DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Libyan embassy to Pakistan changes flag” plus 9 more

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25 -- Libyan embassy in Islamabad Thursday removed the old state green flag and hoisted the flag of the rebels who have occupied most parts of Tripoli, Libyan ambassador to Pakistan said.

The ambassador told Pakistani Geo television that the decision to change the flag was taken with consultation of all embassy staff members.

Pakistan has not yet shown any reaction to the developments in Libya.

The rebels' flag was raised at a ceremony at the diplomatic mission compound. Local journalists were invited to witness the occasion.

The Libyan ambassador said that the UN and many countries have supported change in Libya.

The embassy also removed photographs of Colonel Gaddafi and other symbols of the Gaddafi government defaced in support of the Transitional National Council (TNC).

The flag flying over the embassy was switched to the red, black and green banner from independence in 1951. (Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 25 -- An international industrial machinery, and garment and textile expo 2011 kicked off here on Thursday as the country's garment and textile industry has seen a strong growth in the first half of this year.

The four-day expo has brought together some 150 exhibitors with 250 booths, mostly garment and textile machinery companies, from China, China's Taiwan and Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Vietnam, said Tiger Lin, general director of Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service of Hong Kong, which co-organized the event with the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia.

He added that international leading brands of industrial machinery products around the globe are also on display in the event.

"It's the largest and first-ever international industrial event in Cambodia," he said during the expo.

The exhibitors will be displaying a wide variety of state-of- art industrial machinery, related equipments, accessories and parts at the expo. "Most of the machinery is for garment and textile industry."

Cambodian industrial base mainly relied on garment, accounted for about 75 percent of the country's industrial sector, Mao Thora, secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, said during the expo opening ceremony.

"The expo will pave the way for Cambodia to develop its current and future machinery industries with up-to-date modern technologies," he said.

Garment and textile industry represented more than 90 percent of Cambodia's total exports. During the first six months of this year, the country's garment and textile exports had increased by 45 percent to 1.93 billion U.S. dollars from 1.33 billion U.S. dollars within the same period last year, according to the statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

The sector has 286 garment factories employing about 324,476 workers and 36 foot-wears factories with 56,643 workers. (Xinhua)

WELLINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- World Croquet Federation president and New Zealander Charles Jones has been killed in an attack at a tourist resort in Thailand, Radio New Zealand reported Thursday.

Jones was believed to have been attacked Tuesday in a rented apartment while on holiday in the Jomtien area in the city of Pattaya, said the report.

Interpol was involved in the investigation into his death, which occurred during a stopover while he was returning to New Zealand from an international championship in London, it said.

Brother-in-law Robert McMillan told Radio New Zealand that details of the incident were not confirmed, but there was a robbery in which Jones' computer and cellphone were stolen.

He said he expected to receive a report from the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok.

He told Radio New Zealand he was sure Jones had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Croquet New Zealand executive director Murray Taylor was quoted as saying the news had prompted "a large outpouring of grief" among the sport's members.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 51 percent of the HIV/AIDS- infected households in Cambodia are living in hunger, said a new UN survey released here on Thursday, calling for more attention to the need for HIV-sensitive social protection mechanisms.

The survey on the Socioeconomic Impact of HIV at the Household Level in Cambodia is the largest and most comprehensive study ever conducted in Cambodia. It was produced by the National AIDS Authority and the United Nations in Cambodia.

It had been conducted on 4,172 households including 2,623 HIV- affected households and 1,549 non-affected households.

The study found that 51 percent of HIV-affected households reportedly suffered from hunger and not having enough food to eat, compared to 35 percent of non-affected households.

It said that stigma and discrimination happened more often on HIV-positive women than men. Some 23 percent of women reported experiencing verbal abuse as a result of their HIV status, compared with 16 percent of men, while seven percent reported experiencing physical threats or abuse as a result of their status, compared with four percent of men.

The report also found that 65 percent of people living with HIV epidemic being low self-esteem, 49 percent feeling ashamed of their status, while 47 percent felt they should be punished, and 16 percent reported having suicidal thoughts.

On the economic side, 27 percent of respondents said they lost their jobs or other source of income since being diagnosed with HIV, and it also decreased income for caregivers. Over 25 percent of the HIV-infected people have caregivers, and 18 percent of caregivers reportedly left their jobs.

It added that 65 percent of HIV-affected households had a least one loan.

In addition, the report predicted the national HIV epidemic would be responsible for an overall decline in GDP of 16.5 percent between 1993 and 2020. However, the report estimated high coverage of anti-retroviral therapy, up to 96.7 percent, successfully averted 21,497 labor force deaths between 2003 and 2009 and reduced GDP loses by 100 million U.S. dollars a year.

Currently, an estimated 75,000 Cambodian people in 60,000 households are living with HIV/AIDS, said the report.

"The report will be an important base for us to find ways to improve the livelihoods for the HIV-affected households," said Tia Phalla, vice chairman of the National AIDS Authority.

