shobhitdeshwal
January 2nd, 2007, 04:43 PM
This year likely will be remembered as one in which the international community further destabilized. Amid the anxiety and confusion, the international community is about to enter 2007 with no clear sense of how to proceed.
Nightmare becomes reality
The nightmarish scenario in which North Korea would someday conduct a nuclear test became a reality this year.
In July, North Korea launched seven missiles, including the Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile, toward the Sea of Japan. In October, North Korea conducted its first underground nuclear test at a site in the country's northeast.
The international community condemned North Korea after it brazenly launched its missiles and conducted the nuclear test, ignoring repeated demands from other countries to refrain from such actions. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea, the main pillars of which were financial sanctions and cargo inspections to prevent the transfer of materials that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.
Japan, which faces a serious threat from North Korean nuclear missiles, led the discussion on the issue at the Security Council. China and Russia, which North Korea views as "allies," also signed onto the first UNSC resolution for sanctions against Pyongyang.
With mounting pressure against North Korea, the six-party talks on the country's nuclear program resumed in December, about 13 months after the previous round of talks. However, North Korea continued to demand throughout the talks that financial sanctions imposed by the United States be lifted. The talks adjourned fruitlessly, without a decision on further rounds.
The question is how can we persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, particularly as it prides itself in being a "nuclear nation"? This will be the greatest point of contention in this region in 2007.
Iran's nuclear development is a problem as serious as that of North Korea's. In February, Iran officially admitted it was enriching uranium. The Security Council in December unanimously adopted its first resolution on sanctions against the country.
Claiming that nuclear development is an inalienable and nonnegotiable right, however, Iran condemned the resolution as merely "a piece of torn paper" and maintains that it will continue its nuclear development program.
U.S. diplomacy at dead end
The political power map changed in the United States, which, as the only superpower, holds the key to maintaining international order. In November's midterm elections, the Democratic Party succeeded in obtaining majorities in both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years. The Democrats also made significant gains in nationwide gubernatorial elections.
The prime factor in this setback to the administration of President George W. Bush was the chaotic situation in Iraq.
In May, a full-fledged Iraqi government headed by Nouri al-Maliki from the Islamic Dawa Party of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance was inaugurated. The Shiite coalition won in the National Assembly election in December 2005.
November's death sentence for Saddam Hussein, who was toppled as Iraq president during the war in that country. The sentence follows his conviction for crimes against humanity, including the killing of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail. His sentence was finalized earlier this month.
Although Iraq has somehow managed to achieve certain goals, such as the formulation of the Constitution and establishment of a full-fledged government, the security situation has yet to improve. Sectarian violence continues to escalate, with many observers saying the country already has descended into civil war. The number of U.S. military deaths since the U.S.-led invasion began is about to reach the 3,000 mark.
Attention is now being focused on how the Bush administration claws its way out of the quagmire and what kind of changes it makes to its Iraq policy.
Terrorism still rampant
News of terrorist attacks have flooded in from around the world. In Mumbai, the almost-simultaneous bombings of seven trains and stations killed 179 people in July. In Britain, a foiled plot to blast transatlantic airliners out of the sky in August . Such an attack would have been terrible blow for the country, which had been the victim of coordinated bombings the previous year in London.
Alexander Litvinenko--a former lieutenant colonel in Russia's Federal Security Service and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin--who died in London in November, where he had been in exile. It was learned that he was killed with polonium-210, a radioactive substance of peculiar qualities. Some people close to the case believe Russian intelligence agents were involved in the murder.
The price of crude oil also continued its rise from the previous year. In July, its per-barrel price topped $77, bringing a new record high . In addition to China's ravenous demand for oil, Israel's invasion of Lebanon and other regional conflicts contributed to the high prices.
The spread of avian influenza, meanwhile, does not seem to be waning. Human deaths from bird flu topped 100 in March and 150 by the end of October.
In May, Indonesia, the origin of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, suffered another major earthquake, this time killing about 6,000 residents of central Java. In the Philippines, 11,000 were killed in a major landslide in February.
Science news not dwarfed
The scientific community was no stranger to high-profile news, either. At its general meeting in Prague in August, the International Astronomical Union decided to strip Pluto of its status as a planet, choosing to instead classify it in the newly created category of "dwarf planet." This historic news ranked fourth. The demotion of Pluto also sent the world's publishing houses rushing to edit school textbooks.
In South Korea, Seoul University Prof. Hwang Woo Sok was indicted on embezzlement and violations of that country's bioethics law for fabricating articles in which he claimed to have succeeded for the first time in creating human embryonic stem cells through cloning. But this was not just someone else's problem, as a Tokyo University professor also was fired this month for falsifying research papers.
