The UN has authorised foreign governments to send their navies into Somali waters to combat widespread piracy in the area. Pirates regularly stalk the waters off Somalia's coast, threatening shipping in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and is a key trade route between Europe and Asia. The pirates use larger "mother vessels" which give them a greater range than smaller boats, until they spot a potential victim, at which point they launch high-powered speedboats to intercept and fire rocket-propelled grenades at their target to disable it so they can board.Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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Security Council Resolution 1816 is mandated to last for six months and authorises foreign navies to use "all necessary means" to prevent hijackings at sea. The resolution has the backing of the Somali interim government, with President Abdullahi Yusuf admitting before the vote that the "issue of piracy is beyond [Somalia's] present means and capabilities."
Foreign navies have already begun patrolling Somalia's coastline, with a Canadian naval vessel, the HMCS Calgary, recently thwarting an attack by pirates.
The toD verdict: The waters around Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world, with around thirty attacks taking place there this year alone. Merchant vessels are the most common targets, but pirates have also hijacked fishing vessels, luxury yachts, and even ships carrying humanitarian aid destined for Somalia.
Somalia is one of the world's poorest countries. Its central government has little effective control over what happens in its waters. Light arms can be obtained relatively cheaply on the black-market. At the same time companies will regularly pay millions of dollars in ransom for the safe return of crew.
The UN resolution will go some way towards tackling the problem, but it might not be enough. Some naval commentators are even proposing a return to the convoy system, last used during World War II when the threat came from enemy submarines.
Ultimately, however, it is likely that the situation inside Somalia must be addressed before a permanent solution can be found. Piracy hotspots can emerge suddenly (Somalia wasn't even considered a problem area until attacks started to spike in 2005) and it is only when regional governments are stable, effective and working together that piracy can be properly controlled.
Peace talks progress without Washington
By refusing to negotiate with certain states and groups in the middle east in an effort to isolate them, the United States has ended up marginalising itself, according to Hussein Agha and Robert Malley, writing in the New York Times.
In Gaza, there are signs that Israel and Hamas might be approaching a ceasefire, mediated by Egypt; political factions in Lebanon, which last month came close to civil war, have reached a tentative agreement brokered by Qatar; and Syria and Israel have announced the resumption of indirect peace talks, with the help of Turkey. All these negotiations have occurred without the involvement of the US, which the authors say "has cut itself off from the region on the dubious assumption that it can somehow maximise pressure on its foes by withholding contact".
Harsh winter stokes tensions in central Asia
Water shortages in areas along the border separating Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan have the potential for sparking serious ethnic conflict, according to Eurasianet. The cold winter led to more water from reservoirs going into electricity generation, leaving less for irrigation of fields in the spring. The region's ill-defined national borders and lack of obvious boundary demarcations, such as signs or markers, is exacerbating the problem.
Earlier this year, a group of approximately 150 Tajiks, including some local officials, attempted to destroy a Kyrgyz dam they said was preventing water from reaching their crops.
Taliban target music stores in Pakistan
Three people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks against music and entertainment shops in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Shopkeepers had been ordered to close their stores by the Taliban, which considers music and recorded images immoral. Two dozen businesses were destroyed in the attacks. The news comes as police investigate the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan earlier in the week, and as the Pakistani government carries out negotiations with militants. Some analysts have blamed the recent attacks on factions wanting to disrupt the talks.
Bomb blast on Sri Lankan rail network
Twenty-seven were wounded on Wednesday when a bomb went off on railway tracks near the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. It is the second time a commuter train has been targeted in recent days, after an attack killed nine and wounded eighty-four last week. President Mahinda Rajapakse has vowed "not to stop till terrorism is defeated." The conflict has escalated sharply since the Sri Lankan government pulled out of a six-year truce in January.
Indonesia cracks down on militant group
Up to sixty people were arrested when Indonesian police raided the headquarters of the Islamic Defenders Front (IFP) on Wednesday. The IFP has been blamed for a series of violent assaults against minority religious groups, most recently the beating of marchers at an inter-faith rally in Jakarta last Sunday. Foreign reporters allege that police at the rally stood back and allowed the IFP to carry out the beatings, video of which later provoked outrage when it was broadcast on Indonesian TV. The government is currently debating whether or not to ban the IFP.
