In This EditionThe UN Security Council begins closed-door negotiations on a new draft resolution aimed at resolving the crisis in Syria.

Europe's financial chiefs try to soothe the fears of double dip economic recession by insisting they have a handle on the euro zone’s debt troubles.

The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan fail to resolve an oil dispute that has led to the shutdown of the South's crude output.

And a Year of Chinese Culture is to be launched in Germany to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Hot Issue ReportsSecurity Council begins negotiations on new draft resolution to resolve Syrian crisisThe United Nations Security Council has launched closed-door negotiations on a new Arab-European draft resolution aimed at resolving the crisis in Syria.

The UN says at least 5,400 people have been killed in Syria in a month long crackdown on civilian protests.

European diplomats have been meeting this week with diplomats from Arab countries, including Morocco and Qatar, on a resolution that would back an Arab League bid to end the crisis.

Gerard Araud is the French UN Ambassador.

"The country is sinking into civil war. We are desperately looking for a political solution. And unfortunately or fortunately, again, there is no alternative."However, Russian Ambassador made it clear that a unanimous decision was far away.

Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari expressed his country's opposition to the new draft resolution.

"They are talking about my country without consulting us, without sharing with us their concerns, their remarks. They think that Syria doesn't exist, it doesn't have an ambassador here and that we are still under their hegemony and they deal with us as if we are a former colony, that we should subjugate ourselves to their will."The Arab League sent observers to Syria earlier this month, but the mission was widely criticised for failing to stop the violence.

Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia pulled out of the mission earlier this week.

UN chief's alarm at possible military element to Iran's nuclear programUN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says he is concerned about an International Atomic Energy Authority report citing the possibility of a military dimension to Iran's nuclear program.

The UN chief says the onus is on Iran to prove its program is for peaceful purposes and complies with UN Security Council resolutions.

"The onus is on the Iranian side. At the same time, I am urging the three-plus-three and Iran to engage in dialogue. There is no other alternative to addressing this crisis than peaceful dialogue, peaceful resolution through dialogue."Iran insists the aim of its atomic program is only to produce energy and do research, but has repeatedly refused to consider giving up its ability to enrich uranium.

Iran has accused Israel of masterminding the killing of Iranian scientists involved in the nuclear program, but Barak declined to comment on that.

Earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country was ready to revive talks with the United States and other world powers but suggested that Tehran's foes would have to make compromises to prevent negotiations from collapsing in a stalemate again.

Iran says it will not give up its right to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, but it has offered to allow IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear sites to ensure that the program will not be weaponized.

Finance chiefs seek to ease global fears over eurozone crisisEurope's financial chiefs have tried to soothe the fears of global chief executives and other political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos by insisting they have a handle on the eurozone's troubles.

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble spoke of his optimism ahead of a Greek restructuring deal, despite recent strains in the complex talks.

"I don't expect a default in Greece. I am sure that if everybody is ready to deliver what has been agreed, and all the partners of Greece are ready to do it, we will avoid, we can avoid, and we will avoid a default of Greece."There are growing fears that Europe's debt crisis could drag the global economy back into recession.

On that front, Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits were a prerequisite for the troubled eurozone to move toward more centralized control of its finances.

EU leaders are set to agree on Monday to a framework that lays down stricter rules on deficits to address the common currency's crisis over countries that have run up too much government debt.

South Sudan shuts down oil outputThe presidents of Sudan and South Sudan have failed to resolve an oil dispute that has led to the shutdown of the South's crude output.

The row centers on how much landlocked South Sudan should pay to send its oil exports through Sudan to a Red Sea port.

Sudan has publicly proposed 36 U.S. dollars a barrel, while the South has listed figures at less than 1 dollar a barrel.

Pagan Amun is South Sudan's chief negotiator.

"These talks have failed basically because the government of Sudan insists on continuing stilling the oil of the Republic of South Sudan and have refused the proposals made by the Government of South Sudan as a way forward to return the talks and the situation to normalcy."South Sudan became independent last year and took with it about 75 percent of roughly 500-thousand barrels of oil production per day.

The dispute heated up this month when Sudan said it would confiscate some oil exports from South Sudan to make up for what it called unpaid fees.

In response, South Sudan decided to shut down its oil output.

The country's output will cease this weekend, although it will continue to clean and flush production facilities.

Foreign ministers of Japan and Russia agree to strengthen economic and security tiesThe foreign ministers of Japan and Russia have agreed to strengthen their economic and security cooperation but disagreed on resolving a longstanding territorial dispute over islands off northeastern Japan.

Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the two countries needed to address the row calmly.

"Both sides mentioned seeking an effective resolution to the issue. Both countries need to address the row over the islands in a calm manner without becoming emotional or critical."Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba echoed Lavrov's view.

