The clinic, administered by military medical personnel from both countries, would be one of the culminating events of a two-week, U.S.-led exercise meant to improve the FARDC's medical capabilities -- all part of the "soft power" strategy advanced by U.S. Africa Command, based in Germany.

What was Joseph Kabila thinking? According to Congolese and Belgian press, President Kabila gave Queen Paola of Belgium a diamond necklace, earrings, and bracelet on the occasion of Congo's 50th anniversary celebrations. A bit of a PR catastrophe.

But the countries that share the Nile River basin – Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo – are tired of Egypt, and to a lesser extent Sudan, dictating the terms of the river water’s usage.