Nepal

Recent improvements in ties between India and Pakistan might be jeopardized as both compete for influence in post-2014 Afghanistan. Nepal's political parties conclude a deal over reintegration of former rebels. Britain allows armed guards on vessels to fight pirate attacks, and the United States and South Korea strengthen ties to meet future challenges from the North. All this in today's security briefing...

India and Afghanistan sign a strategic partnership agreement during Karzai's visit to New Delhi. Nepal's new prime minister says constitution to be drafted by November. Pakistan reiterates support to China in fighting terrorism, and a Bangladeshi war tribunal files its first charges. All this in today's security briefing...

The return to democracy in Nepal after the decade-long civil war has been bumpy. The question of amnesty for crimes committed during the war now faces the new Maoist-led government with a key choice, says Meenakshi Ganguly.

The resolution of violent conflicts, like the one Nepal has endured for over a decade, cannot unfortunately be a linear, logical and smooth process: its impasses are not of a legal nature, but political.

While the major political parties are busying themselves in realpolitik, the rest of the country, especially the southern part of Nepal and the hilly districts of west, feel that there is no government to speak of

After four years, the UN peace mission in Nepal will leave the country with an uncertain political and security future. Kyrgyz national commission blames Uzbeks for last year’s deadly ethnic violence. Sudan may be removed from the US state terror sponsor list by summer, officials say. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

A lengthy political crisis in Nepal has exposed deep divisions over the country’s future, in which matters of identity - national, ethnic, caste, class - are to the fore. A new federal constitution is intended to address these. The obstacles in its way could be removed by rethinking the “identitarian” dimension of the proposed settlement, says Oliver Housden.

UK government to announce torture complicity inquiry. Taliban attack NATO base in Jalalabad. Nepalese prime minister resigns. ACLU mounts legal challenge against US govenment over no-fly list. Blast in Chechen capital. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

Nepal’s path from civil war to a new constitutional and democratic order is proving hard. An influential Maoist movement and a powerful India are at the heart of the country’s stalemated political transition, says Manjushree Thapa.

U.S. envoy dispatched following settlement row and escalating violence in the West Bank. Tight race as Iraqis await final election results. FARC kidnaps five in Colombia. Influential Nepalese peace broker dies at 86. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

Some in Nepal fear that China is stirring up tensions between their countrymen and the Tibetan refugee population

In Bhutan, a Himalayan country famed for its focus on Gross National Happiness, the Nepalese minority has been forced out. Anna Husarska traveled to their refugee camps to document their plight