Random News Blitz

There is now less than a week before I start my vacation to Los Angeles. There may or may not be any updates during the trip, which lasts from the 25th to the 31st, but don't count on them.

That said, today we'll run through five quick spins of the Random News Generator. A speed round, if you will.

ROUND 1: Oman

In the wake of American sanctions on Iran over their nuclear program, South Korea's prime minister, Kim Hwang-Sik, will be traveled to Oman and the UAE to try and figure out how they're going to cope without Iranian oil. South Korea gets 10% of their oil from Iran. Their first choice, if they can get it, is to get a waiver from having to join in. Their second choice is to make up the difference from other nations, such as the UAE, which contributes another 10% of South Korea's oil supply, and Oman, which contributes 2%. Both nations have assured South Korea of a stable oil supply.

ROUND 2: Botswana

Botswana is dealing with a rise in laptop thefts. 2,114 laptops were reported stolen over the past year, which to Western ears may not sound like too much, but remember this is a sub-Saharan nation of only two million people. Some of the laptops are being ferried to Zimbabwe.

Those people in Botswana who still have them, well, at least one of them is not worrying about whether they could make you sterile.

ROUND 3: England

The staff of Nottingham Prison has walked out in protest, as a response to a rise in inmate attacks. Ten officers have been assaulted by inmates over the past month. The BBC article notes one of the incidents left an officer needing 12 stitches after he was beaten in the back of the head with a chair leg; another unnamed incident left an officer unconscious. The prison contains some 1,000 inmates; some 100 staffers walked out.

ROUND 4: Ghana

Well, if South Korea needs oil, here you go. A deep-water well off Ghana's coast has discovered a "significant" amount of oil. This comes with a caveat, though: Ghana has no idea what they're doing. They don't know how to deal with oil reserves, and the money gained from oil doesn't tend to go back to the Ghanaian people, and like much of western Africa, the presence of oil is generally agreed to just make life worse, as this report from last May details...



This has recently led to a decision to cut oil subsidies...



ROUND 5: South Sudan

...just...

...you know what? Just... read this and then go hug your kids. Just do it. Now.