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The focus in the political circles is turning towards the gradual success of Rahul Gandhi's approach to power. Interestingly, even the BJP and the left are unable to criticise him for undertaking this exercise of familiarising himself with the country and touch base with the poorest of the poor.

The Congress's satisfaction over being able to return to power in all the three states, which went to the polls, will be lessened to a considerable extent by the fact that it wasn't a runaway success in either Maharashtra or Haryana. Only in Arunachal Pradesh was it able to decimate the opposition, but the impact of the north-eastern state on national politics is minimal.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Rapid urbanization is placing significant stress on the budgets of India's local governments and more must be done to improve their financial status to enable them to fund infrastructure projects and delivery of essential services.

New York: Government policies in many developing countries which promote the planting of a narrow base of agricultural crops may hurt farmers in the long run, a United Nations human rights expert has warned.

New York: Central America has become the region with the highest levels of non-political crime worldwide, with an average murder rate of 33 per 100,000 inhabitants last year, three times greater than the global average, a new United Nations report warns, noting that crime threatens the region's development.

New York: Harmful greenhouse gas emissions produced by industrialized countries rose for the seventh consecutive year in 2007, the United Nations reported.

New York: Reversing a downward trend, childhood immunization rates are now at their highest ever, but due to a funding gap of at least $1 billion life-saving vaccines still do not reach some 24 million children - one in five born each year - who are most at risk in the poorest countries, according to a new United Nations report.

Going by the statements on economic policy at top levels, India has not only weathered the global crisis but also come out faster for steady growth at close to 7 per cent in current year and 8 per cent in 2010-11. This is second only to China which seems to be racing toward 9 per cent amid fears of excessive credit and real estate bubbles. China and India are recognised as the two powers leading the global recovery from the Great Recession.

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's biggest problem during a bitter-sweet political career spanning three decades has always been, never knowing where to stop.