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The Ice Hockey World Championship officially kicks off in Minsk on May, 9. Since May 2009. What changes have occurred in the country so far? How is this event perceived by the Belarussians? What lies to the other side of the facade? And what can we expect afterwards?

What are governments doing to prepare for a post-oil future? Lili Fuhr and Johnny West encourage oil-producing countries to get ready for more robust climate policies.

How far can a value be placed on the “services” of nature? Thomas Fatheuer provides a readily under-standable introduction to the subject and illuminates the concepts and instruments that fol-low from the idea of monetarizing nature. In his first chapter he explains the context of the debate.

To which results will the elections in India lead? Will the regional vote decide or the urban vote? Rainer Hörig travelled to the countryside and asked farmers and workers about their opinions.

The new Aam Aadmi Party is spreading hope for many people. The manifestos published before the elections are usually overrun with generalities because they want to please everyone and not alienate any voter group. For the poor, inflation and corruption are the main concerns. The youth wants better education and career opportunities, and an end to corruption.

In three short articles, German journalist Rainer Hörig, who has been living in Pune since 1989, reports on the election campaign in India. He visited a village in Maharashtra, accompanied young campaign aids from the Aam Aadmi Party on a canvassing mission in Pune, and interviewed urban slum dwellers on what they expect from the election. These reports provide a vivid impression of how the election campaign is carried out there and what moves the people politically.

The Karzai era has been given a moderate appraisal. But the Afghan president alone isn't responsible for everything he's being accused of. The West must take part of the blame too.

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.

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.

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.