Soldiers loot after coup in Mali

Renegade troops in Mali loot the presidential palace in the capital as the leaders of the coup call for calm and say all borders are closed. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17474946 >

Taliban kill head of girls school

Unfortunately the news yesterday reported the murder of the head of a girls school in Afghanistan by Taliban gunman. The story is here.

This just goes to show that the situation isn't as secure as we would like!

Timor-Leste's journey to development

Since Timor-Leste was recognised as independent in 2002 it has been successful in starting to move from being a fragile state along the development pathway. This article details how the country has managed to increase it's GDP by 228% between 2005 and 2010.
This would be a good example to use for the Conflicts issue "No development without security and no security without development".