Nation & World

Unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) eastern border region stems both from what the nation has and from what it lacks.

Denis Mukwege has his hands full. So do Justin Kabanga and Maria Bard. The three each have leadership roles in nonprofits engaged in meeting the needs of people caught up in the fighting along the Rwandan border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

“When they put the gun in my mouth, I decided it wasn’t so ridiculous after all.”

On Friday (April 24) the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) will host a conference titled “Politics, Policy, and Progress: Gay Rights as Human Rights.” Among the many guests in attendance will be Lance Black, the Oscar award-winning screenwriter for “Milk.” The event, beginning at 12:30 p.m., will take place at the Kennedy School, with panels in Littauer 130, Bell Hall, Starr Auditorium, and the JFK Jr. Forum.

Los Angeles is a city that many equate with violent gangs and an ineffectual and troubled police force. Yet recent years have seen a decline in gang homicides and violent crime due to a new approach in policing.

The architect behind Barack Obama’s successful presidential run shared his insights at Harvard Kennedy School on the strategies that propelled a first-term senator to the White House.

Susan Leal intends to use her public sector expertise to address issues of water management and climate change. Former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. is passionate about health care. Robert Whelan will likely turn his business acumen toward education.

You might think of the little bits of good news that came out last week as the macroeconomic equivalent of the first crocuses of spring. There was the heartening word that initial jobless claims are slowing.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, chief of the United States Central Command, spoke at Harvard April 21, offering his perspective on leadership and lessons learned in Iraq, and his take on the United States’ strategy for the future security of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Jocelyn Kelly stood alone at the airport in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali, wondering whether anyone would meet her.

Jennifer Scott worked hard to become a doctor. But when she faced the ills of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she realized her technical skills weren’t enough.

Associate Professor Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Assistant Professor Tarek Masoud of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (HKS) have been named 2009 Carnegie Scholars by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The honorees were selected for their compelling ideas and commitment to enriching the quality of the public dialogue on Islam.

Imani was just 15 when soldiers from the rebel group Interahamwe found her on the road in a remote region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The eastern DRC is swept up in a maelstrom of violence against women that has swirled for more than a decade. Researchers and physicians from Harvard and its affiliated hospitals are providing critical care for women fractured by their experiences.

Researchers from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative are working to understand the volume and impact of gender violence by analyzing data provided by survivors.

Harvard’s partnership with a Congolese hospital seeks to understand the causes of the violence against women that hangs like a toxic cloud over a huge swath of this enormous country in Africa’s midsection.

There wasn’t an empty seat in Askwith Hall Wednesday night (April 1) as students, educators, and researchers crowded in to hear “Informing the Debate: A Panel Discussion on Boston’s Charter, Pilot, and Traditional Schools,” sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), the Rappaport Institute, and the Center for Education Policy Research.

A witness to terrible domestic violence until the age of 8, “Jamal” still carries his worries into the classroom every day. Even though he and his mother are now safe, he’s unable to focus, frequently acts out, and has been suspended from third grade.

Britain’s Arcadia Fund has awarded $5 million to the Harvard University Library. Arcadia’s five-year grant will provide flexible support for the library’s core functions: acquisitions, access, preservation, and dissemination.

On April 8, 1903 — Easter Sunday — a mild disturbance against local Jews rattled Kishinev, a sleepy city on the southwestern border of imperial Russia.

A politician intends to revolutionize the educational system in Kenya. A husband-and-wife team offers professional development to teachers to reduce social violence, develop civic competencies, and help eradicate poverty in Mexico. A student hopes to work on international educational reform.

Some scholars are hard-pressed to identify what exactly drew them to their field. Others can point to a specific “aha!” moment when they found their academic calling. In Justin Weir’s case, it all began with a bit of bureaucracy.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, came to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Monday (April 6) to lay out a four-point program for re-regulating the nation’s financial system.

The writing of culture watcher and critic Louis Menand — Harvard’s Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of English — has cast a wide net over the years.

After removing her soaked red sneakers, Radcliffe Fellow Gail Mazur read aloud from new poems Monday (April 6) in dry black socks. The poet was undeterred by the onslaught of gray rain that thrashed Radcliffe Gymnasium’s windows — a fitting backdrop for Mazur’s charged, emotional poems.

Jose Maria Aznar, the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004, will deliver a lecture titled “The Role of Europe in the Geopolitical Context” at 5 p.m. Wednesday (April 15) in the Belfer Center’s Starr Auditorium at Harvard Kennedy School.

In December 2000, Dorothy Sewe and her family — fleeing tribal violence in Kenya — escaped across the border into Tanzania. In the first few days, all 17 huddled under plastic bags in the pouring rain. They camped outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, begging for help.

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) recently announced the top 50 programs of the 2009 Innovations in American Government Awards competition. The programs, which represent the best in government innovation from local, county, city, tribal, state, and federal levels, were selected from more than 600 applicants, and include 21 cities and towns, seven counties, one school district, 11 states, eight federal agencies, one tribal government, and one regional authority.

Raj Chetty, a public economist whose work focuses on social insurance and tax policy, has been appointed professor of economics in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), effective April 1.