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People's Daily Online



U.S. defense chief sees Israel could attack Iran this spring (Feb 4)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that Israel could attack Iran this spring, the Washington Post reported here on Thursday. The Washington Post story said: "Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb." The newspaper's columnist David Ignatius wrote in the article that U.S. President Barack Obama an ...


Changing the Syrian regime by force to be "disastrous" (Feb 4)
DAMASCUS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- As the UN Security Council still seems divided over finding an appropriate approach to end the simmering tension in Syria, opponents and proponents in the unrest- torn country appear to be united over rejecting any form of changing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad by force, considering that it would be "disastrous." Assad has recently warned that any foreign intervention in his country would lead to a "temblor in the region." George Gabbour, a political ...


China-EU year of intercultural dialogue kicks off in Bulgaria (Feb 4)
SOFIA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Year of intercultural dialogue between China and the European Union (EU) officially kicked off in Bulgaria on Friday. In response to this significant event, a wide range of Chinese cultural activities would be held in 27 European countries including Bulgaria, and vice versa, Yuan Jigang, head of the education section at the Chinese embassy in Sofia, told a press conference. "These activities will enable Europeans to enjoy the best of Chinese culture and arts a ...


Obama to host British PM at White House in March (Feb 4)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- President Barack Obama will host British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House for an official visit on March 13-14, with an array of global issues, including Afghanistan and Iran, on the agenda, the White House said Friday. Other issues to be discussed are the upcoming NATO and G-8 summits slated for May in Chicago, the Middle East, human rights, and global economic stability and growth, the White House said. "They will also review progress in the ...


U.S. Air Force to cut great number of servicemen, aircraft amid budget cuts (Feb 4)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Air Force will cut about 10,000 airmen and 286 aircraft next year as part of the defense budget cuts envisioned by the Obama administration, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday. At a Pentagon news conference, Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz detailed force structure changes to be made next year, which Donley described as "hard, but manageable." The Air Force will lay off 9,900 servicemen -- 3,900 active duty, 5,100 Air G ...


Syrian unrest escalates as UN resolution stalls (Feb 4)
DAMASCUS/UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- As clashes continue in Syria, the UN Security Council is scheduled to meet again Saturday morning to vote on a resolution on the country. On Friday, a group of armed "terrorists" attacked some border guards in the Dar al-Kabir area on the borders with Lebanon, near the hotbed of unrest, Homs province, and killed three of them, including a colonel, the private Sham FM radio reported. Also in Homs, unidentified gunmen stormed an infirmary in the Bu ...


Micron CEO dies in plane crash (Feb 4)
Micron Technology's chairman and chief executive Steve Appleton died in a small-plane crash early yesterday, the company said. Appleton, 51, head of the mid-sized chipmaker, was the only person in the plane when it crashed in Boise, Idaho, near the company's headquarters, according to local media reports. "Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large," Micron's board of directors said in a statement. The Idaho Stat ...


13 dead in SW China colliery explosion (Feb 4)
CHENGDU, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Two miners injured in a colliery gas explosion Friday in southwest China's Sichuan province died on the way to hospital, bringing the death toll from the accident to 13, local authorities said Saturday. Treatment is being given to eight other people injured in the blast, four of whom are in a critical condition, according to a press release issued by the provincial work safety administration. By noon on Saturday, one person was still missing and rescue work was ...


Southwest China to launch two foreign trade routes (Feb 4)
CHONGQING - Two new foreign trade routes will be opened this year in southwest China's Chongqing municipality, local authorities said Friday. Container transport will be authorized for the Yunkunmianyue international railway, which begins in Chongqing and runs through the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan and the countries of Myanmar and Vietnam before ending at the Indian Ocean, according to Ma Zhongyuan, head of Chongqing's customs office. Ma said the railway's container shipments will fac ...


No discrimination in rare earth supply (Feb 4)
GUANGZHOU - China's premier said Friday that the country does not discriminate against foreign companies in terms of rare earth supplies, stating that policies and quotas for both domestic and foreign companies are the same. Premier Wen Jiabao made the remarks while meeting with Chinese and German businessmen on the sidelines of a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province. Wen said China's previous lack of environmental protection an ...