Twenty-five years after UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali opened the doors for the CSOs and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to contribute to the success of the Earth Summit in June 1992 that stressed the inexorable link between environment and development, the CSOs have successfully exercised their 'soft power' to help usher in a world free of nuclear weapons.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Wednesday his country has developed nuclear weapons of a size small enough for a ballistic missile. [...] North Korea’s public diplomacy, or lack of it, has only increased the pressure. Last week, North Korea answered new United Nations sanctions by firing projectiles into the sea. Kim also threatened to carry out a nuclear strike against South Korea and the United States.

NEW DELHI: In a major faux pas that kept journalists guessing and the home ministry on tenterhooks for half a day, home minister  Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that India had entered into an agreement with France to make nuclear weapons in India as part of PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign. 

The likelihood that the Iran negotiations are reaching a make-or-break point was reinforced by President Obama on Monday when he told reporters: “I don’t see a further extension being useful” if the Iranians don’t agree by late March to a framework that shows the world “that they’re not pursuing a nuclear weapon. 

Some said that Seoul should seek to bring in tactical weapons and could propose to the North mutual nuclear arms reductions. But others argue the disadvantages of bringing nuclear weapons to the South would outweigh the advantages. They cautioned that Seoul could face strong resistance not only from its ally the US but also from the international community upholding the non-proliferation principle, and that its soft power accumulated through its active participation in global issues such as green growth and anti-piracy efforts would be undermined.

Egypt is about to miss a golden opportunity to enhance its stature in global diplomacy, which has presented itself in the form of Iran's suggestion of Cairo as the venue for the next round of multilateral nuclear negotiations. Despite unconfirmed reports that Cairo has turned a cold shoulder to this idea, it is still not too late for the embattled government of Mohammed Morsi to embrace it, thus gaining diplomatic and political capital.