A banking crisis on average is connected with a 6.4% short-term increase in cardiovascular disease mortality in high income countries, and for low-income countries, the estimated effect is roughly four times as large, with a banking crisis corresponding to a 26.0% increase in mortality.

Much has already been written about the tragic events of 14 December in Newtown, Connecticut. It's hard to think of anything much worse than twenty small children being gunned down just before Christmas, for doing nothing worse than attending school. But what is the global perspective on this awful event?

What can't be emphasised too strongly here is that these are analyses of real deaths and actual weather. They are not simulations or models - and it reflects the great strength of the INDEPTH Network that it is possible to analyse factual information in this way from parts of the world where reliable data are usually in short supply.

We have all become used to seeing sad headlines about the numbers of people dying from HIV/AIDS. Current global estimates are well over one million per year. But have you ever asked yourself the question "Who's counting?".