DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Lower Mekong Countries discuss Laos’s Xayaburi Mainstream hydropower project” plus 9 more

"Four lower Mekong basin countries has started discussing in friendly manners in group to seek best conclusion for Laos to build Xayaburi dam which produced 1260 megawatts electricity, the statement from Mekong River commission said on Saturday.

"They agreed that they would join with the intent to seek a conclusion at the newly-scheduled meeting on 21 April 2011 and when the deadline is April 22," it said, adding that the four met in Cambodia from 24-26 March.  The Xayaburi project is tabled as one of a wide range of agenda items at this meeting.

It added the deadline for reaching a decision comes closer; four Lower Mekong Basin Countries have agreed to convene a special session on the prior consultation process for the proposed Xayaburi mainstream hydropower development project, before "determining how they should proceed with the proposal".

The countries, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, reached this decision at the 33^rd Mekong River Commission (MRC) Joint Committee (JC) Meeting in Preah Sihanouk Province which ends tomorrow.

IThe prior consultation process is one of a number of protocols in the 1995 Mekong Agreement to promote cooperation in sustainable management of the basin's water resources and avoid regional disputes developing.

It added: The Xayaburi hydropower project would be the first such project on the Mekong mainstream downstream of China and would be capable of generating 1260 megawatts of electricity, mainly for export to Thailand. The developer is Ch. Karnchang Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand who negotiated a tariff agreement with EGAT in July 2010.

The Xayaburi project, proposed by the Government of Lao PDR, falls under the MRC's Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) process, which require that the four countries come together with the aim of reaching a conclusion on the proposal within six months of its submission. The deadline for the end of this formal process is 22 April 2011.

The Xayaburi project, designed to generate power for consumption in Thailand and Lao PDR, is tabled for consideration, among other management, organizational and procedures-related matters, at this internal meeting.

"All members have considered about the impact of development of Mekong River and social -economic and environment matters for mutual benefits of people's health and natural resources," said Mr. Sin Niny, Vice-chairman of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee and Alternate Member of the MRC Council for Cambodia who presided over the MRC Joint Committee Meeting 24-26 March.  "We considered about the dubstainble development of this river and today meeting is remarkable. we put things on table for discussion, he noted. It also implemented with 2011-2015 policy of Mekong river commission.

HAVANA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming congress of the Cuban Communist Party in April will introduce several economic reforms while the country retains socialism, Cuban leader Raul Castro said Friday.
Castro said Cuba needs to "correct some mistakes committed in the past five decades of socialism." But he made it clear that Cuba "will not return to capitalism and neo-colonialism" and the updated model for Cuba will primarily be based on a planned economy rather than a market economy."
The new economic policy will conform to the principle that only socialism can overcome the difficulties and preserve the conquests of the Revolution," Castro said.
"The future of the nation is at stake," he said, adding that it is necessary to defend the "permanent discrepancy of the ideas because that's where the best solutions come from."
Meanwhile, Homero Acosta, secretary of the Cuban State Council, said the penal system also needs to be updated along with the economic model.
"The new economic changes will impact every aspect of social life, so it also requires us to modify the criminal law according to the new circumstances," said Acosta.
"It is possible that the typical imprisonment will be replaced by other sanctions like freedom limitation, or correctional labor without confinement, for penalties of up to five years in prison," he said.
Justice Minister Maria Esther Reus said the country needs an updated policy and a legislative development according to the new national reality.
The draft document to be discussed at the party congress in April includes a wide range of topics such as discharging half a million people from over-employed state companies, eliminating excessive social benefits, building a flexible housing market, opening private businesses and implementing a new tax system.
Earlier this week, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro talked about the party structure for the first time since handing over power to his brother Raul in 2006, saying the Cuba leader should at the same time be the first secretary of the party.

RIO DE JANEIRO, March. 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization said on Friday that the U.S. anti-dumping duties on imports of Brazilian orange juice violated international trade rules.
In its final report, the WTO ruled that the U.S. anti-dumping proceedings related to the orange juice are inconsistent with article of the Anti-Dumping Agreement.
"In light of its findings, the Panel recommended that the United States take the necessary measures to bring its measure into conformity with its obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement," the WTO said.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of orange juice, selling mainly to the United States and the European Union.
The United States imposed up to 60 percent of tariff on Brazilian orange juice, which Washington claimed was being sold at artificially low prices.
Welcoming the Panel's findings, Brazil hoped the United States "brings its measure into conformity without delay as a clear sign of respect to the multilateral trade disciplines."
The Brazilian government said it is closely following the progress of the U.S. Department of Commerce's "proposed rule," which will end some uses of the zeroing calculation of anti-dumping duties against foreign products.

