Barometer | 5 February 2011

Long-serving leaders

Hosni Mubarak entered Egypt’s crisis as one of the world’s longest-serving political leaders. Here are five others:

Leader                                                                                Achieved power

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe                                               1980
Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola                                    1979
Teodoro Obiang Ngeuma Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea    1979
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen                                                1978
Muammar al-Gaddafi, Libya                                              1969

Trees ain’t free

The government has aroused protest for its proposal to sell off Forestry Commission land, with implications for public access. The sale is expected to raise £230 million over ten years. This sum is dwarfed by the subsidies going to owners of private woodlands.The