(September 12, 2006) WIDE ANGLE is on the ground as the Democratic Republic of Congo holds its first elections in 45 years -- an election supported by more than $450 million from the United Nations. "Democracy in the Rough" immerses us in a nation haunted by war, threatened by corruption, and torn over how to move toward a democratic and more promising future.

A roundup of links to local stories of global importance from around the world.

Every refugee has a story. Here are nine of them, from Iraq, Tibet, Burma, Cuba, Congo and Rwanda.

A roundup of links to local stories of global importance from around the world.

The project -- known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) -- will be launched in Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Vietnam.

Will the Obama administration reverse Bush's antagonism towards the ICC?

Congo has the globe's highest incidence of rape, with recorded victims ranging from as young as two months to as old as 83 years.

In recent weeks, the Ugandan rebel group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been attacking villages, raping women, abducting children, and leaving hundreds of people dead in north-eastern DR Congo.

Interview with Anthony W. Gambino author of a recent Council on Foreign Relations report, Congo: Securing Peace, Sustaining Progress, about the crisis in Congo.

A variation on a theme, this scenario has been playing out from Congo to the Philippines: mining operations from the developed world move into ore-rich, but impoverished areas of developing countries.

To what extent can Congo’s current problems be traced back to the legacy of Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule? Africa correspondent Michela Wrong offers some insight in this introduction to her book about the rise and fall of the man also known as The Leopard.

Explore the history of the DRC from Belgian King Leopold II to Joseph Kabila in this photo essay.

Ruling through peace after years of relying on violence doesn’t come easy. This point was proved by three days of fighting that broke after the first round results of the presidential elections in the Congo were announced on 20 August.

Filmmaker, Fred de Sam Lazaro, talks about making "Democracy in the Rough," and the problems he ran into along the way.