CALGARY, Canada, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The future of the world's rapidly-growing emerging cities was the focus of the Inter-American Development Bank conference in Calgary, Alberta, Friday as the Washington-based organization announced a plan to partner with intermediate cities in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote sustainable urban development.
The 48-country body, which makes loans to governments and government agencies to promote economic and social development and regional integration, will help cities identify their development challenges, prioritize investments and find funding sources from international and domestic investors.
IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno described emerging cities as those with populations between 100,000 and two million. While Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for more than 140 of these cities worldwide, there were about 3,500 such cities that are home to about two billion people, a third of the world's population.
The Colombian diplomat said finding sustainable solutions for these cities in such areas as transport, waste disposal, energy, climate change and fiscal management was vital for the world's future as such centers continued to grow.
To emphasize, he pointed out 2010 was the first year in recorded history that city dwellers had outnumbered those living in the countryside.
"On average, the population of these emerging cities is growing two to three times faster than megacities. In fact, giant cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires will essentially stop expanding in the coming decade," Moreno said.
"This means that most of the urban growth in the next 20 years will happen in emerging cities. In order to keep up with that growth, city governments will need to spend trillions of dollars on new infrastructure, housing and public buildings. They will also need to find vast new sources of water, electricity and fuel.
"As a result, what happens in these emerging cities in the next 20 years will have huge consequences for the rest of the planet. Cities in general already produce approximately 75 percent of total CO2 emissions. In Latin America, emerging cities could both contribute to climate change and become victims of it."
The choice of Calgary may seem a strange venue to host a conference focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean, but the capital of Canada's oil industry has been at the forefront of sustainable practices. Last year it was ranked the world's top eco-city by the Mercer Quality of Living survey, beating out 320 other cities.
For the 3,000 delegates visiting Calgary, which was experiencing a late-season snowstorm Friday, on hand were mayors from various Canadian cities to pass on their technical expertise on what they were calling the three pillars of urban sustainability strategies.
They included environmental sustainability and climate change, integrated urban development and fiscal sustainability and good governance.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the idea of having the conference in Alberta province was about "sharing ideas about long-term planning, budgeting and financial sustainability," adding his city was a world leader in water.
"Our clean water systems and waste water systems are very good, and in fact we will be going on a tour with some of these mayors on Sunday of our new Pinecreek water treatment plant," said the Harvard University-trained Nenshi, who became Canada's first Muslim mayor when he was elected last October.
"We are also great leaders in the areas of municipal planning. Our  'Imagine Calgary' process planning 100 years into the future is something cities across the region, across the world really, are trying to emulate. Are we perfect? Absolutely not, we've got a lot to learn from them as well. But if we can share some of the things that have worked for us with them and learn from other folks we can all be stronger."
Adding to the prestige of the IDB conference was Tony Blair. The former British prime minister spoke to delegates at the Mayors/Municipal Program luncheon via teleconferencing, emphasizing how critical it was in meeting the challenges of rapid development, but doing it in a way that was economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
By example, he mentioned the Chinese 1,000-Village initiative which is an attempt to ensure that development in China is done in a way compatible with meeting the challenge of climate change.
"They are also part of a growing worldwide movement and that is how we match the tremendous ambition that people have today for economic growth, for higher standards of living, for the prosperity that they need, with economic, social and environmental systems that are aligned. This is the challenge that we have. I think we can meet that challenge but we have to be aware of the fact that unless you put the right policies in place it's going to be very, very tough to do,"  Blair said.
"There is a real chance to make a big difference in the years to come and the place to start is exactly where you (the IDB) are starting, with the emerging cities where people are going to live and work. And if we don't get the environmental policies right in this area, we'll not get it right anywhere," he added.

