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Laurent-Désiré Kabila
A bust of Laurent Kabila being installed in the town of Bukavu, 2011.
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In office May 17, 1997 – January 18, 2001
Preceded by	Mobutu Sese Seko (as President of Zaire)
Succeeded by	Joseph Kabila
Personal details
Born	(1939-11-27)November 27, 1939 Baudouinville, Belgian Congo
Died	January 18, 2001(2001-01-18) (aged 61) Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Political party	AFDL
Spouse(s)	Sifa Mahanya
Children	Joseph Kabila (b. 1971)
Profession	Rebel leader, President
Religion	Christianity[which?]

Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by one of his bodyguards on January 18, 2001. He was succeeded by his son Joseph eight days later.

Early life[link]

Kabila was born to a member of the Luba tribe in Baudoinville, Katanga Province, (now Moba, Tanganyika District) in the Belgian Congo. His father was a Luba and his mother was a Lunda. He studied political philosophy in France and Serbia at the University of Belgrade, and later attended the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.^[1]

Congo Crisis[link]

When the Congo gained independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960 and the Congo Crisis began, Kabila was a "deputy commander" in the Jeunesses Balubakat, the youth wing of the Patrice Lumumba-aligned General Association of the Baluba People of Katanga (Balubakat), actively fighting the secessionist forces of Moise Tshombe. Within months, Lumumba was overthrown by Joseph Mobutu, and in 1962, Kabila was appointed to the provincial assembly for North Katanga and was chief of cabinet for Minister of Information Ferdinand Tumba. He established himself as a supporter of hard-line Lumumbist Prosper Mwamba Ilunga. When the Lumumbists formed the Conseil National de Libération, he was sent to eastern Congo to help organize a revolution, in particular in the Kivu and North Katanga provinces. In 1965, Kabila set up a cross-border rebel operation from Kigoma, Tanzania, across Lake Tanganyika.^[2]

Che Guevara assisted Kabila for a short time in 1965. Guevara had appeared in the Congo with approximately 100 men who planned to bring about a Cuban style revolution. In Guevara's opinion, Kabila (then 26) was "not the man of the hour" he had alluded to, being too distracted. This, in Guevara's opinion, was the reason that Kabila would show up days late at times to provide supplies, aid, or backup to Guevara's men. The lack of cooperation between Kabila and Guevara led to the revolt being suppressed that same year.^[3] In Guevara's view, of all of the people he met during his campaign in Congo, Kabila was the only man who had "genuine qualities of a mass leader" but castigated him for a lack of "revolutionary seriousness". After the failure of the rebellion, Kabila turned to smuggling gold and timber on Lake Tanganyika. He also ran a bar in Tanzania.^[4]

In 1967, Kabila and his remnant of supporters moved their operation into the mountainous Fizi-Baraka area of South Kivu and founded the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP). With the support of the People's Republic of China the PRP created a secessionist Marxist state in South Kivu province, west of Lake Tanganyika. The mini-state included collective agriculture, extortion and mineral smuggling. The local military commanders were aware of the PRP enclave and reportedly traded military supplies in exchange for a cut of the extortion and robbery profits. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kabila had amassed considerable wealth and established houses in Dar es Salaam and Kampala. The PRP state came to an end in 1988 and Kabila disappeared and was widely believed to be dead. While in Kampala, Kabila reportedly met Yoweri Museveni, the future president of Uganda. Museveni and former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere later introduced Kabila to Paul Kagame, who would become president of Rwanda. These personal contacts became vital in mid-1990s, when Uganda and Rwanda were looking for a Congolese face for their intervention in Zaire.^[5]

War and presidency[link]

