Moscow

Geostrategic shift in South Asia

The US president's visit to India has been hailed as a landmark moment, coming amidst much pomp and ceremony.

It could be a defining moment for Barack Obama's future, following the Democrat's humbling experience in midterm elections last week. But one thing is more certain: American foreign policy has the consensus of both the Democrats and the Republicans, no matter who is in power.

India mostly relied on Russian and British military equipment for its forces during the cold war era, something the US was always suspicious of despite its good relations with New Delhi over the years.

But with a new US-Indian strategic partnership, the stage is set for India to make a transition to American military hardware.

Obama may be trying to take credit for the new partnership, but actually it started during the tenure of George W Bush.

Fretting over the heat

The State of the Climate report for 2009 has just been released, and it confirms that the past decade was the warmest on record.

Last year wasn't the warmest year on record, and today isn’t the warmest ever day. But these things don’t prove anything, because the time period is just too short. So many things influence the weather on a short time scale, that information can be misleading. 

A decade, though, is a decent amount of time. Longer term averages rule out smaller fluctuations caused by things like volcanic eruptions and natural ocean patterns. 

As well as lengthy, this new report is also extensive. It draws data from 10 distinct records, from the obvious ones like air temperature over land and the amount of Arctic sea ice, to indirect observations like sea level and humidity. 

Live coverage: Aftermath of Israel's flotilla raid

We'll once again be keeping tabs on the latest reaction to Israel's deadly attack on a flotilla of activists carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Yesterday's live coverage is here.

The death toll has been revised down to 10, according to the Israeli army, which also says seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. Those numbers have been impossible to confirm independently, because the Israeli army has restricted access to the ships, which have been towed to Ashdod port. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

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Kremlin 'red-squares' with cold war rival

Every weekday morning, without fail, I wake to the sound of drums.

Moscow is gearing up for one of the biggest events of the year, the May 9 parade, the day when Russia rolls out its military hardware over Red Square. 

I happen to live across the road from one of the country's top military academies and with just over a month to go drum rehearsals have now escalated into a full marching band.

I now munch my morning muesli to the accompaniment of tubas, trombones and shrieks of command.

May 9 is a day when the nation bears its military muscle in the name of nostalgia but an event seen by many outsiders as a last ditch attempt to show the world who's boss.

A diplomat friend of mine prefers to compare the parade to the New Zealand Haka; a traditional performance comprised of shouts and feet stamping - a war dance designed to scare off opponents.