Jubilation, violence mark days before Congo vote
About 3,000 people gathered Friday to hear President Joseph Kabila appeal for their vote as campaigning wound down ahead of war-battered Congo’s historic weekend vote. A day earlier, a campaign rally for one of front-runner Kabila’s main rivals had turned violent, resulting in at least five deaths. Friday’s crowd was full of dancers, people cheering and praise singers for Kabila, the 35-year-old who became president five years ago under a power-sharing agreement when his rebel-leader father was assassinated. Full Story