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo used by Kabila

Kabila returned in October 1996, leading ethnic Tutsis from South Kivu against Hutu forces, marking the beginning of the First Congo War. With support from Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, Kabila pushed his forces into a full-scale rebellion against Mobutu as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL). By mid-1997, the ADFL had made significant gains. Following failed peace talks, Mobutu fled into exile on May 16. The next day, from his base in Lubumbashi, Kabila proclaimed himself president, suspended the Constitution, and changed the name of the country from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He made his grand entrance into Kinshasa on May 20, officially commencing his term as president. Kabila had been a committed Marxist, but his policies at this point were a mix of capitalism and collectivism. While some in the West hailed Kabila as representing a "new breed" of African leadership, critics charged that Kabila's policies differed little from his predecessor's, being characterised by authoritarianism, corruption, and human rights abuses. Kabila was also accused of self-aggrandizing tendencies, including trying to set up a personality cult, with the help of Mobutu's former Minister of Information, Dominique Sakombi Inongo.

By 1998, Kabila's former allies in Uganda and Rwanda had turned against him and backed a new rebellion of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), the Second Congo War. Kabila found new allies in Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, and managed to hold on in the south and west of the country and by July 1999, peace talks led to the withdrawal of most foreign forces.

Assassination[link]

Kabila was shot during the afternoon of January 16, 2001 by one of his bodyguards, Rashidi Kasereka, who was killed as he attempted to flee the scene. His assassination was part of a failed coup attempt^{[citation needed]}. Kabila may have been alive when he was flown to a hospital in Zimbabwe after he was shot; the Congolese government confirmed that he had died there on January 18. One week later, his body was returned to Congo for a state funeral and his son, Joseph, became president eight days later.

Aftermath[link]

The investigation into Kabila's assassination led to 135 people being tried before a special military tribunal. The alleged ringleader, Colonel Eddy Kapend (one of Kabila's cousins), and 25 others were sentenced to death in January 2003, but not executed. Of the other defendants 64 were jailed, with sentences from six months to life, and 45 were exonerated. Some individuals were also accused of being involved in a plot to overthrow his son. Among them was Kabila's special advisor Emmanuel Dungia, former ambassador to South Africa. Many people believe the trial was flawed and the convicted defendants are innocent.^[6][7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laurent-Désiré Kabila

• Kabila's obituary from The Independent newspaper^{[dead link]}
• Kabila Legacy by Human Rights Watch
• Retracing Che Guevara's Congo Footsteps by BBC News, November 25, 2004
• DR Congo pays tribute Lumumba and Kabila^{[dead link]} Jan 2010

v t e President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (list) Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) Joseph Kasa-Vubu • Antoine Gizenga (rebel) Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) Joseph Mobutu/Mobutu Sese Seko Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) Laurent-Désiré Kabila • Joseph Kabila

Vital Kamerhe
Vital Kamerhe - December 2010
Born	(1959-03-04)4 March 1959 Bukavu, Belgian Congo
Residence	Democratic Republic of Congo
Website
http://www.vital-kamerhe.com/

Vital Kamerhe (born 1959) is a Congolese politician. Former Speaker of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and former Minister of Information, he is currently Honorary President of the National Assembly, founder and leader of the UNC party (Union pour la Nation Congolaise) and candidate to the 2011 presidential election in the DRC.

Biography[link]

Early life and education[link]

Born in Bukavu, Sud-Kivu, on March 4, 1959, Vital Kamerhe Lwa Kanyiginyi Nkingi^[1][2] is the son of Constantine Kamerhe Kanyginyi and Alphonsine Mwa Nkingi. Originally from the Shi community of the Walungu territory, he is married and father of 9 children.

He began his primary school in Bukavu and then in Goma. He then continued in the Kasai-Oriental, in Gandajika, where he finishes his primary school. School years 1975-1976 and 1976–1977, he attended the Institut Sadisana (former College St. Francois-Xavier) in Kikwit Sacré-Coeur,Bandundu province. He then moved to Kananga (Kasai-Occidental Province) and finally, after one year, to Mbuji-Mayi where he obtained his State degree in 1980 (Institut Mulemba). This experience led him to learn all four national languages of Congo namely Kikongo, Lingala, Kiswahili and Tshiluba. He also speaks fluent French.^[2]

From there he completed his studies at the University of Kinshasa, where he received his degree in Economics in 1987 with distinction. There he stayed as teaching assistant.^[3]

Political career[link]

Concert/rally for the UNC candidate in 2011.

