Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka
Loyal to his party, principles and friends

When elections for the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party were due in June 2006, with both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Kumaratunga contesting, Anura Bandaranaike wrote a letter to the former saying he could not choose between his “close friend” (Rajapaksa) and sister (Chandrika), so he would not vote, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury.


Mohamed ElBaradei Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency
A man of peace, an ‘unafraid advocate’ of non-proliferation

I put the accent on diplomacy, on the sanctity of human life, on understanding where we are coming from, on a system of security that is not a zero sum game. I don’t start from that the only way to resolve issues is regime change and use of force.”

That’s Mohamed ElBaradei...writes Amit Baruah.

Bob Geldof, Musician

A pop star and a messenger of hope
It’s tempting to think of Bob Geldof as one of those pop stars with a cause, whose concerns amount to little else than a value addition to his own public persona. But he is much more than just a pin-up for a guilt-wracked, well-heeled West, writes Indrajit Hazra.


Jeb Bush, Former governor of Florida

Popular governor with ‘great’ rating
Jeb Bush jokes nowadays about being without a job for the first time in his life. Actually, he is between jobs taking the opportunity of a pause to do all the things he missed out rushing from one meeting to another, writes Yashwant Raj.


Toast of the world, great hope of Asia
Business executives, Internet warriors, social entrepreneurs and dreamers — young leaders from Asia met at a summit in Singapore to discuss the road ahead for their continent, which many predict will soon be the influence hub of the world. They also spoke of India — and what they expect from it in the coming years, writes Neelesh Mishra.


At the Big Apple, the apple of everyone’s eye
Global business leaders have begun to invest immensely in India’s future. Participants at the New York conference Incredible India @60 were looking at an India beyond its 9 per cent growth, writes Arun Kumar.