DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN senior officials meet to discuss documents for upcoming meetings” plus 5 more

WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left here on Thursday for an eight-nation tour, including what the State Department called a "groundbreaking" visit to Laos, the first by a U.S. state secretary in 57 years.

While in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on July 11, the top U. S. diplomat will meet with Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and other senior government officials to discuss a variety of bilateral and regional issues, including the Lower Mekong Initiative and ASEAN integration efforts, the State Department said in a statement.

The initiative was launched in July 2009 by Clinton and the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, with a view to promoting the development of the Lower Mekong countries in education, environment, health and infrastructure.

Washington noted the addition of Myanmar to the program late last month, when the United States and Laos held their fourth Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue in the U.S. capital.

Diplomatic relations were never severed between the United States and Laos, but U.S. involvement in the Laotian civil war and other incidents had strained bilateral ties over the years. Accounting for Americans missing in Laos from the Vietnam War has been a special focus of the relationship.

The current tour will also take Clinton to France, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt and Israel.

During her stay in Paris on Friday, the secretary will attend the third meeting of the Friends of Syria, the State Department said.

"As part of her ongoing consultations with senior Palestinian and Israeli leaders, the secretary will also meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss both parties' efforts to pursue a dialogue and build on President Abbas' exchange of letters with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," it added.

In Tokyo, Clinton will join others for a conference on Afghan economy on Sunday, an event dedicated to supporting Afghanistan's development needs for the "transformation decade" beginning in 2015. Most foreign combat troops are expected to leave the war- torn country by 2014.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed hope that the meeting would pledge 4 billion U.S. dollars a year in aid to his country.

Clinton's visit to Egypt came after Mohamed Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood was sworn in as the new president late last month, and she will voice support for the country's democratic transition and economic development, the State Department said.

While in Israel on July 16-17, Clinton will discuss with the Israeli leadership peace efforts as well as "a range of regional and bilateral issues of mutual concern," said the department.

BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday voiced hope that a series of foreign ministers' meetings to be held in Cambodia next week will increase mutual trust, promote cooperation and consolidate the development momentum of east Asia.

Spokesman Liu Weimin made the remarks at a regular press conference.

The meetings Liu referred to are the 10+1 foreign ministers' meeting between China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations); the 10+3 foreign ministers' meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea; the foreign ministers' meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Liu called on all participants to send a strong message of cooperation during the meetings and to forge closer partnerships in order to enhance their collective capacity to cope with the challenges brought on by the fragile world economy.

China will continue to firmly support ASEAN's leading role in east Asian cooperation, Liu said.

At the 10+1 foreign ministers' meeting, China will review the achievements made in China-ASEAN relations and reaffirm its commitment to developing relations with ASEAN, promoting pragmatic cooperation and settling differences through friendly negotiations, he said.

At the 10+3 foreign ministers' meeting, China will exchange views with other participants on the implementation of the results of the 14th 10+3 summit and plans for the future, as well as make preparations for a commemorative summit to be held for the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the 10+3 summit at the end of this year, he said.

At the EAS foreign ministers' meeting, China will exchange views with other participants on major regional and international strategic issues, he said.

At the ARF foreign ministers' meeting, China will introduce its views on the current Asia-Pacific situation, said Liu.

The economies of Asia-Pacific countries have benefited from years of peace and stability, which have not come easily and should be treasured by all parties, he said.

During the meeting, China hopes to discuss the strengthening of mutual trust, the enhancement of Asia-Pacific security cooperation and the joint protection of regional peace and stability, Liu said.

The ARF, established in 1994, is a key forum for security dialogues in Asia. It draws together 27 countries that have a bearing on the security of the Asia-Pacific region.

PHNOM PENH, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Garment and footwear manufacturers in Cambodia are going to add 9 U.S. dollars to the monthly wage, Kong San, vice president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said on Thursday.

The addition was announced after the unions warned last week that they would stage a large-scale protest in August to demand salaries hike.

