"I think Shaun tried to hurry through the rehab and get up here because he knew we needed help, " manager Terry Collins said.

WSJ: Marcum exits early again, Mets lose to Pirates 7-3

Moreover, they are in no hurry to agree to a new law, since they think the woes of exporters, and their laid-off workers, can only help them at the polls.

ECONOMIST: The spat between America and Europe heats up

And the Belarussian leader is in a hurry, both because his economy is (even) wobblier than Russia's and because he seems to think that, under existing agreements with Russia, he can leap across the border and win Mr Yeltsin's job at Russia's presidential election next year.

ECONOMIST: Russia and Belarus