Just more than a decade ago, the saola made headlines round the world. Scientists discovered the animal in the remote Vietnamese highlands, the first large mammal to have been found anywhere in the world in more than half a century. But now, in less than 10 years, saola numbers have crashed to about 200.

The death in Libya six weeks ago of nine-year-old Marwa Annouiji from Aids was much more than just another developing world statistic. In her short, life, dominated by illness, the frail child was a pawn in a high-level game of international relations.

The United States uses its aid budget to bribe those countries that have a vote in the United Nations Security Council, giving them 59% more cash in years when they have a seat, according to research by economists. ”Aid should go to the people who need it, not as a political sweetener,” said Duncan Green, of Oxfam.

British property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten has had a British film crew put under house arrest in Zimbabwe after discovering that the filmmakers intended to make a documentary critical of Robert Mugabe. Van Hoogstraten owns a vast estate and other businesses in Zimbabwe.

In the murky world of Hillary Clinton’s undeclared run for the White House, official denials and bland statements are ubiquitous. But it pays to monitor the guests shuttling in and out of her townhouse in Washington, DC. Last week that list revealed a campaign spurred into action by the meteoric rise of Barack Obama.