THE SEEDS OF WAR

"Diminishing supplies of oil and natural gas will push countries into violent competition, the Kremlin predicted in a long-awaited national security strategy paper released this week. The document foresees these struggles playing out in the Arctic as well as the Middle East, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia - and states that Russia is prepared to fight for its share of the world's resources. "In the face of competition for resources, the use of military force to solve emerging problems cannot be excluded," reads the strategy paper, which was signed by President Dmitri Medvedev on Wednesday." (Yahoo News, 17 May) RD