DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “China's top political advisor visits former Cambodian King” plus 9 more

CANBERRA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday touched down in Canberra to start her 10- days visit to Australia, and the visit has reinvigorated the debate on whether Australia should become a republic.

This is the Queen's 16th royal visit to Australia as monarch, and there are some saying that it might be time to think about whether constitutional monarchy is appropriate for Australia, as it may be her last visit to Australia given her 85 years.

However, opinion polls showed Australia still remain a royalist nation. Polls had consistently shown about 60 percent Australians favored a republic, but ahead of the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in April, support fell to a 17-year low.

Ahead of the Queen's visit, an opinion poll earlier this week revealed support for the monarchy in Australia had risen to 55 percent of the population, while support for a republic was at its lowest level in 23 years at 34 percent.

Diana, was much loved in Australia and her son Prince William' s popularity has also been a welcome shot in the arm for the royalist movement, which has reported a surge in young members following his visit to Australia early this year.

While Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her ruling Labor party said the ultimate goal is for Australia to become a republic, chairman of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM), Mike Keating, said having the queen as Australia's head of state was antiquated, but acknowledged the situation was not likely to change any time soon.

"Obviously at the moment the government is focused on bigger issues and not on a republic," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

High-profile republican and federal MP Malcolm Turnbull said that the best time to revisit the debate would be after the Queen' s reign end, and Coalition finance spokesman Andrew Robb, a former prominent republic campaigner, said Her Majesty's visit to Australia would not necessarily be her last.

"She's very healthy and energetic so who knows? She may be back again," Robb told reporters in Canberra.

While Australian federal government itself is facing pressure over glooming polls, and is struggling to deal with the world economy downturn and its controversial broader protection policy, Robb said the Queen's visit should not be an excuse to push for constitutional change and there were more important issues than the monarchy.

"We've got major issues that this country has to focus on," he said. "We don't need more distractions like a debate on a republic. "

Since Federation on Jan. 1, 1901, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and is a Commonwealth realm, which has Elizabeth II as its monarch.

With the British monarch as Australia's head of state, the British has the power to approve the abolition of parliament, which happened in 1975 toppling the then government.

ANKARA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Eleven of the released Palestinian prisoners were brought to the Turkish capital of Ankara early Wednesday, in the light of a prisoner swap deal reached between Israel and Hamas, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

On Tuesday, the Gaza ruler Hamas released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who had been under captivity for five and a half years, in return, Israel, as a part of the deal, released the first batch of 477 Arab and Palestinian prisoners, some 40 among whom would be sent to Turkey, Syria and Qatar.

In Turkey, the Palestinian prisoners were welcomed by Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Nabil Maarouf and some Turkish Foreign Ministry officials at Ankara's Esenboga Airport.

It is not known how long the 11 Palestinians, including a woman, will stay in Turkey.

Speaking to reporters at the Esenboga Airport, Ambassador Maarouf extended gratitude to Turkey on behalf of the Palestinian authorities and President Mahmoud Abbas for its support for the Palestinian people and the authorities.

"I hope we could continue to see Turkey's support until Palestine enjoys total freedom," Maarouf said.

Maarouf said the released Palestinian prisoners would undergo a health check-up, adding that the Turkish government would decide on where the Palestinians would stay in Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Tuesday told reporters in Turkey's Konya province that "we see this as an important contribution to the peace process," adding "we will contribute to the process whenever needed."

Turkey regards the issue as a humanitarian one, he said.

Davutoglu revealed that he had discussed the swap deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, meanwhile, Turkish officials had also held talks with their Israeli counterpart over the last few days on the issue.

Israel had "acknowledged it (Turkey's contribution to the swap deal) at the level of presidency," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Tuesday. Turkey and Israel, once close allies, experienced downturn in their relations after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one U.S. citizen with Turkish origin in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May 2010.

"In this exchange, and in protecting the life of Shalit until today, Turkey made very significant contributions," Arinc said, adding "all our hope is silencing the weapons, stopping the blood and (making) Palestine a freer, independent and secure state within its own borders."

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's central government has offered 26.21 billion yuan (about 4.1 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidies on agricultural premiums in rural areas since the country started a scheme to help farmers ward off risk in 2007, a government official said Wednesday.

From 2007 to August, 2011, China's agricultural insurance institutions paid 35.6 billion yuan in insurance proceeds to more than 59.9 million rural households, according to Li Yong, vice minister of finance.

The premium income of China's agricultural insurances totalled 56.4 billion yuan during the period, with an average annual growth rate of 37.8 percent, Li said.

In the first eight months of the year, the income of agricultural insurances reached 14.186 billion yuan, an increase of 22.61 percent over the previous year, according to Li.

Li said China's agricultural insurance scheme has not only helped to improve financial services in rural areas, but has also boosted development in China's farming sector.

He said the country will continue to improve its insurance programs to help deflect risks in the farming sector.

HANOI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC) 2011 was open in Vietnam's southern Ca Mau province on Wednesday, with participation of more than 500 domestic and foreign delegates being managers, experts and scientists in related fields, reported Vietnam News Agency.

Established in 2007 under the Vietnamese Prime Minister's decision, MDEC, held annually and hosted by a local province, has proved to be useful glue for economic connectivity and cooperation among localities in the Mekong delta and southern Ho Chi Minh City, said the report.