RAMALLAH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Mideast envoy Wu Sike said here Friday that China hopes for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through negotiations.
Despite recent developments in the Middle East, the decades-old feud between the Israelis and the Palestinians remains the core issue in the region, Wu said at a press conference following talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
China unswervingly backs the Palestinian people's efforts to establish an independent and sovereign state and achieve national reconciliation among different factions, he said.
Beijing urges all relevant parties to create appropriate conditions and restart the stalled Middle East peace process as soon as possible, Wu said, adding that Israel should stop settlement expansion in Palestinian territories.
The parties involved should comply with relevant UN resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution when negotiating a settlement, the envoy stressed.
A peaceful solution to the protracted conflict will not only serve the interests of the Palestinian people but contribute to regional peace and stability, he said.
Abbas, for his part, thanked China for its support for the Palestinian struggle for statehood, and stressed that the Palestinian side appreciates the international community's efforts to bring forth a Palestinian state and halt Israel's settlement expansion.
Abbas also briefed Wu on the Palestinian side's preparations for next month's meeting of the Middle East Quartet, which groups the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
During his visit to the Palestinian territories, Wu also met with Saeb Erekat, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Wu, on a Middle East tour, visited Israel on Thursday. He will also travel to Syria, Lebanon and Qatar.

LISBON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Pedro Passos Coelho from the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) is likely to be the next Portuguese prime minister, according to a poll published Friday.
The PSD would have 47.3 percent of the vote, and the ruling Socialist Party would have 25 percent, if a general election was held nowadays, according to the poll published by the Diario Economico newspaper.
This is the first poll published after Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced his resignation following the parliament's rejection of his austerity plan.
The PSD has already announced that they will form a post-electoral coalition with like-minded Democratic and Social Center-People's Party. The two parties together would gain majority in parliament as the latter would have 6.3 percent of the vote, according to the poll.
The other two left-wing parties would maintain their current situation. The Bloco de Esquerda would have 8.9 percent and the Communist Party would have 6.9 percent, said the poll.
Meanwhile, the downgrading of the Portuguese debt ratings by Standard & Poor's agency on Friday is deepening the country's crisis.
In light of the political crisis and the failure of the Portuguese parliament to approve the budget cuts, Standard & Poor's lowered the rating for the Portuguese sovereign debt by two levels from A- to BBB, just one level above junk.
According to the agency, the Portuguese government will have to ask for international help to cope with the debt obligations in a very short term.

London, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A week after the military intervention in Libya, a number of big question marks still hang over the multinational air campaign led by Western countries.
The first one is about the objective of the intervention. The March 17 United Nations resolution sets the goal of protecting Libyan civilians by all necessary means, but an intense debate has ensued over whether to force a leadership change there.
Pointing out the differing voices within NATO about whether the operation should oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Dr. Alexis Crow from London-based think tank Chatham House said the Western military bloc has to decide whether Libya is in "a tribal conflict or a war for democracy."
Dr. Christian Le Miere, a research fellow in naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, another London-based think tank, said that although the stated intent of British policy is not necessarily a leadership change, Prime Minister David Cameron would not be too unhappy to see the back of Gaddafi.
However, in the wake of the controversial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, British politicians are wary of being associated with leadership changes in other countries, Le Miere added.
Another question mark is that what if Libyan government troops hide out in towns to protect themselves from airstrikes of the intervening parties, which have ruled out deploying ground troops in the Northern African country.
"It's very difficult if you don't have what's called a hammer and anvil strategy with ground troops complementing air power," Crow said.
Then she put forth another question: What if a stalemate took place, with government troops held off by air attacks but the rebels unable to make headway because of lack of arms? Such a scenario would turn Libya into another Iraq, she said.
Meanwhile, the use of force drains resources, and Britain is in no economic shape to continue a military intervention, Crow cautioned.
Command and control of the multinational operation is also a problem. NATO has agreed to take over command of efforts aimed at enforcing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo, but faces internal disputes on taking charge of offensive operations.
Military strikes against Libyan targets are still led by the United States, which Crow said has been drained "both materially and ideologically in terms of military intervention."
But British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said he has "every expectation that there will be a NATO command of the entire operation, not just the no-fly zone and the arms embargo."
Representatives of intervening countries and international organizations are expected to meet in London next week to map out the political direction for operations in Libya.

