Chinese premier arrives in Argentina for official visit
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in BUENOS AIRES Saturday for an official visit to Argentina.
In a written speech released upon his arrival, Wen Jiabo said the two countries have enjoyed good coordination on international and regional issues, adding that China is willing to work with Argentina to promote mutually beneficial cooperation.
The Chinese premier arrived in Buenos Aires after concluding his two-day official visit to Uruguay.
Manual docking between Shenzhou-9, Tiangong-1 slated for Sunday: spokesman
A manual docking will be conducted between the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft and the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module around 12 p.m. Sunday, according to a spokesperson of China's manned space program.
The spokesperson says since Shenzhou-9 and Tiangong-1 successfully conducted an automatic docking and astronauts entered the Tiangong-1 module on June 18, both the spacecraft and the module have been operating normally and the three astronauts are in good condition.
He says all scientific tests have been conducted without any glitches and a manned conjoint flight has been realized.
U.N. chief hopes Turkey-Syria jet incident can be "handled with restraint"
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced hope that Turkey and Damascus could handle the downing of a Turkish military jet by Syria "with restraint and through diplomatic channels."
Ban, in a note to reporters through his spokesman, described the incident as being "serious."
The spokesman says Ban hopes this serious incident can be handled with restraint by both sides through diplomatic channels.
A Turkish Air Force jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Friday after being shot down by Syria.
Hamas accepts new calm with Israel based on "calm for calm" in Gaza: official
A senior Islamic Hamas movement's official announced that a new understanding on restoring calm in Gaza with Israel had been reached on Saturday night based on the principle of "calm for calm."
The official said Hamas will be watching the situation on the ground within the coming hours and also the seriousness of the Israeli enemy to calm.
Iranian commander warns Israel against any attack on Iran
A deputy chief of staff of Iranian Armed Forces has warned Israel against any military aggression on the Islamic republic.
Major General Mostafa Izadi told the semi-official Fars news agency that Israel lacks the courage and ability to harm Iran and in case it launches any attack on Iran, it will lead to an immediate end of Israel's existence.
The recent nuclear talks held in Moscow between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany - ended last Tuesday without a deal.
Iran is under numerous Western pressures to halt its controversial nuclear program which the Islamic republic insists on its "peaceful" and "civilian" nature.
China's manned submersible challenges world's 1st 7,000-meter dive
China's manned submersible, Jiaolong, made its fourth dive in the Mariana Trench on Sunday morning to attempt the world's first 7,000-meter dive below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
Severe drought hits parts of China
A severe drought has been plaguing parts of China, affecting agricultural production on more than five million hectares of farmland.
The drought has hit central, eastern and northern China including some main grain-producing areas.
China's meteorological departments predict that there would be no sufficient rainfall in the next 10 days to alleviate the drought in these regions.
Local governments have been called upon to intensify drought relief efforts and take measures to minimize the extreme weather's impact on the farming industry.
Contracts worth 3.4 billion signed during a China-US city forum in Nanjing
Investment contracts worth 3.4 billion U.S. dollars were signed by enterprises from both China and the United States during a forum held in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.
Eighty-five enterprises from 21 Chinese cities and 20 U.S. cities gathered for the second U.S.-China Cities Forum on Economic Cooperation and Investment over the past two days.
China's oil production slightly down in May
China's crude oil production declined 1.3 percent year on year to 17 million tonnes, while crude oil imports rose 0.9 percent to over 20 million tonnes last month.
The country's top economic planner says in the first five months of this year, crude oil production totalled over 83 million tonnes, down 1.4 percent from the same period last year, while crude oil imports grew 3.5 percent to over 109 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, the country's apparent consumption of refined oil increased 4 percent to over 20 million tonnes, among which diesel consumption was up 3.9 percent to over 13 million tonnes.
7.1 mln rail trips on first day of holiday
China's Ministry of Railways says the country's railways record over 7.1 million passenger trips on the first day of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday that runs from June 22-24.
On Friday, the ministry added 231 provisional passenger trains to cope with the travel rush. And it estimated 5.4 million passenger trips on Saturday, with 230 passenger trains added to the rail network.