HEADLINES

• FDI on hold, Pranab tells the opposition; opposition demands rollback, not holdback
• TN – Kerala border tensions as Dam row escalates; TN moves Supreme Court for CISF cover for the dam
• Putin's party, United Russia, loses majority in the Russian lower house, Duma
• Information Technology Ministry in stand off with internet providers like Yahoo, Google, etc; Govt says it will evolve guidelines to screen content
• Julian Assange to approach UK Supreme Court against his extradition to Sweden

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India Moots 'Marshall Plan' for Afghanistan
  • Indian external affairs minister, S.M Krishna has urged the international community to draw up a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan, so that long term economic assistance continues unabated, even as presence of foreign troops will decline over the next two years;
  • The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. The initiative was named after Secretary of State George Marshall;
  • The minister said that Afghanistan faced 4 deficits of security, goverance, development and investment, noting that the country continued to also suffer from insurgency from outside its borders. The minister said that while the international community reduces its military involvement it should increase its economic commitment for the rebuilding of Afghanistan;
  • The minister also said that India was willing to invest around $10 billion in mining, setting up a steel plantand other related infrastructure. He also referred to the recent strategic agreement with Afghanistan and the awarding of three blocks of Hajigak iron ore reserves to an Indian consortium.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this editorial which reviews the recent elections in Russia
• Read this editorial on the recent move in India to ban animal dissections
• Read this article which discusses the sudden increase in carbon emissions in 2010