A troubling look into the problems at diamond mines in Zimbabwe, where violence, rape and extortion are alleged to have been committed by government forces to take control of the mining. While attempts have been made by diamond companies to refuse purchasing diamonds directly from these mines, smugglers are able to take them across the borders to neighboring countries like Mozambique and sell them illegally and profitably.

A new report by advocacy group Global Witness states that violence, rapes and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is linked to multinational mining companies. An area rich in minerals and other natural resources, violence, poverty and disaster have been an unavoidable fate of many of its locals.
Here's a good summary on the report on the HuffPost.

Also on the HuffPost, a list of 10 top stories to watch for in Africa.

Paul Krugman sees a bleak immediate future for the U.S. economy-wise in this piece. As he said, blips happen even in the worst economic times, because when economic activity dropped as deeply as it did last year, then a little jump or improvement is not surprising. The question is how sustainable it can be, and my feeling is it's not. It's funny when everytime there is some slight rise, or a decline that is not as deep as expected in the U.S., such as with unemployment figures or holiday shopping, there are industry pundits and media reports that highlight optimism, as if they expect things will return to normal very soon.

The visit by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to meet Syrian leader Bashar Assad in Damascus a little over 2 weeks ago- sign of great relations between the two neighbors or an indication of how strong and menacing Syria still is to Lebanon, as Michael Totten and this Weekly Standard piece say.