A spokesman for India's ruling Congress party called on Saturday for the international community to contemplate declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. Manish Tewari, the Congress party spokesman, pointed to the release of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan after the Islamabad High Court declared him a free citizen last Friday. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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The toD verdict: Khan is a nuclear engineer and is widely considered to be the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In 2004, he confessed to his involvement in a clandestine international network of nuclear weapons technology proliferation from Pakistan to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Pakistan is the nation that really "scares" the newly-inaugurated American president, according to Barack Obama's spokespeople. Richard Holbrooke has been appointed the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. US strategists will be increasingly focused upon Pakistan's tribal areas which are home to al-Qaeda's leaders and are overrun with Taliban militants. Pakistan's nuclear capabilities are also cause for concern, as the controversy over Khan's release shows.
The security situation in Pakistan is alarming, with explosions and attacks occurring on a daily basis. However, the government has no solid counter-terrorism plan and opinion is divided as to whether aggression or negotiation would be a more effective strategy. Either way, Pakistan will remain important in the US "war on terror" and vital logistically to operations in the area. Aid from Obama, however, is viewed sceptically by the Zardari administration and, according to his government's ambassador to Washington, should come without strings attached such as the requirement that civilian aid is coupled with Pakistani assurances that they will fight militants in Afghanistan rather than build up their defences against India. It remains to be seen how much Washington can cooperate with Islamabad.
WTO fears political unrest over economic crisis
On Saturday, the head of the World Trade Organisation admitted in an interview that the global economic crisis could cause political unrest on a scale that has not been seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Pascal Lamy said that "this crisis weighs heavily on politics and puts peace in danger." Riots have already shaken Greece, France, Britain and several countries in eastern Europe. Food riots have rocked countries in Africa and south-east Asia. He emphasised the danger of inter-religious and inter-ethnic clashes, warning against the adoption of overly nationalistic and isolationist policies.
Suicide bomb kills 12, injures 15
A suicide bomb in the northeastern Diyala province of Iraq killed 12 people and injured 15 on Thursday. The explosion occurred in a restaurant in the largely Kurdish town of Khanaqin.
This attack comes as President Barack Obama's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan told a security conference in Germany on Sunday that Afghanistan will be "much tougher than Iraq."
Madagascan opposition leader urges protestors to continue, despite deaths
After Andry Rajoelina's announcement last week that he had taken over as leader of Madagascar, a demonstration which turned violent on Saturday resulted in the death of over 25 people and, according to some sources, the injury of around 200. The protestors were gathered outside the presidential palace when security forces opened fire. Rajoelina has called on his supporters to continue in their struggle against the government.
Joe Biden: "The Iranian people are a great people"
At a security conference that took place in Germany on Saturday, the US vice-president Joe Biden gave a speech which was seen as an outline of the Obama government's intentions regarding their relations with the rest of the world. In an apparent "volte-face" from the previous administration's approach, Biden said that whilst Tehran's continuance of its nuclear programme would result in the country's isolation, Washington was willing to start up a dialogue with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.
Biden extended this conciliatory tone to Russia as well. He said that the time had come to "press the reset button" on Washington-Moscow relations. The US project to put parts of the Pentagon's missile shield in ex-Soviet bloc states such as Poland and the Czech Republic is said to have been put on hold whilst talks take place
Gaza still burns
Despite a ceasefire, violence continues on both sides in the ongoing dispute between Israel and Hamas. On Sunday, the latter fired two rockets into southern Israel and in retaliation, Israeli armed forces launched air strikes on the Gaza strip. While no injuries or casualties have been reported, the extremely fragile ceasefire agreement has been further undermined. The Egyptian government is currently trying to secure a more lasting peace between the two sides. Meanwhile, fishermen in waters off the Gazan coast are in danger as Israeli gunships patrol the coast in an effort to halt the smuggling of weapons in to the area.
Suicide bomber disguised amongst civilians kills 24
A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who detonated a bomb attached to herself amongst a crowd of civilians fleeing the war zone killed 24 and injured around 60 more. The explosion on Monday, in the town of Vishvamadu, came after 15,000 people have fled the war-torn region in just three days and seems to provide legitimacy to the government's claims that insurgents could be trying to escape the region with groups of refugees.
