“Tuberculosis is currently at its highest level in the UK for 30 years and it’s essential that we take action to tackle its continued rise. Pre-entry screening, followed by treatment where necessary, will help to prevent the risk of TB in the UK and will also save lives.

‘Removing screening facilities at airports will save the taxpayer £25 million over ten years and further NHS savings will be made by preventing the importation and spread of TB in the UK,” he said.

Recent figures showed that there were over 9,000 new cases of TB in the UK in 2011, a five per cent increase on 2010. The programme is targeted at migrants after research showed non-UK born people accounted for three quarters of all new TB cases diagnosed – 20 times higher than in the UK born population.

The UK border agency will build on existing pre-screening undertaken by international partners including the USA, Canada and Australia. The costs of screening and subsequent treatment will be met by those people applying to come into the UK.

The workshop focused on governance, international law, shipping routes and future prospects for economic development in the Arctic region.

China seeks permanent observer status in the Arctic Council, an issue which came up repeatedly during the workshop. China argues that the implications of the changing Arctic environment are both global and regional, and therefore views its participation in Arctic governance as justified.

Nordic nations have the potential to forge a special Arctic relationship with China.

The Arctic Council has received 10 permanent observer status applications, which are expected to be resolved at the next Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting. Workshop participants from all Nordic countries reiterated Nordic support for China’s permanent observer status.

‘This has been a truly unique opportunity for Nordic and Chinese experts, diplomats and officials to engage with each other. To my knowledge the workshop was the first of its kind held in China,’ says Linda Jakobson, a member of the SIPRI Arctic research team and East Asia Program Director at the Lowy Institute.

China follows Arctic developments closely.

Last month’s visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to Iceland and Sweden sparked speculation about the emerging superpower’s ambitions in the far north. China’s interest in the Arctic has certainly grown considerably in the past few years.

Chinese Arctic specialists now refer to China as a ‘near-Arctic state’ and at the workshop the term ‘stakeholder’ was also used. The Chinese government has recently increased investment in Arctic research and commissioned a second Arctic ice-breaker.

In a 2010 SIPRI report, China prepares for an ice-free Arctic, Jakobson encouraged the Arctic Council’s Nordic members to grasp the opportunity to forge a unique relationship with China by engaging with Chinese officials and academics on Arctic issues.

The plan, he said, is for the vessel to be as similar as possible to the original Titanic in design and specifications, but with modern technology. “It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st Century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” he said.

The announcement comes just weeks after the centenary of the sinking of the ill-fated Titanic. The vessel, the largest luxury ship in its time, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It went down on 15 April 1912, leaving more than 1,500 people dead.

The new vessel is scheduled to sail from London to New York in late 2016, if all goes as planned. “It is going to be designed so it won’t sink,” he added. “But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen.”

The cost of the construction is not known, a spokesman for Palmer said.

The mining magnate from Queensland, who has strong business relations with China, has expanded into tourism. He owns a luxury resort on the Sunshine Coast and has plans to build a fleet of luxury liners.

His plan to build the Titanic replica was announced on the same day that he revealed plans, in a separate news conference, to contest the next federal election in Queensland.

He told reporters that he has expressed interest in standing for Queensland’s Liberal National Party (LNP), part of the conservative opposition at federal level, in the Brisbane seat of Lilley – currently held by Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The Chikyu, operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, was digging the seabed off Japan’s northern coast to take fault samples and study last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The agency said Friday that the probe’s drilling pipe hit the fault zone at 6,883.5 meters (22,600 feet) undersea before reaching the target of 7,740 meters Wednesday. That’s nearly 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep.

The drilling site is located off Oshika Peninsula, just west of the axis of the Japan Trench. The water depth at the primary drill site is 6,910 meters, and Chikyu will drill as much as 1000 meters below the seafloor to reach the fault zone. Maritime organization said that the U.S. vessel Glomar Challenger set the previous record of 7,049.5 meters (23,130 feet) below sea surface in the Mariana Trench in 1978. However, in the Mariana expedition the drilling only sampled to 15.5 meters below the seafloor. The present expedition to the Japan Trench will use about 8,000 meters of drill string.

Unite national officer Roger Maddison said “Ford faces the very real prospect of the first strike since the 1970s. Unite will not stand by and allow Ford to create a two tier workforce on pay and pensions. We urge Ford to return to the negotiating table if it wants to avoid this dispute.

