Warships from South and North Korea have reportedly fired at each other, media from both countries are reporting. The cause of the incident, which the BBC says is the third exchange of fire in a decade, differs according to the two sides. South Korea claims the North’s ship crossed a disputed water boundary, while the North reports that one of its patrol boats that was checking on an unidentified object in its own waters was chased by a warship from the South. Tensions between the two have increased in recent months, largely over North Korea’s nuclear programme and missile tests.

Links to other sites: BBC, Bloomberg, Sindh Today

State and local governments that want to divest themselves of investments in companies which do business in Iran will be allowed to do so with a proposed law that the US House of Representatives approved Wednesday 14 October. No new sanctions on Iran are envisaged, but companies that invest more than $20 million in Iran’s energy sector can be targeted and their shares sold by state and municipal investment agencies. The federal government has the exclusive right to conduct foreign policy, but would waive its right in this case, if the Senate passes the law as well.

The move comes as the US is trying to line up international support for a united response to Iran’s continuing nuclear program. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council cannot agree on sanctions on Iran to force it to comply with international rules concerning nuclear research programmes. AP, The Hill