The year 2007 will probably prove to be a year of milestones as world leaders must guide the increasingly uncertain international community toward stability.
Cheers!!
Shobhit Deshwal.
Nightmare becomes reality
The nightmarish scenario in which North Korea would someday conduct a nuclear test became a reality this year.
In July, North Korea launched seven missiles, including the Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile, toward the Sea of Japan. In October, North Korea conducted its first underground nuclear test at a site in the country's northeast.
The international community condemned North Korea after it brazenly launched its missiles and conducted the nuclear test, ignoring repeated demands from other countries to refrain from such actions. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea, the main pillars of which were financial sanctions and cargo inspections to prevent the transfer of materials that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.
Japan, which faces a serious threat from North Korean nuclear missiles, led the discussion on the issue at the Security Council. China and Russia, which North Korea views as "allies," also signed onto the first UNSC resolution for sanctions against Pyongyang.
With mounting pressure against North Korea, the six-party talks on the country's nuclear program resumed in December, about 13 months after the previous round of talks. However, North Korea continued to demand throughout the talks that financial sanctions imposed by the United States be lifted. The talks adjourned fruitlessly, without a decision on further rounds.
The question is how can we persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, particularly as it prides itself in being a "nuclear nation"? This will be the greatest point of contention in this region in 2007.
Iran's nuclear development is a problem as serious as that of North Korea's. In February, Iran officially admitted it was enriching uranium. The Security Council in December unanimously adopted its first resolution on sanctions against the country.
Claiming that nuclear development is an inalienable and nonnegotiable right, however, Iran condemned the resolution as merely "a piece of torn paper" and maintains that it will continue its nuclear development program.
U.S. diplomacy at dead end
The political power map changed in the United States, which, as the only superpower, holds the key to maintaining international order. In November's midterm elections, the Democratic Party succeeded in obtaining majorities in both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years. The Democrats also made significant gains in nationwide gubernatorial elections.
The prime factor in this setback to the administration of President George W. Bush was the chaotic situation in Iraq.
In May, a full-fledged Iraqi government headed by Nouri al-Maliki from the Islamic Dawa Party of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance was inaugurated. The Shiite coalition won in the National Assembly election in December 2005.
November's death sentence for Saddam Hussein, who was toppled as Iraq president during the war in that country. The sentence follows his conviction for crimes against humanity, including the killing of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail. His sentence was finalized earlier this month.
Although Iraq has somehow managed to achieve certain goals, such as the formulation of the Constitution and establishment of a full-fledged government, the security situation has yet to improve. Sectarian violence continues to escalate, with many observers saying the country already has descended into civil war. The number of U.S. military deaths since the U.S.-led invasion began is about to reach the 3,000 mark.
Attention is now being focused on how the Bush administration claws its way out of the quagmire and what kind of changes it makes to its Iraq policy.
Terrorism still rampant
News of terrorist attacks have flooded in from around the world. In Mumbai, the almost-simultaneous bombings of seven trains and stations killed 179 people in July. In Britain, a foiled plot to blast transatlantic airliners out of the sky in August . Such an attack would have been terrible blow for the country, which had been the victim of coordinated bombings the previous year in London.
Alexander Litvinenko--a former lieutenant colonel in Russia's Federal Security Service and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin--who died in London in November, where he had been in exile. It was learned that he was killed with polonium-210, a radioactive substance of peculiar qualities. Some people close to the case believe Russian intelligence agents were involved in the murder.
The price of crude oil also continued its rise from the previous year. In July, its per-barrel price topped $77, bringing a new record high . In addition to China's ravenous demand for oil, Israel's invasion of Lebanon and other regional conflicts contributed to the high prices.
The spread of avian influenza, meanwhile, does not seem to be waning. Human deaths from bird flu topped 100 in March and 150 by the end of October.
In May, Indonesia, the origin of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, suffered another major earthquake, this time killing about 6,000 residents of central Java. In the Philippines, 11,000 were killed in a major landslide in February.
Science news not dwarfed
The scientific community was no stranger to high-profile news, either. At its general meeting in Prague in August, the International Astronomical Union decided to strip Pluto of its status as a planet, choosing to instead classify it in the newly created category of "dwarf planet." This historic news ranked fourth. The demotion of Pluto also sent the world's publishing houses rushing to edit school textbooks.
In South Korea, Seoul University Prof. Hwang Woo Sok was indicted on embezzlement and violations of that country's bioethics law for fabricating articles in which he claimed to have succeeded for the first time in creating human embryonic stem cells through cloning. But this was not just someone else's problem, as a Tokyo University professor also was fired this month for falsifying research papers.
The year 2007 will probably prove to be a year of milestones as world leaders must guide the increasingly uncertain international community toward stability.
Cheers!!
Shobhit Deshwal.