Israel: No nuclear bomb for Iran before 2015

01-08-2011 09:11 BJT

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Israel's intelligence assessment published Friday claims Iran will not be able to produce a nuclear bomb before 2015.

Mossad director Meir Dagan, says Israel is confident in US-led sanctions against Iran and other actions designed to discourage or delay Iran's uranium enrichment programs.

Apart from Iran's nuclear issues, the assessment also notes Israel has not formally ruled out a military option against Iran but that seems less likely in the immediate future.

Professor Gerald Steinberg, Chief Scholar, Israel's Bar-ilan University, said, "The most important issue that he said was that, according to his estimate, Iran would not have a nuclear weapons capability until at least 2015. That's another almost five years from now and after a long period in which everybody was expecting that Iran will have nuclear weapons at any time. This was a major revelation."

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

S. Korea stops imports of German meat, poultry products

01-08-2011 09:11 BJT

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South Korea and Slovakia are preventing imports of German pork and poultry products from reaching consumers because of health concerns over a cancer-causing chemical.

Authorities in Britain and the Netherlands are also investigating the extent of dioxin-contaminated products containing German eggs.

Responding to the scare, South Korea has stopped imports of German poultry and pork products from reaching consumers.

The government says the measure, which is not a formal import ban, began on Wednesday and will be in place until the safety of German pork and poultry products is secured.

Lee Kwang-Ho, Resident, said, "I think we should have a meeting with Germany, and if the inspection is carried out thoroughly, then we should import the food again so that our consumers can trust what they eat."

German authorities have meanwhile stopped more than 4,700 farms from selling their meat and eggs.

Farmers are demanding compensation for losses they are estimating at 40 TO 60 million euros a week.

Authorities believe some 150,000 tons of feed for poultry and swine containing industrial fat have been fed to livestock across Germany.

Germany's Agriculture Ministry on Friday said it had no immediate reports of health problems connected to the contaminated products,but it's stopping their sale from farms until tests can be carried out on livestock.

A ministry spokesman says the test results are expected later over whether traces of dioxin have been found in milk or meat in two of the states where the contaminated feed was delivered to several farms.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

Sudanese President warns against war

01-08-2011 09:11 BJT

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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned against the eruption of war in the country's disputed oil-rich area of Abyei in case one of its two tribes adopts unilateral measures regarding its affiliation.

The Sudanese president says he hopes the Dinka tribe will not adopt a unilateral decision on affiliation of Abyei to south Sudan, because the Miseria tribe would not accept that and would take a similar decision on affiliation of the area to the north. There are fears this could develop into war.

Al-Bashir further stresses the importance of the north and south controlling the two tribes in Abyei, the Dinka tribe backed by south Sudan and the Miseria tribe backed by north Sudan. He says that would prevent one party from adopting any one-sided action.

The Sudanese president totally rejects any foreign presence in Abyei. He adds there is a joint authority representing the two population groups in the area and this authority will remain until an agreement on the status of the area is reached.

Meanwhile, al-Bashir regards the establishment of political ties between the expected newly born state of south Sudan and Israel as an internal matter concerning southerners alone unless the relationship constitutes a threat to north Sudan.

He further suggests the establishment of a confederation between north and south Sudan if the south opts for separation, in a bid to safeguard security, economic, social and political interests between the two sides.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

5.6-magnitude quake jolts N.E. China

01-08-2011 09:15 BJT

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A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has jolted Hunchun City of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The quake struck just after 7:30 am local time on Saturday.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicenter was located at 43 degrees north latitude and 131 degrees east longitude at a depth of about 560 kilometers.

No damage or casualties has been reported so far.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

New York City makes all efforts to confront snowfall

01-08-2011 11:09 BJT

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- New York City pulled out all the stops on Friday as the city was confronted with another blast of snow.

People walk amid the snow in New York, the United States, Jan. 7, 2011. Less than two weeks after a post-Christmas blizzard paralyzed much of the U.S. Northeast and its airports for days, snow was falling again in the region on Friday. Fewer than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow were expected this time in New York. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

The National Weather Service said three to five inches of snow are expected in the city. It issued a winter weather advisory in effect through midnight Friday and warned drivers to watch for slippery roads and poor visibility.

While still recovering from a blizzard that crippled the traffic last week, New York City mobilized "SCOUT"teams (street condition observation unit) to monitor the streets with cameras, to make sure the city is up to speed on the state of the snow.

In addition, the city equipped 50 sanitation trucks with GPS tracking systems, and planned to outfit all 1,700 plows if things went smoothly.

"While I realize there were problems with the city's snow clearing efforts last week, we want to assure all New Yorkers that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we don't experience those kinds of problems again," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We plan to do a great job, the kind of job that the public expects us to do."

The Bloomberg administration has been criticized for the slow response to the blizzard. The Marist College/NY1 poll released on Thursday found that his approval rating reached 37 percent, the lowest point since Bloomberg took office.

When asked specifically about how he handled the snow cleanup, 71 percent of responders disapproved of his management of the 20- inch snow blizzard which crippled the city.

"Mayor Bloomberg clearly will need a big shovel if he wants to dig himself out of this political storm, and it looks like the next opportunity is heading his way," said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

Spring Festival travel rush arrives ahead of schedule

01-08-2011 09:11 BJT

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Spring Festival travel rush in China is arriving two weeks ahead of schedule in some regions this year. As the most used mode of transportation, railway travel has seen an increase in recent days.

In East China's Qingdao city, 23-thousand passengers take trains daily. Tickets in the previous five days to major cities have been sold out. Destinations in northeast China are also popular. To cope, local stations have changed procedures.

Previously passengers could only buy tickets ten days in advance of a trip. Now that has been adjusted to 21 days ahead for high speed rail, 11 days for regular trains and 12 days for student tickets.

Stations have also opened extra ticket booths for migrant workers. This year's travel rush is projected to start on January 19th. More than 230 million are predicted to travel on trains during the 40-day peak season.

UK raises threat level for transport hubs

01-08-2011 09:11 BJT

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The terrorist threat level specific to major UK transport hubs has been raised from substantial to severe. British police are warning the public to remain vigilant over potential terror attacks.

The move includes airports and London railway terminals. It brings the threat level for the transport sector in line with the national level, which has been at "severe" since January 2010.

Security officials say the upgraded threat level for major UK transport hubs is precautionary; And if there is any intelligence of an imminent threat or a plot underway, the threat level would be raised to its highest level---"critical".

The BBC on Friday said it had obtained a letter from the Department of Transport addressed to the air transport sector saying there are indications that al-Qaeda "may be considering an attack".