At the end of November the Democratic Republic of Congo held its second free elections since the civil war. Can the enormous enthusiasm for the electoral process and revial of civil society help the DRC move up the human development index?

Since the Soviet Union disintegrated 20 years ago, Russia had to adopt a new, smaller national identity. For the last decade, Vladimir Putin has been the power in the land, however he designated himself. Now he is again the ruling party’s presidential candidate in the coming elections. Have the Russians had enough?

Although China plans to diversify its fuel sources, the nation at present runs mostly on domestic coal cheaply mined-cheap, that is, provided the costs to wáter, atmosphere and human life are not factored in.