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"The Australian Tourist Ministry is really looking at this as a feature-length advertisment, in the hope it will replicate the 'Crocodile Dundee Effect.'"
--Nick Bryant on Baz Luhrmann's new film, "Australia"

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The Russian parliament is fast-tracking legislation that would create a path for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return to the Kremlin as president for another two six-year terms. Putin had already served two four-year terms as president from 2000 to 2008, but the current constitution prevents a president from serving more than two terms consecutively. With one-party control, the measure is expected to pass, and quickly, meaning there could be a President Putin in place soon (well before the end of the first term of the President-elect Barack Obama) and until 2021.

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As medicine, technology and culture advance, we’ve gone from survival of the fittest to survival of just about everyone. Evolution is about weeding out the weak and ensuring that the strong survive. But geneticist Steve Jones thinks our advances have effectively put an end to natural selection.

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US consumers have been paying 5.2 percent more for their food over the past year. So the BBC world service embarked upon a little global experiment to see how much consumers were being affected. Every week reporters from eight cities around the world visit the same store, buying the exact same items to compare how the price of food fluctuates over time. Richard Collings joins us with the World Service Food Price Index, next on The Takeaway

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Stopping in Thailand on his way to Beijing for the Olympic Games, President Bush gave a speech on religious freedoms and human rights which some people found surprisingly firm. The official Chinese response was… no comment.

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Western journalists will be swarming Beijing later this week. Meanwhile, BBC correspondent Hugh Sykes has been on quite a different path through China.

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Yesterday, Iraq saw one of its bloodiest days of the year. The city of Kirkuk exploded into a cauldron of ethnic violence. Separate suicide bombings shook Baghdad. All told, at least 61 people were killed.

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Today, the Indian parliament votes on an energy deal crafted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush. If the bill is ratified, India will gain access to American fuel and technology imports as long as it opens its civilian nuclear facilities for inspection. A no-confidence vote will force Singh’s resignation and bring the opposition party to power.

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While filming a documentary on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, Sean Langan ("Fighting the Taliban") was abducted and held captive by the Taliban for three months. His captors were his contacts. Three weeks after his release, Langan speaks about his harrowing experience.

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On Sunday, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer fought out the longest Wimbledon final ever. Some are calling it the greatest, too.

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