Meanwhile, back at the Ranch

Jeune Afrique is reporting that food is becoming increasingly scarce in northeastern Congo in the aftermath of the LRA's sweep through the region. An official in Dungu says the region has become completely unsafe and that people there are unable to tend their fields.

And Bloomberg reports that Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has stopped exploring for copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern Katanga province after five years. In December, BHP withdrew from two diamond exploration joint ventures in Congo. This decision constitutes a real vote of no-confidence in the global economy or the Congolese government, and probably both.