The recently concluded UN Security Council elections for the 2011-2012 term saw India returning to the High Table after a gap of 19 years. India's victory was expected as it was the sole candidate for the Asian seat, after Kazakhstan withdrew earlier this year. However the margin by which it won has made domestic audience in India ecstatic. India received support from 187 out of 192 countries, an impressive victory which is being touted as a record win in recent years. India's success is particularly sweet after the embarrassing loss it suffered in 1996 when it received only 40 votes and lost to Japan. The comfortable entry into the Council this time around has been hailed as a diplomatic success.

Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, has always been hailed as a confluence of the East and West where Europe meets Asia over the Bosphoros; where French style bistros and cafes line the streets and share a comfortable space with age old Ottoman mosques; where culture and daily life have evolved into a unique blend of tradition and modernity. On a recent visit to Turkey this idea was reinforced in many ways, and I realized that as unique as this blend is, it is not an entirely new concept or purely a product of Attaturk's vision.

In recent years, Conditional Cash Transfer programs (CCTs) have emerged as a popular policy trend in developing countries. The programme intends to provide cash subsidies to poor households on the condition that they fulfil specific requirements such as minimum attendance at school, periodic health check-ups and participation in immunization programmes. The logic behind the programme is that the provision of financial incentives will encourage poor families to fully use social services such as health and education. CCTs break the vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty and unlike traditional anti-poverty programmes, are more effective in addressing a broad range of challenges among the people living in the periphery.

Over the years, Bangladesh has addressed some of the challenges it faces in sustaining food security. With the area under cultivation being stagnant, introduction of high yielding varieties of rice boosted food production in the country. Along with this, efficient irrigation technologies tackled the problem of scarce freshwater resources. Bangladesh however, is likely to face extreme climatic variations in the future that will severely affect food production in the country. Innovations in rice production will play a major role in helping farmers adapt to extreme conditions and secure livelihoods in the coming years.

Choices change. That is definitely a given. However the direction of change is often not easy to predict. While a number of predictions do exist about the future trends in technology, computing speeds and genetic engineering, there are fewer on the more human aspects of consciousness, ethics and aspirations. Before looking at the future, it is worthwhile to look at the past and see what kinds of predictions were made for the present day.

Recognition of Israel as a Jewish state has become the most recent obstacle to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace process. After weeks of negotiations about an extension on a settlement freeze in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an offer: a two month extension freeze in return for open recognition from the Palestinian Authority that Israel is a Jewish democratic state.