Thought to be on the decline, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda has killed about 2,500 people and abducted almost 700 children in the past 18 months, recently-released human rights reports have highlighted. Some interesting possible scenarios are mentioned, such as the US lending intelligence support, having an international or regional armed force go after LRA leader Joseph Kony and that the LRA might be looking for support from Sudan. Also interesting is the theory that the LRA continues to kill and terrorize civilians simply to maintain itself, "as a way to socialize and indoctrinate their soldiers." The LRA is a brutal rebel group and with not even a pretense of any ideological or territorial goals but killing and kidnapping children, the sooner regional authorities can cooperate to wipe them out, the better.

Three years after the great global financial crisis, what's changed? According to this Guardian opinion piece, not that much. Of course, banks are much more cautious and less free-spending than before, but the overall system remains the same. Would another crisis happen again in the future if no big changes are made to our global financial system, or would the current caution be enough to ensure eternal security? As China and Asia look set to continue their growth and take up a greater role through more local consumption and demand, some might be tempted to think that ensures a rosy future and eliminates the need for any radical rethink in the global economic system. We'll see.