We all know how close the current secretary of the United States is to President Barrack Obama. Hilary Clinton’s term as the Secretary of State ends in January.

The top potential candidates for the United States Secretary of State have declined to the candidature for the following term. Hilary Clinton doesn’t want to run again. And Susan Rice has also taken her name out of consideration for the esteemed post. She was, until now, the most likely candidate to become the Secretary of State.

The relationship between countries never remains the same. Until yesterday, Pakistan and North America were close allies. The United States supplied weapons to Pakistan, and gave rewards and donations worth millions. But nowadays, America snubs Pakistan. Barack Obama cuts Zardari dead on international conferences.

Anna Hazare has not been keeping well for the past few days. He was discharged from a Gurgaon hospital day before yesterday. According to the hospital doctors attending on him, Hazare was under stress, suffering from acidity and weakness. Well, this was inevitable. The nutritional deficiency due to frequent and over-stretched fasts, stress due to the LokPal Bill failure, emotional trauma after the break-up with Arvind Kejriwal and the pressure to perform well are taking their toll. And to top it all, the old age!

As Gujarat goes to polls this Thursday speculations are adrift as to who will head the vibrant state of Gujarat. And now that the Congress scion Rahul Gandhi has arrived in the coastal state of Gujarat, Congress is at daggers drawn with BJP .However these elections have much more significance than one could ever imagine.

The seasons experience a cyclic change and every three months, spring ushers in a weather shift. It seems that the “Arab Spring”, which invigorated the population across the Middle East last year, induced a similar kind of effect in Egypt. The condition in the country hasn’t stabilized and there is a sense of foreboding in the atmosphere that large scale violence will prevail once again.

The Indian ground of politics is nothing less than a boxing ring. And it is that time of the year when the BJP’s lotus flower and the Congress’ hand are standing in opposition, while the referees for this match are the residents of Gujarat.There are only two contenders in this match, the BJP and the Congress, no other party is participating in the Gujarat Assembly elections. And if I am reading the movement of the stars right, there seems to be a clear winner, Narendra Modi.

He could have been the president of France. But after a career-ending sex scandal, involving a New York hotel maid, Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn has been slapped with a slew of other (spin-off?) accusations, including charges of “aggravated pimping in an organised gang” and organising sex parties, among others.

The BJP’s manifesto focuses on solving the issues of a new category called “neo-middle class”, which, according to Narendra Modi, has evolved in the state due to the developments over the past 10 years. And the Congress, as usual clings to target the “aam admi” (the common man).

Operation X, the jaw dropping result of which surfaced on November 21, had been a two-month long, secret operation. The plan is practically responsible for the successful execution of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive during the dreadful attacks on India’s financial capital, Mumbai, on November 26, 2008.

She walked the aisle, lined with a velvet red carpet, the choir group chiming the song, the people of Burma had composed for her, “Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung San Suu Kyi,” after almost four and half decades, whilst the entire auditorium stood up in standing ovation for perhaps one of the most iconic leaders of our time. It was Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, walking the corridors of her institution, LSR (Lady Shri Ram College for Women).