DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Premier calls for sustainable use of land, resources” plus 9 more

DUSHANBE, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) started their summit talks Saturday in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, on the occasion of the group's 20th anniversary.

Participants are expected to review the CIS' past 20 years and draw a blueprint for its future development.

According to the CIS Executive Committee, 11 draft documents will be discussed during the meeting.

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Equal consultation, mutually beneficial co-op key for CIS development: expert

ALMATY, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is an important carrier to rebuild mutual relations among ex-Soviet Union countries, a Kazakh expert said.

In an interview with Xinhua on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the founding of CIS, Valikhan Utebalyuly Tuleshov, acting director of the Institute for World Economy and Politics said the future development of CIS hinges on equal consultation and mutually beneficial cooperation. Full story

CIS inevitable choice for ex-Soviet states: Russian expert

MOSCOW, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has yielded generally modest results 20 years after its creation, with the most important being the fact that it still exists, says a Russian political expert.

Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the CIS Institute in Moscow, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that he believes that the CIS' existence is full proof of its vitality and that the structure will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.

DUSHANBE, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready to further promote cooperation with Afghanistan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said here Friday.

"We are ready to promote our cooperation with Afghanistan in the economic sphere, and in maintaining our political, security and humanitarian affairs dialogues," Medvedev said in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

The situation in the region should eventually "depend on regional powers," he added.

"And I think that this is the policy we ought to pursue. This is the main area of our cooperation," Medvedev said.

Karzai, for his part, said Afghanistan is happy with development of relations with Russia. "This is the normal path for us to follow," he said.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will hold a summit here on Saturday as part of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of its foundation.

SOFIA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said here on Friday that Brazil was not in a rush to recognize the rebel National Transition Council (NTC) as the sole authority of the Libyan people.

"We don't feel that it is necessary at that stage," Patriota said while answering a question at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Nickolay Mladenov.

Patriota said Brazil believes that at the forthcoming United Nations (UN) General Assembly the decision would be made on who is the legitimate representative of Libya.

"At that point this will decide for the international community whether one or another group has full control over the territory and is seen as a legitimate representative," Patriota said.

He added that Brazilian has sent representatives to the Paris conference on Libya's future Thursday while Brazilian ambassador in Cairo has been in touch with NTC representatives in Benghazi.

When asked to comment on the results of the Paris conference, Patriota said the international community should insist on immediate ceasefire with international monitoring.

For his part, Mladenov, whose country has already recognized NTC as the legitimate authority of Libya, said "henceforth we should seek maximum agreement to support the establishment of new institutions of Libya, working with the NTC as a transitional authority in Libya."

It was also agreed during Patriota's one-day visit to Bulgaria that Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant, would visit the country later this year to expand bilateral relations.

TEHRAN, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian army officer on Friday warned enemies against any aggression on Iranian borders, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Commander of the Iranian Khatam-ul-Anbia Air Defense Headquarters, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said that if the enemies think of any aggression on the country, Iran will confront them strongly, said the report.

Esmaili called on Iranian forces to remain vigilant and alert.

Managing Director of West Europe Division of Iran's Foreign Ministry, Hassan Tajik, Thursday described French President Nicolas Sarkozy's remarks on Iran's nuclear program as "unreal claims" and "should be avoided," the state IRIB TV reported.

According to the reports, Sarkozy said Wednesday that Iran's ambitions to build long-range ballistic missiles and its "military nuclear program" may provoke some countries to launch a preventive attack against Iran's military and nuclear sites. Sarkozy said that Iran should consider "to negotiate seriously" with the international community over its controversial nuclear program.

"Any remarks which are based on unreal data can lead to an instability of the region," Hassan Tajik was quoted as saying.

"Making such remarks (like those of Sarkozy) should be avoided, " and the realities should be considered, the Iranian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying.

"As it has been announced before, Iran's nuclear activities are completely peaceful and the reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are the proof for this," Tajik added.

Israel and the United States have refused to rule out the possibilities of adopting military action against Iran's nuclear sites.

The West suspects that Iran's uranium enrichment may be meant for producing nuclear weapons, which has been denied by Iran, insisting that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purpose.

TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday picked a cabinet lacking in heavyweight political clout, a move seen as the new leader gambling on fresh faces to drive the nation out of its economic and social doldrums, rather than relying on the "old guard" to find new solutions.

Noda's cabinet lineup has been met with a lukewarm response from both political and public circles as the new 18-member crew is lacking in big names, but Noda himself and his new No. 2, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, have vowed that the team will take a no-nonsense approach to push politics forward and will endeavor to keep noses to the grindstone.

BEYOND RHETORIC

But rhetoric aside, some political pundits are asking whether Noda, Japan's sixth prime minister in five years, in an attempt to smooth over the cracks of an increasingly divided ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has dispensed with expertise in favor of intraparty politics.

"Noda has, as was the case with appointments to DPJ party posts, seemingly picked a hodgepodge of lawmaker from a variety of factions within the ruling party in an effort to keep anti and-pro (Ichiro) Ozawa factions happy," independent political analyst Teruhisa Muramatsu told Xinhua.

"But time may show this unremarkable lineup lacks the experience and overall gravity that Noda needs right now, as he must get the public's backing and this can only happen if his government makes tangible headway in combating the economic slump and mounting social welfare issues left by the previous administrations of (Yukio) Hatoyama and (Naoto) Kan," Muramatsu said.

UP TO THE JOB?

Undoubtedly, the toughest cabinet portfolio, as Noda himself will know, is that of finance minister.

Yet Noda, known as a fiscal conservative who hawkishly oversaw Japan's finances in his former position as head of the Ministry of Finance, tapped 49-year-old Jun Azumi, former parliamentary affairs chief, for the position after first-choice former DPJ secretary general Katsuya Okada declined the offer.

Azumi, who came to the fore as being the impetus behind the DPJ 's upper house election campaign in 2010, lost a degree of respect and credibility in DPJ and broader political circles, as the ruling party suffered an embarrassing defeat, relinquishing power over the house to the opposition bloc.

Since then, the DPJ has struggled to live up to its campaign policies and smoothly pass key legislation and accompanying bills necessary to enact them through the opposition-controlled upper house, creating a political impasse that former prime minister Kan failed to overcome.

Some doubt whether Azumi, Japan's ninth finance minister since 2006, will be up to the job, as his fiscal views remains unclear being that his previous role was also that of vice defense minister.

"Jun Azumi wasn't even first pick for finance minister and out of all the appointments probably has the toughest job. His first task straight off the bat will be to drafting a third extra budget to finance reconstruction in areas ravaged by the March disasters, " said Muramatsu.

"This along with balancing reconstruction needs with reining in Japan's ballooning debt and rising welfare costs as the population shrinks and ages. This will be a baptism of fire for the young Azumi," Muramatsu said.

HOME AND AWAY

It is indisputable that Noda has his work cut out for him, as the opposition bloc have already called for the lower house to be dissolved and a general election called -- and this on the day Noda officially succeeded Kan as the nation's leader.

And while Noda may have endeared himself on a personal level to the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), with leader Sadakazu Tanigaki staing that the new prime minister is "a man who thinks first before acting," Noda's appointments today will largely determine his own length in office and indeed the reign of the DPJ at the nation's helm.

"Perhaps Noda will oversee fiscal policy as his experience in such matters will render Azumi's notions mute," pacific affairs commentator Laurent Sinclair told Xinhua.

"But that's a policy strategy. The appointments of Kenji Yamaoka, former DPJ Diet affairs chief as chairman of the National Public Safety Commission and Yasuo Ichikawa, chief of the House of Councillors policy board of the DPJ caucus as defense minister, is a clear indication that Noda has put DPJ ties ahead of all else," Sinclair said.

Keeping on Michihiko Kano as agriculture minister, despite pro- Ozawa Kano running against him in the party presidential election, is a move which speaks for itself," added Sinclair.

Sinclair was initially referring to Noda's appointments of pro- Ozawa lawmakers to key positions, seemingly regardless of experience, to appease the notorious power broker, who commented Friday that the cabinet lineup was "good" and paid attention to " everyone."

