Chancellor 'to approve toll M4 plan'

2 April 2013 Last updated at 08:06 ET

Plans to build an M4 relief road in south Wales are being backed by the Treasury, the BBC has been told.

It follows press reports reports that Chancellor George Osborne will announce plans to support a new toll motorway in June's comprehensive spending review.

A Westminster source said agreement in principle had been reached but a deal on funding was not finalised.

The Welsh government dropped plans for an M4 relief road around Newport in 2009 after the cost rose to £1bn.

Talks have been continuing between the UK and Welsh governments about ways to fund improvements to the M4 in south Wales, which business leaders say is vital for the economy.

Neither administration has commented directly on the reports in The Times and Independent, but the Welsh government pointed to a statement last month that it was "following due process" on the issue of easing the congestion on the M4 around Newport.

Crashes

Both newspapers report that funding for a relief motorway will be guaranteed by the Treasury to allow the Welsh government to build the road and then to repay the loan at least in part by raising tolls.

If approved, the M4 relief road could become the UK's second toll motorway after the 27-mile (43km) M6 Toll north of Birmingham which opened in 2003.

Employers' group the CBI has called a relief road to ease congestion on the M4 near Newport a "clear priority".

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Business leaders say traffic jams, particularly after crashes which close the motorway, are bad for the economy of south Wales.

Plans were announced in 2004 for a 14-mile road to ease congestion on the M4 around Newport, between junctions 23 and 29.

The scheme was estimated to cost at least £350m and was due to open in 2013, with the possibility that it would be partly financed by tolls.

When the scheme was scrapped in 2009, its likely cost had risen to £1bn.

Ieuan Wyn Jones, then deputy first minister and transport minister, said at the time that putting tolls on the "unaffordable" proposed new road would have reduced its economic effectiveness.

'Better ways'

Financial journalist Mickey Clarke told BBC Radio Wales: "It's worth pointing out though that the M6 Toll in the Midlands... hasn't ever made any money. People won't pay it. That's the trouble."

Nick Payne, regional director of the Road Haulage Association, welcomed the idea of the proposed new motorway going ahead but was against the prospect of tolls.

He said: "The M6 Toll road hasn't been massively successful as far as the transport industry is concerned. I don't know whether or not the haulage industry in Wales can afford to be paying yet another toll after paying so much money to get across the [Severn] bridge every day."

Matt Hemsley, spokesman for the transport charity Sustrans Cymru, criticised the M4 relief road as "poor value for money", saying investment in public transport would do more to ease congestion.

"The Welsh government acknowledges that 40% of journeys on this stretch of the M4 are local trips of under 20 miles," he said.

"By making it easier for people to walk, cycle and catch public transport we can ease congestion, improve our health and save the economy billions."

Proposals for an M4 relief road have also faced criticism by environment campaigners, who fear damage to the Gwent Levels Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

In February 2012 the Welsh government announced plans to turn an old access road through Llanwern steelworks into a £13m dual carriageway to link south Newport with the M4, claiming it would help relieve congestion.

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LHC to enter 'new realm of physics'

2 April 2013 Last updated at 08:19 ET By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News, Cern, Geneva

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Engineer Katy Foraz shows Pallab Ghosh how to upgrade the Large Hadron Collider

Engineers have begun a major upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Their work should double the energy of what's already the most powerful particle accelerator in the world.

BBC News is the first to be allowed to see inside the LHC - on the French-Swiss border - to watch the work being carried out.

Scientists believe the upgrade will enable them to discover new particles which will lead to a more complete theory of how the Universe works.

A project leader with the LHC's Atlas experiment, Dr Pippa Wells told BBC News that there was much more to come from the LHC.

"The past two years have been the most exciting in my time as a particle physicist. People are absolutely fired up. They've made one new discovery (the Higgs) and they want to make more discoveries with the new high energies that the upgrade will give us. We could find a new realm of particle physics".

I was taken by the technical coordinator for the upgrade project, Katy Foraz and Cern's UK communications manager Stephanie Hills, to one of the many access points to the LHC's underground tunnels.

