News & Reports 2010-08-22

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Iranian and Russian engineers begin loading fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant, a major milestone 1 as Tehran forges ahead with its atomic program.

Australian Prime Minsiter Julia Gillard says the election is too close to call, and it will take a number of days to determine the result.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Israel and the Palestinians will resume long-stalled direct peace talks in Washington early next month with the aim of reaching a settlement in a year's time.

And floods continue to lash 2 parts of China as rising river levels threaten communities, affecting millions of people.

Hot Issue Reports

Iran Begins Fueling First Nuclear Reactor 3

Iranian and Russian engineers have begun loading fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant, a major milestone as Tehran forges ahead with its atomic program.

The first truckload of fuel was taken from a storage site to a fuel "pool" inside the reactor building at Bushehr power plant in southern Iran.

The weeklong operation to load uranium fuel into the reactor is the first step in starting up a facility the United States once hoped to prevent because of fears over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Russia, which helped finish building the plant, has pledged to safeguard the site and prevent spent nuclear fuel from being shifted to a possible weapons program.

Sergei Kiriyenko is chief of Russia's state nuclear corporation.

"In our opinion it is important to work within the framework of the law and arrive at peaceful results. Russia has always stuck to its promises both regarding bilateral 4 relations and its assistance in the Bushehr project."

Over the next 10 days, 163 fuel assemblies equal to 80 tons of uranium fuel will be moved inside the building and then into the reactor core.

It will then be at least another month before the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor can pump electricity to Iranian cities.

Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki has reiterated 5 his country's intention to produce its own fuel for its first nuclear reactor, as Iranian and Russian nuclear technicians make final preparations to start up the reactor.

"We would like to produce nuclear fuel by ourselves to meet our own requirement and also because of the fact that as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is our right to produce fuel. Even in the future, if we do not need the fuel ourselves, we can give it to those who require it through a fuel bank."

Iran Successfully Test-fires New Missile

Meanwhile, Iran's Defence Minister says military forces have successfully test-fired a missile with enhanced guidance systems to hit ground targets.

Gen. Ahmad Vahidi did not say when or where the test was carried out.

"It is a fin-free missile and there are few missiles with such capability 6. It is a surface-to-surface missile and the absence of fins 7 in its design has boosted its tactical power. It has a smart system that can smartly cruise its flight path and remarkably 8 reduce the possibility of being hit by another missile."

Vahidi's comments come a day before the launch of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran and could raise Western fears about another advance in Iran's missile arsenal 9, which can already target Israel and other parts of the region.

Australian Election Too Close to Call

Australian Prime Minsiter Julia Gillard announced Saturday night that the election has been too close to call, and it will take a number of days to determine the result.

Vote counting continued until 2 a.m. local time, but most likely, the outcome of the election is a hung parliament, where no side of political party holds a majority over 76 seats.

Clinton Invites Israelis and Palestinians to Begin Direct Peace Talks in Washington on Sept. 2

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Israel and the Palestinians will resume long-stalled direct peace talks in Washington early next month with the aim of reaching a settlement in a year's time.

"On behalf of the United States government, I've invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet on September 2nd in Washington D.C. to relaunch direct negotiations 10 to resolve all final status issues which we believe can be completed within one year. President Obama has invited President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan to attend in view of their critical role in the effort."

Clinton said the talks should take place without preconditions.

The announcement caps months of diplomacy 11 by U.S. Middle East peace envoy 12 George Mitchell, who has been shuttling between the two sides in hopes of persuading them to return to negotiations that were broken off in 2008.

According to Mitchell, Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Palestinian territory on the Gaza Strip, would have no role in the talks.

Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev said Israel welcomes the invitation.

"We have no illusions, the talks will be difficult but a peace agreement is possible, an agreement that protects Israel's vital interests and creates peace between Israelis and Palestinians."

Palestinian leaders also said the talks were welcome.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator said he hoped that while talks were ongoing 13, Israel would refrain from settlement activities.

"I hope that the Americans, Europeans, Russians, and the UN, the members of the Quartet will have the Israeli government comply with the total stoppage of settlement activities. Many of the principles that appeared in the Quartet's statement have been their words, it's time to translate these words to deeds, we want to see to it that within one year negotiations on all core issues-Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, release of prisoners, as specified 14 in the Quartet's statements, is achieved."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group will not recognize the talks.

Colombia and Venezuela Hold Talks on Border and Policy Issues

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has met his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin in Caracas in an effort to bring the two countries closer together after a recent diplomatic crisis.

Trade, bilateral policies and border disputes were the main issues in the agenda.

Holguin said Bogota intends building a respectful and stable relationship with Venezuela.

"We want a stable and long relationship, without ups and downs. We should present Colombian and Venezuelan people with a true union of our countries. We are basically brothers and deserve to have a calmer, more productive future together, with more solidarity 15 from our governments."

Holguin specifically called for the two governments to be more active in the border areas in tackling pressing issues like rebel groups and drug trafficking.

Meanwhile Maduro says that the meetings between the governments will clear the way for a better relationship.

"The idea of the meetings is to clear the way to obtain a stable, permanent and harmonious 16 relationship to give our people - as our liberator 17, the 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar said... the biggest happiness."

The two governments are holding meetings on issues such as trade, security, border problems and the development of common infrastructure 18 projects.

