Pakistan: Cautiously pessimistic about Modi's expected rise to power A decade of UPA-Congress rule in India ends with limited progress on the Indo-Pak relations.The fact that outgoing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite his good intentions, could not visit the country of his birth even once sums up the structural constraints of this troubled relationship. By Raza Rumi
Coming out! - LGBT awareness-raising campaigns in Bosnia-Herzegovina Many police officers in Bosnia-Herzegovina have not been in the situation before to deal with non-heterosexual people. "Coming out!" an EU-funded projects reflects emerging stereotypes and predjudices in trainings to increase the sensitivity for needs and rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender. By Caroline Ausserer
Germany and Russia: as much cooperation as possible; as much conflict as necessary The EU cannot give up on the project of a unified and free Europe without giving up on itself. This includes the promise that all European nations on the path to becoming a democracy and constitutional state can become a member of the European Community. Ukraine is the touchstone of this promise today. By Ralf Fücks
The riotous colours of heartland politics It is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowing. Photo journalist Nikhil Roshan has captured some impressive scenes on his travels. By Nikhil Roshan
Vila Autódromo: Resistance Symbol in the Olympic Village One the most symbolic cases of Brazil's protest movements against relocation, was the resistance of Vila Autódromo. The historical fight of the community located in the west of Rio de Janeiro, enormously spread around the country. By Giselle Tanaka
Football and Democracy The Brazilian Congress and the authorities approved numerous exceptions to important democratic rules in the last five years to favor private interests. It is good that the Brazilian people defend themselves against it. Even if it is to protect football. By Barbara Unmüßig
The End of a Success Story? The FIFA World Cup and Protests in Brazil According to the National Movement of the Popular Committees of the Cup 170,000 people are affected by evictions and lost their homes. Despite international standards for forced removals which are recognized in the Brazlian law, a majority of the affected will not be compensated adequately. By Dawid Danilo Bartelt
Sporting Homeless Brazilian athletes and activists choose sport trainings as a form of creative protest. They want to call attention to the dismal training conditions for the mega-event and they demonstrate: sport is more than a commercial spectacle. By Andreas Behn
The Owners of Rio The Four Sisters, Brazils largest construction companies, are the big donors to political campaigns. And also they are the big winners, as a study showed: for every dollar donated the companies recieved 6.5 half dollars back in public works contracts. By Adriano Belsário, João Roberto Lopes Pinto and Rafael Rezende
The World Cup Must Be Sustainable – But This Is Mostly Rhetoric The Brazilian government has planned a "sustainable World Cup". Great distances for the visitors and participants, and the immense construction works make it difficult to comply with the green agenda. Moreover: civil society actors have been largely ignored by the government initiative. By Julia Ziesche