Continue reading the main story

LHC Upgrade

• Replace 10,000 connections
• Install 5,000 insulation systems
• 10170 leak tests
• 18,000 electrical tests
• Total cost £70m

We entered a lift shaft with two buttons marked zero and minus 1. Katy hit zero and we made our way 100 metered below the surface.

As the lift doors opened we walked to a large heavy green door which we strained to open.

As we went through it was like entering Aladdin's cave.

No jewels or gold - but one of the largest and most complex machines ever built. A bright blue superconducting beam-line stretches into the distance - around it are gleaming precision instruments to make the line one of the coldest places in the Universe.

In front of me engineers were replacing some the first connectors. In all 10,000 will need to be changed. 800 people are involved in this project which will cost £70m.

The tasks also include testing and replacing some of the LHC's main dipole and quadrupole magnets, which are used to bend the paths of the particles and keep them tightly bunched; conducting tests to detect any irregularities in the magnets or imperfections in the electrical insulation; and a range of other work to improve the machine.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We are always at the limit of what we know in terms of the technology. It is very exciting for an engineer to be close to all these new technologies"

End Quote Katy Foraz LHC Upgrade coordinator

The LHC is known for its cutting edge science. But as we walked to this scientific wonderland Katy told me that for her and her team people forget that the particle accelerator is also on the cutting edge of engineering, after all creating the conditions of the beginning of the Universe is no easy feat.

"We are always at the limit of what we know in terms of the technology. It is very exciting: as the coordinator I have access to all the technology and they really are at their limit in terms of superconductivity cryogenics. It is very exciting for an engineer to be close to all these new technologies," she said.

Katy and her team of engineers are calling the work an "upgrade". But critics say it's a repair.

As we walked passed a team replacing a damaged connector Cern's Stephanie Hills was quick to respond to the charge that this expensive refit is putting right a mistake that shouldn't have been made in the first place.

"Nobody has ever done this kind of technology before. Everything from the most basic welding to the most complicated beam diagnostics is pushing the boundaries of technology, and sometimes these things just don't go right simply because we don't know how it's going to work," she told me.

"You can see in front of us the way that we're managing the upgrade is meticulous. There is lots and lots of quality control, making sure that everything's absolutely spot-on so that when we turn the machine back on we are absolutely ready for some more fantastic scientific discoveries."

The damage was done shortly after the switch on of the Large Hadron Collider in September 2008.

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In search of dark energy

Nine days later it broke down because the connections between the superconducting magnets simply couldn't take the current running through them.

It took a year and £24 million pounds of taxpayer's money to repair the damage. Even then it could only operate on half power. That was enough to discover the much sought-after Higgs Boson.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The LHC is more than just a one trick pony, We hope to find something completely new that will change our understanding of the Universe. "

End Quote Dr Pippa Wells Atlas Project Leader

Those in charge made a pragmatic decision. They decided to press ahead to keep their funders happy.

To their joy and relief scientists had found their prize last summer. And so at the beginning of this year it was politically possible for Cern to begin the long shut down to fix faulty connections.

Back above ground, students from around the world are shown the Atlas control room, one of the places where data from the LHC will be gathered when it is switched back on. That is something for the students to look forward to - because after the upgrade the beams will be crashing into each other at twice the power.

This will enable researchers here to move on to their ultimate goal: to find evidence of so-called "new physics", which they believe, will lead to a new more compete theory of sub-atomic physics.

The discovery of the Higgs last year was the end of a successful chapter of late 20th century physics.

This was the development of the current theory in the 1960s and 70s called the "Standard Model".

This theory says that most of the forces of nature, the objects around us and our own existence, is all down to the interaction of the Higgs with 16 other particles. It successfully explains how electricity, magnetism and light operate.

Since then, all the particles predicted by the Standard Model have been discovered - most recently the Higgs.

The problem though is that more recently scientists have found that this theory is limited. It explains the world around us extremely well - but it can't explain the way most of the Universe behaves.

