The region is on the mend, albeit slowly and patchily, with South Korea and Thailand leading the way.

CNN: CHILDREN OF THE CRISIS

By inviting all scholars to peruse its archives (something it has done only patchily), Turkey could disarm its critics.

ECONOMIST: Armenians and Turks

On the human-rights front, a string of new horrors has blotted a record that had been improving, albeit patchily.

ECONOMIST: Turkey

Data relating to disease prevalence or causes of death are published only patchily.

ECONOMIST: Beijing wants to clear the air for the Olympics

But the reform Labour said would accompany this investment materialised patchily and belatedly.

ECONOMIST: Labour's record

The freeze has been applied patchily, but settlers and their backers are hailing its end as a moment of triumph.

ECONOMIST: The Israel-Palestine peace process

Many Romani children attend school patchily if at all.

ECONOMIST: Europe's Romanies

For his part, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the proclaimed winner of last summer's poll, invited a clutch of regional leaders, including the presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan (where Nowruz is also celebrated, albeit patchily), to a jamboree in Tehran.

ECONOMIST: Iran's new year: The fun and the hangover | The