Rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world
As India prepares to launch its vaccine drive on January 16, here is a look at the options:
Sectors with positive growth during the month include rice, iron ore, oil seeds, oil meals, meat, dairy and poultry products, pharmaceuticals, coffee, engineering goods, and plastic.
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
"I'm going to India next week and we're talking trade. They've been hitting us very hard for many, many years," Trump said at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado on Thursday. Trump told thousands of his supporters that he "really likes" Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business.
The overall level of racist and hate related incidents was up 20 per cent in July 2015.
The next round of bad news could come from Europe, where banks in a number of economies such as Italy, Portugal and Greece are sitting on mountains of bad loans.
Lauding India for successfully avoiding a "clash of civilisations", Fontelles said the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi could play an important role in this regard.
In a significant policy statement on the Taliban which is making big gains in its offensive in Afghanistan, China has asked it to make a "clean break" from all terrorist forces, especially the Al Qaida-backed Uyghur Muslim militant group ETIM fighting for the volatile Xinjiang province's independence.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO have expressed concern on the new law and warned of retaliatory measures.
Hundreds of migrants, who continue to arrive in Europe as they flee the scenes of chaos and brutality of the Islamic State in the Middle East, have created sharp divisions among European Union member states which are increasingly finding it tough to control the massive influx.
For many years now, India has given the Commonwealth short shrift so its support for the Commonwealth trade initiative signals a renewed interest in the body.
A dossier will be given to the FATF, an international terror financing watchdog.
'There is a cost to war.' 'The West knows that and so does Putin.' 'The point is, how much of the cost are both sides willing to pay?'
The EIB has supported long-term investment across India that has helped the country harness renewable energy, strengthened industry and reduced carbon emissions.
China is in no hurry to disengage at the border and the region and international community is moving on. The spectre of a long haul in Ladakh haunts India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rejecting the opposition charge that the government succumbed to American pressure, Mukherjee said India's vote was in 'conformity' with the country's policy.
by External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lvavrov met at the Chinese mission in New York.
Investors must be prepared to believe that things will get better eventually, no matter how bad the current situation may look. If you don't possess this optimism, you will not possess the courage to invest and if you don't invest, you don't give yourself any chance to get wealthy, says Devangshu Datta.
Gunmen armed with rifles opened fire in six different locations in central Vienna on the city's final night before coronavirus lockdown on Monday.
The woman was walking alone in Chingford, east London, when she was accosted by her attackers.
World leaders said they were looking forward to working with Joe Biden, as they welcomed the 46th President of the United States with praise and took parting shots at his predecessor Donald Trump.
Eyebrows went north in India, especially in New Delhi where in the confusion some people criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is based in New York. Chitra Subramaniam offers some perspective.
Modi announced a USD 14-million grant for community development projects in the Caricom and another USD 150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate- change related projects, a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Pakistan on Friday "regretted" India's virtual rejection of its proposal for talks on Kashmir even as it briefed the ambassadors of the P-5 and European Union countries about the situation there in yet another attempt to internationalise the issue.
A statement issued by the Interior Ministry also said the crackdown on Jaish 'has been taken in line with the decision of the NSC meeting'.
Barring rice, spices, iron ore and pharmaceuticals, all the remaining 26 key sectors registered negative growth in May. Imports too plunged 51 per cent to $22.2 billion in May.
India has for the first time abstained from voting on a resolution on Palestine adopted at the UN rights body that calls for accountability by parties involved in last year's conflict in Gaza.
Tough conditions imposed by global lenders could cause an outcry.
'We have set out a timetable to reduce income tax rates for all incomes below Rs 50 lakh, and to progressively eliminate the surcharges on income above Rs 50 lakh, by 2024.' The Budget speech past CII president Naushad Forbes wants to hear.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced his resignation on Monday, a day after Greeks delivered a resounding 'No' to the conditions of a rescue package.
India's stand at the FATF plenary and other related discussions have always been consistent regarding Pakistan.
Euro zone leaders will hold an emergency summit on Monday.
A gamechanger for offices and factories, Shycocan, claims to be able to clear an area of 1000 square feet from coronavirus.
The death toll for the worst ever migrant disaster in the Mediterranean could be as high as 950 said reports even as Italy's coastguard coordinated the search for survivors and bodies.
Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"After UK referendum, Delhi will soon have a referendum on full statehood," the Delhi Chief Minister tweeted. If Delhi gets full statehood, police, land and municipal corporations and bureaucracy will come under the state government.
With this, multilateral lenders like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union may continue downgrading Pakistan, making its financial situation more precarious.
Modi also made a call for European Union unity and said India would play a positive role in enhancing that through Germany.
The crisis remains acute with the country's banks already closed.
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