Physicists hope that by operating at full power, the LHC will be able to find evidence of so-called supersymmetric particles. These are like the particles on the Standard Model - but more massive.

One form of supersymmetry predicts that there should be five Higgs Bosons, which are each slightly different. The first order of business for LHC scientists when the collisions resume in 2015 will be to test the Higgs that's been discovered, to see if it shows any of the properties predicted by supersymmetry, according to Dr Wells.

"The LHC is more than just a one trick pony," said Dr Wells. "It wasn't designed to find just the Higgs. We hope to find something completely new that will change our understanding of the Universe. We are on the threshold of finding many more new particles."

Follow Pallab on Twitter @bbcpallab

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Di Canio declines fascism questions

New Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio refused to answer questions about whether he holds fascist beliefs in his first news conference as boss.

The Italian described the controversy surrounding his appointment as "ridiculous and pathetic" after taking over from Martin O'Neill.

Ex-Foreign Secretary David Miliband resigned from the board because of Di Canio's "past political statements".

"I don't have to answer this question any more," said Di Canio.

Di Canio's managerial record

• Games: 95
• Wins: 54
• Draws: 18
• Losses: 23
• Win %: 57

He said the club had already issued "a very good statement" containing "very, very clear words" from himself.

Di Canio added: "I don't want to talk about politics. I'm not in the Houses of Parliament, I'm not a political person, I will only talk about football."

The Durham Miners' Association  is also unhappy with Di Canio's appointment and has called for Sunderland to return the Wearmouth Miners' Banner, which is on permanent display in the Stadium of Light.

"I, like many thousands of miners, have supported Sunderland from infancy and are passionate about football," said DMA general secretary Dave Hopper. "But there are principles which are much more important."

Di Canio, 44, who quit Swindon - his only previous managerial post - on 18 February, has talked in the past of his fascist views.

He is reported to have said in an interview with Italian news agency Ansa in 2005 that his straight arm salute when playing for Lazio was aimed at "my people", who he defines as members of Benito Mussolini's fascist movement and was not intended to incite racial hatred.

In his autobiography, he admitted being "fascinated by Mussolini", who was Italy's leader during the Second World War.

Sunderland insist claims Di Canio has racist or fascist sympathies are insulting to both the "integrity of the club" and their new manager.

During Tuesday's news conference, BBC Sport's Dan Roan twice asked the Italian to clarify his political views.

Paolo Di Canio's clubs

• Lazio
• Ternana
• Juventus
• Napoli
• AC Milan
• Celtic
• Sheffield Wednesday
• West Ham United
• Charlton Athletic
• Lazio
• Cisco Roma

But Di Canio said: "I only want to talk about football, otherwise we will give time to the other reporters to ask me something about this club, my new club."

The former Celtic and West Ham player is confident of winning over critics unhappy about his appointment.

"It was the same for a different reason at Swindon," Di Canio added, speaking about himself in the third person. "There was many, many people who could not believe that Di Canio was the right manager for the club.

"After two months, there were 9,000 people at the end of the game clapping their hands for my players and singing my name.

"It is more important the Sunderland fans sing my players' names as they need the extra lift. They will then be happy, probably, as they will think they were wrong and now we have to keep Di Canio forever."

When asked about his plans for Sunderland, Di Canio said he would "bet everything" on his ability to keep the club in the Premier League.

He replaced O'Neill on Sunday night, with Sunderland one point above the relegation zone.

Di Canio said: "The press call me the mad Italian but I would confidently bet everything I have on Sunderland remaining in the top flight.

"When I got the call, I felt fire in my belly. I would have swam to Sunderland to take the job.

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Di Canio's managerial philosophy

"With my energy I'm sure we can get something from the next seven games. I hope my ways give the team more confidence on the pitch.

"Players need to fight for the shirt - go out on that pitch ready to sweat and shed blood for the club.

"It's important that the fans are happy with how the team perform and I hope to achieve that. We're all working towards the same goal.

"I want to take things step-by-step. Firstly, it's Chelsea and we will be fully focused for that game."

Di Canio has taken the backroom staff that supported him at Swindon to the Stadium of Light.

