The announcement came just hours after an underground explosion at the Lop Nor test site in China’s north-west province of Xinjiang. The latest test attracted international condemnation from critics unmollified by China’s pledge to honour the test ban treaty in its own time. The White House said it “deeply regrets” the underground detonation and urged Peking to avoid further testing.
For the past year China has defied world opinion by insisting it would continue testing until a comprehensive test ban treaty came into effect. It has argued that such a treaty should not cover “peaceful” nuclear explosions. But with yesterday’s announcement, Peking looks set to fall into line with other world nuclear powers later this year.Last week in New York, China said it would abandon its plea for an exemption for “peaceful” blasts.

China is to join a global moratorium on nuclear testing in September, but will conduct one more blast before then “to ensure the safety of its nuclear weapons”, the government said yesterday. However, if there was a “tactical ceasefire”, the DUP would not talk to Sinn Fein.Hitting out at the two governments for the appointment of Senator Mitchell he said: “Some of the players in this process think they can go off and take decisions and come along on Monday and impose these decisions on the rest of us. They are very much mistaken.”With the IRA Army Council said to be in almost constant session, Mr Bruton said the responsibility for ensuring that Sinn Fein could take part “rests with those who have the capacity to restore unequivocally the cessation of violence.. However, it failed to provide any further indications as to whether an IRA ceasefire is imminent.Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr Robinson said there was no indication from the behaviour of the IRA that it was contemplating a ceasefire in terms the international community would recognise. Amid speculation that the IRA might be prepared to declare a ceasefire, Sinn Fein’s executive also held a meeting in Dublin yesterday which endorsed Senator Mitchell. He also attacked the choice of the American senator George Mitchell as chairman of the talks.
The intervention came as the Irish premier John Bruton made an eleventh hour appeal to the IRA to call a ceasefire which would admit Sinn Fein to Monday’s negotiations. If he can promise large savings it will ease pressure from Mr Brown in other areas..

Hardline Unionists yesterday threatened to de-rail tomorrow’s peace talks on the future of Northern Ireland, either with or without an IRA ceasefire. Peter Robinson, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said that an IRA ceasefire of convenience would not merit Sinn Fein’s inclusion in the talks process. It is simple commonsense to make sure that social security money is spent efficiently.”His housing benefit initiative will include more personal visits by the authorities to verify that claims are genuine, a greater requirement on claimants to appear in person, and more cross-checking of payments to landlords.Labour will ensure that landlords who make large housing benefit claims declare this income for tax purposes by informing the Inland Revenue.Mr Smith argues that, for all their rhetoric, the Tories have been ineffective, particularly in taking on corrupt landlords.In August he will visit the US, where the authorities can take away driving licences, benefit payments or the right to work in certain professions (such as medicine and law) from those who fail to pay maintenance or are suspected of fraud. Mr Smith, who was yesterday cautious about the more hard-line US policies, is particularly interested in “data-matching”, where the different arms of government cross-check information on claimants.Mr Smith, who said no decision had been taken on whether to pick up on US tactics, has held meetings with management consultants including Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group, who have worked with the authorities in the US. A spokesman for the company, which also advises the Government, said: “We believe savings in a variety of areas such as eradication of fraud, increased accuracy of payments and efficiency could total pounds 3bn- pounds 5bn.”Mr Smith’s war on fraud provides a possible mechanism for freeing himself from the spending constraints of Gordon Brown, the shadow Chancellor.

Both Labour MPs and the unions are totally opposed to that.A spokesman for the Labour leader denied that any further diminution in the trade union vote was envisaged. But he added: “Tony Blair has never said there will never be any further change.”. Labour will this week steal another traditional Conservative policy with a promise of a “crackdown” on benefit fraud and waste that is likely to draw on tough tactics pioneered in the US. The move, which City consultants have told Labour could help save between pounds 3bn and pounds 5bn a year on the social security budget, will be followed by a visit to the US in August.
Chris Smith, shadow Secretary of State for Social Security, will launch his campaign tomorrow with a promise to tackle housing benefit fraud, which is estimated to cost the Government as much as pounds 2bn a year.Mr Smith will promise that Labour will be tougher than the Tories in the battle against fraud.Yesterday he said: “This is not something that is the preserve of the left or the right in politics.

Our party came into being to represent the interests of its affiliated levy-payers. Without the link to the unions, Labour would degenerate into a rootless SDP-Mark II.”The idea of drawing a line under curbs of union power is also attracting support among members of the Campaign Group of MPs. Ken Livingstone, MP for Brent East, said: “There is no question of any further weakening of the trade union link. the voting strength of affiliated organisations.”It adds: “The Labour Party needs the trade unions and the unions need the Labour Party.