At present Sri Lanka is witnessing the worst fighting since the signing of the ceasefire agreement (CFA) on February 22, 2002. The fighting was sparked by the LTTE's blockade of the Maavilaru reservoir on July 22, 2006 and the Sri Lankan government's attempts to reopen it by force. Since then the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government have indulged in heavy fighting in the north and east over issues like Sampur and the A9 highway. This has again put a question mark on the prospects for peace and is causing internal and international despair.

• M. Mayilvaganan |
• November 21, 2006 |
• Comment

Cases of soldiers serving in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) turning their weapons on themselves or their fellow soldiers have been reported recently. This is a cause of serious concern and the Army is taking necessary measures to check this disconcerting trend. Various terms have been associated with fratricidal killings like 'fragging' (after US soldiers in the Vietnam war rolled fragmentation grenades into the tents of unpopular officers) and 'running amok' ('amok' is a Malay word meaning 'out of control').

• B. S. Sachar |
• November 20, 2006 |
• Comment

The Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which came to power in 2001, completed its term on October 28, 2006 amidst violent protests that saw 24 people losing their lives. Rejecting the BNP's nominee for the post of Chief Adviser of the caretaker government, the 14 party opposition alliance led by the Awami League (AL) called for a strike to press for an alternate Chief Advisor as well as for electoral reforms. A political crisis has, however, been averted by the country's President, who assumed the additional responsibility of the Chief Advisor.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik |
• November 09, 2006 |
• Comment

While commemorating 50 years of China's diplomatic ties with Africa, the China-Africa Summit, held on November 4-5, 2006 adopted a three-year action plan to deepen the existing political and economic links. This Summit, being one of the largest summits ever hosted in China's modern history, not only reflects the importance China places on its relations with Africa, but also clearly illustrates the value that the continent now attaches to this emerging Asian power vis-a-vis the West.

• Nivedita Ray |
• November 09, 2006 |
• Comment

The two-day China-Africa Summit on November 4 and 5, 2006 in Beijing, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Africa diplomatic ties, created a new milestone in China's relationship with the African continent. Hailed as a new type of strategic partnership, this gathering of forty-eight African countries - the biggest ever since the founding of the People's Republic of China - was concluded by a declaration and an action plan for 2007-2009.

• Abanti Bhattacharya |
• November 07, 2006 |
• Comment

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental international organization founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001 by six countries: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its member states cover an area of over 30 million square km or about three fifths of Eurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion, about a quarter of the world's total.

• Nivedita Das Kundu |
• November 07, 2006 |
• Comment

Apart from aiding and abetting terrorism in Kashmir, Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has also been fully engaged in building terror infrastructures in the rest of India, including in the Northeast, which has long been infested with multiple insurgencies. This attempt to fish in the troubled waters of the Northeast poses a formidable challenge to India's integrity and security.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• November 07, 2006 |
• Comment

"Not since that time nearly 2000 years ago, when Archimedes reflected the sun's rays to set the Roman fleet on fire, has the world seen a weapon that puts fresh meaning into the phrase 'in real time'. Let's do it now in flight," thus Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, the Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), exhorted a crowd of missile defense engineers at a function in Wichita, Kansas last week.

• A. Vinod Kumar |
• November 06, 2006 |
• Comment

It may have seemed ironic that Russia, the erstwhile archenemy of western military alliance was hosting, in St Petersburg earlier this year, the summit meeting of G-8, the epitome of western riches and power. But it was truly reflective of the spirit of our times. For India, which was invited along with China and some others as outreach countries, it was an opportunity to share the big stage. A closer look at the dynamics in evidence at the G-8 would suggest that the world strategic landscape is constantly evolving and it would be useful for us to reflect on where exactly are we headed.

• Virendra Gupta |
• October 31, 2006 |
• Comment

China's cautious approach to defusing the ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis underscores the dilemmas that exist in its difficult relationship with North Korea on the one hand and its interests with respect to the United States on the other. What worries China more is North Korea's ambition and intention to further continue its nuclear programme. Moreover, China faces a daunting task in tackling the increasing American pressure to intensify actions against North Korea as per the UNSC resolutions.

• Jagannath P. Panda |
• October 31, 2006 |
• Comment