I read the news today (oh boy) - Current world events | Page 86 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

While I agree with much said in the above posts, I believe both miss the strategic importance of North Korea to China.

There are a lot of tensions in the Pacific at the moment, with disputes between China and Japan over control of territory and oil-drilling. NK is very publicly against Japan, and it is known that Japan views NK as a bigger military threat to itself than China. China has spent decades working on its international image, and could only damage it in the case of any confrontation with Japan, just as Russia did with its actions in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea. It is, therefore, useful for China to be able to remind Japan that they can barely control NK, and not to blame them if NK fires a few missiles in Japan’s direction. This gives Japan every reason to think carefully about its responses to Chinese moves.

Then there is the fact that NK shares a border with China. It acts as a buffer between China and the US. Were NK to collapse resulting in a reunified Korea, this would leave China with a US-backed country right at its border, which is the last thing it wants, in much the same way as Russia objects to the expansion of NATO towards its borders (which was one of the main reasons behind the Ukraine situation).

Nor does China want a huge influx of refugees flooding across the border in the event of a military confrontation between North and South Korea.

For China, NK is the embarrassing relation that you don’t want to admit to, but has their uses. 

 I like that. Most amusing. See, you can find funny stuff if you make the effort.

60 tower blocks have so far had their cladding tested for fire resistance. All have failed.

Now, it may just be that the first tests have been done to blocks of more concern, or it may be that a major social housing scandal is being exposed. It is also spreading to other buildings like schools and hospitals.

However, you do have the fact that May’s Government were about to introduce new fire safety rules for schools that were about cost-cutting, which have now been abandoned.

You also have the fact that the Government have been sitting on a report about new fire recommendations; also that they didn’t pass into law any of the coroner’s recommendations from the last tower block fire.

You add onto the austerity cuts that have left local councils unable to deal with such large scale events as they no longer have the staff, and a Fire Brigade that no longer has the staff to do the fire inspections, seeing them often put out to private contractors, who have a vested interest in giving their employer the result they want.

Yes, it dates back, but Governments May has been a part of or headed haven’t helped, they just added to the downward slide.