So at least, with the next general election not due until the spring of 2002, Mr Sautter probably has time on his side.

ECONOMIST: Christian Sautter, France��s wary finance minister

Almost immediately, the defence asked the judge for the trial to be adjourned until next month, arguing that lawyers had not had enough time to prepare the case.

BBC: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny goes on trial

Even if that response failed to provide Mr Milosevic with the desired result, he would almost certainly not step down for the time being - on the grounds that his current term does not run out until next summer.

BBC: Analysis: Milosevic's options

But with Miami not playing until next Saturday, at the earliest, he'll have plenty of time to treat the three bone bruises that caused him to miss six games near the end of the regular season.

NPR: James Leads Heat Over Bucks And Into Next Round

The Pac-12 will not release financial details from 2012-13 until this time next year, when nonprofit tax filings are due.

WSJ: Pac-12's Larry Scott Is the Highest Paid College Commissioner

But he could also note that the commission's proposed solution would require time-consuming boundary changes and could not anyway be implemented until after the next election, thereby signalling that the promised referendum could safely wait until just before or just after that election.

ECONOMIST: The Jenkins recipe

In fact, the last time there was one this important was 144 years ago and the next will not be until around 2157.

BBC: India hosts the world��s biggest gathering