PYONGYANG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, held talks on Wednesday and agreed to resume the Six-Party talks unconditionally at an early date and implement the Sept. 19 joint statement on the principle of simultaneous action, the official news agency KCNA reported on Thursday.

According to the KCNA, the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission met with Medvedev in Ulan-Ude, the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia in Russia on Wednesday. They exchanged views on the development of relations between the two countries and reached an agreement on all the topics discussed in the talks, said the report.

The two sides mentioned further development of cooperation on natural resources including natural gas and the link of railways as well. They agreed to establish workgroups to continue the cooperation on these issues, the report added.

It is reported that the two leaders were satisfied with the fruit of the talks. Kim invited Medvedev to visit the DPRK when he is convenient and the latter expressed his appreciation and accepted the invitation.

Kim ended his visit to Russia on Wednesday.

Kim Jong Il, who left Pyongyang to pay a visit to Russia on Aug. 20 at the invitation of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, had visited Russia for two times respectively in July, 2001 and Aug., 2002.

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Libyan rebel troops are continuing their chase for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi after they captured his stronghold in Tripoli Tuesday, while more and more outside forces are cheering them on.

Libya's rebel troops Wednesday took control of the Mazraq al-Shams army base in Libya's port city of Zuara, some 60 km from the Tunisian border, the Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV reported.

In the capital of Tripoli, sporadic clashes were reported between Gaddafi's forces and rebel troops fighting to consolidate their grip on the capital.

A military spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said Wednesday that Gaddafi has lost control of 95 percent of Libya, spelling an end to his rule.

Libyan rebels Tuesday captured the Bab al-Azizya compound, Gaddafi's last stronghold in Tripoli after heavy fighting. However, the whereabouts of the embattled Libyan leader are still unknown.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the NTC, said Wednesday that Libyan rebels put a bounty of about 1.67 million U.S. dollars on Gaddafi's head, dead or alive.

Meanwhile, the rebel leader said that those who kill or catch Gaddafi will be pardoned for past crimes. He denied negotiations with Gaddafi forces in Sirte.

Jalil noted some rebel fighters from eastern Libya had already penetrated into Gaddafi's hometown.

NTC military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said at a press conference earlier that Gaddafi might have hidden in the desert areas between Sirte and Sabah.

"We will track him down and catch him as soon as he appears," Bani said.

Early on Wednesday, Gaddafi said his withdrawal from Bab al-Azizya was a tactical move, local al-Orouba TV reported.

The defiant Libyan leader said the compound had been leveled to the ground by as many as 64 NATO airstrikes, al-Orouba said, adding Gaddafi vowed death or victory in his fight against the "aggression."

Ethiopia and Nigeria, the two most populous African countries, announced Wednesday that they have recognized the NTC as Libya's legitimate government as it is controlling most of Libya, including Tripoli.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and his Nigerian counterpart Oubeng Ashiru told journalists in Ethiopia that the two countries have decided to jointly recognize the NTC as the interim legitimate authority in Libya.

In the joint press statement, they also called on all peace-loving countries in general and those of Africa and the African Union (AU) in particular to contribute to peace and stability in Libya by recognizing the authority and legitimacy of the NTC.

Hailemariam said the two countries would try to provide the necessary support, including the political support requested by the NTC, for a smooth transition in Libya.

The Arab League (AL) said Wednesday it wanted to help war-torn Libya rebuild its health sector.

The efforts will be exerted within the frame of the Arab Council of Health Ministers, aiming to better the humanitarian situation in Libya, according to Egypt's official news agency MENA.

The AL has been supporting the Libyan people since the unrest started. It has sent a large convoy and a delegation accompanied by a fully equipped ambulance offered by the Arab Council of Health Ministers, said Laila Negm, director of the AL Department of Health Affairs and Humanitarian Aid.

Besides, the league has assigned the medical center in Benghazi to conduct a study evaluating the health and social conditions via a technical committee in five areas: Benghazi, Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Ajdabiya, Misrata, and Jabal Nafusa, the minister said.

The Damascus-based Islamic Hamas movement Wednesday congratulated the Libyan people on the success of the popular uprising, saying it hopes the Palestinian question would remain among the top priorities of the Libyan people.

Hamas expressed the hope that the Libyans could establish a modern society, where democracy, freedom, and independent national decisions could prevail without foreign intervention.

At the request of the United States, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon to discuss whether to unfreeze 1.5 billion dollars in Libyan assets.

The United States has called a meeting to introduce a resolution that would unfreeze roughly 1.5 billion dollars of Libyan assets to meet urgent humanitarian needs, although it faces opposition from countries like South Africa, a non-permanent member of the council.

NTC head Jalil said Wednesday at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the Elysee Palace that the contact group will meet on Sept. 1, stressing the importance of the meeting and the urgent need of Libya's transition authority for more security and funds.

Jalil said that this aid included the release of Libyan assets that had been frozen as sanctions against Gaddafi's regime.

French foreign ministry sources said that France is working with its partners at the United Nations to unfreeze Libyan assets.