DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “A Call for Action: Second Regional Forum for People and Forests Asks​ Governments to Clarify Policies and Role of Forest Communities in Development” plus 9 more

Phnom Penh: Less than 12% of tropical forest in the Asia-Pacific region is managed sustainably. Despite successful effort at rehabilitation, huge amounts of natural forests are still lost every year. Deforestation contributes 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions but reversing this trend is difficult as long as poverty, weak law enforcement, and escalating demand for forest products, food and fuel persists, a group of environment activists said its statement released on Wednesday.

It added that this was the short preamble to the Call for Action issued by some 230 delegates to the Second Regional Forum on People and Forests held in Bangkok from 8-9 August, 2011, organized by RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests in collaboration with the Royal Forest Department of Thailand, the ASEAN Social Forestry Network, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Representing the highest levels of government and civil society in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, the delegates reminded us that in the International Year of Forests​ – with the theme "Celebrating Forests for People" – nations and NGOs alike must recommit to improving the lives of some 450 million people who depend on forests for subsistence, shelter, and their indigenous way of life.

Releasing the Call for Action at an event organized by the ASEAN Secretariat today

–"Advancing the Role of People in Forestry Cooperation: The ASEAN Experience" – Dr. Tint L. Thaung, Executive Director of RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests said: "We all agree that community forestry can respond to some of the most challenging issues we face today – whether it is poverty alleviation, climate change, sustainable development, or improved governance. We must now work together to translate this agreement into the actions agreed in this document."

Among the actions specifically addressed in the document is a call to governments to​ "clarify and mainstream community forestry policies within national forest programs and​​ development strategies;" to recognize local people's rights to forestland; and to resolve

conflicts arising from commercial use or government protection of forests.

Civil society and development partners are enjoined to support governments, share good practices and lessons learned, provide legal advice on community rights, and support information sharing and understanding on community forestry and its role in

addressing emerging issues.

The Call also urges local communities to work together with civil society and marginalized groups to ensure proper benefit sharing, and for academics to translate this experience into policies that strengthen the practice of community forestry.

NIAMEY, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A confrontation in northern Niger between a patrol unit of the national army and heavily armed men coming from a neighboring country killed one soldier and an unknown number of assailants, the military said on Tuesday in the capital Niamey.

A statement from the Nigerien National Defense Ministry broadcast on state television said four other soldiers were injured during the clash which occurred on Sunday.

The public relations officer for the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) , Abdoulaye Adamou Harouna, said there was a heavy loss of lives on the side of assailants, but he did not give a precise figure.

However, he said a number of the assailants were arrested and that the army managed to seize heavy weapons including machine guns of different calibre, RPG-7 types of rockets, six Toyota vehicles and thousands of different calibres of cartridges.

Delivering condolences to the family of the slain soldier and wishing a quick recovery to the wounded soldiers, the national defense minister expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the Nigerien security and defense forces.

In the statement, the minister "assured the Nigerien people of the willingness and determination of the defense and security forces to work for their well-being and security, in any place at all time, and at whatever price."

This bloody confrontation between FAN and the armed assailants in northern Niger bordering Libya is the first of its kind since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Many of Gaddafi's forces fled to the neighboring countries, especially Niger, with an unknown number of weapons.

This adds to the challenge by the North African wing of Al- Qaeda (AQIM) and traffickers of different types of products in Niger's northern zone.

NEW DELHI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that he will move forward on the process of liberalization of trade in South Asia.

The Prime Minister, who left for Maldives to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit starting Thursday, also said that he was looking forward to having bilateral discussions with other South Asian leaders, including Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"At the SAARC summit, we expect to move forward the process of liberalization of trade under the South Asian free trade area agreement," Singh said in a departure statement.

"We also expect to sign agreements on implementation of regional standards, multilateral arrangements on recognition of conformity assessment, rapid response to natural disasters, and establishment of a SAARC seed bank," he added.

India will work "to promote regional integration as well as the development of a South Asian identity at the forthcoming summit," the Prime Minister said.

Hoping he may hold talks with other South Asian leaders, Singh said: "on the margins of the SAARC summit, I look forward to the opportunity of holding bilateral discussions with other South Asian heads of states or governments who will be participating in the summit."

DAVAO CITY, the Philippines, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A soldier was killed while three others were injured in a clash against leftist rebels in southern Philippines Tuesday, according to a commander on Wednesday.

Private First Class Marlon Basadre died during the two-hour encounter between troops of the army's 28th Infantry Battalion and some 60 New People's Army guerrillas in Lupon town, Davao Oriental province, according to Major Jacob Obligado, commander of the 10th civil military operation battalion.

"The troops were on a security patrol in San Isidro village past 02:00 p.m. local time after residents reported the presence of armed men in the area when they chanced upon some 60 insurgents. Three other soldiers also sustained injuries while the enemy had an undetermined number of casualties," Obligado said.

The military official said that pursuit operations continue against the rebels who fled after the incident.

BANGKOK, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 529 people were confirmed dead and two people were missing in the floods that have inundated the upper part of the country for almost three months, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Wednesday.

Two more people were confirmed dead on Tuesday in central province of Phichit.

Central province of Ayutthaya has the highest death toll of 90 people, following by central province of Nakhon Sawan, of which 62 people died in the flood.

Floods were caused by the heavy monsoon "Nock-Ten" and overflow from several dams in upper part of the country since mid July.

On Wednesday, floods still prevail in 24 of 77 provinces and are affecting about 2.8 million people from 1.1 million households.

The flood have affected about 3.3 million households and about 11.3 million people in 64 of 77 provinces since July 25.