He has appointed Fabrizio Piccareta as first-team coach, with Domenico Doardo taking over as goalkeeping coach. Fitness coach Claudio Donatelli and physio Giulio Viscardi will also work under the Italian.

Di Canio was handed his first managerial role by Swindon in May 2011, replacing Paul Hart, and was in charge for 21 months.

After securing promotion and with Swindon in the League One play-off positions, he quit after becoming frustrated by off-the-field issues.

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Osborne defending benefits changes

2 April 2013 Last updated at 08:54 ET

Chancellor George Osborne has defended benefits and tax changes, calling criticism "headline seeking rubbish".

Mr Osborne said in his speech about nine out of 10 working households will be better off.

The shake-up, including cuts to housing benefit for some social housing tenants with a spare room and alterations to council tax, took effect on Monday.

Some churches, charities and campaign groups, as well as the Labour Party, have criticised the changes as unjust.

Key priority

This month saw the start of sweeping changes across public services including reform of the benefits system.

Mr Osborne argues that the government has had to take difficult decisions to cut the deficit and says the current benefits system is fundamentally "broken".

Changes include:

• The introduction of a £26,000 cap on the amount of benefits a household can receive
• A cut to housing benefit for working-age social housing tenants whose property is deemed to be larger than they need
• Disability living allowance replaced by personal independence payment
• Working-age benefits and tax credits uprated by 1% - a below-inflation cap

The chancellor believes the changes to benefits and tax will be fairer and help ensure that the country can live within its means and compete globally.

He also believes the changes have support, saying those who do not agree with him are on the wrong side of the public.

Continue reading the main story

• 1 April: Cut to housing benefit for working-age social housing tenants whose property is deemed to be larger than they need
• 1 April: Council tax benefit changed to council tax support and run locally
• 8 April: Working-age benefits and tax credits uprated by 1% - a below-inflation cap
• 8 April: Disability living allowance replaced by personal independence payment
• 15 April: Introduction of cap on total amount of benefit for working-age people
• 29 April: Universal credit rolled out in test areas

Labour says the reforms will hit the poorest 10% of people hardest while those in the top 10% will gain.

However, Mr Osborne said: "For too long, we've had a system where people who did the right thing - who get up in the morning and work hard - felt penalised for it, while people who did the wrong thing got rewarded for it.

"That's wrong. So this month we're going to put things right.

"This month, around nine out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the changes we are making. This month we will make work pay."

He added: "Now, those who defend the current benefit system are going to complain loudly. These vested interests always complain, with depressingly predictable outrage, about every change to a system which is failing.

"I want to take the argument to them. Because defending every line item of welfare spending isn't credible in the current economic environment. Because defending benefits that trap people in poverty and penalise work is defending the indefensible."

Petition started

On Monday, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith insisted changes to the welfare system were fair.

When asked if he could live on £53 a week, in response to a question posed by a working benefits claimant, Mr Duncan Smith said: "If I had to I would."

Labour's shadow Treasury minister, Chris Leslie, said for millions any gain from the rise in the personal allowance was "far outweighed" by cuts to tax credits, child benefit and the VAT rise.

"While millionaires get an average £100,000 tax cut this week IFS figures show that the average family will be £891 worse off this year because of tax and benefit changes since 2010," he said.

"The benefits bill is rising under this government because our economy is flatlining, prices are rising faster than wages and unemployment is high. And it is this government's cuts to tax credits which have left thousands of working parents better off if they quit their job.

"The best way to get the benefits bill down is to get our economy growing strongly and get people back to work."

A petition challenging Mr Duncan Smith to prove his claim was setup on the Change.org website.

By 01:00 BST on Tuesday, the petition had been signed by more than 109,000 people.

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Ban: N Korea crisis 'gone too far'

2 April 2013 Last updated at 08:56 ET

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Williamson: "Most people believe North Korea does not want all-out war"

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the North Korea "crisis has gone too far" after Pyongyang announced plans to restart its main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

Speaking at a news conference in Andorra, where he is on a visit, Mr Ban called for urgent talks with the North.

