Iran has claimed that it successfully reverse-engineered a US RQ-170 Sentinel, a top-of-the-line drone. Iran claims that it captured the drone in December 2011 by disrupting the drone’s GPS system, a relatively low-tech attack. If true, the Iranians have secured some of the most sensitive secrets of the US. It remains to be seen, however, if the copy is robust. It is likely that the Iranians could fetch a very high price for some of the technology in the drone.
Afghanistan held a national election last month that failed to produce a clear-cut winner. The run-off between the two top vote-getters is scheduled for next month: Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister, and Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister. Abdullah recently received an endorsement from the third-place finisher, and it looks likely that he will win the election. Although a Pashtun, Abdullah is closely allied with the Tajiks in Afghanistan; Ghani was likely to receive strong support from the Pashtuns. The ethnic cleavage is an important division in Afghanistan, but it appears as if Abdullah has been able to defuse the intensity of that split.
There have been eight rounds of voting in the Indian national election, and the final round of voting is to be held on Monday. It appears that Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win a majority of seats in the Parliament. Modi has been emphasizing economic issues in the election as the Indian economy has sputtered in recent months. For some Indians, however, Modi represents a brand of Hindu nationalism that is worrisome in the diverse Indian polity.
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