Every IKEA store in the Netherlands is closed after police found bombs in two of the 10 stores.

All Ikea stores in the country have been closed, and the police have also closed sections of motorways nearby because of the threat of more bombs, creating huge traffic jams during rush hour.

IKEA is a Swedish company with stores in 30 countries.

Ikea issued a statement saying there were strong indications that there might be more explosives in other outlets.

ANP the Dutch News Agency, was also evacuated.

The discovery of the bombs coincides with the first terrorism trial in the Netherlands since the 11 September attacks in the United States, but police said there was no apparent connection.

Yet. Busy looking for more bombs. Could be enviro/anti-global/disgrundled employee types. Or not.

East Timor
Australians are being asked to avoid the capital city of East Timor which is under at state of emergency after riots broke out. The country, after 24 years of war declared formal independence in May.

Sydney in Flames
If you live in US states that have experienced bush fires, you may be able to identify with the grave situation Sydney residents are in.

Australian firefighters are tackling at least 60 bushfires in the Sydney area, with hundreds of homes threatened.

Whole suburbs have been evacuated, and hundreds of emergency workers have been brought in.

Africa
I was wandering through Jordon Coopers comments section, following a discussion of U2’s Bono and his role in world affairs.
Here is a bit of what is going on in Africa today.

DR Congo
The UN has authorized 3 thousand more peace keeping troops for this country, which would bring it’s presence up to nearly 9 thousand. The UN will have trouble getting member states to contribute personnel.

They will be expected to supervise the process of disarming, demobilising and resettling of armed Congolese groups.
These groups pose an immediate threat to Congolese civilians and nations like Rwanda, that border the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have long claimed that some of the armed groups include Hutu militia, responsible for mass killings during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Ivory Coast
Displacement of thousands, and chaos continues as rebels and government troops continue battling in a 10 week uprising.

The French troops, whose primary role is the protection of French nationals and other foreign citizens, have carried out four evacuation operations since the uprising began. They have also been monitoring the truce between the Ivory Coast government forces and the original rebel group who seized half the country in September.

Burundi
A ‘peace deal’ earlier this week is weakening between rebel forces and the government. Over 300 thousand people have died in an 8 year civil war.

On Monday, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned that more than one million Burundians were threatened by worsening food shortages.

Swaziland
Trade unions are on strike in this country which has the last remaining monarchy. Political parties are banned.

The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions and the Swaziland Federation of Labour said their action was a show of “mourning for the death of the judicial and executive systems in Swaziland.”

This follows the resignation last weekend of six South African judges who worked on Swaziland’s court of appeal.

If government does not honour court rulings, why are we here?

They resigned after the prime minister said the government would ignore court judgements which curbed the power of King Mswati III.

The judges had ruled that the king was acting unconstitutionally in ruling by decree and overturning court decisions.

Kenya
Here is the latest going on in Kenya after last weeks bombing which killed 15 people in Mombasa. The British High Commission has closed it’s doors today after receiving specific threats.

This has been very lazy blogging on my part. I pulled these stories from the front section of the BBC. I haven’t offered analysis. I haven’t filled in background. I haven’t pointed you to sites that help you make wise decisions about what you can do.
I suspect you’ll glance at them and skip down to something that catches your eye.
It brings me back to Jordon Coopers comments section on Bono.

We are living in a hurting world where most people are far removed from any of our comforts.
Is your heart in an IKEA catalogue?