DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Russia's Medvedev begins talks with DPRK top leader” plus 9 more

MOSCOW, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday met with Kim Jong Il, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), near Russia's eastern Siberian city of Ulan Ude, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

The meeting was held at a closed military base in the Sosnovy Bor village, some 50 km from Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia republic, it said.

The talks are expected to focus on the earliest possible resumption of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, as well as energy cooperation, including a project to build a gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea via the DPRK.

"High on the talks' agenda are stronger political dialogue, cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies and expansion of humanitarian and inter-regional contacts," a Kremlin source told Itar-Tass.

The Kremlin had said the summit would be the hightlight of Kim's visit, but no specific date, venue nor topic for the talks were mentioned at the time.

Kim arrived in Russia's Far East Saturday on a special train for his third visit to the country.

PYONGYANG, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has visited the Republic of Buryatia in Siberia of the Russian Federation, the official news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday.

According to the KCNA, Kim, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, arrived at Ulan-Ude, capital of Buryatia, Tuesday morning.

He was warmly welcomed by citizens in national costumes. He was offered bread, salt, blue kerchief, milk and bouquet according to the customs of various nationalities in the region.

Kim exchanged greetings and had conversations with Byacheslav Nagovitsin, president of the Republic of Buryatia, and other officials, said the report.

He toured various places of the region including Ulan-Ude and Lake Baikal as well.

Nagovitsin hosted a reception for Kim and a special performance was also staged to welcome him Tuesday, the report added.

Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chun, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and minister of the People's Armed Forces and other senior DPRK officials.

Kim left Pyongyang for a visit to Russia on Aug. 20 at the invitation of Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev. He visited Russia in August 2002 last time.

CHICAGO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chicago law school Tuesday opened its Chinese Intellectual Property Resource Center, the first of its kind in the United States, aiming at promoting bilateral exchanges in the IP field.

The John Marshall Law School has played a noticeable role in promoting study and understanding of Chinese intellectual property law by sending American students to China and educating Chinese students here.

"The John Marshall Law School and the Chinese intellectual property community, particularly the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), have enjoyed many years of successful cooperation," said Dorothy In-Lan Wang Li, co-director of the Asian Alliances Program at the John Marshall Law School.

"The Resource Center will provide a unique stage for IP dialogue between the U.S. and China in the years to come," he added.

Sharon Barner, former deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office who has extensive experience in dealing with China's IP regulations, told Xinhua, "The establishment of the Resource Center is critical."

"It bridges the cultural and geographic gap between China and the U.S. Companies and students should all take advantage of the resources," Barner added.

A delegation of six people headed by Gan Shaoning, Deputy Commissioner of SIPO, attended the opening celebration.

"Over the past 17 years, we have sent a total of 170 students to the John Marshall Law School for extended period of studies. Ninety of them have obtained their law degrees," Gan told Xinhua.

"This center will provide a platform for American students and IP practitioners to learn more about Chinese intellectual property law. It'll help enhancing the mutual understanding and communication between the two countries," he said.

Professor Wen Xikai, a member of the Chinese delegation, gave a lecture on the implications of the third amendment to China's Patent Law that became effective on Oct. 1, 2009.

She also briefed the audience of nearly 100 students, faculty and IP attorneys from Chicago, providing them with the background of the three amendments implemented respectively in 1992, 2000 and 2008.

"I'm quite excited about the resources at the Center," said Jianchen Lu, a junior student at John Marshall Law School. "I'm looking forward to do research at the Center and be able to find materials both in English and Chinese in one place."

The John Marshall Law School started working with China's law schools and government agencies in 1994.

Today it not only accepts 10 Chinese students each year from SIPO for long-term studies, but receives many short-term students and scholars from China.

Over the past four years, the Law School has been running a "summer program." Twenty or so American students have the opportunity to study in China for a month. This year's program focused on the growing role of China in intellectual property law.

The John Marshall Law School, located in downtown Chicago and founded in 1899, is a private school with nearly 1,500 students.

