DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “American citizen jails for ten years in Cambodia over child abuse” plus 9 more

 CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, Oct 20, 2011- An American citizen, Morron Jame Allan, sentenced to ten years in jail in case of child abuse.

Other Khmer citizens jailed for two years each in charge of drug use and pursue victims to have sexual intercourse. Phnom Penh judge Kao Vandy ruled verdict for Allan and ordered him to pay compensation for 10 million riels and fined $300 for the government.

Chamroeun Chanthon, 22 and Say Sarat, 26, Khmers jailed for two years in debauchery case.

Allan charged of having sex with underage minor.

August 17, 2011, Allan arrested.

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, Oct 20, 2011- Cambodia's foreign ministry announced On Thursday that it offered $50,000 to Thailand and  another 50,000 to Vietnam respectively to help flood victims.

"The Cambodia's donation handed over to ambassadors of the countries at the foreign ministry this morning." koy Khuong, foreign ministry's spokesman said, adding that foreign minister Hor Namhong haned over to two ambassadors.

Cambodia also got aid from Thailand for $50,000 for flood victims as death toll of flood rises to 247 and it affected 1.5 million families, and thousands of hectares of rice paddies inundated.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday led a group of senior officials and businessmen to attend the 8th China-ASEAN expo and investment and business summit in China's Nanning, which runs from Oct. 21 to Oct. 26.

Srey Thamrong, a minister attached to Prime Minister Hun Sen, told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport before departing for Nanning that senior officials accompanying the premier including the Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh, Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia Sok Chenda Sophea, Finance Secretaries of State Aun Porn Moniroth and Ok Rabun and businesspeople totaling 250 people.

At the airport, the premier was seen off by other Cambodian high ranking officials and Charge d'Affairs of Chinese Embassy to Cambodia He Leping.

Hun Sen would hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday afternoon and then meet with the management of the China Development Bank and the governor of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said Thamrong.

He said that the 8th China-ASEAN expo has been attended by exhibitors from China and ASEAN countries totaling 4,600 booths. Also, there are exhibitors from Japan, South Korea, France, Canada, Finland and Nepal.

Some 75 Cambodian companies have their products displayed in 90 booths in the expo, he said.

"The event is very important to promote Cambodian products to the globe and to attract more Chinese investors and investors from ASEAN countries to Cambodia," he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hun Sen will return to Cambodia on Friday afternoon.

This is Hun Sen's sixth time to attend the China-ASEAN expo held in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Minister of Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi on Thursday called for greater investment for women and girls to reduce inequalities between men and women in the country.

Spending more on girl's education, vocational training and entrepreneurship skills for women is essential to enable them to work themselves out of poverty and to contribute to speeding up progress in realizing the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs), the minister said.

"While we are progressing well in terms of school enrollment of young girls, one in every three adult Cambodian women is illiterate. This is a huge handicap in terms of improving human capital and productivity," she said in her remarks closing the High Level Dialogue on Gender.

Representatives of other ministries and institutions of the government of Cambodia and development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, also participated in the dialogue whose theme was "Promoting Gender Equality toward Achievement of Cambodian Millennium Development Goals".

The meeting brought the important role of gender dynamics to the forefront of the policy debate with the objective to spur more commitment and action by the Government of Cambodia and development partners to address disadvantages facing the majority of Cambodian women.

With less than five years left to the target date for halving poverty in 2015, it is critical to find a "breakthrough strategy" to assist Cambodia to make more headway in its millennium goals, UNDP Cambodia's Country Director Elena Tischenko said at the meeting.

"To foster Cambodian sustainable and inclusive development, we must recognize the important roles of women as much as those of men, in socio-economic development and poverty reduction. Investing in women and girls, in itself, constitutes a breakthrough strategy," she said.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian government in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are hosting a regional expert meeting on the 2005 convention on the "protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions".

The two-day meeting which began on Wednesday is held in Phnom Penh with participants including representatives from civil society and relevant government organizations in Southeast Asia, experts from the region, including, in particular, the Korea Coalition for Cultural Diversity, and representatives from UNESCO Field Offices in Southeast Asia.

In a statement released Thursday by UNESCO office in Cambodia, it said "The meeting seeks to understand why there is no corresponding rise in ratification despite a growing focus on cultural industries."

"The objective of this meeting is to encourage discussions among experts, civil society and government partners in order to acquire a clearer understanding of the issues surrounding the Convention and to identify ways in which partners can proactively promote diverse cultural expressions," it added.

The statement said in order to provide adequate support and information to member states, both Parties and non-Parties, UNESCO seeks to foster a better understanding of the issues and challenges related to ratifying and implementing the 2005 Convention in the Asia Pacific, at both the regional and state level.

In 2005, UNESCO adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The 2005 Convention aims to encourage the introduction of cultural policies and measures that nurture creativity; to provide access for creators to participate in domestic and international marketplaces; and to ensure that these expressions are accessible to the wider public.

"To date, 117 countries have ratified the Convention. Of all the regions, Asia Pacific has the lowest rate of ratification at about 10 percent of Member States," the statement said.

DAMASCUS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Syrian deputy foreign minister said Syria welcomes the impending visit of the Arab ministerial committee announced by the Arab League (AL) recently, contrary to previous official stance that showed reservation about the decision.

