Largest loss of life since World War Two

Child soldiers in the Congo

As harsh a reality as hundreds per week killed in suicide bomber attrocities inside Iraq, a special piece on BBC's Radio 4 brought me to a sobering reality that the continuing conflicts in the parts of Africa where the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda meet have now claimed more lives than any other war since the Second World War.

Very little press coverage in the first world, remarkable indifference from world leaders, and scandalous silence from neighbouring African countries. 4 million people now dead, hundreds of thousands displaced, tens of thousands of women have been raped, thousands of 7-10 year old boys have been trained to kill. Today, it struck me really quite hard just how much of an evil all of this is, and how worse is the evil of political leaders and business leaders who continue to profit from diamonds, cobalt, and other natural resources, with such a human price.

The man who gave his name to a city

Pietro Di Brazza, Italian explorer in the period just after David Livingstone,
is largely unknown as the man behind the name of the Congo capital, Brazzaville. He was a conservationist, believed in sustainable development, and wanted freedom and justice for Africans. Ideas many decades ahead of their time, for which he was largely shunned by political power in Europe. Reluctantly offered a heroe's funeral by the French, his wife declined and he was buried in Algiers. Now the Congolese are to fly his remains to Brazzaville, to honour an interesting and progressive man. See the full story from the BBC here.