India successfully tested an Agni III missile April 12, capable of launching a 300-kiloton nuclear warhead across 3,000 kilometers—a dramatic increase on prior missile systems principally designed to strike at Pakistan. The missile was launched from Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. An earlier test last July had failed to reach its target. Defense Minister A.K. Anthony boasted: "India has matured in the missile technology area and [is] definitely at par with many other developed countries." (AP, April 12)

See our last posts on India and its nuclear program and nuclear fear in general.