DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “News analysis: S. Korean movie ignites public outrage over past sex crimes against disabled” plus 9 more

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A local box office hit based on a true story has brought a long-forgotten incident to the fore in South Korea, even forcing the government to introduce new bills in a bid to soothe growing public anger over the past case.

The movie, called "Dogani" or "The Crucible" in English, is adopted from a bestselling novel written by Kong Ji-young, one of the most respected female writers in the country. The book revisits serial rapes of disabled students by several faculty members in a special education institution for the hearing- impaired in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul. The crimes went on for five years, starting in 2000.

After the case was disclosed to the public in 2005, the offenders were brought to justice. However, the movie has ignited a public outcry over punishments considered too light for their horrendous crimes, and calls for a reinvestigation.

Six school officials, including the school's headmaster surnamed Kim, were indicted, but only two of them received jail terms of less than a year. Of the remaining four, two were sentenced to probation while the other two went unpunished.

The school still is operating, and one of the suspects has been reinstated at the school.

The case seemed to have been buried in the past until last week, but public outrage that has emerged after the opening of the film is so great that it has prompted a slew of reactions from police, lawmakers, and the government.

The movie has attracted nearly 1.6 million viewers within 8 days of its release. And over 50,000 netizens have signed a Web petition demanding further investigation.

In response, police reopened the case this week after launching a special investigation team. The special team has been tasked with looking into further sexual crimes committed by school officials, the school's structural problems, and the local government's inadequate handling of the case.

The ruling Grand National Party chief Hong Joon-pyo called on his party officials to draw up measures to prevent sex offenders from getting away with their crimes.

Amid escalating concerns about the human rights of disabled people, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will conduct a crackdown on 119 unregistered or private-run welfare facilities for the disabled nationwide next month.

Meanwhile, the Education Office of Gwangju issued a statement, apologizing for its mishandling of the case. It later said it is considering shutting down the scandal-ridden school.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military on Friday called on leftist New People's Army (NPA) rebels to release four jail officers they had seized in July in exchange for a suspension of military and police operations against them.

The rebels made a call through their political arm, National Democratic Front of the Philippines, on Thursday, as a condition to release four jail officers.

Luis Jalandoni, NDFP chief negotiator with the Philippine government, said the rebels had decided to free the jail guards " for humanitarian reasons in response to the appeals of their families and as a confidence-building measure to enhance the atmosphere of peace negotiations" between the government and the rebels.

Colonel Leopoldo Galon Jr., spokesperson of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command, said the rebels should recognize the existence and authority of the crisis management committee (CMC) led by Kitaotao, Bukidnon mayor Rodito Rafisura and establish contact with the CMC regarding their request for suspension of military and police operations.

"Soldiers under the Eastern Mindanao Command will cooperate and support any action of the CMC," Galon said in a statement.

But the military official clarified the suspension of military and police operations should only take effect on specific locality and that "it should not exceed three days."

The jail officers were seized at a roadblock along Bukidnon- Davao road by hundreds of rebels who rescued their convicted comrade as he was being transferred to a prison in Davao del Norte from Ozamis City, northern Mindanao.

Aside from the jail officers, the rebels are also holding a southern Philippine town mayor, Henry Dano, and his two army bodyguards whom the group snatched on early August.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was formed on March 29, 1969. Latest military estimates placed the NPA's strength at more than 4,000.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Somali government has announced that it recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya as the rightful representative of the people in the north African country, a government statement said Friday.

The Somali government ministers following their ordinary weekly meeting in the Somali capital Mogadishu said after debating the government official stance regarding the Libyan situation, the ministers said they agreed to recognize the NTC.

Fighters of the NTC have forced the authority of Muammar Gaddafi out of Libyan capital of Tripoli following months of battles with loyalists of the north African country's leader.    "Somali government recognizes the National Transitional Council as the rightful representative of the Libyan people," said the government statement.

Somali government has until now been quite about its stance towards what was happening in Libya where forces of the Transitional council were battling with Gaddafi loyalists who are still holding out in the town of Sirte, birthplace of the Libyan leader.

The African Union has also recognized the Transitional council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Somali government, which propped up by nearly 9,000 AU peacekeepers, is fighting deadly Islamist insurgency controls only most of the Somali capital as well as parts of the southern provinces while Islamist rebels run much of the south of the horn of African country.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A security guard Thursday provided the most detailed public account yet of Michael Jackson's death, testifying that Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray tried to hide evidence before calling 911.

On the third day of Murray's trial, Alberto Alvarez, the singer's former security chief, testified that when he entered Jackson's bedroom, he was instructed by the doctor to collect a number of vials as well as a saline bag and stash them in bags.

