CONGOLESE politicians and civic leaders on Wednesday began four days of talks on making peace and eventually holding elections in a country ravaged by armed uprisings and ethnic warfare. The meeting was attended by many opposition politicians who had boycotted the first phase of the “national dialogue” process in March, but some complained that a government agenda was being foisted on them. Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, a former military ruler who took back power in a 1997 civil war, has invited his compatriots “to make peace … transcend, forgive.” – AFP