Nuclear Energy: North Korea details its nuclear prowess

North Korea has announced it is operating what it says are “thousands” of centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant.

It is the first detailed admission of the secretive state’s expanded nuclear capability and will ratchet up already heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Internal struggles over the succession of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il may well be the reason for the provocation. Analysts claim the defiance to international pressure is for its domestic audience.

It follows last week’s artillery barrage of a South Korean island which killed four people.

The moves will add to calls on China to rein in its ally and with the recent leaks of US diplomatic messages revealing Beijing is ready to ditch its friend, Pyongyang may be set for an increasingly isolated future.

The US and South Korea are currently holding joint military exercises off the peninsula’s west coast in a show of force which they say is to prevent Pyongyang from staging further acts of aggression.

Monicelli dies at 95

Italian screenwriter and director Mario Monicelli has died at the age of 95.

Reports in Italy say he threw himself from a window of a Rome hospital where he had been receiving medical treatment.

Known as a master of Italian comedy, his finest works include The Great War, The Organiser and The Girl with The Pistol.

All of those pieces were nominated for the Academy Awards, although they failed to win a single Oscar.

However, the Great War picked up the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1960.

Europe shivers in a wintry white-out 

Europe has been covered in a blanket of snow as temperatures plunge, the nights draw in and mid-winter gets ever nearer.

Heavy snowfall shut down England’s Newcastle airport was closed for several hours overnight, while scores of flights out of Germany’s Frankfurt Airport were cancelled.

Bad weather also struck the Czech Republic, causing roads to freeze and making for difficult driving conditions.

The wintry showers also struck parts of central and northern France.

This was the scene in Orleans, one hundred and thirty kilometres southwest of Paris.

Forecasters predict more snow and low temperatures are on the way.

While all of those places might be more used to dealing with the white stuff, the same cannot be said the residents of Grenada, Alicante and Murcia.

Southern Spain is normally associated with blue skies and sunshine, even at this time of year.

Haiti poll valid despite " serious irregularities" 

Despite an admission of serious irregularities, international observers have endorsed Haiti’s troubled presidential election.

Problems reportedly included voter manipulation, violence and intimidation in what has been described as a “toxic” atmosphere.

Nevertheless, monitors consider Sunday poll valid.

‘‘Based on these observations in the 11 electoral departments, the joint mission does not believe that these irregularities, serious as some of them were, necessarily invalidated process,’‘ Colin Granderson, Head of the Organisation of American States and Caribbean Community said.

Most of Haiti’s presidential candidates, however, have alleged massive fraud.

But two front runners, former first lady Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly, have now distanced themselves from a call for the election to be voided.

Earlier, supporters of Martelly, a popular singer also known as ‘‘Sweet Micky’‘, were out in force in the capital Port-au-Prince.

In what appears to be a dramatic U-turn, Martelly has now suddenly said the votes should be counted, despite still alleging mass fraud.

The poll is seen as crucial for administering billions of euros of funds, however, the varied field of candidates means an outright winner is unlikely. A run-off will take place in January.

Picasso art cache raises suspicions of ownership

The discovery of more than 270 undocumented works by Pablo Picasso has thrown the art world into turmoil and raised numerous questions of ownership.

A retired French electrician, Pierre Le Guennec who used to work for Picasso, says they were a gift from the great artist’s wife in the 1970s. He also explained why he had decided to reveal them now.

“It’s because I had a few operations and I thought that perhaps it’s time to do something about the art so that there won’t be any problems for my children because people will ask where it came from. And it is coming from me because I worked for the Monsieur for years and I was with the Monsieur until his final days,” said Le Guennec.

Picasso was a prolific artist but his estate does not believe so many works would have been given away to one person. Police have confiscated the drawings worth over 60 million euros and are investigating allegations of theft.

From: Euronews