Pakistan Changes Hudood Ordinances
After years of global and national criticism over laws governing rape, Pakistan ’s National Assembly adopted the Women’s Protection Bill 2006 even as religious fundamentalists allege that the change will make the Islamic nation a “free sex zone.”<More>

Judiciary Accountability Law
The Federal Cabinet approved in principle to introduce a Judges (Inquiry) Bill 2006 aimed at making High Court (HC) and Supreme Court (SC) judges accountable for actions inconsistent with their position including corruption charges and incapacitation.<More>

GHG Consequences Dangerous
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told a conference on climate control in Nairobi that it is far less expensive to cut greenhouse gasses (GHG) than “deal with the consequences later” and implored nations “Let no one say we cannot afford to act.”<More>

Clean Projects Disagreement
Nations attending the 12th Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP12) seemed to be angry at the lop-sided award of Clean Development Projects (CDP) part of the Kyoto Protocol to India, China, and Brazil.<More>

High AIDS in Adolescent in Rich States
A grass-root Non-Government Organization working on HIV/AIDS eradication said that lack of awareness among both rural and urban adolescents has increased the incidence of this infection among 10 to 19 year olds in prosperous states.<More>

EADS Developing IAF Components
European Aerospace (EADS) and Indian Defence Company Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) plan to develop a state-of-the-art missile-warning sensor for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be integrated into future Defensive Aids Suite (DASS) of IAF.<More>

Pak Tests Ghauri V Missile
Pakistan Defense Ministry announced that it test-fired its 1,300 kilometer nuclear-capable missile Hatf-V codenamed Ghauri-V and as part of “a training exercise held to test the operation readiness of a Strategic Missile Group equipped with Ghauri missile.”<More>

Anti-Terror Mechanism
India and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint anti-terror mechanism which would include “regular and timely sharing of information” as Pakistan promised to “look into” evidence presented by India of cross-border links.<More>

Al-Qaeda Nuke Plot Targets UK
Continuing with a series of briefings, British intelligence officials said that they are convinced that the al Qaeda is planning a nuclear attack on the UK and cited “an awful lot of chatter” on jihadi websites to bolster their claim.<More>

FBI Warning Raises Terror Fear
A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alert to India of a possible attack on airport or vital installation by al-Qaeda bolstered by an anonymous untraced letter in Tiruchinapalli increased security levels across airports, tarmac, and leaders.<More>

Helicopter Use to Fight NE Terrorists
Large areas, highly-wooded terrain, and an invisible enemy in the North East is prompting the Indian Army and Air Force (IAF) to start using helicopters to curb insurgency in Assam sparked mainly by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).<More>

Hard Lobbying with NSG
India ’s special representative on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, Shyam Saran, returned from a visit with Sweden, Norway, and Ireland trying to elicit their support for the deal without India signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).<More>

Army’s “No” to Siachen Deal
After sending several signals and veiled messages, the Indian Army finally came out and said it is opposed to demilitarization on Siachen citing potential takeover of heights by Pakistan or China and thereby scuttling any political temptation to reach a deal.<More>

Iran Flexes Missile Muscle Again
In a surprise and unscheduled military exercise displaying its conventional weapons strength and leaving Israel very worried, Iran fired a battery and range of land and ship-borne missiles and maneuvers along with anti-tank and anti-helicopter weapons.<More>

China Wants Arunachal
Days before the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, its Ambassador to India has said that his nation wants the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh even as the joint working group (JWG) scheduled November 9-10 was called off because of other disagreements.<More>

Bangla Blockade Called Off
Even though Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed failed to prove his constitutional neutrality, the 14-party coalition led by Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina said that they would call of the blockade “in view of public sufferings” till next Sunday.<More>

The Bangladesh Blockade
Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed called out the Army “to assist law-enforcing agencies” to quell Opposition protests and blockade while outgoing Prime Minister Khaleda Zia instigated her cadre to “retaliate” if attacked.<More>

Foreign Secretary Level Talks Resume
Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries will resume talks in New Delhi November 14-15 and analysis and news reports indicate and Islamabad is insistent that Kashmir remain the core issue while New Delhi says that terrorism is the core.<More>

TNA MP Assassinated
A prominent Member of Parliament and known Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sympathizer was assassinated by unidentified killers as a Sea Tigers attack on Sri Lankan Navy resulted in the death of 6 Tigers and 35 sailors.<More>

Huge US Senate Support for Nuke Deal
Handing US President a major victory on a key foreign policy objective and in a major show of bipartisan support, the Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal that will allow the US to ship civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India.<More>

Nuke Deal Listed Top Priority
With President George Bush, Republican leaders, and prominent Democrats voicing the importance, the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal may be taken up in a couple of days by the Senate even as supporters and opponents stepped up lobbying to suit their agenda.<More>

Lebanese Political Crisis and West Asia
The resignation of 5 Shiite Ministers from the Lebanon Government increased regional tensions across sectarian and religious lines and the US Government (USG) applauded an Argentinean court branding the Hezbollah “global nexus of terrorism.”<More>