While the new cabinet will have to be quick out of the blocks to deal with a myriad of domestic issues, Noda and his team will have to be mindful of a rapidly changing Asia pacific region and some inherent issues left unresolved from previous administrations.

Noda is lacking in foreign policy experience and has already rattled the cages of some of his Asian neighbors by stating that Japan's WWII leaders were not war criminals.

Both China and South Korea blasted the remarks as inappropriate and called for correct policy regarding how Japan treats its war past.

Japan has ongoing territorial disputes with both South Korea and China, with relations with China darkening last year over the collision of a Chinese fishing boat with two Japanese Coast Guard vessels near disputed islands.

With neighbors wary of a prime minister inexperienced in matters of foreign policy, the spotlight on his cabinet now shines even brighter with Friday's tapping of Koichiro Gemba, as Japan's new foreign minister.

Gemba, who previously doubled as national strategy minister and the DPJ's policy chief, has said the Japan-U.S. alliance and that of the United Nations must be at the core of Japan's foreign policy.

However, the sixth-term lower house lawmaker has also said that as long as the Japan-U.S. security alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's overseas diplomacy, forging deeper ties with rapidly growing, emerging economies through better diplomacy and enhancing bilateral trade, are also of paramount importance to Japan.

Indeed Gemba, a House of Representatives member since 1993, is an advocate of free trade and while looking to boost ties with the U.S., starting with Noda meeting U.S. President Barack Obama in New York later this month, ties with Japan's closest neighbors will need some serious attention as Gemba has admitted.

BOTTOM-FEEDERS

If hard work can make up for inexperience, then perhaps this cabinet has an outside chance of survival, although the consensus opinion among leading political analysts is that under this office not much is expected to change.

"They will work like loaches mired in mud and sweating to get the job done," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura Friday.

The loach analogy has been coined by Noda himself previously. Prior to the DPJ presidential vote Noda described his own political style by referring to a poem, by Mitsuo Aida, "A loach does not have to emulate a goldfish."

"Like ordinary "dojo" loach, I'll work hard for the public and move politics forward," said Noda.

Being that a loach is a drab, bottom-feeding fish, yet the analogy refers to staying true to oneself, the coming weeks will judge whether the self-depreciating prime minister and his new cabinet will "shine and swim, or quickly fade and sink into political oblivion," Sinclair surmised.

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Japanese PM Noda vows to deepen ties with China

TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday vowed to deepen ties with China.

"With China, my basic position is to develop the mutually beneficial and strategic relationship," Noda said at his inaugural press conference after naming his cabinet in the morning. Full story

Japan's incoming PM names new cabinet amid post-quake recovery

TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda named his Cabinet Friday, with which he hopes to bring forward a challenging post-quake recovery.

Ex-DPJ Diet affairs chief Jun Azumi was named as new finance minister and ex-DPJ policy chief Koichiro Gemba was named as new foreign minister, announced Osamu Fujimura, the new chief Cabinet secretary who serves as the top government spokesman.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. southern state of Louisiana and the coastal regions of its neighboring state Mississippi on Friday declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Lee was drifting north from the Gulf of Mexico with high wind and heavy rains.

The center of the Lee was expected to make landfall on the coast of Louisiana this weekend. It was already causing heavy rain on much of southeastern and southcentral Louisiana on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center based in Miami, Florida.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared emergency for the state on Friday afternoon, while LaFourche Parish and the city of Grand Isle issued voluntary orders of evacuation, the U.S. TV news network CNN reported.

"This is going to be a slow-moving storm. It's going to bring a lot of rain," Jindal said. It was expected that the storm will bring heavy rains and possible flash flooding in the coastal region of Louisiana.

Jindal held an emergency meeting of several state agencies earlier Friday to get an update on Tropical Storm Lee and discuss measures prepare for the storm's arrival.

"We know from experience that it's best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and since we're at the height of the hurricane season, now is a good time for Louisianians to make sure they have a gameplan to protect themselves and their families if a major storm approaches our coast," he said.

At the same time, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour issued the order to declare the state of emergency for seven coastal counties, including George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Marion, Pearl River and Stone, urging local residents to be prepared for "tremendous flooding."

