Recent information on coltan

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has published a number of recent articles on the coltan boom and how the mining and sale of the mineral funds mafia gangs and fuels conflict and environment destruction - not just in Africa, where we would expect, but now in South America.

Go here for their page on "The Illicit Trade of Coltan." 

More on China's (bogus) claims to the South China Sea

Excellent article this week by Mohan Malik at World Affairs on the totally specious claims by China to a huge area in the South China Sea. A must-read if you're interested in the topic.