BUDAPEST, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Uyunqimg, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover, Vice Speaker Istvan Ujhelyi and Vice Premier Zsolt Semjen separately on Friday.
During the meetings, Uyunqimg said China and Hungary have a long history of friendship and the relations between two nations have witnessed a smooth development since the establishment of their diplomatic ties over 60 years ago.
She said both countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, which have promoted the deepening of political mutual trust and rapid development of the economic and trade relations.
Hungary has become the third largest trading partner and the largest importing source of China in Central and Eastern Europe. Bilateral cooperation in cultural and educational areas is expanding as well, she added.
The vice chairwoman said China is willing to join hands with Hungary, based on the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, to further enhance the traditional friendship and expand exchanges and cooperation in legislation so as to promote their partnership.
Kover and other Hungarian parliament and government leaders saluted the achievements China has made in its economic and social development.
They said Hungary hopes the two nations could deepen their mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, investment, culture and education.
They also noted Hungary, during its EU presidency, will make an effort to promote a more steady and healthy development of China-Europe ties.
The Chinese delegation led by Uyunqimg arrived here Thursday and will leave for Portugal on Sunday.

BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao exchanged congratulatory messages with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of bilateral ties.
In his message, Hu hailed the healthy and steady development of China-Cameroon relations over the past four decades.
The two countries had kept frequent high-level exchanges of visits, conducted fruitful cooperation in various fields, carried out programs within the framework of the China-Africa cooperation forum, and maintained close coordination and collaboration on regional and international affairs, Hu said.
The development of China-Cameroon ties was due to the increasing political mutual trust between the two sides and to the unswerving efforts made by both sides to promote the ties, he said.
The Chinese president said China was ready to push the relationship to a higher level with the 40th anniversary of the ties being a new starting point.
Biya said in his message that, through joint efforts, relations between Cameroon and China had been developing continuously, and cooperation in various fields had been expanded, contributing to the reinforcement of friendship and mutual respect between the two peoples.
While appreciating the aid provided by the Chinese government in the process of Cameroon's modernization, Biya said China had become an important strategic partner of his country.
He looked forward to continuing consolidation of the ties in the future to the benefit of both countries.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Cameroonian counterpart Henri Eyebe Ayissi also extended congratulatory messages on the same day.

WASHINGTON -- Revised figures released by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday showed that the nation's industrial production capacity utilization reached a trough of 67. 3 percent in June 2009, before rebounding steadily through the end of 2010, evidence of the gradual recovery of the U.S. economy.
The U.S. central bank said that the rate of capacity utilization for total industry stood at 81.1 percent in 2007, 0.7 percentage point above its long-run level between 1972 and 2010 average of 80.4 percent.
Utilization rates plunged in 2008 and in the first half of 2009, as the economy was hit hard by the worst recession in decades. (U.S.-Production-Capacity)
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KUWAIT CITY -- An unexpected sandstorm that swept Kuwait on Friday forced the oil-rich Gulf emirate to suspend its oil exploration and exports, state-owned Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation said.
The KPC said it is committed to honoring its contracts with local and foreign customers through its emergency plans.
"Due to the bad weather the state of emergency was declared in all KPC facilities, petro stations and export outlets," said Sheik Talal, an official at the KPC. (Kuwait-Oil-Storm)
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The CEO of Brazil's mining giant Vale, the world's leading iron ore producer, will step down possibly due to pressure from the government, local daily O Globo said on Friday.
According to the daily, Roger Agnelli, who has been Vale's CEO since 2001, will be replaced by a Vale employee.
Vale has yet to confirm Agnelli's departure. Earlier on Friday, Agnelli released a statement, saying he did not know any changes in the company's top level. (Brazil-Mining Giant-CEO)
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The World Trade Organization said on Friday that the U.S. anti-dumping duties on imports of Brazilian orange juice violated international trade rules.
In its final report, the WTO ruled that the U.S. anti-dumping proceedings related to the orange juice are inconsistent with article of the Anti-Dumping Agreement.
"In light of its findings, the Panel recommended that the United States take the necessary measures to bring its measure into conformity with its obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement," the WTO said.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of orange juice, selling mainly to the United States and the European Union. (Brazil-U.S.-Orange Juice)