CANBERRA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Australian activists from the Residents Against War said they are planning to protest when U.S. President Barack Obama visit Darwin, Northern Territory of Australia next week, the Australia Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Obama will make a two-day visit to Canberra and Darwin of Australia on Nov. 16 and 17. There are speculations Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will announce an expanded U.S. military presence in Australia in Darwin, the report said.

According to Justin Tutty from Darwin Residents Against War, he expects at least 20 locals to stage a peaceful protest near Northern Territory state parliament when Obama arrives on Thursday.

"Our message is that we don't want U.S. bases, we don't want U. S. nuclear warships in Darwin Harbour and we don't want U.S. troops in Darwin," Tutty said.

The U.S. and Australia are already running the Pine Gap spy base near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, and Tutty said authorities told resident that Pine Gap was a communications base, but in the last few years it has come out about its offensive role and it was used to direct dozens of attacks on Iraq.

While Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith recently signaled an increase number of joint training exercises with U.S. troops, and the U.S. will store more equipment in the city for disaster and humanitarian assistance, Tutty said he was skeptical about what a greater U.S. presence in Northern Territory would mean.

"They have talked about a pre-positioning base and we are very skeptical about the nature of the base because of all the lies we have been told about Pine Gap," Tutty said.

JAKARTA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The impact of the worldwide economic downturn on Southeast Asian countries will be one of the top issues to be discussed at the 19th ASEAN Summit next week, the Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying on Wednesday.

Trade Ministry's ASEAN Cooperation Director Iman Pambagyo said on Tuesday that the issue would be highlighted during the upcoming high-level meeting, as ASEAN countries would be affected by the slump in Europe and the United States because of its inclusion in an increasingly integrated world economy.

ASEAN leaders and economic ministers will meet from Nov. 17 to 19 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"During a recent ASEAN ministerial meeting in Manado (of North Sulawesi province), our partners including Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia and New Zealand agreed that ASEAN could play a role to boost cooperation aside from Europe and the U.S. amid the threat of a second-round crisis," Pambagyo said.

Intra-ASEAN trade grew significantly in recent years, reaching 470 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, 376.2 billion dollars in 2009 and 519.7 billion dollars in 2010.

HANOI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Continual heavy rains in the recent few days causing large-scale floods in Vietnam's central provinces killed at least 22 and made another two missing as of Wednesday, according to updated report by the local Storm and Flood Control Center (SFCC).

Heavy rain poured down Quang Binh and Quang Nam provinces, with water level rising to 5- 15 mm on the average, while water from local rivers receded to the warning level 2, said the report.

Floods also sunk three fishing boats and drifted another three in central Da Nang, and inundated more than 36,000 houses in Thua Thien-Hue province. About 30,000 people from Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam provinces were evacuated to safe areas.

According to the Hydro-meteorology Forecast Center, the current tropical depression would cause strong winds and heavy rain over coastal central provinces, from Quang Tri to Quang Nam, as of Wednesday afternoon.

The national SFCC issued an emergency message to instruct local authorities to update their residents about the floods and have plans to protect human and public work property.

WELLINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government Wednesday hailed the "recovery" of the earthquake-stricken Canterbury region with the release of new economic data.

Canterbury, which includes New Zealand's second city of Christchurch, has been shaken by a series of earthquakes since September last year, with the worst of them killing at least 181 people in February.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Wednesday that new data showed the region's economy was improving strongly, with trade through Canterbury's ports and airport hitting a two-year high of 950 million NZ dollars (757.53 million U.S. dollars) in September.

The figure was up 36 percent from September last year.

"The recovery is well underway," Brownlee said in a statement.

"This is the sixth monthly release of this data set and consolidates a number of positive trends over the period."

The latest Ministry of Economic Development economic indicators showed steady growth being driven by trade and manufacturing.

Trade value was at a two-year high of almost 1 billion NZ dollars in September, indicating more economic growth factors than just the rebuilding of Christchurch, Brownlee said.

"A key pillar of growth in Canterbury will be strong and innovative businesses selling their products overseas."

Job advertising remained strong and unemployment benefit numbers were down by 12 percent from their peak of 6,342 in June to 5,566 in September.

"Workers are in demand in Canterbury, and fewer people on benefits reinforces that the region's economic health is improving. "

The indicators also showed that the rate of net business movement away from Canterbury had slowed to 10 in September, down from 70 in April.

Brownlee said residents were still migrating away from Canterbury, but the numbers of individual taxpayers leaving and international emigration were both declining.

The government has been pushing the rebuilding of Christchurch as one of its main planks for national economic growth in the approach to the general election set for Nov. 26.

The report also said that the immediate clean-up and reconstruction was boosting demand in certain sectors like utilities, construction, safety, health care and social assistance, but these had not fully offset reduced activity in other sectors.

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Samsung Electronics, the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, became the No.1 handset seller in three out of six regions across the globe in the third quarter, a market research agency said Wednesday.

According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung beat Nokia in three regions, including North America, Western Europe and Central & Latin America, during the July-September period, with market shares of 30 percent, 38.1 percent and 25.6 percent respectively.

Nokia, the world's top handset manufacturer, kept its top position in the other three regions such as Asia, Central & Eastern Europe and Mideast & Africa with market shares of 28.1 percent, 46 percent and 52 percent each, according to the researcher.

It was the first time that Samsung took the lead in Central & Latin American region, which had been previously dominated by Nokia. The lead by the South Korean tech behemoth was particularly large in North America and Western European, where the Finnish firm held market shares of 1.5 percent and 19.5 percent each.

Meanwhile, Nokia retained its No.1 position in the global handset market in the third quarter with market share of 27.2 percent, while Samsung's global share reached 22.8 percent. LG Electronics remained as the No.3 mobile phone seller globally.