"While I was at the foot of the bed, he reached over and grabbed a handful of vials and said, 'Here, put these in a bag,'" the bodyguard, who was also the superstar's director of logistics, told the jury at the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Alvarez saw Jackson lying on his back while Murray was performing chest compressions for Jackson. When Murray asked if anyone knew how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Alvarez took over chest compressions so that the doctor could begin mouth-to-mouth breathing.0   "After a few breaths, he (Murray) said, 'This is the first time I do mouth-to-mouth, but I have to, this is my friend,'" Alvarez testified.

In a frenzied state, Murray told Alvarez that they needed to get an ambulance. But then Jackson's two oldest children, Paris and Prince, entered Jackson's bedroom at his rented Holmby Hills home.

Alvarez ushered the children out at Murray's request, then returned to ask what had happened.

"When I came into the room he said, 'Alberto, hurry, we have to take him to the hospital, we have to get him an ambulance,'" Alvarez said.

Kneeling near a nightstand next to the bed, Murray began to collect vials. He told Alvarez to put them in a bag and then put the bag inside another brown bag.

Alvarez recalled there was a bottle with a "milky-white substance" at the bottom of one bag, which appeared to be the Propofol later found by authorities.

Believing that Murray had the best intensions for Jackson and that they were just packing to get ready to take an ambulance, Alvarez did what he was told. After collecting those items, Alvarez called 911, also at Murray's request.

Alvarez and Murray moved Jackson onto the bedroom floor, as instructed by the 911 dispatcher. Alvarez then saw Murray take what appeared to be a heart monitor from the bed and clip it on Jackson's finger.

On cross-examination, Alvarez admitted that he didn't tell authorities about him and Murray collecting the vials in Jackson's bedroom until two months after the singer's death, when he saw a CNN report with footage of detectives carrying bags from the house and discussing Propofol.

Later on Thursday, Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase testified that she was in the kitchen the day Jackson died. Murray, "in a panic," came down the stairs toward the kitchen between 12:05 p.m. and 12:10 p.m.

Murray asked Chase to "get help, get security, get Prince," she recalled, adding the doctor was "very nervous and frantic, and he was shouting."

Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The coroner's office determined that Jackson died of acute Propofol intoxication and classified his death as a homicide.

Prosecutors accused Murray of having given Jackson Propofol, a powerful sedative, and then failing to monitor him, leaving the bedroom for 45 minutes to send emails and make phone calls.

They contended that the cardiologist "repeatedly acted with gross negligence, repeatedly denied care, appropriate care to his patient,Michael Jackson, and that it was Dr. Murray's repeated incompetence and unskilled acts that led to Mr. Jackson's death on June 25, 2009."

Defense attorneys argued Murray was weaning Jackson off the medication, but that the singer "self-administered" a lethal dose.

The trial is expected to last four to five weeks. Murray, who is set free on a bail of 75,000 U.S. dollars, faces up to four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry, tasked with overseeing relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), sad Friday it is set to launch an Internet broadcast service. In a move aimed at raising public awareness of the inter-Korean relations, the ministry plans to offer weekly television and daily radio programs on unification issues on its website at http:// uniradio.inlive.co.kr.

SYDNEY, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Sydney's Exhibition Centre would be reborn as a vast exhibition and entertainment precinct in 2016, Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Government announced on Friday.

The state government on Friday called for expressions of interest from the private sector to build and operate the facilities of the centre after committing to the redevelopment of the Darling Harbor site in December 2010.

The 550 million AU dollars (536.42 million U.S. dollars) complex will stretch over 12 hectares, including exhibition space of about 40,000 square meters and conference spaces with a combined capacity for at least 10,000 delegates.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the new exhibition and entertainment hub would bring Sydney back as a city of world-class events.

"We have one of the most vibrant and beautiful cities in the world, yet Sydney has been slowly losing its appeal as a city that is a premier destination for national and international conventions, entertainment and business events and exhibitions," O 'Farrell said.

"I want Sydney, a global city that is the undisputed gateway to Australia, to reclaim that position with an entertainment precinct that we are proud of and is worthy of the world stage."

NEW DELHI, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- India Friday successfully test fired the nuclear-capable Agni II missile from a defense base in Bhadrak district in Orissa, eastern India, said highly placed sources.

The test fire came after India Monday successfully test fired its home developed nuclear capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II off the Orissa coast.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations Li Baodong said here Thursday that China will further enhance its close cooperation with the United Nations in various areas so as to make contribution to world peace and common prosperity.

Li's remarks came as the Chinese UN Mission held a reception in New York to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the 40th anniversary of the Restoration of the Lawful Seat of the PRC in the United Nations.

Li said that Chinese people has found a development path that fits China's national conditions since 62 years ago, with China's economic strength, comprehensive national strength and people's living standards all reaching a new high.

However, China is still facing up with difficulties and challenges in the process of realizing comprehensive modernization despite remarkable achievements, he said, adding that to unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and concentrate on improving people's lives will remain the basic tasks for the Chinese government for a long time.