In a 3-hour meeting with the leaders of all 8 workers unions in Cambodia on Thursday, the manufacturers agreed to provide 6 U.S. dollars a month for house rent or transport fee and another 3 U.S. dollars for attendance bonus; however, the union leaders have not accepted the offer, demanding 10 U.S. dollars for house rent or transport fee.

Both sides agreed to meet again on July 11.

Nang Sothy, co-chair of the Government-Private Working Group on Industrial Relations, said the negotiations were held at the behest of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

He said that the country has about 700 garment and footwear factories, employing some 650,000 workers. The monthly minimum salary is 66 U.S. dollars plus 7 U.S. dollar attendance bonus.

Garment industry is the country's largest foreign exchange earner. Last year, the sector exported products worth 4.24 billion U.S. dollars, up 25 percent from a year earlier.

PHNOM PENH, July 5 -- Cambodia's poorest households were hardest hit by the floods which affected the country in 2011, according to a new survey released Thursday by a group of well- known international organizations.

"The floods displaced tens of thousands, destroyed or damaged houses, washed away important possessions, severely affected wet season crops, and forced many households to take on additional debt," said Jean-Pierre de Margerie, Chairperson of the United Nations Disaster Management Team and WFP Cambodia Country Representative.

"This survey confirms what many of us have seen with our eyes -- last year's floods had a severe impact, especially on the poorest households," he added.

The survey was conducted in January 2012 and covered 2,397 households in 164 villages in 11 provinces within 250 metres of the peak flood boundary in the Plains and Tonle Sap ecological zones.

The Post-Flood Relief and Recovery Survey is a joint effort of ActionAid, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), DanChurchAid/ACT Alliance, Danish Red Cross, Save the Children, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) and Provincial Committees for Disaster Management (PCDM).

Families relying on earnings from fishing and manual wage labour were particularly affected, with more than two-thirds reporting their income had decreased since the floods. Nearly half of the poorest households living in the worst affected areas reported having taken out a loan as a direct result of the disaster.

The survey shows the floods disproportionately displaced the poorest -- nearly 20 percent of the poorest households were forced from their homes, compared to just one percent of the richest.

The impact on agriculture was extensive, particularly in the most affected areas, where 90 percent of households growing wet season rice reported their crop was damaged in some way. Thirty percent reported the damage was so extensive that they were not able to harvest any rice. For those who managed a wet season rice harvest, yield was less than half the average.

According to the survey, more than two-thirds of households owning livestock reported losing some animals as a result of the floods, while half of those relying on fishing for income reported their catch was lower than the previous year.

The survey found that the household food security and the health and nutrition status of mothers and children were stable compared to pre-disaster levels, although underlying chronic factors suggest the situation could deteriorate should the tenuous

financial situation of poorest households worsen.

According to reports, households were receiving food rations, clothes and blankets, water treatment kits, and cooking utensils, among other types of humanitarian assistance, which undoubtedly addressed the most pressing needs of households living in affected areas.

"This survey helps us understand what support is most needed to help Cambodians recover from the floods -- and how to better prepare for future disasters," said Peter Brimble, ADB Deputy Country Director for Cambodia.

PHNOM PENH, July 5 (Xinhua) -- After 12 years of negotiations, the five recognized nuclear-weapon states (P5) finally agree to sign on the protocol to the treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) next Thursday here, Cambodian senior officials said Thursday.

The P5 include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia. They are all going to sign the protocol on July 12 here during an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting with those countries' foreign ministers, Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation, told Xinhua.

"As the chair of 2012 ASEAN, Cambodia is pleased to see all the five recognized nuclear-weapon states to sign the protocol," he said. "Their upcoming signatures reflect their support for the SEANWFZ."

The protocol requires the P5 not to contribute to any violation of the treaty and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons within the SEANWFZ. In addition, the P5 would commit to stopping nuclear weapon proliferation and testing in the Southeast Asia.

ASEAN leaders signed the SEANWFZ Treaty in Bangkok, Thailand on Dec. 15, 1995 and it took effect two years later. The negotiations between the ASEAN and the five recognized nuclear-weapon states on the protocol have been held since May 2001.

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