production
Reuters, Tokyo
North Korea says it has resumed plutonium production by reprocessing spent fuel rods and has no plans to stop nuclear tests as long as perceived U.S. threats remain, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.
North Korea’s Atomic Energy Institute, which has jurisdiction over the country’s Yongbyon nuclear facilities, also told Kyodo it had been producing highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear arms and power “as scheduled.”
Chinese admiral visits Syria in show of support
AP, Beijing
A top Chinese military officer visited Syria this week in a show of support for President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime, official media reported Thursday, underscoring Beijing’s backing of fellow authoritarian governments and concerns about the spread of religious militancy.
Rear Adm. Guan Youfei met on Sunday with Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij in Damascus, the Xinhua News Agency said.
Two top local officials shot dead in Vietnam
AP, Hanoi
Two top provincial officials in northern Vietnam have been fatally shot by a fellow official in a rare such incident in a communist country where guns are strictly controlled, state media reported Thursday. The Tuoi Tre newspaper said that Pham Duy Cuong, head of the Communist Party organization in Yen Bai province and Ngo Ngoc Tuan, chief of the provincial legislature, were shot in their offices Thursday by Do Cuong Minh, chief of the provincial forest protection bureau, who then killed himself by a shot to the head.
Indonesia sinks 60 foreign fishing ships
VOA News
Indonesia on Wednesday sunk 60 foreign fishing ships it says it captured for unlawfully fishing in its territorial waters. The move coincided with the country’s independence day observances.
The Indonesian government has adopted a firm position against illegal fishing in its waters as tensions between China and other countries escalate in the South China Sea. Last month an international tribunal rejected China’s claims to nearly the entire South China Sea.
