America has lost its AAA rating as Standard and Poor’s downgrades it to AA+. See how different country scores compare. (Large)

The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center here and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 91 people dead. Also reports on Twitter are raising the possibility that there were two gunmen on the island.

Horn of Africa sees ‘worst drought in 60 years’

The numbers now affected are huge, OHCA says: 3.2m in Ethiopia, 3.2m in Kenya, 2.6m in Somalia and more than 100,000 in Djibouti.

Every month during 2011, about 15,000 Somalis have fled their country, arriving in Kenya and Ethiopia, according to OCHA.

While conflict has been a fact of life for them for years, it is the drought that has brought them to breaking point.

Many have walked for days, are exhausted, in poor health, desperate for food and water.

Nearly one third of all children in the Juba region of Somalia are acutely malnourished, while in parts of Ethiopia the figure is even higher, the UN research says.

The price of grain in affected areas in Kenya is 30-80% above average.

The spokeswoman for OCHA, Elizabeth Byrs, said appeals for Somalia and Kenya, each about $525m (£328m), are barely 50% funded, while a $30m appeal for Djibouti has raised just 30% of the needed funds.

(source)

The Paths of Two Giants

Graphics show some perspective on the border issue raised by Obama. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has issued a public rebuke to Barack Obama’s face, telling the US president his proposed border for the Jewish state would be “indefensible” and not based on reality. One begs the question how two states can come out of the current borders? (source)

Sometimes we can be caught up with what is directly around us, seeing only what is in our own microcosm. Sometimes, however, when we are clear of mind and take a step back, we see that the world is far different then we thought. Toby Ng Design has created a superb series of posters that cleverly help us get an overview of how the world really appears. (VS)

Between the years of 1945 and 1998, 2,053 nuclear explosions occurred in the United States, USSR/Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, and Pakistan (North Korea was excluded). One of the most interesting accounts this visualization depicts are both the atmospheric and underground nuclear explosions that occurred on land and sea; and the destruction ultimately left in their wake. (source)

Where to Live to Avoid a Natural Disaster. (USA)

Weather disasters and quakes: who’s most at risk? The analysis below, by Sperling’s Best Places, a publisher of city rankings, is an attempt to assess a combination of those risks in 379 American metro areas. Risks for twisters and hurricanes (including storms from hurricane remnants) are based on historical data showing where storms occurred. Earthquake risks are based on United States Geological Survey assessments and take into account the relative infrequency of quakes, compared with weather events and floods. Additional hazards included in this analysis: flooding, drought, hail and other extreme weather. (Map)

Protests in Syria Map

Syria and minority rule (source)

Kandahar prison breakout - Taliban dig tunnel

Taliban tunnel breakout outwits Afghan jailers as nearly 500 inmates of Kandahar prison disappear down 1,000ft tunnel – just in time for ‘fighting season’ (source)

BP oil spill: The environmental impact one year on

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and resulted in 4.9m barrels of oil being discharged, threatening marine life and hundreds of miles of coastline. Yet, one year on, what environmental impact did one of world’s largest accidental oil spills have on the region’s wildlife and habitats, and has it been as bad as it was feared at the time?