For six years, war has lashed the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing three million people and displacing another 12 million from their homes. Among the conflict’s more chilling realities: child soldiers, some shorter than the rifles they carry. Many young recruits are joining tribal militias, such as the Mai Mai and Interahamwe, which roam the region’s forests, ambushing and killing at will. Read more...

Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s new year’s resolution couldn’t have been more shocking. To a nation still reeling from the effects of genocidal massacres, his decree January 1 pardoning up to 40,000 prisoners kindled both rage and praise. Read more...

Africa is no stranger to war, famine, plagues, or natural disasters. Prior to the AIDS generation, however, most African languages had no word for depression, a condition which costs American business $44 billion a year. A recent survey of two AIDS-stricken districts of Uganda found that 21 percent of the residents were clinically depressed, many of them suicidal. Read more...

A month-long cold wave has swept from Afghanistan into Bangladesh, Nepal and northern India, claiming new victims each day. Said to be the coldest weather in centuries, the phenomenon has already caused more than 1,400 deaths, the largest number -- nearly 600 -- being in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Read more...