Under Mobutu[link]

Kamerhe started his political career in 1984 with the UDPS (Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social). During the democratic transition under Mobutu, he was a member of the Rassemblement des forces Sociales et Federalistes (RSF) of Vincent de Paul Lunda Bululu and was also president of the Jeunesse de l'Union Sacrée de l'opposition Radicale et Alliés (JUSORAL), an opposition youth league. Between 1993 and 1995 he works in several public functions:

• 1993 : Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of the Environment, Tourism and Directeur de Cabinet au Ministère de l’Environnement, Tourisme et Conservation de la Nature
• 1994 : Coordinator of the Prime Minister's Cabinet
• 1994-1995: Director of the Cabinet for the Minister of Higher Education and University, Mushobekwa Kalimba wa Katana, member of Lunda Bululu's RSF

There is some controversy over whether he was a member of a Mobutist youth league (Frojemo), led by General Etienne Nzimbi Ngbale Kongo wa Basa, a fact his opponent often use to discredit him.^[4]

Under Kabila[link]

Under Laurent Kabila, Kamerhe becomes the deputy chief of staff of Etienne-Richard Mbaya, the minister of reconstruction, then:

• From 1997 to 1998 : Director of the Service National (a quasi-military service set up by Laurent Kabila)
• In 1998 : Finance Counselor at the Ministère de la Défense Nationale et Anciens Combattants, with the general Denis Kalume

and finally deputy commissioner in charge of MONUC affairs.^[4]

Role in the peace process of the Great Lakes region[link]

A founding member of the PPRD party in 2002, Vital Kamerhe was one of the leading figures in the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he was even nicknamed "le Pacificateur", the "Peacemaker". As Commissioner General of the Government responsible for monitoring the peace process in the Great Lakes region he is one of the principal negotiators of the 2002 peace deal.^[5] In 2003, he is appointed Minister of Press and Information in the transitional government.

Role in the 2006 General Election Campaign[link]

In July 2004, he takes on the leadership of the PPRD and prepares Joseph Kabila's election campaign, which he receives a lot of credit for. He is elected as parliamentarian in Bukavu with one of the highest scores in the country and on December 29, 2006 he is elected president of the National Assembly.^[4]

More Recent Developments[link]

In 2009, as president of the National Assembly he questions the president Joseph Kabila and his own party over the Umoja Wetu operations that allowed several thousand Rwandan troops to deploy into the Congo without informing the parliament.^[6] On January 21, 2009 he releases a statement to Radio Okapi expressing his disappointment^[7] for the joint military operations between the Congolese and Rwandan army in the Kivu, conducted without informing the National Assembly and the Senate and thus violating the article 213 of the constitution.^[8]

On March 25, 2009 he delivers a speech resigning as President of the National Assembly.^[9][10] On December 14, 2010 Kamerhe officially quits the PPRD announcing his candidacy to the Presidential Elections of 2011 and the creation of his new party,^[11] the UNC (Union pour la Nation Congolaise),^[12] which is expected to have its official inauguration in February 2011.

References[link]

