Kabila promises election next year

President Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo has said general elections will be held as promised early next year.

Mr Kabila banned all political activities after he ousted the late President Mobutu in May last year.

But he promised later to allow presidential and legislative elections after a transitional period of two years.

In a new-year speech on national television, Mr Kabila said 1998 would see the beginning of the country's reconstruction.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service