More than two million people in the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia linked hands on 23 August to form a nearly unbroken 400-mile-long human chain in protest at Soviet rule.

BBC: 23 Aug: Baltics link hands

Anders Hultin of Kunskapsskolan, a chain of 26 Swedish schools founded by a venture capitalist in 1999 and now running at a profit, says its schools only rarely have to invoke the first-come-first-served rule the chain has responded to demand by expanding so fast that parents keen to send their children to its schools usually get a place.

ECONOMIST: Education vouchers

After much foot-dragging by the restaurant industry, a new rule requiring chain restaurants display calorie counts on their menus is taking effect in the latter half of this year.

FORBES: Calories on Restaurant Menus Won't Make Us Eat Less -- But Here's One Thing That Might