Two weeks ago, the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela restored diplomatic relations following a dispute over allegations that Colombian rebels had set up camps in Venezuela.

Floods Continue to Slash 19 China

Floods continue to lash Wenchuan in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan as rising river levels threaten nearby communities.

Landslides 20 triggered by days of heavy rain blocked a local river in Wenchuan about a week ago, pushing flood waters towards a residential 21 area housing victims of the devastating 22 2008 earthquake.

Rescue workers are still battling to reinforce defenses and clear rubble 23 left by the landslides.

Liu Qibao is secretary of Sichuan provincial 24 committee of the Communist Party of China.

"Some places have been hit by floods and landslides several times. They've caused huge damage, and the rescue work faces great difficulties. The biggest challenge is to clear the blocked roads and resume traffic."

In a village in Mianyang, floods have swept through farming land and left almost all the crops underwater.

Sixteen people have been killed over the past week in Sichuan Province, and 66 others are still missing.

Heavy rains also slashed 25 Dandong, a city bordering North Korea in the northeastern province of Liaoning.

Downpours caused the Aihe River, a major river in Dandong, to overflow 26 over the weekend.

On Saturday morning, the Yalu River that marks China's border with North Korea breached 27 a dike 28, sending flood waters into Dandong, forcing the evacuation of more than 50,000 people.

At least three people are missing, and floodwaters have cut off rail traffic out of Dandong.

China's northeast is the latest region to be hit in the country's worst flood season in more than a decade.

Landslides that have smothered 29 communities in western China have accounted for much of the devastation 30.

Mudslides in the northwestern town of Zhouqu have claimed the lives of 1,407 people while 358 remain missing.

Workers continue to clear rubble from the Bailong River in the town.

Floods and landslides across China in recent months have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.

Economic Integration 31 Program Launched in the Pearl River Delta 32

The Guangdong provincial government has launched an economic integration program for the development of the Pearl River Delta, one of China's leading economic and manufacturing regions. Its purpose is to achieve a greater integration of the region so as to build a world-class urban group.

Bumper 33 Holiday Season Ahead

Workers all over China are planning extra-long vacations next month due to the way the public holidays fall this year.

There are only six days between the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays, so many people are opting 34 to take their annual leave at the same time, allowing them to be off work for as much as two weeks.

Indian Junior Health Minister Urges People to be Wary 35 of Dengue Outbreak

India's junior Health Minister says residents in the capital, New Delhi, should take their own steps to avoid the outbreak of dengue fever sweeping 36 the city.

Dinesh Trivedi appealed to the public to stay alert and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves.

"Everyone should exercise caution. There is no magic wand to resolve this issue. Everyone should clean their courtyards and remove puddles 37 of water. The municipality and state administration have a major role to play in removing the breeding grounds of mosquitoes by clearing away debris 38 at construction sites. Also, chemicals must also be sprinkled into pools of water to kill mosquitoes."

Trivedi claimed that piles of rubbish created due to the ongoing construction for the upcoming Commonwealth 39 Games were perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Dengue fever has been worrying officials for some time, with more than 1,100 cases reported last year.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions, putting India at a heightened risk.

Chinadaily: Drunk Driving and Wage Default Should Become Criminal Offences

Charges of drunk driving and malicious 40 default of workers' wages by their employers are reported to be included in the draft amendments 41 to the Criminal Law to be submitted to China's top legislature for review at the end of this month.

The China Daily says the new charges target two clear and current dangers in present-day China and represent widely anticipated solutions to the two pressing problems.

It says figures from the Supreme 42 People's Court show more than 3,200 drink-related traffic accidents from January to August 2009, resulting in more than 1,300 deaths. Even during the high-profile nationwide crusade against driving under the influence, traffic police authorities registered 213,000 violations 43 and more than 2,100 alcohol-related deaths and injuries.

Given the ineffectiveness of previous attempts to persuade drivers to give up the lethal 44 habit, the newspaper says creating a new criminal offence with serious penalties is the last ray of hope for changing driver behavior.

The article says the same is true of companies who intentionally 45 default on paying staff their due wages. Such behavior can no longer be considered a private matter between employers and workers, nor simply a matter pertaining 46 to the employer's reputation. It should be seen as an offence that is unacceptable to local and central administrators 47.

Zhengzhou Evening News: Don't Believe the GDP Hype

Chinese people celebrating this country's rise up the world's GDP table are being warned not to get carried away by the hype.

China's GDP overtook Japan in the second quarter of this year to become the second largest economy in the world and analysts 48 are now speculating that China will topple the U.S as the world's largest economy by 2020.

The Zhengzhou Evening News in central China's Henan province warns that while some local officials are overjoyed by the news, senior officials in Beijing should be applauded for coolly pointing out that China's per capita GDP of 3800 US dollars ranks it way down at 105th in the world. They are also acutely aware that more than 40 million people in China are still living below the official poverty line and China remains 49 first and foremost a developing country.

The newspaper claims that the reason some westerners regularly stress China's status as the largest emerging economy is because they want to put pressure on this country to take more responsibility and make comprises in global issues such as climate change and energy development.

However, the Zhengzhou Evening News says China should not allow vanity to dictate 50 its actions or be pressurized into doing things other countries want it to do.

The newspaper concludes by saying it's time for all those dreaming of the day that China has the world's largest economy to wake up. A country's GDP is not the only thing that counts.