On Aug 30, 2012 the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of Indian Parliament passed a bill to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Act (2002). The Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment), 2012 Bill “prohibits transfer of specified toxic chemicals from and to a country which is not party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)”. Passing of this Bill was part of India's international obligation towards CWC.

In 1974, India conducted a nuclear test that it termed as a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’. However, in 1998, India conducted a full scale nuclear test and consequently claimed to attain nuclear capability. It was soon followed by its neighbor, Pakistan, also opting for the same nuclear route. A year later, the draft on nuclear doctrine was presented in August 1999 to the Indian Prime Minister. Subsequently the Cabinet released it for public debate by the National Security Advisory Board.

In 2012, India will host two significant events. First, in the month of December, the India-ASEAN Summit will be held at New Delhi to mark the 10th anniversary of their Summit-level dialogue; and second, India and Vietnam will be celebrating 40 years of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. Both events gain salience in the broader context of the beginning of the third decade of India’s Look East Policy which has witnessed phenomenal growth over the years in bilateral and multilateral relations with the ASEAN countries.

The Pentagon releasing annual reports on Chinese Military Power is not new. However, for all these years Pentagon’s basic mandate has been to contextualize the Chinese threat to the US interests. Interestingly, in its latest report to Congress, titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China, 2010" it highlights some issues of concern for India in regards to certain Chinese military investments.

The newly unveiled U.S. Nuclear Posture Review focuses on five key objectives; one of them is preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. The report underscores nuclear terrorism as ‘today’s most immediate and extreme danger.”

What is Nuclear Terrorism and how serious is the threat? Is it an overrated nightmare? Some facts here:

Most of the military power states in the world aspire to become a nuclear power especialy in this highly competitive world. The most recent participant in the race to become a nuclear state is Myanmar. A report in the `Sydney Morning Herald' in early August quotes two Myanmarese defectors as saying that the Myanmar junta was secretly building a nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facility with North Korea's help and with the aim of acquiring its first nuclear bomb in five years.

As the investigations into Las Vegas Ricin poisoning continue with the Centers for Disease Control issued a health advisory already, the mystery over two vials of poison found in the Von Bergendorff’s Motel room still haunts Police, FBI and U.S. Homeland Security agents. Police claimed to have found guns, "anarchist-type" fiction (with the ricin section highlighted) and castor beans from Bergendorff’s room who has been under medical supervision since mid February.

The statement of a former Prime Minister of Pakistan on Dr A Q Khan, although created furor, largely welcomed by the advocates of nuclear non-proliferation. The exiled Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Benazir Bhutto categorically stated that she will permit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to interview Dr AQ Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, to determine the credibility of the allegation against him being solely involved in nuclear technology proliferation from Pakistan to other countries.

Syria's state news agency, Sana reported that a explosion in Aleppo on July 26, killed around 15 soldiers and wounded 50 others. The Syrian officials had claimed that highly explosive products blew up due to an accidental fire at the facility and no sabotage was involved. They had reasoned that the increase in ambient temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius caused an ammunition dump to explode, killing and wounding the soldiers.

The Cold War mindset is difficult to fade away. With the announcement of designing and building the nuclear energy centre in Myanmar by Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the US has raised concerns about the peaceful nature of Myanmar’s nuclear energy programme. The proposed 10 megawatt light water reactor has attracted international attention to Myanmar. The negotiation for acquiring the nuclear technology between Russian Agency and Myanmar was shelved since 2003 due to certain payment problems.