LAUSANNE Cheap Hydro Flask 32 oz Wide Mouth W Straw Lid , Switzerland, March 20 (Xinhua) -- As international negotiators gather here to meet with their Iranian counterparts, the nuclear talks enter a crucial stage: they can either make history or leave empty-handed.
After twice missing self-imposed deadlines, the United States and five other major countries have been negotiating with Iran almost nonstop, round after round and meeting after meeting, in an effort to put Iran's nuclear program under international control in return for easing of sanctions.
But the job is by no means easy and the process is full of twists and turns. With the March 31 deadline for a political framework agreement soon approaching, there are mixed signs of hope while gaps remain to be covered.
The six major countries had set a June 30 deadline to forge a final and comprehensive agreement, but the United States said earlier that if they cannot reach a "framework agreement" by the end of March, then maybe there will be no need for further talks.
Since Iran and the world's major countries agreed to come back to the negotiating table in 2013, more than 15 months have passed. The White House is still saying that the chances of clinching a nuclear deal with Iran are "50-50 at best."
So, the question is: why have the talks been so difficult?
United Nations' nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A LASTING DEAL?
The duration of the deal could also be a problem. The West hopes the deal lasts at least 10 years, but Iran does not want its nuclear program to be limited for that long, saying it was willing to agree to seven years at the most.
Another dispute is how soon the sanctions against Iran should be lifted. Iran said all the sanctions should be eased once and for all immediately after the signing of the deal, while Western countries want to keep substantial sanctions in place for years, which will only lift when Iran fully proves its willingness to observe the deal.
Together with the various economic sanctions, there is also a ban on high-tech goods that could help Iran's capacity to develop a nuclear weapon. So how to deal with this issue and set up the right monitoring channels for Iran to receive technology could also be a point of dispute.
Besides such difficulties, some even argue whether or not the Obama administration should negotiate such a deal with Iran, making things more complicated.
The U.S. side has said at many occasions that a deal that prevents Iran from gaining weapon-level nuclear capability for at least 10 years will provide more security than any sanctions or military strikes.
However, both domestic and outside opponents of the deal, like a number of U.S. congress members and Israel, insist tougher sanctions would do a better job.
The venue of the latest negotiation is in a hotel just besides the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Will this marathon of the decade-long Iran nuclear talks finally end here in the light of the Olympic torch?
One can only hope both sides are able to make history, rather than miss out on the opportunity.
Related:
Obama urges Iran to seize "historic opportunity" to reach nuke deal
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called on Iranian leaders not to miss a "historic opportunity" to reach a reasonable nuclear deal, saying such a moment "may not come again soon."
In a video message to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Obama said there is "the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future between our countries," referring to the ongoing talks held in Switzerland to clinch a deal on Iran's nuclear program.Full Story
Iran FM says ongoing nuclear talks at "final stage"
TEHRAN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said on Thursday the current round of nuclear talks is at its final stage with negotiators staying in Switzerland to find solutions for the remaining problems.
"Presently, we see ourselves at the final stage of the talks which demands intensive discussions," Zarif was quoted in Lausanne of Switzerland by official IRNA news agency.
BEIJING， May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's primary and secondary school Chinese language textbooks have been revised to focus more on traditional culture， according to an editor.
Starting this autumn， more than four million first and seventh graders from Hunan， Henan， Guangdong， Liaoning and other provincial-level regions will use the new books.
According to Wang Xuming， president of the Language and Culture Press under the Ministry of Education， 40 percent of the content in the previous edition has been changed.
Traditional material makes up 30 percent of the revised primary school textbooks， while it increases to about 40 percent for secondary school textbooks.
"We did so to address the needs of parents， who want their children to learn more about traditional culture，" said a senior editor surnamed Zhu in charge of the middle school textbooks.
"Now many people cannot even understand the language in classical Chinese books， and parents compete to send their children to commercial training centers for traditional culture，" she said.
China has seen a renewed interest in traditional education. A report by the Southern Metropolitan Daily said that China has more than 3，000 Sishu， or traditional private schools， in addition to training centers teaching students classical essays.
"Demand for private education grows when teaching of traditional culture in public schools is not enough，" Zhu said.
She told Xinhua that the poetry and essays in the new books were selected not only so students can learn the language， but also to instruct them on philosophy.
For example， 16 excerpts from the Analects of Confucius were included in the middle school textbooks.
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