The genesis of 'Directed Energy Weapons' (DEWs) came up during the cold war when Karl Bendetson and the High Frontier panel of private citizens advised President Ronald Reagan for a crash program to develop missile defences. It was not just to defend against Soviet nuclear weapons but also because of strong indications that the Soviets were going to deploy 'powerful directed energy weapons' in space to gain control of space by using weapons like lasers, jammers etc. Towards the end of the Cold War, the US focused on ballistic missile defence and spending on DEWs.
The Arctic Circle is the new circumpolar forum to address Arctic issues. It is the brainchild of Ólafur Grímsson, Iceland’s President and his team comprising of Prince Albert II of Monaco, Greenlandic Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and Russian explorer Artur Chilingarov, who seek to engage a number of stakeholders through an inclusive process. The forum was launched at the National Press Club in Washington in March 2013 and aims to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to present their views on ‘Arctic matters’.
The acceptance of the feasibility of the BRICS Development Bank at the recently concluded Fifth BRICS Summit at Durban has sent a shivering effect on a certain section who criticise the very idea.
War is not a civilized or dignified way to get hold of rights. Because in wars, national development is arrested, education, economy and technology are left backwards, leaders become cruel and unjust, the military is too expensive, and humans become victims.
This World Water Day (22 March 2013) calls for cooperation on transboundary rivers. With 276 transboundary river basins worldwide, it makes sense for countries in the Indian subcontinent and China to consider them seriously.