Hailing China's restoration of the lawful seat in the United Nations in 1971 "an epoch-making event that opens a new chapter in the relationship between China and the world body," Li said the past four decades have witnessed a history of gradual development of bilateral cooperation from the primary to the profound.

As a permanent member of the Security Council and the biggest developing country in the world, China has always safeguarded the purposes and principles of the UN charter, and actively promoted the leading role of the United Nations in international affairs, Li said.

"China will continue to strengthen cooperation with the United Nations in various areas, making its own contribution to world peace and common prosperity," the ambassador said.

Expressing his congratulations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said China has promoted vision and wisdom for a harmonious and peaceful world.

"In that regard, I highly commend the path China has taken with the strategy of open, independent, cooperative and common development of the world," Ban told reporters at the reception.

He also congratulated the successful launching of Tiangong-1, China's first space lab module, on Thursday.

He expressed the hope that "China will make huge contribution to the United Nations and leave a big footprint for the well-being of humanity."

A photo exhibition entitled "Xinhua Galleries" was also launched at the reception, displaying over 20 historic and current pictures on the China-UN relations.

On Oct. 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority and decided to restore the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations.

Some 600 officials and diplomats attended Thursday's reception, including UN General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang.

WELLINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English on Friday defended the government's economic record after the downgrade by two international rating agencies, saying the government was "following a balanced economic plan that is right for New Zealand".

Standard and Poor's on Friday followed Fitch Ratings in downgrading New Zealand's sovereign foreign currency rating to AA, from AA+. S&P and Fitch also downgraded the local currency rating from AAA to AA+.

However, the third major rating agency Moody's earlier reaffirmed its AAA rating with a stable outlook for New Zealand for the time being.

Credit ratings news reflected global concern about foreign debt in the current world economic environment, English told a press conference.

The government had focused on managing New Zealand through the global financial crisis and was starting to tackle a longstanding reliance on foreign debt, he said.

"New Zealand's private savings have started to increase and as a result we have started to reduce our total external debt. But it still remains high," he said, noting the country had "set a path back to surplus when most countries will still be in deficit and borrowing."

"Compared to other countries, New Zealand has come through the recession reasonably well. We're one of only 19 countries still rated AAA by Moody's and we're now the only highly-rated country with a two notch gap between our ratings with Moody's and Standard and Poor's."

"The ratings news today reinforces the need for the government to continue with its clear and balanced plan to get on top of that debt," English said. "That involves returning to surplus and exporting more to the rest of the world."

New Zealand bank ASB on Friday released an economic note, saying that following the downgrades, the European debt crisis and consequent concerns about the global economy would likely continue to dominate the trends of the New Zealand dollar and interest rates.

"Even at the lower AA rating, New Zealand appears more stable than many other countries receiving downgrades. Nevertheless, the global backdrop is one of nervousness about external liabilities," said the bank.

Leader of the main opposition Labour Party Phil Goff criticized the National Party-led government, saying, "National's policies have failed and those chickens have come home to roost," due to " the government's abysmal performance in terms of boosting savings. "

"This is a crisis of confidence in a government that has no plan and no policy to solve the crucial economic problems New Zealand faces," he said.

The Labour Party claimed it could fix the problem with measures, including introducing a capital gains tax, to cut public debt to zero by 2021 and to reduce tax incentives for property speculation, as well as a monetary reform to reduce the volatility of the exchange rate and ease long term interest rates to assist exports.

HAVANA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro on Thursday lashed out in national media at U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks on the U.S. embargo against the island country.

In his column "Reflections" in Cuba's official daily Granma, Castro ridiculed Obama as a "puppet" in the U.S. political game and described him as "naive" for completely lacking an understanding of the embargo.

The comments were made in response to a statement by Obama in which he said his administration would be willing to consider "a new relationship" with Cuba if Havana showed signs of genuine democratic development.

The U.S. president, Castro said, has failed to understand that "even 50 years of embargo and crimes against our fatherland have not been able to break our people."

"Many things will change in Cuba, but they will change because of our own efforts and in spite of the United States," he said.

Castro also denounced as "cruel, foolish and expected" the decision of a U.S. judge that Cuban citizen Rene Gonzalez, one of five Cubans currently imprisoned in the United States on charges of espionage, should stay in the U.S. state of Florida for three years under supervised freedom after his release next Oct. 7.

Gonzalez, 55, and the four other Cubans were arrested in Florida in September 1998 on charges of being members of a spying network and were sentenced to prison terms from 15 years to life imprisonment.

The Cuban Five, as they are known, are considered heroes in Cuba. According to local authorities, they were only monitoring anti-Castro groups based in Florida to prevent terrorist attacks being launched against Cuba.