|Area:||342,000 sq km (132,047 sq mi)|
|Population||(2012 est.): 3,976,000|
|Head of state and government:||President Denis Sassou-Nguesso|
The Republic of the Congo’s capital, Brazzaville, was rocked on the morning of March 4, 2012, when a fire in an armoury in a densely populated suburb triggered a huge explosion that killed more than 280 people, injured more than 2,300 others, and left more than 14,000 homeless. The blaze was not contained for several days; meanwhile, survivors crowded shelters as the government struggled to provide aid and comfort to the victims. On May 17 the U.S. State Department announced that a team of civilian technical experts working with local authorities and the UN had cleared the remaining unexploded munitions from the site. In October, Charles Zacharie Bowao, who had been dismissed as defense minister in September, was charged with negligence related to the blast
Legislative elections held on July 15 and August 5 gave Pres. Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s Labour Party (PCT) an absolute majority in the National Assembly. The PCT won more than three-fifths of the seats, while their allies, including independent candidates, took another one-fifth of the seats. Elections were postponed in three districts affected by the munitions blast.
Relations between Congo and China, warm since 1964, were further boosted by a series of development aid projects. In late December 2011, China had announced that it was giving Congo nearly $7.7 million for various social projects, including a new university library, a water-purification plant, and an agricultural research centre. Chinese aid and national oil revenues had created a building boom in the country. On August 24 it was announced that 38 students had been awarded scholarships to 26 Chinese universities, where they would train in areas of study that included engineering, architecture, pharmaceutical medicine, and finance.
On May 24 the World Bank granted Congo $10 million in credits to assist in diversification and the creation of jobs in the forestry sector. The five-year project was designed to manage the forests and to support local communities. An internationally sponsored pilot program (announced on June 5) would allow remote villages to receive satellite coverage that facilitated the use of mobile phones. Each of the 50 mini base stations being built would provide a private wireless network for its surrounding area.