Russia is standing at the precipice of an opportunity to regain its geopolitical influence in the eastern European neighbourhood. The conditions are just right: anti-government protests are on in Georgia and Moldova; Ukraine’s most powerful leaders, former allies, are now dueling with each other for power; and the US is interested in seeking Russia’s help for NATO operations in Afghanistan.

"There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions" â€“ Dr. Hans Kung

The world’s largest democracy has entered the polling booth for the 15th time in its illustrious history. The whole country is anticipating a very closely fought election this time around. The interest generated in the elections is more because of the sudden rise in the electorate. A total of 41 million new voters will be exercising their franchise and this makes the total number of registered voters rise to 714 million. Media channels are going crazy with this statistic and it has become the yardstick in these elections. An electorate of such a size is the wish of many countries across the world. Yet in India, a huge electorate doesn’t always equal a conscious mandate.

As the 44th President of the United States approaches the completion of his first 100 days in office, the general public will no doubt be subject to many, many pieces on how he has fared, what it means, how the American public perceives him, how the international community perceives him and what his next challenges are likely to be. For the American political pundit, the first 100 days are a key indicator of the rest of their President�s term. For the moment, let us concern ourselves with his foreign policy report card and what might come next.

In 1910 a German women’s right activist, Clara Zetkin, proposed that every year there should be a world wide celebration on the same day to advocate the rights of women and place their demands on a public space. In 1911 International Women’s Day was born, and today almost a hundred years later, every year on March 8th we celebrate our women. A century ago with only two countries allowing women to vote, such a day was necessary. It brought to the fore front the struggles and challenges that women were facing, and placed their voices on a global forum. Today, decades later the celebrations have taken a different turn where in China, Macedonia, Russia and other countries March 8th is a an official holiday. Large rallies and events are held to celebrate the achievements of great and inspiring women, and the world takes a moment to recognize half its population.

On the 4th of March, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. The ICC at The Hague had been preparing for months and finally announced its first warrant ever for a sitting President. 

When one reads about India’s trade partners, the first few names which come up are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China and the EU amongst others. What would happen if one would add names such as Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia to this list? It would normally be seen as a surprise given that historically none of these countries have actually figured as prominent trading partners. All this has undergone a severe change and India is off building stronger relations with countries which are touted to be part of the ‘NEW LATIN LEFT’.

On the 2nd of March 2009, donor countries – mainly the US, UK, GCC nations and the EU - astonished the world with their combined pledge of $5.2 billion, aimed to support reconstruction and rehabilitation in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority (PA) originally hoped to raise $2.78 billion for reconstruction efforts after the December war and final figure of nearly double that amount seemed a rare and fortuitous development.