People worry about inflation not war, watch foreign TV, and women have come into their own. And, despite his populist policies, Ahmadinejad seems like a figure from the past

This year, India expects to finish its quarter-century quest to fence the border with Bangladesh. The fence will cover 3,286 kilometres, making it the longest geopolitical barrier in the world. But this feat of nationalism is more flexible than its popular image suggests. So much passes through the fence

Companies and corporations now want to supplement, and then maybe supplant, national governments in space exploration and exploitation