1. ^ "CSIS - The Road to Presidential Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Feb 2, 2011" "The question of the name is part of a pseudo-political campaign aiming at depicting Vital Kamerhe as a "rwandaise", hence enemy of the congolese people. Vital Kamerhe himself speaks about this issue during the conference held at the CSIS, in Washington DC on February 2nd, 2011. The question and answer related to this topic can be heard starting at 00:56:26"
2. ^ ^{a b} " Élogieux cursus de Vital Kamerhe, président l’Assemblée nationale ", January 10, 2007, copy on CongoForum.be
3. ^ "Radio Okapi (2006)"
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Fresh air in Congolese politics"
5. ^ "CNN - DR Congo peace deal signed - December 17, 2002", "accessed on 01/30/2011"
6. ^ "Call for DR Congo speaker to quit", AFP, 27 February 2009.
7. ^ "Kabila decision incensed Congolese", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 22 January 2009.
8. ^ "Constitution de la République Démocratique du Congo"
9. ^ "LAVDC Radio - Jeudi 26 mars 2009"
10. ^ "Congolese assembly speaker quits". BBC. 25 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7963755.stm. Retrieved 2011-01-29. 
11. ^ "DECLARATION POLITIQUE DE L’HONORABLE VITAL KAMERHE, PRESIDENT NATIONAL DE L’UNION POUR LA NATION CONGOLAISE, UNC, en sigle (Kinshasa, Mardi 14 décembre 2010)"
12. ^ "UNC Party Flyer - released on December 14, 2010"

v t e Candidates in the 2011 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election Jean Andeka Adam Bombolé Joseph Kabila François Nicéphore Kakese Vital Kamerhe Oscar Kashala Léon Kengo Antipas Mbusa Nzanga Mobutu Josué Alex Mukendi Étienne Tshisekedi

Joseph Kabila
President of the Congo-Kinshasa
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 January 2001 Acting: 17 January 2001 – 26 January 2001
Prime Minister	Antoine Gizenga Adolphe Muzito Louis Alphonse Koyagialo (Acting) Augustin Matata Ponyo
Preceded by	Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Personal details
Born	(1971-06-04) 4 June 1971 (age 41) Fizi, Congo-Léopoldville (now Congo-Kinshasa)
Political party	People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
Spouse(s)	Olive Lembe di Sita
Alma mater	Makerere University People's Liberation Army National Defense University

Joseph Kabila Kabange (known commonly as Joseph Kabila, born June 4, 1971) is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. He was elected as President in 2006. In 2011, he was re-elected for a second term.

Biography[link]

Early life and education[link]

Joseph Kabila Kabange was born on June 4, 1971 at Hewabora, a small village in the Fizi territory of the South Kivu province, in Eastern Congo. He is the son of long time rebel, former AFDL leader and president of the Congo Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Sifa Mahanya.

Guerrilla and army years[link]

Following high school, Joseph Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime. Joseph became the commander of the infamous army of "kadogos" (child soldiers) and played a key role in major battles on the road to Kinshasa. The liberation army received logistical and military support from regional armies from Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe. Following the AFDL's victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get further training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing, China.

When he returned from China, Kabila was awarded the rank of Major-General, and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1998. He was later, in 2000, appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a position he held until the elder President Kabila's assassination in January 2001.^[1] As chief of staff, he was one of the main military leaders in charge of Government troops during the time of the Second Congo War (1998–2003).

Presidency[link]

Joseph Kabila rose to the Presidency on 26 January 2001 after the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, becoming the world's first head of government born in the 1970s. He remained the world's youngest head of government until Roosevelt Skerrit became Prime Minister of Dominica in January 2004.^[2]

At age 30, he was considered young and inexperienced. He subsequently attempted to end the ongoing civil war by negotiating peace agreements with rebel groups who were backed by Rwanda and Uganda, the same regional armies who brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebel group to power 3 years before. The 2002 peace agreement signed at the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, South Africa, which nominally ended the Second Congo War, maintained Joseph Kabila as President and head of state of the Congo. An interim administration was set up under him, including the leaders of the country's two main rebel groups as vice-presidents (two other vice-presidents were representatives of the civilian opposition and government supporters respectively).

