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Once more, Russia and the United States of America are embroiled in a sharp diplomatic face-off over recent developments in Bangladesh, as the country braces up for its bitterest general elections in January 2024. An unorthodox war of words has broken out between Russian and American diplomats in Dhaka, with their embassies criticising each other’s role during the present tension-packed pre-poll run up.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the election winning machine, is closing the year a little rough for the wear, despite the resounding win in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home-state Gujarat, where fellow Gujarati, Home Minister Amit Shah, contributed his two bit with a threat and a promise, both rolled into one, reminding the electorate of both religious denominations that lessons forgotten can be taught all over again, so help me God!

It is customary for all publications to review developments at this year-end festive season as we have been doing. However, there is nothing to celebrate as sadly, the most depressing event occurred in December and so, we must begin the year backward.

What is in store for the year 2023? Will it be good or bad? For the past three years, the world has faced an unprecedented pandemic – Covid - which has devastated the globe. Crystal ball gazers are hoping for a better scenario next year. They expect the economy's health will be restored and hope to resolve the war-like situation in Ukraine.

Come Wednesday, Congress leaders in West Bengal will step out on a march of Bharat Jodo Yatra whose success hinges on the participation of Left party activists in it. The fact stares the state Congress leadership in the face that the numbers lie with the Left, no matter if the state leadership seeks to overlook it.

Blitzkrieging India and accosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Pakistani n Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, with foul and churlish words has produced anger, and chain reaction thereafter. His counterpart Dr S. Jaishankar back-volleyed by smearing attack on state-sponsored terrorism, citing that Pakistan sheltered Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and honouring him as “ martyr.”

India’s foreign policy is baked in the red hot sun beating down on the Great Gangetic Plains and can be encapsulated in “India will bend over backwards” to give the impression it never quarrels with other countries. Not with United States. Not with Russia. Not even with China, though the Chinese have made it a practice to rub India the wrong way, first thing in the morning, and the last thing in the evening.

Nepal has been taking so far a hard look at an impressive range of connectivity projects in the High Himalayas promised by its richer, powerful northern neighbour China, as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) programme.

Nepal’s most prominent global face, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has become the new Prime Minister of the former Himalayan kingdom. In a swift political development on Sunday, he broke away from the ruling alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with the rival Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist–Leninist (CPN-UML). Nepali Congress which emerged to be the largest single party in the November 20 general elections with 89 seats reportedly did not concede to Prachanda’s demand to become the Prime Minister, first in the rotational arrangement they were trying to work out.

Hunger in India remained a major concern throughout 2022 due to slow recovery from the economic downturn after the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. True, as PM Narendra Modi drumming up, India became the fifth largest economy of the world, but his jubilation conceals the pangs of hunger of 80 crores of people in the country out of 140 crore population, who needed free foodgrain to survive. Moreover, the number of hungry is most likely to increase in 2023, since the Indian economy is going to fare badly as projected by almost all the assessment of national and international institutions.