OPEC may curtail output to shore up oil prices
Dubai: The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is holding a consultative meeting in Doha, to discuss a cut in its oil production by 1 million (bpd) to shore up falling prices, the official Emirates news agency said.

The decision to hold the meeting was adopted after extensive consultations among member countries. The organization said the cut of production by 1 million bpd will be a temporary measure and would not mean amendments in production quotas", said the source.

Oil prices have dropped 20 per cent since July to below $60 per barrel.
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UN Council imposes sanctions on N Korea
United Nations: The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to impose financial and arms sanctions on North Korea, less than a week after the communist regime announced exploding a nuclear weapon.

All 15 members of the Security Council co-sponsored and voted for the resolution, which demands the elimination of all North Korean nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

It also provides for inspection of cargo to and from North Korea to prevent any illegal trafficking.

In addition to an array of financial and other sanctions, the resolution calls on Pyongyang to return "without pre-condition" to the stalled six-nation talks on its nuclear program that it has boycotted for nearly a year.
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Areva ties up with Mitsubishi
Tokyo: Areva, the world's largest maker of nuclear reactors, and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are planning to form an alliance to develop pressurised water reactors and obtaining plant orders together, and would also cooperate in technology according to a report in a Japanese newspaper.

The Japanese daily said the two firms had sought the alliance in reaction to a realignment in the industry now that Toshiba Corp. had taken a 77 per cent stake in Westinghouse, the U.S. power plant arm of British Nuclear Fuels, while General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd. were also working together.
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