Editor's Note 
With the run-up to the Indian presidential polls gathering speed and along with it muck, find out in The 12th (Wo)Man? who is up to what and how, and get a low-down on the current drama unfolding among all the president’s men.  Read the Note. 
  

ENVIRONMENT: Global Warming, Depiction VS. Depletion
According to the latest report on Climate Change by Intergovernmental Panel, which was released in Brussels on 06 April 2007, global warming is having a radical impact on eco-systems and living beings as the earth’s temperature is increasing degree by degree. The earliest targets are people belonging to poorer nations that have had little to do with the greenhouse effect. Scientists proclaim that certain areas are likely to benefit from global warming as the agriculture yields will tend to go higher. But the ubiquitous fact haunting us today is that the world is plunging towards extinction and we are watching helplessly. Read the Information.
 

POLITICS: THE 12TH (WO)MAN? 
As India braces itself for its 12th president, the whole country, and the rest of the world, is witnessing a drama that is as bizarre and thrilling as any Hindi movie. The most respected designation in the country had never had it worse. With all the political parties playing the game of upmanship, the ethics and morals for the position as well as the poll are long forgotten. The worst of all was perhaps the newly formed third front, which even tried to utilize the present president in its political game.   Read the Article.  
 

ART: Modernism?   
Mark Rothko, the abstract expressionist (rather misleadingly attributed in his case, because although one of the greatest protagonists of the style that gave New York painting its cultural supremacy in the 1950s, Rothko not only rejected the label but even dismissed being an abstract painter), is one of my all-time favourite painters and undoubtedly one of the most influential painters of the 20th century. His simple, quiescent, large-scale, nonrepresentational works, with serenely shimmering nebulous blocks of colour, impart a unique transcendence both to the painting and the viewer.   Read the Article (PDF Formet). 
   

BILATERAL: Rise of the Dragon  
What’s common between India and China? Over-population! Hold on; forget this population story just for a while. Despite overflowing populations, have you ever observed the rising economies of the two countries in the last few years? In a fast rate of growth, China’s economy in the last ten years has increased from US$150 million to US$1.8 trillion last year. In fact, China is becoming Asia’s center stage of fast economic development. Read the Article.  
 

BILATERAL: TARGET 2010 INDO-THAI FTA
Recent high-level meetings between the ministers of Thailand and India showed a major step towards future economic development as the two countries have a lot in common in the fields of trade and commerce. As India warmly greeted Thailand to cooperate in trade partnership, the two countries are close to concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) covering trade in goods by 2010.  Read the Article.      
     

BILATERAL: Spotlight on Myanmar 
Ever visited the easternmost Indian state of Manipur? If so, you must have surely noticed how the state has engaged in trade and economic cooperation with neighbouring Myanmar. Of course, the economic relation of Manipur with Myanmar is just a local practice. An international border town called Moreh—around four-hour-drive from Imphal—on India’s side and Tamu on the other side in Myanmar operate as transaction point of goods and services to both sides. Read the Article.
  

OPINION: Brazil for Everyone
Brazil has twice as many Lebanese as there are in Lebanon. It’s worth notable that the largest Japanese community abroad is not in the US but in Brazil. Between the two World Wars one million Italians came to Brazil. That’s why Brazilian society has a mix of different cultures and civilizations. Read the Article.
  

EVENT: 3rd India-GCC Industrial Forum   
The third GCC-India Industrial Conference was held in Mumbai on 29-30 May 2007. The event was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. This conference, the third in the series, was an important step in realizing the enormous potential in terms of trade that exists between India and GCC countries.  Read the Article.
    

VIEW: Regional Cooperation Helps to Fortify Asia's Economic Foundations
Asia’s remarkable economic recovery and resilience to external shocks in the decade after the crippling financial crisis magnifies the value of regional economic cooperation and integration, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said at an international symposium ‘Asia is Moving Forward: Ten Years After the Crisis’ held earlier this month in Manila. He stated that the region was constructing a common agenda to guide it forward through a commitment to adaptation, reform, and preparedness. Read the Article.