They argue that, without cuts in emissions far more drastic than those volunteered in the Copenhagen accord, there is only the slimmest chance that serious climate change will be averted.

ECONOMIST: The Canc��n climate-change conference: A sort of progress | The

Without saying how the accord would be policed, it was agreed that governments should be responsible for vessels flying their flag whether they were on the high seas or in national waters.

ECONOMIST: Marine conservation

The hope seems to be that, sooner or later, the ringgit will reach a level that is so obviously undervalued that it will bounce back of its own accord, without the painful period of monetary stringency seen in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

ECONOMIST: Banking in Malaysia: Next in line? | The

By signing the Good Friday accord, Sinn Fein accepted that the status of Northern Ireland could not change without the consent of the majority of the people in the province.

ECONOMIST: Ulster in peril