The move by Pyongyang is the latest in a series of measures in the wake of its third nuclear test in February.

North Korea has been angered by the resultant UN sanctions and joint US-South Korea annual military drills.

A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said that if true, the North Korean move - which includes reactivating a reactor mothballed for six years - would be "highly regrettable".

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei called for restraint from all sides to resolve the "complex and sensitive" situation.

The reactor at Yongbyon - which was the source for plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme - was closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.

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Miliband quits after Di Canio hired

1 April 2013 Last updated at 05:26 ET

Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club over new head coach Paolo Di Canio's "past political statements".

Mr Di Canio has previously described himself as "a fascist, not a racist".

Mr Miliband had been serving as the club's vice-chairman and as a non-executive director.

He said he wished the club "all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the North East".

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Miliband's decision to stand down was entirely to do with Mr Di Canio's appointment and nothing to do with his forthcoming move to New York to work for a charity .

Mr Di Canio was pictured in 2005 making a raised-arm salute to a group of supporters of Italian club Lazio, where he was playing.

He was given a one-match ban and fined £7,000 for the incident, and was also banned for a match following a similar incident earlier in 2005.

Continue reading the main story

"Paolo had many strong views... but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."

End Quote Jeremy Wray Former Swindon Town chairman

In 2011, when Mr Di Canio was appointed as Swindon Town's manager, the GMB union withdrew its sponsorship of the club, citing his political views.

Mr Di Canio scored 48 goals in 118 appearances for West Ham after joining the London club for £1.7m from Sheffield Wednesday in 1999. He began his career at Lazio, and also played for Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Celtic and Charlton before later returning to Lazio.

Playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 1998, he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being sent off and was banned for 11 matches.

'Not a racist'

Mr Miliband joined the Sunderland board in February 2011, retiring from frontline politics after losing the Labour leadership race to his brother Ed.

He had already said recently that he was quitting as Labour MP for South Shields to take up a role with the International Rescue Committee in New York.

Former Swindon Town chairman Jeremy Wray, who gave Mr Di Canio his first managerial job, described Mr Miliband's resignation as a "kneejerk response".

"I doubt if David Miliband has ever met Paolo Di Canio. I have known him for two years and I don't think politics was discussed once," he said.

"Paolo had many strong views. He probably had views on whether Italy should be in the euro, gay marriage and the endangered Siberian tiger but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."

Sports journalist Gabriele Marcotti has written a biography of Mr Di Canio and suggested that the club appointment would always upset some people.

He told BBC 5 Live: "I've known him very well for the last 15 years. There's no question that he's not a racist.

"His record, his friendships, his relationships pretty much speak for themselves.

"As to why Miliband resigned, he's a politician and I can understand why he's concerned about being associated with certain people - especially the way some people are bound to depict Paolo."

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Welfare reforms fair - Duncan Smith

1 April 2013 Last updated at 07:14 ET

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Iain Duncan Smith: "People are subsided to live in houses where there are spare bedrooms"

Changes to the UK's welfare system are fair, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has insisted, as some of the new measures came into effect.

They include cuts to housing benefit for some social housing tenants with a spare room and changes to council tax.

Mr Duncan Smith said it was about restructuring the culture so "people find work always pays".

Some churches, charities and campaign groups, as well as the Labour Party, have criticised the changes as unjust.

The biggest shake-up of the welfare system for decades will also see low income households in many parts of England begin paying council tax for the first time.

'Winners and losers'

Mr Duncan Smith said the government was "trying to get control of the welfare bill and make sure it lowers in a way that we can be as fair as possible - without actually slashing or attacking people but trying to reform it and change it".

"The reality is that successive governments have come in and when they've had a problem they've cut welfare bills and then later on they've ballooned again," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"What I'm trying to do... is to change the process so that we end up restructuring the culture so that people find that work always pays. It doesn't right now."

