The Chinese mainland agrees to discussing the issue of military security and mutual trust across the Taiwan Strait at an appropriate time, said a mainland spokesman on Wednesday.'We maintain that (both sides) can contact and make exchanges on military

• 17 March 2010

Defence minister A K Antony said Pakistan was not taking serious steps to destroy 42 terror camps on its soil but despite this India was exploring all possibilities, including talks with Pakistan.

• 17 March 2010

The government of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych has announced its intention to pass a law to keep the country out of military alliances, which would end the debate over Ukraine joining NATO.

• 17 March 2010

It's no secret that Eastern European crime syndicates operate throughout the West. Deutsche Welle asked one of Germany's leading mafia experts, Juergen Roth, how big the problem is and what, if anything, can be done.

• 17 March 2010

Noting that recent attacks on Indians in Afghanistan were aimed at forcing India out of that country, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao today ruled out scaling down New Delhi's operations in the war-torn nation.

• 16 March 2010

At the end of December 1999, as the world prepared to usher in a new Millennium, in Europe and other parts of the planet, there was widespread concern that the so called “Millennium Bug” would strike, causing unforeseen disruption and havoc. Ten years on, in December of last year, for many in Europe, the Millennium Bug was just a shade in the memory as a far more ominous concern was pressing home – the prospect of another gas crisis. Although the fact that the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute of January 2009 – and its knock-on effect of leaving much of Europe without natural gas in the peak of winter – did not repeat itself during the record cold European temperatures of January this year, the very fact that European attention has become so focused on this theme demonstrates how geopolitical developments in the European hinterlands have come to impact the day-to-day livelihood of all Europeans

• 16 March 2010

Conventional Western public opinion regards the war in Afghanistan as a struggle between NATO and extremist Islamic militants. Since assuming office Barack Obama has redefined the conflict by calling it the Af-Pak war.

• 15 March 2010

South East Asian nations are ramping up their military capacity in a move that could destabilise the region, a report says.

• 15 March 2010