Kabila in 2002, with Thabo Mbeki, George W. Bush, and Paul Kagame

On March 28, 2003, an apparent coup attempt or mutiny around the capital Kinshasa, allegedly on the part of members of the former guard of former president Mobutu Sese Seko (who had been ousted by Kabila's father in 1997 and died in the same year), failed.^[3] On June 11, 2004, coup plotters led by Major Eric Lenge allegedly attempted to take power and announced on state radio that the transitional government was suspended, but were defeated by loyalist troops.^[4][5]

In December 2005, a partial referendum approved a new constitution, and a presidential election was held on July 30, 2006 (having been delayed from an earlier date in June).^[6] The new constitution lowered the minimum age of presidential candidates from 35 to 30; Kabila turned 35 shortly before the election. In March 2006, he registered as a candidate.^[7] Although Kabila registered as an independent, he is the "initiator" of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), which chose him as their candidate to the election. Although the new constitution stipulates that a debate be held between the two remaining candidates for the presidency, no debates took place and this was declared by many as unconstitutional.

According to widely disputed provisional results announced on August 20, Kabila won 45% of the vote; his main opponent, vice-president and former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won 20%. The irregularities surrounding the elections results prompted ^[8] a run-off vote between Kabila and Bemba which was held on October 29. On November 15, the electoral commission announced the official results and Kabila was declared the winner, with 58.05% of the vote.^[9] These results were confirmed by the Supreme Court on November 27, 2006, and Kabila was inaugurated on December 6, 2006 as the country's newly elected President.^[10] He named Antoine Gizenga, who placed third in the first round of the presidential election (and then backed Kabila in the second round) as prime minister on December 30.^[11]

In December 2011, Kabila was re-elected for a second term as president. After the results were announced on 9 December, there was violent unrest in Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi, where official tallies showed that a strong majority had voted for the opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi.^[12] Official observers from the Carter Center reported that returns from almost 2,000 polling stations in areas where support for Tshisekedi was strong had been lost and not included in the official results. They described the election as lacking credibility.^[13] On 20 December, Kabila was sworn in for a second term, promising to invest in infrastructure and public services. However, Tshisekedi maintained that the result of the election was illegitimate and said that he intended also to "swear himself in" as president.^[14]

In January 2012, Catholic Bishops in DR Congo also condemned the elections, complaining of "treachery, lies and terror", and calling on the election commission to correct "serious errors".^[15]

Views[link]

In 2006, Kabila responded to evidence of widespread sex crimes committed by the Congolese military by describing the acts as "simply unforgivable". He pointed out that 300 soldiers had been convicted of sex crimes, although he added that this was not enough.^[16]

Wedding[link]

On June 1, 2006, after many wedding rumors were fueled by many in top positions in the country, the head of the Presidential Household, Ambassador Theodore Mugalu officially announced the wedding of the President to Olive Lembe di Sita. The wedding ceremonies took place on June 17, 2006.^[17] Kabila and his spouse have a daughter, born in 2001, named Sifa after Kabila's mother.

As President Kabila is Anglican, and Ms Lembe di Sita is Catholic, the wedding ceremonies were ecumenical, and were therefore officiated by both the Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Frederic Etsou Bamungwabi, and Pierre Marini Bodho – Presiding Bishop of the Church of Christ in Congo, the umbrella church for most denominations in the Congo, known within the country simply as "The Protestant Church".

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Joseph Kabila on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Joseph Kabila, The Untold Story
• Rape in the DRC
• BBC Country Profile
• Official website of the President of the DRC
• Joseph Kabila 2011 campaign site
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - Permanent Mission to the United Nations
• DR Congo presidential candidates face off in second round Jane's Intelligence Watch Report, 22 August 2006
• For Congo’s Leader, Middling Reviews by Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York Times, April 4, 2009

v t e Candidates in the 2011 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election Jean Andeka Adam Bombolé Joseph Kabila François Nicéphore Kakese Vital Kamerhe Oscar Kashala Léon Kengo Antipas Mbusa Nzanga Mobutu Josué Alex Mukendi Étienne Tshisekedi