“We fiercely oppose the closure of Ford’s final salary scheme to new entrants. This is the thin end of the wedge. Ultimately we believe Ford will try to close the entire scheme.

The sites being balloted include Manufacturing engine/stamping and diesel design centre at Dagenham; Manufacturing engine plant, Bridgend; Transmission plant at Halewood; Parts distribution centre at Daventry; Transit assembly plant at Southampton; Ford of Britain HQ at Warley; and Design and technical centre, Dunton, Basildon.

North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command officials said that the U.S. systems detected and tracked a launch of a North Korean TaepoDong-2 missile at 6:39 p.m. EDT. The missile was tracked on a southerly launch over the Yellow Sea, said a Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, release. Initial indications are that the missile’s first stage fell into the sea 102.5 miles west of Seoul, South Korea, the statement says. The other two stages were assessed to have failed and no debris fell on land, it said. “At no time were the missile or resulting debris a threat,” the release added.

Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said that North Korea’s long-range rocket crashed into the ocean after a flight time of just over one minute.

According to reports the rocket was moved in a southerly direction over the Yellow and East China Sea.

New applicant volumes rose 26% in the three months to March this year, compared to the same period in 2011. The number of sales (subject to contract) were up by 42% in Q1 2012 compared to 2011, while activity in the £5m+ bracket has been particularly buoyant, up 93% over the same period. But supply has once again failed to keep pace, with new instructions up by just 12%. The problem is even more pronounced in the £5m+ bracket, with new instructions down by 11%. These positive indicators have contributed to prices rising in March by a further 1.1%, the highest rate since May 2011, when prices increased by 1.4%.

Prime central London property prices have been rising strongly for three years, on the back of foreign demand and London’s status as a safe haven for investors. The strongest rises in Q1 were seen in the £1m to £2.5m price band (+3.2%) and the sub-£1m band (+3.1%), while the £10m+ bracket saw the smallest rises (+1.5%). Among the areas to see the fastest price growth were Marylebone (+7%), South Bank (+3.5%) and Knightsbridge (+3.4%). Apartment prices have risen more than house prices (+3% and +2.5% respectively).

The Tsunami watch is in effect for Indonesia, India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Madagascar, Iran, UAE, Yemen, Comores, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Crozet Islands, Bangladesh,Kerguelen Islands, South Africa and Singapore.

As per Pacific Tsunami Watch Center, Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may already have been destructive along some coasts. The center also said that f the tidal waves have not been generated after two hours, the areas might be safe.

In India, Union Home Ministry has asked the Chief Secretaries of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and all East Coast States to issue a Coastal Alert, in view of the alert issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). The areas have been asked to advise fishermen not to venture out in the sea. The Andaman Administration has moved people from Nicobar side to safer areas, as a precautionary measure. The precautionary drill has been activated. NDRF teams have been deployed and kept on standby as a precautionary measure. Six teams have moved to Chennai. In addition, six more teams have moved to Hindon airport. Airlift will be organized by the Air Force in case these teams need to be flown.

Speaking to press after reviewing security arrangements across the country at a high level meeting, he said that the arrested terrorists were from Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal region. The government employee was arrested for extending assistance to the terrorists.

Malik did not give any other details about the plot but said the terrorists were planning to attack Parliament when President Zardari was to address the joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate on the 17th of this month.

He also did not disclose the name any militant group suspected to be involved in hatching the conspiracy or the number of terrorists arrested in connection with the plot.

Pakistan is face with the problem of terrorists infiltrating the government , as the government and army have promoted the non state actors as a matter of policy. Terrorists had also infiltrated and attacked a Pakistani naval base, PNS Mehran, last year. It led to arrest of radical elements of Pakistani armed forces and renewed fears of control and safety of country’s nuclear arms.

The statement is a contrast to his speech on March 12th at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, where McFaul said “we have proposed to the US Congress to create a new civil society fund for Russia. We proposed that 50 million dollars in a neutral way, by the way, in terms of new money.”

Although McFaul says that the funding is held up by US Congress, but Russia has been already accusing US of meddling in Russian affairs via funding the opposition.

The issue has snowballed after President-elect Putin said that US was undermining the Russian government by supporting the opposition and the ‘snow revolution’ protest movement.