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Congo
Last update: Thursday 09th of February 2012
Nothing was found!This article is about geographical entities in central Africa; for other uses, see Congo (disambiguation).
Congo is a name shared by two neighbouring countries in Central Africa, largely drained by the Congo River, and usually distinguished by their full official names and occasionally by adding their capital cities. The name was also used in prior political entities. It also refers to the African subregion drained by the Congo River, located between the Gulf of Guinea and the African Great Lakes.
"The Congos" may be used to refer to both countries. The adjective "Congolese" (as in "Congolese music" or "Congolese culture") can refer to either or both countries.
- The Republic of the Congo (ROC), also known as Congo-Brazzaville (and locally as "Braza"), is the smaller of the two countries and lies to the west. It was long a French colony, most of the time called Middle Congo (or part of an entity Middle Congo-Gabon), informally also known as French Congo, and since 1886 part of French Equatorial Africa. On 3 January 1970 it became officially the People's Republic of Congo, since 15 March 1992 it was simply the Republic of the Congo.
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, sometimes also referred to as DR Congo or in French RDC), or Congo-Kinshasa, is the larger of the two countries and lies to the east. It was once the personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium, when it was known as the Congo Free State, and later a Belgian colony when it was renamed the Belgian Congo. It was known as Zaire from 1971 to 1997; during this time the other Congo came to be known simply as "Congo".
Historical uses of Congo and the alternate spelling "Kongo" include:
- Belgian Congo, former colony of Belgium in the present-day area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- French Congo, former French colony in the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo (ROC), also known as Middle Congo, one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa (with Gabon, Oubangui-Chari and Tchad).
- Kongo Kingdom, which comprised of a large area in Central Africa, and was formerly a Portuguese protectorate.
- Portuguese Congo, the presently Angolan exclave of Cabinda, between the ROC and DRC
A mysterious Congo vanishing uranium bars incident has emerged, coinciding with a decisive International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of governors meeting in Vienna on March 5-8
The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo's dilapidated and poorly guarded nuclear reactor plant has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling enriched uranium, following the disappearance of large quantities of the material.
The UN nuclear agency says it is concerned by reports that top nuclear officials in the DR Congo have been held on suspicion of smuggling uranium.
From the BBCThe Democratic Republic of Congo's top atomic energy official is being held over allegations of uranium smuggling.A large quantity of uranium is reported to have gone missing in recent years, although state prosecutor Tshimanga Mukeba did not reveal any figures.
Least corrupt countries: Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Greenland, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada Most corrupt countries: Belarus, Côte d'Ivoire, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Bangladesh, Sudan, Guinea, Iraq, Myanmar.