DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Cambodian Protests Thai Air Violation” plus 9 more

BRUSSELS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission lodged a protest on Thursday against Russia, urging Moscow to lift a ban on all vegetable imports from the European Union (EU).
"The European Commission protested to the Russian Federation this afternoon against the Russian ban imposed earlier today on all EU vegetable exports to Russia, and requested the immediate withdrawal of the measure," the EU's executive arm said in a statement.
Russia extended a ban on German and Spanish fresh vegetables to cover the whole EU on Thursday due to a deadly outbreak of the E.coli bacteria, accusing Brussels of giving insufficient information on the situation despite repeated requests.
The commission said it had kept all of its trading partners, including Russia, fully informed about all developments on the outbreak in a transparent manner.
Officials working for EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli have sent a letter to the Russia authorities to express concerns about Moscow's decision, according to the commission.
The E.coli outbreak has killed 18 and sickened more than 1,600 people across the EU, mostly in Germany.

LONDON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed in an explosion at a Chevron oil refinery in southwestern Britain on Thursday, local media reported.
The incident occurred at around 1820 BST (1720 GMT) in Pembroke in Wales, eyewitnesses said, hearing a massive blast followed by a plume of thick black smoke at the refinery.
The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent 10 engines to the scene and brought the incident under control within an hour and a half.
"Emergency services were called and responded immediately and remain on the scene. The fire has been extinguished," Chevron said in a press statement.
The Chevron oil refinery can refine 220,000 barrels of crude oil a day into petrol and other products.

SANAA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni government said on Thursday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh is ready to sign a Gulf-brokered deal that proposed him to resign within a month.
"President Saleh is now ready to ink the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) deal, which he had refused to sign because the opposition rejected to attend the signing ceremony in the presidential palace," official Saba news agency quoted an unnamed government official as saying.
The deal, which stipulated that Saleh should leave office within a month after he signs it in return of immunity from prosecution, was suspended by the GCC leaders on May 22 after Saleh refused to sign it for the third time.
A day after Saleh announced his refusal, pitched street battles erupted in downtown Sanaa between government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar.

DAMASCUS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued an amnesty trying to appease unrest in the country while the opposition dismissed the pardon, demanding an immediate end to the current regime.
Al-Assad declared Tuesday an amnesty which frees prisoners convicted of crimes committed before May 31, including those affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other political parties.
Khaled Aboud, a political analyst, told Xinhua "this moment has contributed to creating a positive climate to embark on a comprehensive national dialogue with all spectra of the Syrian people."
"Some names in the Syrian opposition had committed crimes that breached the law," he said, in reference to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, whose members are subject to a death penalty.
In 1982, the banned Muslim Brotherhood staged a bloody rebellion in the northern Syrian city of Hama, and Syrian forces responded harshly to it.
Ali Sadr el-Din Bayanouni, the group's head, has joined defected former Syrian vice president Abdul-Halim Khaddam, who fled the country in 2006, calling for oustering al-Assad.
Meanwhile, al-Assad issued Wednesday a presidential decree to form a body to prepare for the national dialogue, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.
The dialogue would "create the suitable climate for all national parties to express their opinions and put forward suggestions and ideas over the future of the social, economic and political life in Syria," Assad was quoted by SANA as saying.
Assad stressed that this dialogue has become "possible and capable to ensure better results following a number of decisions and decrees that would boost national unity ... and increase the citizens' living conditions."
Taleb Ibrahim, a political analyst, said the Syrians have been waiting for this dialogue for a long time, adding that the pardon would be conducive to producing positive climates for the dialogue.
Mohammad Habash, a Syrian parliamentarian, said that closing the Muslim Brotherhood file and releasing political detainees is a prelude to launching a dialogue in Syria.
Mohammad Mandouseh, an opposition figure, told Xinhua that " this amnesty is more comprehensive than its predecessors," adding "it would send messages to the political oppositions in Syria to engage in a national dialogue to overcome the recent crisis in the country."
The amnesty issued two days ago is the second within two months. Last month, Assad issued an amnesty for minor crimes including theft, forgery and military desertion.
Assad has declared amnesties involving hundreds of prisoners since he took office in 2000. However, Monday's pardon has come as part of the process of reforms he has taken to meet basic demands of protesters. More than 500 prisoners were released Wednesday.
"The amnesty, however, didn't include all political detainees and also those who were taken into custody during the recent incidents," Mandouseh said.
Hasan Abdul Azeem, a political dissident, told Xinhua in an interview that the amnesty should include all the political detainees without any exception and must be accompanied with a decision to stop shooting peaceful protesters and pull army units out of the cities.
The general amnesty granted by the Syrian president was too late and not enough for the opposition, the Syrian opposition said at a meeting in south Turkey on Wednesday.
"This step is not enough for us. We demanded this amnesty several years ago. But now it's too late," Abdel Razak Eid, head of Damascus Declaration, told Xinhua during the "Change in Syria Conference" held in the Mediterranean city of Antalya.
Syria has been engulfed with a wave of protests since March 15 calling for reforms and more freedom in the country.
Al-Assad had initially responded to the country's unprecedented anti-government protests by offering some concessions, including lifting the state of emergency in place since 1963, releasing hundreds of political detainees and reshuffling the government.

