The paralysis at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) captures the state of affairs that has bedevilled the field of arms control/disarmament during the last 10 years.
With Russia hosting three major world sporting events in the next eight years, it is hoped that there would be a massive infusion of capital to boost the country’s infrastructure and upgrade the transport and tourism sectors.
The much awaited NATO Russian Summit meeting is taking place on November 19-20, 2010 in Lisbon. Will it signify a major thaw in East-West relations, or will existing differences thwart a major rapprochement between the United States, Europe and Russia which could herald a new era in international relations.
The energy sector since the mid-2000s has acquired top priority in Russian state affairs, but since late 2008 it has also become the epicentre of the economic disaster that still continues to affect Russia. President Medvedev has effectively discarded the notion of Russia as an 'energy super-power' and is now focusing on 'modernisation' for Russia's development. But coherence of this course is problematic because the bulk of new investments must go into the energy sector in order to sustain the high revenues.
Global warming-induced accessibility has drawn many actors to the Arctic zone, seeking to establish exclusive sovereign rights over its many natural endowments.
