Milestones

INAUGURATED. Joseph Kabila, 35, as the Democratic Republic of Congo's first freely elected President in more than 40 years; in the capital, Kinshasa. Kabila—who has served as the country's leader since the assassination of his father, President Laurent Kabila, in 2001—defeated Jean-Pierre Bemba in an electoral runoff in October. Addressing dignitaries alongside the Congo River, Kabila vowed to end the corruption and violence that have ravaged the mineral-rich country: "I can see the Congo of tomorrow carrying the hopes of a renascent Africa," he said.

OUSTED. Laisenia Qarase, 65, Fijian Prime Minister; in a coup—the island nation's...