- Latvia adopted euro, despite some oppositions from its people. The nation is in debt and the dollar based debt is one of the reasons their participation has attracted many attentions especially from the creditors. The nation is to receive $7.5 billion euro from IMF bailout money by joining the euro zone.
- The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh announced he will retire after the next election, leading a way to Rahul Gandhi to lead the party. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is gaining support while its leader Narendra Modi is perceived as both promising as well as dangerous religious extremist. There are positive opinions about Modi. "Modi is not from the corrupt political families" R. said. "All of them are corrupt," she added. While Modi enjoys the popular support from its pepole, there are voices of concerns as well. "He is involved in the massacre," told S. referring to the massacre that killed more than a thousand Muslims. The general election is expected to be held in May.