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Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne: "There's nowhere for these people, hit by the bedroom tax, to move to"

But Liam Byrne, shadow secretary for work and pensions, told the Today Programme: "Today is a day of big winners and big losers - you've got millionaires who are getting a whopping great tax cut of £100,000 per year and everyone else is taking a hit to tax credits.

"We think that basic strategy is simply unfair."

He said families in Britain were on average £890 a year worse off than they were at the last general election because of the measures and other coalition policies.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said changes to benefits for social housing tenants of working age who have a spare bedroom were aimed at striking a balance.

"It's bringing people together - some of whom are prepared to trade down so that they don't have the spare room but some of whom are in desperate need and you're not even hearing the voice of those people in this debate," he said.

"These are people - a quarter of a million in Britain, in cramped, overcrowded accommodation - desperate for a family home and there aren't enough homes and we've got to make better use of the houses we've got."

Mr Byrne said the benefit change - that his party has dubbed the "bedroom tax" - would take more than £700 a year off some of the poorest people.

Continue reading the main story

• 1 April: Spare room subsidy removed for working-age social housing tenants
• 1 April: Council tax benefit changed to council tax support and run locally
• 8 April: Working-age benefits and tax credits uprated by 1% - a below-inflation cap
• 8 April: Disability living allowance replaced by personal independence payment
• 15 April: Introduction of cap on total amount of benefit for working-age people
• 29 April: Universal credit rolled out in test areas

He said figures released by Labour suggested 97 per cent of those affected by the change had nowhere else to move to.

"What are those people going to do?" he told BBC Breakfast.

"...[For] many of the people hit by this tax, very often the bedroom is anything but spare... This is not just a cruel punishment, it's incompetent."

Welsh government minister Huw Lewis accused the UK government of "coming for ordinary Welsh people".

On Sunday, four churches joined together to criticise the government's plan as unjust - they fear that society's most vulnerable will be disproportionately hit.

That criticism has come from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, and the Church of Scotland.

Fierce arguments

BBC local government correspondent Mike Sergeant says that while the fiercest argument has been about benefit cuts for social housing tenants with spare bedrooms, some of the other changes will affect many more people.

It has been estimated that two million low income households will pay more, as a result of changes to council tax benefit.

The benefit is being replaced by council tax support and responsibility for it is being moved from central government to councils, but with 10% less funding.

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Each council has had to decide whether to pass on the reduction to residents - most are to increase bills for low income families.

The Local Government Association, the body that represents councils in England and Wales, argues that if councils had been given more freedom to close the gap in different ways then they would not have to impose bigger bills on the poorest.

Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman of the LGA, said: "The regret is that we agree with the principal that this should be down to local communities - local councils - to decide the right mixture for their area, but we're not [being] given discretion to sort it out ourselves."

Also from this month, most working age benefits will increase by just one per cent - less than the likely rise in the cost of living.

And later this month, an overall limit of £500 a week on claims is beginning in four London boroughs, and will come into force across England, Scotland and Wales over the coming months.

But government plans to test a new universal credit - which combines several benefits into one payment - have been delayed.

Three out of four pilot areas in the north west of England will not now start using the system until July.

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S Korea pledge over North threats

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:51 ET

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Lucy Williamson reports from the heavily-guarded inter-Korean border

South Korea has promised a "strong response" to North Korean aggression, amid high tensions on the peninsula.

Speaking to defence officials on Monday, President Park Geun-hye said that she took the series of threats from Pyongyang "very seriously".

North Korea said on Saturday that it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea.

On Sunday, the US sent stealth fighters to South Korea, as North Korea pledged to build up its nuclear arsenal.

Meanwhile, North Korea has announced it has appointed a new premier, Pak Pong-ju. He was sacked from the same post in 2007.

Military drills

In her comments, Ms Park said: "If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations,"

In recent days North Korea has issued multiple warnings of attacks on US and South Korean targets - to which the US has responded with an apparent show of military hardware.

The communist state has been angered both by UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in February and the joint US-South Korea annual military drills.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is expected to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in Washington to discuss North Korea, Yonhap news agency reports.

Continue reading the main story

• 12 Dec: North Korea fires three-stage rocket, in move condemned by UN as banned test of long-range missile technology
• 12 Feb: North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test, its third after tests in 2006 and 2009
• 7 Mar: UN approves fresh sanctions on Pyongyang; North Korea says it has the right to a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" on the US
• 11 Mar: US-South Korea annual joint military drills begin; North Korea says it has scrapped the Korean War armistice (the UN says the pact cannot be unilaterally scrapped)
• 19 Mar: US flies B-2 nuclear-capable bombers over Korean peninsula, following several North Korean threats to attack US and South Korean targets
• 20 Mar: Broadcasters and banks in South Korea hit by cyber attack, the origin of which remains unknown, days after North Korea says some of its sites were hacked
• 27 Mar: North Korea cuts military hotline with South, the last official direct link between the two
• 28 Mar: US flies stealth bombers over Korean peninsula; showcasing ability for precision strike "at will"
• 30 Mar: North Korea says it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea

The US flew F-22 planes from Japan to South Korea's Osan Air base on Sunday, as part of ongoing joint military exercises with South Korea, officials said.

"[North Korea] will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the US military command in South Korea said in a statement reported by Reuters news agency.

In March, the US deployed both B-2 and B-52 planes, which have nuclear capabilities, over South Korea. It said this demonstrated its "capability... to provide extended deterrence to [its] allies in the Asia-Pacific region".

It is not the first time F-22s have been used drills with South Korea, but the move came as North Korea's Central Committee held a rare high-level meeting on Sunday.

The committee described nuclear weapons as "the nation's life" and vowed to further develop its nuclear programme, state-run news agency KCNA said.

"Only when the nuclear shield for self-defence is held fast, will it be possible to shatter the US imperialists' ambition for annexing the Korean Peninsula by force," the report added.

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly - the rubber-stamp parliament - convened on Monday for a day-long annual session.

While the group normally focuses on making economic decisions, this meeting will be keenly watched given the current high tension.

Few think the North - which last week cut a military hotline which was the last official direct link with Seoul - would risk full-blown conflict.

But in recent years there have been deadly incidents such as the sinking of a South Korea warship (in which Pyongyang denies any role) and the shelling of a South Korean island.

However the jointly-run Kaesong industrial park, which is located within North Korea's borders, remains in operation.

Workers from South Korea were crossing into the park - which is a key money-maker for North Korea - as normal on Monday, reports said.

The complex is seen as a barometer of North-South tensions, observers say, and a move to close it would be seen as an escalation of current tensions.

On Monday, KCNA reported that Mr Pak had been elected to the role of premier of the North Korean cabinet.

He was dismissed in 2007, reportedly after proposing the country adopt a US-style wages system.

The premiership holds little actual power, but analysts say his appointment indicates that he will again be taking a central role in economic decision-making.

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India rejects Novartis patent plea

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:56 ET

India's Supreme Court has rejected a plea by Novartis to patent an updated version of its cancer drug, Glivec.

The Swiss drugmaker had been denied a patent by Indian authorities on the grounds that the new version was only slightly different from the old.

The decision means generic drugmakers can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets.

Novartis said the decision "discourages future innovation in India".

"This ruling is a setback for patients that will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options," said Ranjit Shahani, vice-chairman and managing director of Novartis India.

Glivec, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, costs about $2,600 (£1,710) a month.

The generic equivalent is currently available in India for just $175.

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Some 40% of the drugs produced by India's $11bn pharmaceutical industry are exported"

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There were concerns that, if granted, a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of life-saving drugs in poorer countries.

"This will go a long way in providing affordable medicine for the poor," said Anand Grover, a lawyer representing Cancer Patients Aid Association, adding that he was "ecstatic with the ruling".

Long battle

Novartis applied for a patent in 2006 for its new version of the drug, arguing that it was easier to absorb and therefore qualified for a fresh patent.

However, the Indian patent authority rejected the application based on a law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents by making only minor changes to existing drugs, a practice known as "evergreening".

Officials also turned down a subsequent appeal by the company three years later.

