Mineral resources are a big part of the DRC’s economy. Reuters/Jonny Hogg

Why dependence on natural resources is bad for the DRC

The fall in commodity prices has hit the DRC hard. This is a lesson to resources-dependent countries in Africa that they need to diversify their economies.
The Chinese have helped build more than 300 dams in Africa, like this one on the Congo River. Reuters

China’s economic slowdown threatens African progress

China’s economy has continued to slow despite efforts by its leaders to give it a boost, which is very bad news for an increasingly dependent Africa.
What does telling the story of the long-running conflict in the Congo through the lens of Verdi’s Macbeth teach us? Owen Metsileng and Nobulumko Mngxek in Macbeth. by Nicky Newman

Macbeth brings double, double, toil and trouble from DR Congo

Brett Bailey’s Macbeth at Brisbane Festival is a powerful production that relocates Verdi’s opera (based on Shakespeare’s play) to the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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