v t e Candidates in the 2006 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election Jean-Pierre Bemba Antoine Gizenga Joseph Kabila Nzanga Mobutu Oscar Kashala Azarias Ruberwa Pierre Pay-Pay wa Syakasighe Vincent de Paul Lunda-Bululu Joseph Olenghankoy Mukundji Pierre Anatole Matusila Malungenine Kongo Antipas Mbusa Bernard Emmanuel Kabatu Suila Eugène Diomi Ndongala Banyingela Kasonga Jean Marinaque Alou Bonioma Kalokola Gérard Kamanda wa Kamanda Norbert Likulia Bolongo Roger Lumbala Guy-Patrice Lumumba Christophe Mboso N'Kodia Pwanga Alafuele Mbuyi Kalala Hassan Thassinda Uba Thassinda Florentin Mokonda Bonza Timothée Moleka Nzulama Justine Mpoyo Kasa-Vubu Jonas Mukamba Kadiata Nzemba Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo Osée Muyima Ndjoko Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma Jacob Niemba Souga Marie-Thérèse Nlandu Mpolo Nene Wivine N'Landu Kavidi Cathérine Marthe Nzuzi wa Mbombo

v t e President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (list) Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) Joseph Kasa-Vubu • Antoine Gizenga (rebel) Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) Joseph Mobutu/Mobutu Sese Seko Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) Laurent-Désiré Kabila • Joseph Kabila

Rizwan "Riz" Khan (Urdu: ريز خان; born April 1962) is a British^[1] television news reporter and interviewer who until April 2011 hosted his own eponymous television show on Al Jazeera English. He first rose to prominence while working for the BBC and CNN.

Life and career[link]

Khan was born in Aden, South Yemen,^[1] to a Punjabi father^[2] and Gujarati mother. His father's roots are in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, while his mother's roots go back to Kutch, Gujarat. He considers himself a British Pakistani. Khan moved with his family to London, at the age of four. He attended both Springwell Junior and Hounslow Manor Comprehensive Schools and joined the Air Training Corps, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Medical Physiology from the University of Wales, and then completed a postgraduate course in Radio Journalism at the University of Portsmouth.

In 1987 he was selected for the BBC News Trainee scheme - a two-year BBC training system, usually taking only 6 people per course. Khan progressed to jobs as a BBC reporter, producer, and writer, working in both television and radio, and would later become one of the founding News Presenters on BBC World Service Television News. He hosted the news bulletin that launched BBC World Service Television News in 1991. In 1993, he moved to CNN International, where he became a senior anchor for the network's global news shows. Events he covered included the 1996 and 1999 coverage of elections in India; the 1997 historic election in Britain; and in April 1998 the unprecedented live coverage from the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj.

In 1996 he launched his interactive interview show CNN: Q&A with Riz Khan, and he has conducted interviews with guests including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, and genomic scientist J. Craig Venter. Khan also secured the world exclusive with Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf following his coup in October 1999. Khan also hosted Q&A-Asia with Riz Khan. These interactive shows put world newsmakers and celebrities up for viewer questions live by phone, e-mail, video-mail and fax, along with questions and comments taken from the real-time chatroom that opens half-an-hour before each show.

Until April 2011, Khan had his own show, Riz Khan, on Al Jazeera English, in which he interviewed analysts and policy-makers and invited viewers to interact with them via phone, email, SMS messages or fax.^[3]

Khan speaks Urdu and Hindi^[4] and also understands other South Asian languages such as Punjabi and Kutchi. He has studied French, and can understand some other European languages, including Swedish and Norwegian.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005 he authored his first book, Al-Waleed: Businessman Billionaire Prince, published by Harper Collins.

In 2011 he authored a preface for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) annual report "Attacks on the Press 2010",^[5] which examined working conditions for journalists in more than 100 countries.^[6]

References[link]

• "Why I'm Joining Al Jazeera", op-ed by Riz Khan, The Wall Street Journal, 13 June 2005, p. A1
• "Q&A CNN Anchor: Riz Khan". India Today. February 19, 2001.

External links[link]

• Riz Khan's official website
• Profile at Al Jazeera English^{[dead link]}
• MySpace Profile
• Interview with Baron Dave Romm of KFAI-FM at the Republican National Convention Sept. 2, 2008 and picture

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