KHARTOUM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday announced that a new constitution for Sudan would be formulated after official separation of south Sudan on July 9, and that the new constitution would be presented for a popular referendum to approve.
"We will work to formulate a new constitution for Sudan and we are working to involve all the Sudanese political forces in formulating it. The document of the constitution will be presented for a popular referendum to approve," said al-Bashir when addressing a meeting of the Shura (consultation) Council of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) here Thursday.
He expressed the NCP's willingness to expand the base of participation in the government and involve all the Sudanese political parties, saying that "we will work to form a broad-based government. We maintain dialogue with all the political forces."
"We are ready to avail the opportunity for participation to all the political parties and organizations which are willing to participate. We will not exclude any party," he added.
Al-Bashir's announcement of formulation of a new constitution came contrary to the NCP previous position when the party insisted to amend the current constitution, which was rejected by the opposition.
Viewpoints of the opposition parties varied regarding the dialogue with the Sudanese government to participate in the broad- based government which was called for by the Sudanese president.
The Sudanese political parties and organizations authority has earlier demanded the government to restructure the constitutional revision commission and involve all the political forces in the task of formulating a new constitution for the country.
The NCP earlier said the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would not run again in presidential elections, within a package of reforms to institute for democracy in the country.
According to the current constitution, the coming presidential elections are scheduled to be conducted in four years.
Al-Bashir, 67, who assumed power in Sudan in 1989, has achieved a sweeping victory in the recent general elections, held in 2010, which was boycotted by many opposition parties.

ANKARA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police seized 116 kg of hashish in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The Turkish police staged three separate operations on houses and business places in the center of Gaziantep city, confiscating 116 kg of hashish, the report said, adding seven people were detained during the operations.
Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off, the Turkish security forces stopped and searched an Iranian registered passenger bus in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, seizing 20.7 kg of hashish, said the report.
During the operation, six Iranian citizens including a woman were detained for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking, it added.
Turkey is a key transit route for smuggling drugs from Asia and the Middle East to markets in western Europe.

KHARTOUM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Thursday said his government would not open any new front for dialogue on the Darfur crisis after the endorsement of a peace draft document through the Doha forum.
"The Darfur peace draft document signed in Doha will be the last document to be negotiated on because it came as a fruit of a prolonged negotiations that lasted for about two years and half," al-Bashir said when addressing a meeting of the Shura ( consultation) Council of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
"He who wants to sign the document is welcome and he who rejects to sign, the events will surpass him. We will not open any new dialogue with any party. Nobody, whoever it was, is to dream to carry arms to force the government to negotiate with," he added.
On Tuesday, the Expanded Darfur Stakeholders' Conference concluded its sessions in the Qatari capital of Qatar and endorsed the Doha draft document as the basis for reaching a durable ceasefire and comprehensive peaceful settlement that includes all parties and for reinstating sustainable and lasting peace and stability in Darfur.
The conference called upon the government of Sudan and the armed movements to make every effort to reach a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive peace settlement on the basis of this document.
The Darfur peace draft document detailed seven axis including compensation and return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Refugees, power sharing and administrative status of Darfur, wealth sharing, human rights and fundamental freedoms, justice and reconciliation, permanent ceasefire and final security arrangements, mechanism for internal dialogue and consultation and implementation modalities.
The conference endorsed the formation of a Darfur implementation follow-up committee (IFC) chaired by the State of Qatar to include other international partners. The IFC will work with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to assist the parties in reaching and implementing an inclusive and comprehensive agreement.
The conference was convened with the participation of 400 persons representing the civil society, IDPs and refugees in Darfur in addition to the joint special representative for the United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Ibrahim Gambari and representatives of the Arab League, the AU and the Islamic Organization Conference (OIC).

KIGALI, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Up to 54 police officers have been sacked in Rwanda over allegation of corruption, an official release revealed on Thursday.
Rwanda's police spokesperson Theos Badege has confirmed the information in a exclusive phone interview with Xinhua.
Rwanda's cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame decided to dismiss 54 police officers mostly at the rank of sergeant, after found guilty of corruption and bribery, according to the release.
Despite the development, a recent overview of corruption in Rwanda released by Transparency International indicated that Rwanda performed relatively well in terms of control of corruption, compared with many other African countries.
According to Transparency International, Rwanda ranked 102nd out of 180 countries around the globe.

UNITED NATIONS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Joseph Deiss said on Thursday that the world "can no longer afford to wait to act" in the face of environmental challenges today, which have become exacerbated by increases in the global population, urbanization and industrialization.
"Environmental degradation and climate change cannot be reversed overnight," Deiss said here at an informal thematic debate of the General Assembly on "Green Economy -- a pathway to sustainable development."
He warned that the "longer we wait, the harder and more costly" it will be to tackle environmental challenges.
Recent spike in oil prices and the re-evaluation of risks of nuclear power following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan show the vulnerability of energy supplies and the urgent need to develop clean energies and improve energy efficiency, he said.
"Our development must be equitable and sustainable," he said. " It must meet the needs of every generation today without jeopardizing that opportunity for the generations to come. The fundamental question is whether all of us on this planet will be capable of acting wisely and adopting behavior that will avert a catastrophe."
Current activities must be made greener, Deiss said, adding that it is critical to develop clean technologies, green goods and services.
"To promote the green economy, firm commitment and resolute action by the international community are needed at all levels of government -- local, national, regional and global," he stressed.
Thursday's thematic debate will underscore the linkages between green economy, economic development, poverty eradication and environmental protection, and is a run-up for preparations to the Fourth United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or " Rio+20," which is to be held in Brazil in June 2012.