For years, strategic analysts have warned that future conflicts would increasingly be over one of the essentials of life itself - water. A series of standoffs in South Asia in recent weeks suggests their predictions are now coming true, with worrying implications for peace in the region, and the world. "Blood and water cannot flow at the same time," said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, as he announced that he was suspending meetings of the committee that oversees how water is shared between India and Pakistan. It represents a dramatic use of water as a diplomatic weapon. Relations between the nuclear powers are poor even by the abysmal standards of these two staunch enemies. Read more
