Positives amid disasters and conflicts

Positives amid disasters and conflicts

In 2005, mankind was taught a number of harsh life lessons by natural disasters that struck with a force beyond human comprehension.

But some moves are bringing rays of hope for the next year. In Indonesia, the central government and an armed separatist group in Aceh Province signed a peace agreement, while Indian and Pakistani governments opened the Line of Control in Kashmir, which both Pakistan and India claim sovereignty over.

The unprecedented natural disasters prompted parties involved in two separate disputes to reconcile their differences.

A ray of hope also was seen in Iraq where gunfire never ceases. Following the establishment of the new Constitution in October...The election of the National Assembly was held in December. The renaissance of Iraq by democratization is planned to reach its final phase in 2006. -- The Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo