U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA

The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council.

The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program by the IAEA's 35-nation board in 2006 and then was hit by U.N. sanctions - rejects suspicions it is on a covert quest for atomic bomb capability.

But its refusal to curb nuclear work with both civilian and military applications, and its lack of openness with the IAEA, have drawn tough Western punitive measures and a threat of pre-emptive military strikes by Israel.

A year ago, the IAEA published a report with a trove of intelligence indicating past, and some possibly continuing, research in Iran that could be relevant for nuclear weapons.

The IAEA has since tried to gain access to Iranian sites, officials and documents it says it needs for the inquiry, but so far without any concrete results in a series of meetings with Iran since January. The two sides will meet again in December.

In his statement, Wood requested IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano to say in his next quarterly report on Iran, likely due in late February, whether Tehran has taken "any substantive steps" to address the agency's concerns.

"If by March Iran has not begun substantive cooperation with the IAEA, the United States will work with other board members to pursue appropriate board action, and would urge the board to consider reporting this lack of progress to the U.N. Security Council," Wood said, according to a copy of his statement.

"Iran cannot be allowed to indefinitely ignore its obligations ... Iran must act now, in substance," Wood said.

Amano earlier told the board that there had been no progress in his agency's year-long push to clarify concerns about suspected atom bomb research in Iran, but said he would continue his efforts.

EU SEES IRANIAN "PROCRASTINATION"

A simple majority in the IAEA board would be required to refer an issue to the U.N. Security Council, which has imposed four sanctions resolutions on Iran since 2006.

It is unclear whether Russia and China - which have criticized unilateral Western sanctions on Iran - would back any U.S. initiative to report Iran again to the Security Council.

Wood later told reporters he hoped the December talks between the IAEA and Iran would be fruitful. But, he added, "I have my doubts about the sincerity of Iran."

The 27-nation European Union told the board that Iran's "procrastination" was unacceptable. "Iran must act now, in a substantive way, to address the serious and continuing international concerns on its nuclear program," it said.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, criticised what he called "political noise" and "pressure" from the United States and the EU.

Diplomacy between Iran and the powers - the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, and Britain - has been deadlocked since a June meeting that ended without success.

Both sides now say they want to resume talks soon, after the re-election of U.S. President Barack Obama, and diplomats expect a new meeting in Istanbul in December or January.

Iran is ready for a "face-saving" negotiated solution to the nuclear dispute, but the West must accept the reality that Tehran would never suspend uranium enrichment, Soltanieh said.

Refined uranium can be used to fuel nuclear energy plants, Iran's stated aim, and also provide bomb material if processed further, which the West suspects is Iran's ultimate aim.

The West wants Iran to suspend enrichment, but Iran is showing no sign of backing down.

Iran "has provocatively snubbed the international community by expanding its enrichment capacity in defiance of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," Wood said.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

(Source :  dailymirror

N. Korea urges foreigners in South to evacuate

SOUTH KOREA: North Korea said Tuesday the Korean peninsula was headed for “thermo-nuclear” war and advised foreigners in South Korea to consider evacuation, in the latest in a series of apocalyptic threats.
The warning followed a similar evacuation advisory the North gave Friday to foreign embassies in its capital Pyongyang, saying it could not ensure the safety of their personnel if a conflict broke out. “The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war,” the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Saying it did not want to see foreigners in South Korea “fall victim”, the statement requested all foreign institutions, enterprises and tourists “to take measures for shelter and evacuation in advance for their safety”.
The “thermo-nuclear war” threat has been wielded several times in recent months -- most recently on March 7 -- despite expert opinion that North Korea is nowhere near developing such an advanced nuclear device. Last week's warning to embassies was also largely dismissed as anxiety-stirring rhetoric, with most governments involved making it clear they had no plans to withdraw personnel from their Pyongyang missions.
Tuesday's statement said the risk of nuclear conflict was being heightened daily by the “warmongering US” and its South Korean “puppets” who were intent on invading the North.
Earlier Tuesday, North Korean workers followed Pyongyang's order to boycott the Kaesong joint industrial zone with South Korea, signalling the possible demise of the sole surviving symbol of cross-border reconciliation.

Let us start business activities with the help of supporting services

Following is a part of a dialogue between Dhanapala, a successful entrepreneur, and Akila who is wishing to start a small business.
Akila : Good morning Dhanapala Mudalali ! I too am waiting to start a small business.
Mudalali : How good ! So what type of a business are you going to start?
Akila : I recently found a method of producing low cost bricks with greater strength.
Mudalali : Very good ! How can I help you?
Akila : I have some problems to solve.
Mudalali : What are those problems?
Akila : The big problem to me is I have only a small amount of savings but I need some more money..........
Mudalali : Ah......Banks are there for that. You can borrow money from banks. Not only that, you can
            get     many other facilities too from banks.
Akila : What are they?
Mudalali : How many new methods are there to protect your money and facilitate your transactions?
           I think it's better to go to a bank and get more information from them.
Akila : Oh yes. Even if we start a business investing a large amount of money, we have to face
                numerous risks.
Mudalali : There are a lot of insurance schemes for that. So you don't have to be afraid to start a business.
Akila : But I don’t have even a vehicle to transport materials and to distribute bricks, for myself. 68 For
               free distribution
Mudalali : Do we need our own vehicles to do a business? Now there are various types of vehicles to use
           for any purpose and you can buy a vehicle when your business is progressing.
Akila : Then how can I give information to others about my business?
Mudalali : There are a lot of methods for that. We can give publicity by way of notices and even
                through customers. And also it will be easier if you buy a telephone.
Akila : That’s fine. I have another problem.
Mudalali : What’s that?
Akila : I want to distribute the bricks on time. Therefore, I need a system to store them.
Mudalali : Yes, to do the business properly you need a proper and safe place to store your products.
Akila : Yes, I have suitable space for it.
Mudalali : Now all your problems are solved, aren't they Akila?
Akila : Yes, Now I understand that all these services help us to do a business properly.

According to the above dialogue, you would be able to understand the importance of various supporting services when starting and carrying on a business. Let’s examine more about these supporting services

Introduction
It needs the help of various services to start and carry on a business successfully. Those services are called supporting services or auxiliary services. Banks and financial institutions provide various services to facilitate the business transactions and insurance helps to mitigate business risks. The transportation helps to produce
and distribute the goods and services effectively and communication is important to exchange the information with other parties. The warehousing is another service which helps to produce continuosly and to distribute them on time.

After studing this chapter you will be able to understand the following terms

_Banking activities                                      _ Electronic money
_ Commercial banks                                   _ Non banking institutions
_ Current accounts                                     _ Insurance and assurance
_ Cheques                                                  _ Communication
_ Savings deposits                                      _ Transportation
_ Term deposits/ Fixed deposits                 _ Warehousing
_ Commercial bank loans