True, Sabina Slonkova (who, in the event, was unharmed) had been digging up dirt for the daily Mlada fronta Dnes on deals Mr Srba had helped to cut.

ECONOMIST: A Czech scandal

And as Congo crumbles, it grows harder to plunder: operations at Ituri's vast Kilomoto gold mine, for example, have virtually ceased since local peasants started digging up its airstrip and panning the dirt for ore.

ECONOMIST: Congo's wars