Since its creation in 1999, the Scottish Parliament has provided a forum to address issues like health, education and the environment, which directly affect the nation. However, as far as representation goes, there is room for improvement. Things could change dramatically in this year’s parliamentary elections, set to take place on 6 May. This is the second of four reports.

With tensions escalating between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey is standing by Kiev, for the moment at least. But Turkey could end up paying a heavy price as Moscow steps up pressure on Ankara. Russian tourists and the Sputnik V vaccine could well be the currency.

As Scotland carefully exits lockdown, citizens across the country will go the polls on 6 May in elections that have been described as the most important since the nation’s devolved Parliament reconvened in 1999. The last Scottish elections, in 2016, took place before Brexit, before the coronavirus pandemic, before the unprecedented rise in support for independence.

This is the first of four reports.

In 2006, the Gaza Strip was plunged into darkness following an Israeli military assault on Gaza's only power plant. Since then, the 2-million-resident coastal enclave has suffered prolonged power outages. To cope with the cuts, private solar panel services have been installed in residential homes, hospitals, industrial and agricultural facilities, sewage water treatment and desalination plants.

India and Pakistan recently held their first meeting in three years on water sharing rights after a border ceasefire pledge reflected signs of rapprochement between the two nuclear neighbours who have fought three wars since 1947.

The health authorities in the Gaza Strip say that a new wave of Covid-19 infections is hitting the coastal enclave, with more than one hundred cases being reported on a daily basis since mid-March. In the absence of adequate supplies of vaccines, there is a danger that a new lockdown will have to be imposed.

The month of March 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of a refugee deal between Turkey and the European Union. The agreement saw Ankara agree to stem a mass exodus of refugees and migrants to Europe in exchange for monetary aid. But the future of that controversial agreement is now in question. EU chiefs Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Turkey next week for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Bhitarkanika in India's eastern Odisha state is one of the sub-continent's largest mangrove ecosystems, and is home to salt water crocodiles and a huge range of other creatures. It is also the world's largest mass nesting site for Olive-Ridley turtles.

Scottish politics has been rocked by a bitter public feud between first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor Alex Salmond. A complex saga with many twists and turns involving a sex scandal and allegations of a government coverup, could it also have implications for the existence of the United Kingdom?

Canan Kaftancioglu, the mastermind behind Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biggest electoral defeat now has her sights set on ousting Erdogan himself. Provided she can stay out of jail.