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Analysis

There were celebrations outside the Supreme Court as the landmark decision was read out. One charity, Doctors Without Borders, called it a victory for poor patients not just in India but across the world.

The bone of contention was Section 3D of India's patent laws and the court argued that Novartis had to demonstrate that Glivec represented more than just a small improvement to an existing substance. In its ruling, the court said it wanted to discourage "repetitive patenting".

The decision is seen as a major boost for generic drugmakers in India who supply cheap medicines to poor people across the developing world.

India exports generic drugs worth $11bn (£7.23bn), including crucial anti-retrovirals supplied to Africa.

Experts say Monday's court order will set a precedent for the so-called "patent cliff" - a phrase used to describe the expiry of pharmaceutical patents across a range of blockbuster drugs.

It is estimated that drugs with combined annual sales of $150bn will go off-patent by 2015 and that could help companies here earn millions of dollars in profits.

On Monday, India's Supreme court rejected the firm's appeal to get patent protection for the drug.

The AFP news agency quoted the court as saying that the updated drug "did not satisfy the test of novelty or inventiveness" as required by the law.

Setting a precedent?

Patents usually protect the companies for 20 years of exclusive sales. After that, it is open to other firms who can make cheaper copies of the original drug.

Once the protection expires, the first company to challenge the patent gets an exclusive right to sell the copy for 180 days.

After 180 days, more companies can sell the generic versions, potentially resulting in a further price drop.

It is estimated that drugs with combined annual sales of $150bn will go off-patent by 2015.

India's generic drug makers are among the biggest in the world and many expect them to benefit from these patents expiring in the coming years.

However, there have been concerns that if firms are granted patents for updated versions of their drugs, it may not only deny access to cheaper medicines to poor people, but also hurt the makers of generic drugs.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, said the ruling had set a precedent that would prevent international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs.

"Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug,'' she said.

Shares of Novartis India fell almost 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while stocks of generic drugmakers such as Cipla and Natco rose after the judgement.

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UK general warns of Afghan troop cut

1 April 2013 Last updated at 09:10 ET

Cutting British forces in Afghanistan too quickly could "endanger" progress at a critical time, the UK's top commander there has told a paper.

Lt Gen Nick Carter, deputy chief of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), told the Independent passing control of security to Afghan forces was going well.

But he warned any move to thin out UK forces too soon would be unforgivable.

Nato combat operations against the Taliban will finish by the end of 2014.

And as part of a gradual withdrawal, the number of British troops in Afghanistan will be almost halved from 9,000 to 5,200 by the end of 2013.

Lt Gen Carter's warning comes as forces for Afghan President Hamid Karzai - who have been carrying out their first engagement without Western help - called for support from Isaf during a battle against drug smugglers, according to the paper.

Elsewhere, a major operation to airlift tonnes of UK military equipment from Afghanistan, including helicopters and armoured vehicles, is already under way.

'Test of determination'

Speaking to the independent, Lt Gen Carter said: "It would be unforgivable if we allowed the gains of the last three years to be lost because we were not able to provide the Afghans with the support to take this through into 2014.

"Our judgement is we have to manage this in a way that retains confidence. Precipitating withdrawal that is not in line with the current plan will damage Afghan confidence."

He also said the coming summer would be "a genuine test of the capability and confidence of the Afghan forces, a test of determination of the Afghan people to be with their government and a test of how much will remain in the insurgency".

"We want the Afghans to be doing it, but, if the Afghans get into trouble, or if the fighting season proves to be very difficult, we would be able to put our power back into the field to support and sustain them."

Brigadier Bob Bruce, commander of Task Force Helmand - overseeing Britain's military efforts in Afghanistan - told the Guardian newspaper it was the right time for Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to take control of the country's security, with the option of British back-up "if they really struggle".

"This is their insurgency. We know for a fact there is no military solution to the insurgency," he said, explaining the main problem was a political one.

"It is a battle of offers: the offer the government makes to the people and the offer the insurgents make to the people."

He added: "We will not let them fail. When they really need us, we will intervene."

Some 441 UK service personnel have died since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001.

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