Zulfiqar Shah describes why the Scottish independence referendum provides an opportunity for the UK to looks to its former colonies and consider its obligations towards democracy in countries of the former British Empire.
About 700,000 Hong Kong citizens have voted so far in an unofficial referendum hosted by civic group Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) on democratic electoral reform, earning the ire of communist China.
The Taliban removed the index fingers of 11 Afghans who voted in the presidential run-off election this weekend in north-western Afghanistan, say officials.
Though the Egyptian military is painting itself as a guardian of stability and democracy, there is ample reason to believe it will bring neither.
A functioning state and pride in this functioning state is as much part of the Egyptian identity as the rest. It is precisely this compact of pragmatism, pride and aspiration that need to be understood to make sense of recent events.