DUSHANBE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Yongkang, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held talks Tuesday with Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov on bilateral economic cooperation.

Noting the two countries' economies are highly complementary and share a broad prospect, Zhou said China has become Tajikistan's most important trade partner and investor as their bilateral trade has increased by 14 times during the past five years.

Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and also secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, made four proposals to expand bilateral economic cooperation.

First, the two sides should put the role of their intergovernmental committee on economy and trade into full play in carrying out close coordination between two countries' governments, enterprises and financial institutions, Zhou said.

Secondly, the two sides should improve their legal system to create better investment environment and more favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation, he said.

Thirdly, the two sides should promote cooperation in agriculture through making medium and long term plans on cooperation, accelerating cooperation in farming, livestock husbandry, fishing industry, processing of agricultural products, agricultural technology and personnel training, Zhou said.

Last, Zhou underlined that China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region should play a more important role in China-Tajikistan pragmatic cooperation through carrying out more detailed cooperative programs.

Akilov agreed with Zhou, saying the Tajikistan-China economic cooperation holds great potential.

Tajikistan is willing to work together with China to implement the consensus reached during Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to Xinjiang last year to enhance the good-neighborly friendship with China and achieve common prosperity.

Zhou was in Tajikistan for a three-day visit from Sunday to Tuesday. Tajikistan is the fourth leg of his five-nation Asian tour after Nepal, Laos and Cambodia. He will also visit Mongolia.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday said Cambodia has already prepared itself to cooperate with Thailand on troop withdrawals from the newly defined demilitarized zone surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

"Royal Cambodian Armed Forces will cooperate closely with Royal Thai Army to end the two countries'historic track of nightmare period and is looking forward to building a new era of peace, cooperation, fraternity, and friendship between the two neighbors for the interests of both sides'peoples," said a statement from the Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

The statement was issued after Thai Defense Minister Gen. Yutthasak Sasiprapa said that the Indonesian observers' roles in the provisional demilitarized zone (PDZ) were mentioned in the International Court of Justice's ruling and they are necessary to monitor a ceasefire.

"The observers are crucial because someone has to be there to witness the developments of the demilitarization and those observers will be good witnesses," the Bangkok Post online newspaper quoted Gen. Yutthasak as saying on Monday.

"The spokesman for Cambodian Ministry of Defense welcomes and highly appreciates Gen. Yutthasak Sasiprapa's remarks," said the statement.

The ICJ on July 18 ordered Cambodia and Thailand to immediately withdraw their military personnel currently present in the PDZ around the area of Preah Vihear temple and also ordered both parties to continue cooperating within ASEAN and allow appointed observers access to the PDZ.

The PDZ covers the area of about 17 kilometers.

Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflict over territorial dispute near the Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulting in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.

However, the border tension between the two countries has been eased since the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Pheu Thai Party won a landslide victory in the July 3's general elections.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Social networking giant Facebook plans to make about 20 acquisitions in 2011, up from 10 in the previous years and one in 2009, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.

"Two years ago we didn't have a track record in acquisitions," Vaughan Smith, Facebook's director of corporate development, told Bloomberg.

"While we expected them to work well, it was still a crapshoot how they'd turn out. We've built a culture that supports entrepreneurs, and it's working incredibly well," Smith noted.

Facebook has made 13 purchases so far this year, meaning there are still seven deals to go in the remaining four months.

The world's largest social network is focusing on acquisitions that will improve site design, keep its service reliable and advance mobile features to fight Google and Twitter.

Compared with Google, which has about 39 billion U.S. dollars in cash, Facebook is likely to generate more than 2 billion dollars in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2011, Bloomberg quoted "a person with knowledge of the matter" as saying.

In addition, Facebook has raised more than 2 billion dollars from investors.

According to the Bloomberg report, Facebook has made mostly small acquisitions, with target companies sometimes having one or two employees. And many of its deals have been aimed at adding talent as the company competes with larger rivals for skilled technology workers.