I blame two unsolved, but solvable, problems.

In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.

Wars in the Middle East, it should be recalled, have started even when the parties did not really want them.

Although German was the official language of the city until 1800, French gradually became more influential.

But even India, with its growing economy, cannot afford to make these investments out of national resources.

Death Amin trusted the Soviet Union until the very end, despite the deterioration of official relations.

This is true even in services, despite slow productivity growth in Europe.

Although both Alaa and Ahmed Abdel Rahman have been detained for over a month pending investigation, no court date has been assigned yet for the case.

The result is, the second phase of the deployment has still not taken place even though it was accepted by Khartoum six months ago.

Not that national feeling is dying, even as a new European spirit is being born.

Although President George W. Bush says he believes in markets, in this case he has called for voluntary action. But it makes far more sense to use the force of markets the power of incentives than to rely on goodwill, especially when it comes to oil companies that regard their sole objective as maximizing profits, regardless of the cost to others.

Although football is by far the most popular sport in Sicily, the island also has participants in other fields.

Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Until now, the government has been able to finance its vast debts locally, despite paying paltry interest rates even on longer term borrowings.

Similarly, while the great firewall of China is far from perfect, the government has managed thus far to cope, even as the Internet has burgeoned in the country.

Moreover, although the Basic Law prescribes a five year term for the Chief Executive, China is insisting that the winner will only serve for the remainder of Tung s term, until June 30, 2007.

Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.

Of course, to reduce Obama to the color of his skin is a grave oversimplification, even if he has been keen to emphasize his black roots.

The discrimination continues, despite overwhelming evidence showing that women are more likely to invest business loans wisely and to meet repayment schedules.

So Brazil and India are relative havens, even though their growth prospects are severely diminished as well.

Despite decades of immense government support, Japan s rural sector cannot even aspire to feed its declining population.

Although reports have so far not implicated Annan directly, his management failures are abundantly clear.

For example, the current Christian leadership is a political ally of Hezbollah, even though the former opposed and the latter favored Syria s continuing occupation of Lebanon.

Though political parties have not been legalized, they are nonetheless active in parliament and public life.

In the meantime, the opposition, although strong and immoderate, is not yet secessionist.

Despite these advances, the liquid compass was not introduced generally into the Royal Navy until 1908.

The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532.

Sycretic beliefs Despite a long history in what is today Niger, Islam did not become the dominant faith of many rural areas until the 20th century.

Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1960s up until the 1980s, it has since developed into a successful liberal democracy.

And a 1 medical treatment can cure malaria if the child gets infected despite the bed net.

Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792.

Second, the costs of abandoning diplomacy are so high that continued engagement makes sense even as Iran refuses to budge.

Despite the dollar s instant credibility, however, it took more than a decade for America s currency to match Britain s as an international medium of exchange. Payment habits melt at a glacier s pace.

But, despite flourishing rhetoric about promoting democracy, promoting it is still not backed with concrete plans of action.

The issue of political prisoners is still unresolved, though the Government has expressed its determination to deal with it in the shortest possible time.

If we succeed, we can create a sense that we belong together, even though our reasons for believing so may be different.

Integration or destabilization? The decisions are anything but final, even though the isolationists now prevail.

Female condoms are even less readily available, despite the fact that they allow women more control over their sexual relations.

Median incomes have been stagnant or even falling for the last 30 years, even as per capita GDP has grown.

And the dollar s exalted global status has survived ever since, despite many episodes of neglect and abuse.

Though the king of Spain was able to seize both crowns in the 16th century, the administrations of the two halves of the Kingdom of Sicily remained separated until 1816, when they were reunited in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

But, despite the pains my father had taken, the other designers expressed growing discontent about Korolev getting all the publicity, even if anonymously.

Despite the weakness of Japan s fiscal position, the market for Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) remains stable, at least for now.

Under the provisions of a five year development plan, the country is trying to create jobs for its unemployed population, though the results of these efforts have not yet materialized.

Although five is a good number, of course.