Nuclear Watchdog Says No Deal Reached with Iran

Alan Cowell / The New York Times

A senior official of the United Nations nuclear supervisory body said on Thursday that talks a day earlier in Iran had ended inconclusively and international inspectors had not been given access to a site which they suspect may have been used for testing bomb triggers.

 

North Korea likely to face tough unilateral sanctions for its nuke test, but will China join?

AP / The Washington Post

For the past decade, the world’s most powerful nations have turned to sanctions in an attempt to punish North Korea for a series of rocket launches and nuclear tests. Their stated goal: to stop North Korea’s march toward acquiring an arsenal of nuclear-armed long-range missiles.

 

Eurozone Recession Deepened at the End of 2012

BBC

The eurozone recession deepened in the final three months of 2012, official figures show. The economy of the 17 nations in the euro shrank by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, which was worse than forecast.

 

Hit Kim Jong Eun where it hurts: His wallet

Sung-Yoon Lee and Joshua Stanton / The Washington Post

North Korea’s nuclear test Tuesday has the makings of an epochal event — unless Washington and Seoul shape up and deal Kim Jong Eun’s regime a substantial, although nonmilitary, blow.

 

As Troops Leave, an Uncertain Future for U.S. Aid in Afghanistan

Richard W. Stevenson / The New York Times

It has given most of Afghanistan access to health care for the first time, even if it is weighed down by corruption and waste. It has drawn violent reprisals from the Taliban but educated a generation of Afghan girls.

 

Mali: Explosives Cache Raises Fears

AP / The New York Times

French soldiers recovered a stash of explosives on Wednesday that the authorities believed radical Islamic fighters were using to make bombs, a Malian military spokesman said.

 

UN Inspectors See New Centrifuges at Iran Nuclear Site: Diplomat

Reuters / The New York Times

U.N. nuclear inspectors have seen a small number of advanced centrifuges at an uranium enrichment plant where Iran has said it will install and operate them, a diplomatic source said on Thursday.

 

Obama: The Master of Disaster

Julliete Kayyem / The Boston Globe

Obama’s second term will be characterized by minimizing the impact of destructive events that can’t really be prevented any longer.

 

Russia to build world’s largest laser for thermonuclear reactions

Boris Pavlischev / The Voice of Russia

Russia’s authorities are planning to build the world’s most powerful laser device for fusion energy by 2020.

 

Iranian Reported Killed Near Syrian Border

Anne Barnard / The New York Times

At least one senior Iranian official was reported killed in an attack while driving from Syria to Lebanon on Wednesday, in separate and at times conflicting reports that drew attention to suspicions of Iran’s role in the Syrian civil war.

 

 Nuclear Fusion: An Answer to China’s Energy Problems?

Olivia Boyd / China Dialogue

To maintain steady growth, China needs energy supplies for generations to come. China has ambitious plans to develop fusion energy.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

Paddy Ashdown on Drones

BGen Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.) / American Security Project

Lord Paddy Ashdown’s drone piece in the Times (of London) is, as the Brits like to say, “spot on.”

 

Mixed Signals Ahead of Iran Talks

Mitchell Freddura / American Security Project

On Wednesday officials from the IAEA are expected to meet with their Iranian counterparts in Tehran in a renewed effort to resolve outstanding issues surrounding the Iranian nuclear program.

 

Update: Tracking North Korea’s Nuclear Test

Katharyn Nicolle and Magnus Newth / American Security Project

North Korea’s third nuclear test, conducted yesterday evening, has been met with widespread condemnation from the international community. This test, like the ones in 2006 and in 2009, is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

 

Members of Congress Press the Issue of Adaptation

Danielle Parillo

In a letter sent on February 11th of this year, Democratic members of Congress urged President Obama to create a bipartisan blue ribbon panel that would create a “comprehensive program to help local communities prepare for the anticipated impacts of an increase in climate-related extreme weather events.”

 

New Report Links Climate Change and National Security

Justin Yarros

Scientists from the Harvard University Center for the Environment released a new report about the security dimensions of climate change.