Barbour stressed that although the storm is not yet ranked as a hurricane, its impact should not be underestimated. "Make preparations now to protect your family and your property," he said in a statement.

A week earlier, Hurricane Irene slammed the U.S. East Coast with high wind, torrential rains, tidal waves and flooding, causing massive destruction to roads and houses while leaving 7 millions of households without power.

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U.S. state of Mississippi on high alert ahead of tropical storm

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. southern state of Mississippi on Friday declared a state of emergency in its southern region as Tropical Storm Lee was drifting north to the coast with high wind and heavy rains.

Governor Haley Barbour issued the order to declare the state of emergency for seven coastal counties, urging local residents to be prepared for "tremendous flooding" once Lee strikes the region.

ANKARA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government's failure to make an apology over a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship has further soured the relations between the two countries.

Turkey announced Friday its decision to expel Israel's ambassador and downgrade its diplomatic ties with Israel to the second-secretary level, in response to Israel's refusal to apologize over the May 2010 raid that killed nine Turkish nationals, one of them a U.S. citizen.

In addition, Turkey also declared freezing of all its military pacts with Israel, its former ally in the region, a day after a long-delayed United Nations investigation report on the incident was leaked to media late Thursday.

The findings of the UN-mandated inquiry into the incident, headed by Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand, have been delayed three times due to Israel's request.

The leaked report said Israel had used "unreasonable" force in the raid, but on the other hand gave support to Israel's argument that its naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave was legal.

"All personnel above the second-secretary level, primarily the ambassador, will go back to their countries by Wednesday at the latest," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara Friday.

"No state is above the laws," the minister said. "The time has come for Israel to pay a price for its illegal actions. This price, first of all, is being deprived of Turkey's friendship," Davutoglu said as he announced the measures.

The last time Turkey downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel to the second-secretary level was in 1980 when Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital.

Ankara has already withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv not long after the Israeli raid to the ship Mavi Marmara.

Davutoglu said that as a country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean, Turkey would take every precaution which it considers necessary for the safety of maritime navigation in the East Mediterranean, a hint that Turkey may increase its military presence in the East Mediterranean.

Turkey and Israel signed a military cooperation accord in 1996 and there are currently 16 military agreements in effect between Turkey and Israel, worth tens of billions of U.S. dollars.

Following Israel's lethal raid in 2010, Ankara had already suspended military cooperation with Israel such as joint military exercises and barred Israeli military aircraft from Turkish airspace.

Davutoglu said Turkey did not recognize Israel's blockade on Gaza and would take the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and ask it to examine Israel's Gaza blockade on May 31, 2010.

"For this aim, we are starting initiatives to put in action at the UN General Assembly," he said.

As another measure against Israel, Turkey would support Turkish and foreign victims of the raid to seek justice from courts, the minister said.

Turkey has long demanded Israeli apology and compensations for victims of the incident. The Israeli government has refused several times to make such a gesture.

The minister stated that Turkish and Israeli officials had held four rounds of talks for reconciliation and reached a consensus on two draft texts. Those texts were also approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but failed to get through the Israeli cabinet, he added.

Although the UN report has yet to be released, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Ankara considers it "null and void."

He warned that Ankara may take further measures against Israel, "depending on how things will develop and how Israel will behave."

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U.S. regrets Israeli-Turkish diplomatic feud over deadly flotilla raid

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Friday expressed regret over the diplomatic feud between Israel and Turkey over the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last year which killed nine Turkish nationals.

"We regret that prior to the publication of the report they were unable to reach agreement on steps that might have helped overcome their differences," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a regular briefing. Full story

UN report says deadly Gaza flotilla incident "excessive, unreasonable"

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- A long-awaited UN report investigating a deadly flotilla incident heading for Gaza declared on Friday that Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip was legal and appropriate, but that the raid of the flotilla was "excessive and unreasonable."

The 105-page UN report on the May 31 flotilla incident last year said that it "should never have taken place as they did and strenuous efforts should be made to prevent the occurance of such incidents in the future".