Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Russia's leaders seemingly thought that locking up returned opposition figure Alexei Navalny

in a notoriously brutal prison would put him out of sight and out of mind. More than a week

into his hunger strike, he's proving them very wrong. And the spoken word performance art known as

slam poetry has come a long way from its beginnings in 1980s Chicago.

Now it gives a window into and some release from the violence and fraught politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

First up, though.

Attention, attention. This is a police message.

The crowd should disperse immediately,

as force is a point to be used against violent individuals.

The violence on the streets of Northern Ireland this week is the worst scene in years.

The unrest has largely come from unionist or loyalist factions, those in favour of unity with Great Britain were loyal to its crown.

Night after night, mobs have targeted police officers with bricks and Molotov cocktails.

More than 50 officers have been injured.

Politicians, including the country's leader, First Minister Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party,

held an emergency meeting yesterday calling for calm.

The injury to front-down officers, victims terrorised, damage to people's property,

the harm to Northern Ireland's image in this our centenary year has taken us backwards.

And no brick, no bottle, no petrol bomb thrown has achieved or can ever achieve anything but destruction, harm and fear.

The scale of that destruction, harm and fear has brought it to international attention, prompting a statement from White House Press Secretary Jen Saki.

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