In Iraq, where Nouri al-Maliki's Shia grouping actually got fewer seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections than its main rival, he clung to power for months until he was able to out manoeuvre them in coalition negotiations.

BBC: What the rise of political Islam is likely to spell

The gloomy economic picture suggests that Mr Castro will soon run out of room to manoeuvre.

ECONOMIST: The last communists

Apple is betting consumers will have found the pulling-out-of-the-pocket manoeuvre too tiring once they realize they can simply glance at their wrist to check the time, along with their email, social media notifications and heart rate.

FORBES: Why iWatch And Google Glass Could Make Smartphones Dumb

Having helped to manoeuvre Necmettin Erbakan, an Islamist, out of the prime ministership Mr Erbakan handed in his resignation to President Suleyman Demirel on June 18th but will hang on to office until a successor is found Mrs Ciller is out to get the job for herself.

ECONOMIST: Turkey

Greeks might reasonably hope for a bit more room for manoeuvre on fiscal targets, but squeezing more cash out of the Europeans to cover budgetary shortfalls, or slowing the pace of structural reform, will be much harder.

ECONOMIST: Greece before the election

One such deft manoeuvre has just been proposed by physicists who have worked out how to recharge the batteries in mobile phones and laptop computers without using power cables.

ECONOMIST: Wireless power

Normally, the station can use thrusters to move out of the way of a piece of junk, but this alert was raised too late for such a manoeuvre.

BBC: International Space Station in debris scare