US warns North Korea over nuclear plant 'provocation'

The US has warned North Korea to refrain from "irresponsible provocation" after the communist state said its main nuclear facility had resumed normal operations.

The North said in 2013 it would reactivate the Yongbyon reactor

The reactor at Yongbyon has been the source of plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
The White House said North Korea should "focus instead on fulfilling its international obligations".
The reactor was shut down in 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.
But Pyongyang vowed to restart it in 2013, following its third nuclear test and amid high regional tensions.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the international community would not accept North Korea as a nuclear state.




"We will work with our partners in the context of the six-party talks to try to return North Korea to a posture of fulfilling those commitments that they have made," he said.
"We will repeat our call that North Korea should refrain from the irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional tension and should focus instead on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments."
Six-nation talks involving South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia aimed at ending the North's nuclear programme have been stalled since 2009.
Experts believe that, when fully operational, the Yongbyon reactor can make one nuclear bomb's worth of plutonium per year.

A US think-tank said this year that satellite images suggested work had started at the Yongbyon complex.
But Tuesday's announcement was the first official confirmation from North Korea that it had restarted operations there.
The state-run news agency KCNA said North Korea was improving its nuclear weapons "in quality and quantity".
It said that the North was ready to face US hostility with "nuclear weapons any time".
However, experts say North Korea's nuclear capabilities are unclear.
Pyongyang claims it has made a device small enough to fit a nuclear warhead on to a missile, which it could launch at its enemies. But US officials have cast doubt on the claim.
North Korea has made bellicose threats against its neighbours and the US before, often to coincide with annual joint military exercises held by South Korea and US forces.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, because the 1950-1953 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

































ORINANAL FOUND HERhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34263953

UK:Diesel pumps

UK:Diesel pumps could run dry says RAC Foundation

There is a danger Britain's diesel pumps could "run dry" because of a growing dependence on foreign fuel, according to the RAC Foundation.

The motoring research group says diesel demand has been rising for decades, but UK refineries are struggling to cope.
There were 11 million diesel cars on the road last year, compared to just 1.6 million in 1994.
The RACF says that, at this rate, diesel will be four times more popular than petrol by 2030.
Yet we consume twice as much diesel as we produce, and that growing reliance on countries including Russia and India to supply the fuel could leave motorists "at the mercy of the global market" in future, the foundation says.
"Even if we are not in conflict with those countries that control the taps, they might simply decide they need more of what they produce for their own markets," RACF director Steve Gooding told the BBC.
"If supply is interrupted, then at best we'll see sharp rises in forecourt prices and, at worst, there is the unlikely but real possibility of pumps running dry."























ORINANAL FOUND HERhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34262990

support for Assad in Syria

Vladimir Putin vows to continue support for Assad government in Syria

Russian president Vladimir Putin has promised to continue military support of the Assad government in Syria and urged other countries to follow suit.

In recent days the US and several European nations have voiced concerns over reports Russia has been escalating its military support for the Syrian government.

Mr Putin said other countries should supply military and technical assistance for the Assad government in Syria.

But Mr Putin said other countries should supply military and technical assistance to Syria, as only its government's forces can defeat Islamic State militants.

He also said the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe would have been much worse if it was not for Russian support for the Assad regime.

Russia already has a naval base in Syria and US officials say there are signs it is planning an airbase as well.

According to the Pentagon, there has been a steady flow of people and equipment at the airfield near the port city of Latakia, on the country's coast, over the past week.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported Russia sent a military advance team to Syria and transported a number of prefabricated housing units and a portable air traffic control station to a Syrian airfield.

But a spokesman for the Pentagon said there was no sign of any fighter planes or helicopters being moved in.

State department spokesman John Kirby said the Russian move would not help solve the conflict in Syria.

"It certainly appears as though they are continuing to support the Assad regime," he said.

"What we would like to see is movement towards a political transition in Syria, and we still believe there's an opportunity to pursue that kind of transition in concert with Russian authorities."

A recent statement from the Kremlin said Mr Putin was, however, "open to dialogue" and a meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama when he visits the United Nations headquarters later this month.

"President Putin is always open to dialogue, especially with his colleague President Obama," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, adding that no such meeting had yet been agreed.

"There is a will [for dialogue] on Russia's part and this will remain."

The US and its western allies vigorously oppose the government of Bashar al-Assad and say that backing him risks prolonging the conflict.





















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