Unknown to many, the world's most volatile location, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may be the answer to many of Africa's problems. The vast unrealized potential of this region is mind boggling. While the rest of the world mulls over the challenges of renewable energy, a gargantuan resource lies unused in the heart of Africa.

For the last few years, plans have been on the table to develop the world's largest hydroelectric power dam - one that upstages the still incomplete Three Gorges Dam in China. Called the Grand Inga, this dam would produce enough electricity to power the whole of Africa! With a potential of 39,000MW output, the 500 million residents of the continent would be ushered into the industrial and digital age with electricity to spare. Many challenges lie ahead for the project. Building this great dam across the entire Congo River has a price tag of +$50 Billion which might be one of the lesser problems, considering the nature of the region itself, and the rampant corruption that has plagued Africa in general for the last few decades.

That said, the Congo has the agricultural potential to feed the whole of Africa too. Its climate favors the cultivation of a very wide range of crops. More than half of the Congo's land is arable land, but only about 2% of this has been cultivated! Agricultural yield is extremely high in the region - high enough to supply the whole of Africa with all the necessary food crops (Rice, corn, millet, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane… the list goes on and on). War and a decaying infrastructure may keep all this unexploited sadly.

Africa is a paradox unto itself, an enigma without an solution. For now we can only hypothesize about what 'could be' and 'might be'.

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I might be jumping the gun here a little, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents before the pre-launch euphoria kills everyone. The iPhone hype is so great, Jesus might be coming shortly thereafter. All hail the life changing utility of the future - or is it?

Judging from what I've seen online and in the catchy TV ads, this might well be the phone to end all phones. I'm not sure whether to call it a phone, or a gizmo with Phone + iPod + Internet. What more could you possibly ask for? I'm a certified phone whore, switching phones every few months, on a quest for the mythical device, the holy grail of all gadgets and I'm just wondering if this could be it. My gut feeling is that brilliant marketing is what is at play here.

I suspect that the iPhone will have the same flaws the T-Mobile MDA did (back when I had it). The MDA was everything you might want in a phone (multimedia & internet)… except it failed at the one thing it was supposed to do the best - be a phone. Touchscreen dialing looks nice and easy until you have to do it driving a car. People take a keypad for granted. Have you ever noticed the the #5 key always has that tell-tale bump that guides you to dial a number even while blind-folded?

Anyone planning to use this 'Great Gadget' in Africa might be a little disappointed. All that I've read so far hints at the internet being at the core of its great features, with the Safari Browser, Email, Google Maps, YouTube integration and more. GPRS/EDGE coverage in most African countries is spotty if any. If you just want to settle for a glitzy phone with music, then by all means go for it. Also, if the iPhone gets you a hot date, then you have my blessings and it is definitely worth the price.

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The South African government has launched a new website www.sa2010.gov.za to provide information on the country's preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The site focuses in particular on providing comprehensive information on government 2010-related programmes, including those related to economic opportunities.

It also acts as an entry point to other sources of information on the country - such as the South African Tourism and International Marketing Council portals, and provincial and host city websites.

Go to the website >>

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Escalation of the Darfur crisis is further evidence that no one really cares, but a new website from Amnesty International gives you a peek into the atrocities being committed.

The new website, www.eyesondarfur.org, posts images caught using high resolution satellite cameras watching over villages in Darfur Sudan and the hope is that this will bring awareness to the violence and plight of the terrorized citizens of the region.

To be quite frank, I don't think the Janjaweed (the people engaged in committing these brutalities) could give a damn. The fact that no one is doing anything has probably emboldened them to the point that I can imagine them posing for a photo from above - 'say cheeese!'

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The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

Shikwati: If they really want to fight poverty, they should completely halt development aid and give Africa the opportunity to ensure its own survival. Currently, Africa is like a child that immediately cries for its babysitter when something goes wrong. Africa should stand on its own two feet.

Read the SPIEGEL interview here

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