With Zimbabwe going to the polls, we hear first from the local journalist Heidi Holland, who conducted a rare interview with the Zimbabwean president in December last year. She's written a book about it, Dinner With Mugabe.
We also hear from the Guardian's Africa correspondent, Chris McGreal, about how the campaign in Zimbabwe is progressing.
Then we move on to another troubled state, Afghanistan. A coalition of aid agencies has brought out a report saying that it is being deprived of $10bn of promised aid, and 40% of the money that has been delivered was spent on corporate profits and consultancy fees. Richard Norton-Taylor tells us about their concerns.
Back in Africa, we next visit Ethiopia. The Guardian's Simon Tisdall has been in Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia. There he found a forgotten war between the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the government, which is leaving millions in danger of famine. Aid officials fear that not enough is being down to ward off the threat.
But there is good news out of South Asia, where the world's newest democracy was born this week, with an election mandated by the king. Randeep Ramesh, the Guardian's correspondent in the region, explains the curious path to the franchise in Bhutan.
There are more political troubles in the Middle East. Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, explains why the Arab League summit in Damascus is being snubbed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia in protest against Syria's involvement in Lebanon.
The police force in Calgary, Canada, faces a labour shortage. It has been trying to tempt British police across the Atlantic with the promise of a lower crime rate and a good standard of living. Helen Pidd went to Calgary to meet some of the new recruits.
