Even for a country like Brazil, agricultural trade barriers pose less of an obstacle to progress than barriers to trade in manufactured goods.

ECONOMIST: The Mexican marathon

Egypt and Jordan, both American allies with strong ties to the Palestinians, have long since quietly concluded that Yasser Arafat has become an obstacle to progress.

ECONOMIST: Prickly, paranoid and occasionally pragmatic

The American administration also sees Mr Arafat as an obstacle to progress, but fears that his forcible removal would escalate violence and cause huge anger in the Arab world.

ECONOMIST: Yasser Arafat under threat

The counter-measures it recommends, such as hand-washing, appear to present only an isolated obstacle to the perilous progress of the disease.

BBC: Pandemic flu advert revealed by Department of Health