• Tony Barber argues that a decontamination of Italian politics must come before economic salvation, and the two issues should never be separated.
• Clown-turned-politician Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva was elected into the Brazilian congress with a record number of votes in 2010. However, the joy of his campaign has given away to a weariness of the politician’s life: “You pass whole days here doing nothing, just waiting to vote on something while people argue and argue.”
• “Enemy-initiated attacks” in Afghanistan have stayed constant from 2011 to 2012. The reported 7 per cent drop was actually the result of a clerical error.
• Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a barrel full of pork that no longer exists. The Washington Post reports on the tiny local airports in the US that attract plenty of federal spending, but very few planes.
• Tunisians and Egyptians have to fight for their right to do the Harlem Shake.

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