Rwanda names gorillas on World Environment Day

The population of mountain gorillas in their main central African habitat has increased by a quarter in seven years, regional authorities said Tuesday.Most of the world's mountain gorillas are found in the Virunga massif, which includes three contiguous national parks in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.The population of the iconic but endangered animal in that area increased from 380 individuals in 2003 to 480, according to a census carried out earlier this year and funded by a number of local and foreign wildlife organisations.

Four highly endangered mountain gorillas have been found dead in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, likely because of extreme cold in their mountain habitat, experts said Thursday.Some of the group were found still alive but dying earlier this week by trackers from the Karisoke Research Centre in the mountains of north-west Rwanda."While the cause of death has yet to be determined, the gorillas are thought to have died because of the extreme cold and rainy conditions," the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement.

Amid one of the the world’s most troubled regions, Simon Village maintains that it is business as usual for his company. All the same, he will admit to being a little alarmed by recent events near his operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “If you remember, the M23 were just sitting in the bushes north of Goma. And then, all of a sudden, they were in Goma. It caught people by surprise,” the chief executive of gold miner Banro Corp. said in a phone interview from the DRC.

Fighting between the national army and rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is threatening mountain gorillas, a critically endangered species, the Virunga National Park said Sunday.

A fugitive suspect in Rwanda's 1994 genocide with a five-million dollar reward on his head has been arrested in Uganda, police said on Friday.Suspect Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi, accused of helping to orchestrate the mass killings, was arrested after entering Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo."The people in Arusha were tracking him. As soon as he crossed into Uganda, which was on 26th or 27th (June), they informed us. We picked him up on Wednesday in Mbarara," said Edward Ochom, head of Uganda's Criminal Investigation Directorate.

This year’s hottest baby names have a 1940s flavour, with Penelope topping BabyNameWizard.com’s annual baby name buzz report. The forecast of the biggest up-and-coming names for 2013 also includes Harper, for the second year in a row, along with boys’ names Camden and Archer.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday it is opposed to London-based oil company Soco International exploring for oil in Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, which is a last refuge for the region's mountain gorillas. "We have informed Soco and urge the government of DR Congo to fully respect the international conventions to which it is signatory," a foreign office spokesperson said in a statement seen by Reuters. "Foreign investments in sectors such as hydrocarbons ... can play a vital role in boosting development of the DRC ... ...