"Resolving this problem and concluding a peace treaty is more necessary than ever. But unfortunately, our positions are different."The dispute over the islands, which Russia calls the Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories, has kept the two from forging a peace treaty after World War II.

The islands were seized by Soviet troops in the closing days of the war, but Japan claims them as its own.

They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and believed to have offshore oil and natural gas reserves, and gold and silver deposits.

Chavez denies newspaper claim about his healthVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez has brushed aside a recent media report about his health.

Chavez denied the claim during a news conference at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

"They are obsessed with reporting that I am dying. I am more alive than ever and stronger than ever at 58. But, I can't help it if they want me to die."This comes after the Spanish newspaper reported earlier this week that the Venezuelan president might have only nine months to live.

Chavez also said he hoped to maintain better relationships with the United States and the president Barack Obama, if he was reelected to the presidency.

Both Chavez and Obama are up for reelection this year.

Relationships between the two countries have been tense since Chavez was elected in 1998.

Problems recently escalated when Washington ordered the closing of the Venezuelan consulate in Miami.

Venezuelans living in Miami have expressed concern about how they will register to vote and participate in the coming presidential elections.

SKorea Peace activists gather near border to send balloons with messages to the NorthSouth Korean peace activists have released balloons with messages and gifts for the people of North Korea near the border city of Paju.

The activists inflated and released five large balloons with helium and attached boxes filled with socks and messages of love.

The event organizer, 47-year-old Lee Ju-sung, says he misses the people of North Korea and wishes them well.

"During wintertime, there are no socks and no shoes, so people's feet freeze, and they sometimes cut them off. We are sending South Korean society's love and gifts to those people in North Korea."The activists hope the low-cost gifts might provide their recipients with some warmth or be useful in bartering for food.

Timers attached to the boxes were set to release the socks after they were in the air for three hours, when it was estimated they would be on the North Korean side of the border.

Light NewsLawyers attend court for implants victimsLawyers for the victims of the global breast implants scandal in France have attended court in the city of Marseille.

Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of the company that sold the substandard breast implants, was released from police custody on bail of more than 130-thousand U.S. dollars while being banned from leaving the country and meeting former executives of his now defunct company Poly Implant Prothese.

Alexandra Blachere is head of the PIP Victim's Association.

"Now I have had the explanation I was waiting for. There are some things I hadn't understood because I don't have a complete understanding of legal terminology, of course, but right now I am very relieved."Lawyers for women in France who have filed complaints about PIP implants believe there must be no escaping justice for 72-year-old Mas.

The two-year-old scandal made worldwide headlines last month when officials in Paris recommended that women with the implants have them surgically removed.

UK Olympic-LOCOG chief and ceremony producer optimistic with six months to goWith 180 days to go before the start of the London Olympic Games, the Organizing Committee's chairman, Lord Sebastian Coe, has stressed that preparations for the event are on time and well within budget.

"I am not complacent. We have a mountain of work still to do, and I sleep generally pretty well because I know we have got the best team of people that will ever come together to help deliver an Olympic Games."In response to recent negative speculation about the event's budget, Lord Coe was adamant that it was false.

"Well, the media is wrong on that. We are entirely within budget. The budget for the organizing committee is balanced, and the budget for the infrastructure and the venues is both balanced. And with about a half a million left in the contingency, we will work very, very hard to make sure that we land this project both operationally and infrastructurally within budget and certainly within time."The London Olympic Games will be held from July 27th to August 12th.

Twitter's new censorship plan causes global furoreTwitter has found itself the target of global outrage after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of any tweets that might break local laws.

Twitter says the censorship tool is a way to ensure individual messages remain available to as many people as possible.

Many people have expressed fears that Twitter's commitment to free speech may be weakening.

Miriam Smith is a Media Law Professor with San Francisco State University.

"Twitter is all about free expression, anything you can say in 140 characters. People want that, but that ends up not being what the people get. They end up getting some sort of adulterated kind of thing."The US State Department, which has Twitter feeds in 10 different languages, said it was better for Twitter to operate in a constrained way than not at all.

Victoria Nuland is the spokeswoman.

"As I said, there are many companies out there that make the decisions without being transparent, either to their users or to the world. Twitter has been upfront about what they're doing. I think we have to see how it works."Twitter is set to expand its user base from its current 100 million active users to more than 1 billion.

China to launch Chinese Culture Year in GermanyThis year marks the 40th anniversary of Sino-German diplomatic ties. To celebrate the occasion, China is set to begin a Chinese Culture Year in Germany this month. Zhang Ru has more.

Reporter:

The Chinese Culture Year will feature the history of Chinese art and culture by bringing Chinese music, film, opera, literature and other exhibitions to German audiences.

Wu Hongbo, China's Ambassador to Germany, talks about what will be on offer.