Abdul-Fatah Amoura was quoted by the state-run al-Baath newspaper on Thursday as saying Syria welcomes any sincere effort to "preserve the interests of the Arab nation."

Amoura made these remarks at a symposium in Syria's capital of Damascus late Wednesday, during which he said that Syria also welcomes representatives from Russia, China, South Africa, India and Brazil to participate in the dialogue.

Earlier reports said Syria opposed AL's suggestion that the committee be chaired by Qatar. But in the latest comments, Amoura said Syria welcomes the committee, the AL chief and Qatari prime minister to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Amoura stressed that Syria sticks to the independence of its political, national and sovereign decision and is able "through different stages to overcome all conspiracies and plots that have aimed at disintegrating its national unity."

Upon the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the AL held an emergency meeting last Sunday to discuss whether to suspend Syria's membership, in an attempt to step up pressure on the Syrian leadership to end its alleged crackdown on anti- government protests that according to a recent UN tally has claimed more than 3,000 lives since mid-March.

However, the GCC's attempt to suspend Syria's membership failed. They then decided to give Syria a 15-day deadline to enact a cease- fire and to form a ministerial committee to participate in Syria's national dialogue.

Syria's Permanent Representative to the AL Ambassador Youssef Ahmad earlier announced Syria's reservation on the AL's resolution, including its wording and particularly naming Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister as heads of the Arab Ministerial Committee.

JAKARTA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's doing business rating dropped three levels to 123 from the previous 126, but is still better than that of India's and the Philippines that stood at 132 and 136 each, according to a report issued by the World Bank (WB) on Thursday.

According to the report entitled Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in More Transparent World issued by the World Bank, the easiness of doing business in Indonesia was still lagged far behind the other countries in the region with the highest rating was seized by Singapore. The report said that the latest doing business ratings in Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei stood at 17, 18 and 86.

Indonesian rating was even lower if compared to Vietnam and Papua New Guinea that stood at 98 and 101.

According to the WB's report, Singapore and China's Hong Kong provide the best investment climates for investors in East Asia and Pacific region.

China was regarded to provide the most friendly investment atmosphere for the investors in the last six years, according to the report.

The report also said that 22 countries in East Asia and Pacific had made their investment regulations friendlier for the investors in the last six years.

"With more effective and transparent policies on business regulations, the chances to improve growths would be more apparent, "WB Group Global Indicators and Analysis Director Augusto Lopez- Claros said in the report.

The 2012 Doing Business report analyzes policy mixing of 183 countries in providing best investment climates for investors. Among the policies were the regulations to start business, settlement on unperformed payment and inter-region trading.

The report said that Malaysia managed to increase its rating to 18, or five levels than the previous one after it reformed investment regulation. It now provides an integrated computerized system in "one stop shop" for investors to organize documents before starting their businesses in that country.

COLOMBO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A World Bank loan of 100 million U. S. dollars is to be used to develop soft skills in 5000 schools countrywide, a minister said here on Thursday.

Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told media that loan negotiations are scheduled to be held at the end of October with the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank to obtain this financial assistance.

Titled "Transforming School Education System as the Foundation of a Knowledge Hub Project", the 100 million U.S. dollars will be used to teach school children soft skills such as English and information technology, said Rambukwella.

He said it is also expected to bridge regional disparities between schools in urban and rural areas.

The minister said even though Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 92 percent there is a mismatch between the education system and the needs of the job market.

He said already 320 secondary schools and 1200 primary schools have been identified for development in 2012 in association with the provincial councils.

The rest is to be developed within a period of five years, according to the World Bank program.

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least four Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected militants in the country's restive Khyber tribal region bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, state television reported.

PTV reported that 8 more soldiers were injured in an attack at a security checkpost in Bara area of Khyber agency near the Afghan border.

The security forces returned fire at the direction of the attack and injured two militants, the report said.

The forces also launched a search operation after the attack and shelled hideouts of the militants.

Locals said that the militants used heavy weapons including rockets, hand grenades and automatic guns to hit the roadside checkpost of the security forces.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is the second attack on security forces in Khyber agency in four days.

On Monday, clashes between the militants and the Pakistani forces left 9 soldiers and 16 militants dead after the heavily- armed gunmen ambushed troops during a search operation.

Militants have recently stepped up attacks in recent weeks on security forces in Khyber agency, the main supply route for NATO forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. Militants routinely attack NATO supply trucks in the region.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and another militant group Lashkar-e- Islam are active in the area.

The security forces have launched several operations in Khyber agency and cleared most of the areas of the militants but they are still active in several areas.

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Prosecutors have launched a probe into allegations that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak committed irregularities in a land purchase, local media reported Thursday.

The opposition Democratic Party had filed charges against the president, his only son Si-hyung, presidential chief of staff Yim Tae-hee and others, following media revelations 462 square meters of land designed for Lee's retirement home was bought in his son's name.

The revelations prompted allegations of real estate speculation and tax evasion, as real estate must be registered in the real owner's name under the South Korean law to secure transparency in transactions.

Opposition lawmakers also claim an additional 2,140 square meters of land to be used for building security-related facilities was purchased at a high price by the presidential office to help Si-hyung buy the land for Lee's post-retirement residence at a lower price.

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae have defended the president, citing security concerns associated to striking a deal under the president's name.

Lee's five-year stint will end in February 2013.