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There has been widespread condemnation of the announcement by North Korea that it is preparing to test a nuclear weapon. Japan warned of a harsh reaction, while Britain called the idea provocative, however China said it would be better to revive the 6-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear program which stalled almost a year ago. The United States said such a test would pose an unacceptable threat to world stability. From the UN headquarters in New York. Here is Christ Morris.

With its dramatic statement of intent, North Korea has forced its way back onto the agenda of the UN Security Council. The US ambassador John Bolton said it was a test of the council's ability to deal effectively with North Korea. He said member states needed to come up with the coherent strategy to convince the North Korean that it is not in their interest to carry out nuclear testing.

3 month ago, the Security Council imposed limited sanctions on North Korea after it went ahead with a series of tests of ballistic missiles. Mr. Bolton said it was obvious that combining those missiles with nuclear weapons would constitute a very great threat to international peace and security.

The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has confirmed the delivery of its giant new A380 airliner will be delayed by a further year. The Dubai based airlines Emirates, the largest customer for the new plane said it would review its options following the announcement. Here is our business reporter, TL.

It is the latest in a series of delays which have called the credibility of the 14 billion dollar project into question. Airbus says it is in discussions with its customers over how much compensation that will be paid. The company has announced plans for an aggressive cost cutting program intended to save two and a half billion dollars a year. However, it is yet to confirm whether this will involve job losses at its plants in Germany, France and Britain. The parent company of Airbus, EADS says that the delays to the A380 will cut 6 billion dollars from its profits over the next four years.

Italian police say that they believe only one hijacker was involved in diverting a Turkish airliner to the Italian city B earlier in the day. The hijacker has surrendered and police have been interviewing the 112 other people on board. Earlier reports had suggested the hijacker might have had an accomplice. There's also confusion about his motives. Chritian Fraiser reports from Rome.

The Turkish airliner, a Boeing 737, was traveling from Terain in Albania to Istanbul. As it flew over Greek airspace, the captain sent a code of distress signal. He said a man had burst into the cockpit and hijacked the plane shouting there's 2 of us. Four Greek fighter jets were immediately scramble to escort the plane towards Italy where it was intercepted by 2 Italian F16 fighters. They forced the plane to land at the southern airport of B/. But long after it'd touched down, the hijacker, a 30-year-old man, emerged from the plane waving to those still on board. But there was no sign of a second.
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Security sources in Nigeria said more than 20 Nigerian oil workers were taken hostage by armed men during a deadly attack on Monday on oil barges in the Niger Delta. Latest reports are that nine of the oil workers have now been freed. In the raid on Monday five soldiers were killed, about 70 gunmen in speed boats carried out the attack on a convoy of barges ferrying oil for the multinational company Shell.

The Prime Minister of the Irish Republic, Bertie Ahern, has apologized both to Parliament and to the Irish people over payments he accepted in the early 1990s when he was Finance Minister. Mr. Ahern said he received a loan of more than 60,000 dollars from several friends to help him pay bills after separating from his wife. Speaking in the Parliament in Dublin, he insisted he had broken no rules and had simply made a misjudgment.

The few of us with the benefit of hindsights would not change some of our past decisions. No one is infallible or perfect. If I anticipated in 1993 and 1994 that my decision to accept loans from friends or to get some moneys in Manchester would cause such difficulties and the media intrusion for my family and friends that will give rise to distortion by motives, a misrepresentation of my conduct, I would not have accepted a pent.

Central American leaders are meeting for a regional security summit in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The conference is discussing ways of curbing gang violence which correspondent say it is a growing problem in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The president-elect of Mexico Felipe Calderon is also attending the conference. It's his first international visit since last month's being declared the winner of Mexico's disputed presidential election.