"We are going to stage more than 500 shows in major cities in Germany. The themes of this year's events are cooperation and dialogue, and the programs are designed to step up mutual understanding between the two countries and beef up bilateral cooperation."As an opener for the culture year, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will stage performances in Berlin next week.

Also during the week, Berlin will see other cultural events that showcase Chinese folk music and Kunqu opera, one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera and poetry reading.

Later this year, Tan Dun, one of the world's leading composers, and pianist Lang Lang will appear at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and other international music festivals in Germany.

Most of the shows are collaboratively planned by organizations and artists from both countries.

Dieter Rexroth is one of the organizers.

"Chinese culture is quite different from European cultures, so it will be a very interesting experience for China and Germany to collaborate on the same cultural project."Apart from artistic performances, a series of forums and discussion sessions designed to boost cultural exchanges will also be held as part of the celebration.

The Chinese Culture Year project was signed during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China in 2010.

China and Germany have more than 60 twin provinces and cities.

For CRI, I'm Zhang Ru.

Steve Jobs, simplifying complicated thingsMillions of people around the world were saddened by the passing of computing entrepreneur and inventor, the co-founder, chairman and recognizable face of Apple, Steve Jobs.

This Silicon Valley hero left behind not only life-changing electronic devices, but the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and the beauty of simplicity.

Shuangfeng has more.

Reporter:

Steve Jobs, who fought against pancreatic cancer for a number of years, left the world in late 2011, at the age of 56.

Millions of his followers around the world were left grieving upon hearing the news.

"To hear the news of his passing today was rough. He contributed a lot both to the world and technology specifically.""Steve Jobs changed the way we do things in New Deli a lot."Jobs not only won the hearts of many Apple users around the globe, he was also praised by his business rival Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and even U.S. President Barack Obama.

President Obama was quoted as saying that Steve was among the greatest American innovators, brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

Steve Jobs always emphasized technology could change the world and he was devoted to making that happen throughout his lifetime, whatever life threw at him.

"It's in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough. It is that technology marrying liberal arts and humanity that yields us the results that make our hearts sing."He made an unprecedented impact on the world's consumer electronics market with a string of successful products. In little more than a decade, he took Apple from near-bankruptcy to being the world's second most valuable company by market capitalization, with around 80 billion U.S. dollars in the bank.

Charles Arthur, technology editor with The Guardian newspaper, says Apple's products redefined three entire industries, music, mobile telephony and personal computing.

"If you look back his life, he revolutionized three businesses, and computers. They created the first personal computer, with mouse on. He revolutionized the film business because computer-animated film was unknown until Pixar appeared. And the whole music industry was revolutionized with the emergence of the iTunes store in 2003."Through iTunes, Jobs provided a simple way for users to buy digital content where previously they would have downloaded pirated copies. The iTunes store turned out to be a huge success. They sold millions of songs in the first year. Even more remarkably, they sold their first million songs in the very first month of its launch.

Throughout his lifetime, Jobs was described as a control freak, He was known to have rejected hundreds of ideas in the quest for his idea of perfection. He pursued beauty of simplicity, and highlighted that electronic devices should be easy to use and technology should change people's life for the better.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple computer, says Jobs was continuously driving innovative things to happen.

"He has the ability to think about new ways of doing things, not just improving what we've had, or a better version or something. But he tried to do it in a totally different way that the whole world will swing towards it."The iPhone is a case in point. Jobs delivered the iPhone in Jan. 2007. The moment the iPhone was out, the amazing electronics device created a stir around the world. Crowds of people were willing to queue up for hours in the hope of getting their hands on an iPhone as soon as possible, upon its original launch worldwide.

The iPhone is not merely for making calls. Its function centers around the apps that were designed for it. For iPhone users, it is a gateway to amazing downloadable software, be it for shopping, entertainment or studying.

Jobs' desire to deliver the best possible customer experience also led him to open Apple retail stores.

Rita Clifton, chairman of Interbrand UK, says the retailing store brings customers the unique Apple experience, which in turn boosts Apple's popularity and brand image.

"Apple's move into retail is not about opening a shop, but rather Apple opens up its experience. And it allows people to buy Apple products in a kind of style, in a kind of environment that really suited that brand."What Jobs left us is not confined to cool gadgets, such as one-button iPhones which do much more than just making phone calls, or the iPod with a scroll-wheel which allows you to easily browse thousands of songs in seconds, or the iPad which surprises you with its size, weight and powerful functions.

More importantly, Jobs inspired us to be innovative, to seek perfection relentlessly, to believe that the impossible is actually possible, and to simplify complicated things to make life better with the help of ever-changing technologies.

No wonder Jobs' business rival Bill Gates praised his achievement so highly after hearing about his death. Gates is quoted as saying that the world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.