COUNTRY REVIEW

South Asia

Afghanistan

• Gen. McKiernan takes over as IASF commander, expresses concern over militancy from Pakistan’s tribal regions; Pak Foreign Minister: Islamabad holding talks with “peace-loving” elements, not terrorists

Pakistan

• Suicide bomb attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad; Musharraf refuses to step down; Budget session commences on June 2; 64 militants released in Timergara

Nepal

• Prachanda accuses the CPN-UML and the NC of “delaying tactics”; Maoists climb down on their demands on Presidency and constitution

Bhutan

• CPB(MLM) claims launch of an “armed peoples war”

Bangladesh

• AL and BNP oppose attempts to formulate a national charter; Bangladesh, Myanmar direct road link to start next year

Sri Lanka

• Colombo: LTTE free to come to negotiating table but should abdicate arms; LTTE rejects charges of arrest of Pulidevan; Rajapakse moots Global Food Crises Fund; Cairns India Ltd to invest $10 m to develop oil resources in Mannar

East Asia

China

• Beijing expresses ‘strong discontent’ over Japanese Coast Guard vessel collision with Taiwanese boat in East China Sea; Chinese Vice-President praises Sudan’s ‘unremitting efforts’ on Darfur

Myanmar

• Reports: Aid workers not getting full cooperation from authorities

West Asia

Iraq

• Maliki visits Tehran, assures his hosts over American troop presence; US Senate Intelligence Committee: Bush overstated evidence on Hussein; Turkish General: Turkey and Iran have conducted coordinated strikes on Kurdish rebels

Iran

• Larijani elected Iran’s new parliament speaker; Reports indicate he would give a tough fight to Ahmadinejad in the elections in 2009

US ELECTION REVIEW

• Barack Obama secures the Democratic nomination; Obama receives flak for his remarks on Jerusalem at AIPAC meeting

PAKISTAN-OCUPIED KASHMIR REVIEW

• President of POK welcomes Indo-Pak dialogue process; Gilani guarantees support to POK; Judicial crisis continues; Legislative Assembly adopts three resolutions on China and Myanmar

INTERNAL SECURITY REVIEW

Jammu and Kashmir

• 14 Naga militants killed in fratricidal clash; Manipur militants warn against arming civilians

Maoist Insurgency

• First J&K woman militant killed in encounter

NorthEast Insurgency

• Eight Maoists killed in Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh

Other Development

• Deoband issues fatwa against terrorism

NUCLEAR REVIEW

India

• EAM: Difficult to indicate timetable for nuclear deal; Russia supplies the first three batches of fuel for Kudankulam

Iran

• Putin: Iran not trying to acquire nuclear weapons; IAEA Board of Governors discuss Iran and ElBaradei’s latest report; Rice: Dialogue with Iran useless unless Iran suspends enrichment

North Korea

• North Korea putting final touches to declaration; US taking time to review North Korean documents; Robert Gates says Six-Party Talks would continue despite North Korean link with Syria

ENERGY SECURITY REVIEW

GALLOPING CRUDE OIL PRICES AND FUEL PRICE HIKES

• Crude oil prices reach a $138 a barrel; India, Nepal, South Africa, Malaysia among others raise fuel prices

Alternative Energy

• Japan makes its first major move to shift towards a Hydrogen economy; Australia pushes ‘coal to liquid’ technology

G-8 Ministrerial Meeting

• Energy Ministers from G-8 countries establish International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation

GeoPolitics

• Mevedev makes his first visit to Europe after assuming Russian presidency; Energy security the key focus