So far you have been fortunate in eluding us.

In the same vein, the target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters seems to be eluding us.

The evidence that is available also suggests that the costs of economic and financial crime, while often eluding exact measurement in the short term, are severe for many societies seeking to achieve sustainable levels of development.

In its report released recently, the Panel proposed a definition of terrorism a matter that has been eluding the General Assembly for almost 10 years and which has stalled the process of concluding a comprehensive convention on terrorism.

Those suspicions were borne out by inspections conducted at those mosques, where tapes calling for jihad were seized, with calls for killing and an Islamic revolution and training sessions in civilian guerrilla warfare, such as training in techniques for targeting stationary and moving targets and techniques for eluding pursuit by police

Indeed, the modest economic recovery that should benefit many countries in 2013 seems to be eluding Italy. According to the IMF, the economy will remain in recession next year, and, though the rate of contraction will be less severe than in 2012 ( 0.7 in 2013, compared to 2.3 this year), the unemployment rate is expected to rise further, from 10.6 to 11.1 .

For many years, especially since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, China has felt a deficit of global respect. This feeling has deeply troubled its leaders and filled its people with a sense that, despite all their economic progress, their proper place in the world was not only eluding them, but being denied to them by the endless criticism of the so called developed world.