MDEC 2011 in Ca Mau province is held under the theme, "Mekong Delta-Connectivity for Sustainable Development."

During the 3-day conference, participants would participate in five major events, including a seminar on connectivity mechanism in the Mekong delta sponsored by the Ministry of Planning and Investment; a business promotion conference by the south western region economic steering committee; a business forum by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; a conference on international economic cooperation by the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation; and a conference on economic cooperation in the Mekong delta and Ca Mau province in particular.

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Danish wind turbines maker Vestas and a Chinese energy research institute have issued a joint research report on the integration of wind power with the existing electric power grid, Vestas China said on its website.

The report, entitled "Integrated Solution Strategies for Coordinated Wind Power and Grid Development," was issued Tuesday by China's State Grid Energy Research Institute (SGERI) and Vestas China.

The report, based on their joint research, said it is necessary to include technological, managerial and policy aspects into an integrated solution to overcome the difficulties of large-scale integration of wind power to the existing electric power grid.

"The current development of wind power and power grid provides a solid foundation for solving the technical barriers for wind power integration," it said.

The report said the key to large-scale wind power integration lies in building grid-friendly wind power plants and a wind power friendly power system whereby the flexibility of the entire system will be improved.

Such "grid-friendly" wind turbines and wind power plant technologies have been introduced to China, it said, adding that the world's most populous country is making efforts to build a strong smart grid and is one of the forerunners in grid technology.

A senior energy official described the research report as "comprehensive, complete and systematic."

"It will help more people understand the essence of wind power integration to the grid, and facilitate the solution of the issue in China," said Shi Lishan, deputy director of New and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, at Tuesday's press release marking the report's publication.

The joint research began in February 2010 and lasted for 10 months.

Wind power, the trendy energy alternative, has developed vigorously over the past five years. In 2010, China replaced the United States as the nation with the largest installed capacity.

Zhang Guobao, former head of the National Energy Bureau, says the grid-connected wind power installed capacity is designed to hit 100 million kilowatts and annual electricity output by wind power will reach 190 billion kilowatts hours by the end of 2015.

MANILA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government stepped up security and peacekeeping efforts to effectively deter crimes, especially with the onset of the Christmas season.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Wednesday that the Philippine National Police (PNP) must increase police presence and conduct high-visibility patrols around the country to fight crimes.

"We should not just accept the usual notion that every Christmas season, crime incidence is expected to go up. That should not be the case. If we already know that crime will rise during this time of the year then let us do something new, something out of the box, to prevent this," Ochoa told the police in a command conference.

Ochoa said crimes could be prevented if more law enforcers are visible on the street and even encouraged police generals to "go out and be in the field" to have a better assessment of the situation on the ground.

Ochoa then assured the PNP that the administration is completely behind the police force to help them carry out its mission to serve and protect the public.

"The President fully supports the PNP and we are committed to provide you the resources necessary for you to do your job," Ochoa said.

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chen Zhili, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, or China's top legislature, met with a delegation from the Indonesian Democratic Party -- Struggle (PDI-P) in Beijing on Wednesday.

The delegation, headed by Wiryanti Sukamdani, the PDI-P's chairwoman for women's and children's affairs, is visiting China at the invitation of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Noting the long-term friendship between China and Indonesia, Chen praised the development of bilateral relations, which features frequent high-level visits and fruitful cooperation in various fields.

She said further cementing and deepening the China-Indonesia strategic partnership is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries.

The CPC attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with Indonesia's political parties, including the PDI-P, and is willing to expand exchanges and deepen mutual trust with them, she said.

She said the CPC will enhance communication and cooperation with the political parties of Indonesia on running the party and the state, and on other issues of common interest.

Sukamdani said the PDI-P will maintain close exchanges with the CPC on issues like party-building, economic development and the protection of the rights and interests of women and children, so as to promote the further development of bilateral relations.

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least one officer was killed on Wednesday when a trainer plane of Pakistan Air Force (P.A.F) crashed in the country's southwestern province of Balochistan, local Urdu TV ARY News reported.

According to the report, the incident took place at about 12:30 p.m. (local time) when a trainer aircraft of P.A.F crashed in Hub district of Balochistan during routine training session. Pilot of the plane died on the spot.

There is no official statement about the incident so far and the reason of the crash is also not determined yet.

Earlier on Aug. 15, one man was killed and a female pilot got injured in a trainer plane crash in eastern Pakistan.

HANOI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) , the country's top legislature, will hold the second session of its 13th tenure in Hanoi from Oct. 20 to Nov. 26 to work on the country's socio-economic development plans and approve new laws, announced the NA Office at the press briefing here on Wednesday.

Deputies will review and approve five draft laws, namely logistics, archives, complaints, denunciation and measurements, and resolution on law building program of the 13th NA. They also give opinions to another 13 bills, said vice chairman of the NA Office Nguyen Sy Dung.

The working agenda will focus on reports of the socio-economic development plans in 2011, in the 2011-2015 five-year plan, and in 2012; plans of land use during 2011-2015 and land planning during 2011-2020, among other issues.

The NA will spend 2-3 days for the ask-and-answer sessions, for instance, the NA deputies put some questions and related government cabinet members would answer, which will be broadcast live on television and radio networks.

Although sitting for the second time, NA deputies will present themselves for the first time in public to show off their voice in law building and supervising the country's important issues, Dung said.