Vietnam�€™s capital Hanoi is proposing a master plan to develop the city and also plug the migration into the city, a plan which may have severe repercussions on the informal sector which enters the capital every year. The law is expected to be approved this month when Hanoi celebrates it 1000 years of existence. No other capital in Asia and arguably across the world has attempted such a law which would potentially deride the city of over half its population. 

Everyone involved in the current Israel-Palestine peace negotiations waited with bated breath for the 26th of September - the day the 10-month Israeli freeze on settlement building expired. Would Netanyahu extend the moratorium as a gesture of sincerity towards peace negotiations? Would Abbas be able to save face among the Palestinians if he didn�€™t?  Will Obama�€™s effort to attend to a two-state solution actually amount to something? Or is this the end? The answers to these questions will set the course of Israel-Palestine relations for the next 12 months. 

In December of 2009, the United Nations passed a resolution to declare 2010-2011 as the International Year of the Youth, starting on August 12, 2010 and ending August 11, 2011. The focus is on three main areas �€“ increasing investment in today�€™s young population, mobilizing and engaging the youth, and increasing intercultural understanding among youth. In a time when the headlines are full of �€œbad news�€ and we see the mistakes of the older generation, it is important to highlight the difference made by thousands of young people around the world, and to provide them with the space to do more.  

During the recent troubles in Kashmir, many analysts were quick to draw parallels between Kashmir and Palestine, stating that the unrest in the valley is similar to that of the Palestinian Intifadas. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the nature of the recent protests �€“ stone throwing by youth as a reaction to heightened security measures and economic stagnation �€“ is strikingly comparable to the Palestinian riots witnessed in 1987 and 2000. 

The 21st century should, by all accounts, be India's for the taking. Indeed, the world seems to expect it of us. If in the previous century, we overthrew our colonial shackles, then it is in this century that we are supposed to take advantage of India's inherent and abundant endowments to become a regional and global superpower. However, the country has been hamstrung, both by its own missteps and by its regional rival, China.  

As the world watches in disbelief and horror, the extent of the devastation caused by the monsoon-driven floods across Pakistan, there is a sense of reluctance to assist in the relief and rehabilitation of the nearly 17.2 million people that have been adversely affected. 

The ongoing conflict in Thailand has been covered diligently by the international press for the past few months. The media has been analysing the situation from every possible angle. This enthusiasm has, in return, managed to keep the spotlight away from a trend which can now be observed in many countries in this region. There is a growing �€˜gap�€™ between classes in countries in this belt and this is no more confined only to Thailand. The gap between the rich and the poor are expanding steadily, but surely. This trend, if not addressed immediately, will usher a new and dangerous era for countries in South and South Eastern Asia and may well cause a definite slowdown in the region�€™s march towards development.  

There has been widespread unrest in Kashmir for more than a month now. The present government strategy of deploying security forces will treat the symptoms of the crisis but not the malady at the heart of it. Only political and economic development has the potential to build durable peace in a volatile Kashmir.