MILLVILLE: Wheaton Arts offers Cambodian Beadwork Workshop

Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, 1501 Glasstown Road, Millville, will host a workshop, Cambodian Beadwork On Fabric, from 2 to 4 p.m. April 25.

Chamroeun Yin will be the instructor for this workshop for people age 10 and older.

Cambodian traditional beadwork is a form of bead embroidery on fabric used by the artist when making Cambodian traditional wedding and dance costumes.

Participants will create flower and diamond designs with gold glass beads and sequins on a small multipurpose purse.

Students will learn about the history and cultural significance of Cambodian costume. This class is the first in a series of workshops offered in conjunction with the Cambodian Traditions: Wedding and Court Dances exhibition.

Fee is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers.

For more information, call (856) 825-6800, e-mail mail@wheatonarts.org or visit www.wheatonarts.org.
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Area artists head to Cambodia to combat child trafficking

ROSEVILLE, CA - A team of local artists will be leaving Sunday for Cambodia on a two-week mission of mercy, painting murals to help children recovering from sex trafficking.

Roseville artist and father of two, Shane Grammar is leading a group called "Heart for the Kids."

Grammar said his six-person team will be traveling to Svay Pak just outside of the capital of Cambodia. The area is known worldwide as a notorious red light district for child prostitution.

The team plans on painting murals for a new building used to help educate rescued and recovering victims.

Grammar said he wants "to bring hope and joy to these girls who've been rescued from human trafficking through the arts. We believe these girls are pure. They've been born pure. But they've been taken advantage of."

According to UNICEF, 55-thousand girls and young women are involved in sex trafficking. 35 percent of those girls are under the age of 16.

The local team will be working closely with a larger effort by Agape International, which is based in Rocklin. Agape has spent the past two years working to help rescue children from sex trafficking in Svay Pak.

"We're really focused on prevention efforts there in returning hope to these people," said Renne Burkhalter of Agape International. "They've had no hope for alternatives. Every family in that village is expected to traffic their girls by the time they are 9 or 10 years old."

Grammar said hope is a powerful thing for child sex trafficking victims.

"We really believe that what we're doing will show the girls something they can fight for," Grammar said.

Grammar said he plans on blogging daily, offering updates and photos for supporters at his Heart for the Kids web site.

By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
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Thai-Cambodian relations improves: Kasit

By The Nation
Hanoi


Thai-Cambodia relations have ameliorated greatly due to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's positive comment, according to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

Kasit, who attended the just concluded Asean Summit here this morning, said that on the sideline of the summit, he met Hun Sen. "He was very positive. He also dismissed the report that the red shirts used the Cambodian airwave," Kasit said.

Relations between the two countries were downgraded last year when the fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed Hun Sen's economic advisor, which has set off verbal war between both sides.

Kasit said both countries are now considering tangible measures that would increase mutual confidence. Read more!

ASEAN Protocol On Settling Inter-Regional Disputes

(RTTNews) - A protocol for resolving regional disputes among Association Of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries has been signed at its ongoing summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, an ASEAN news release said on Thursday.

The protocol would help its transformation into a "rules-based organization," the release said.

Even though Foreign Ministers from the 10-member bloc signed the protocol, its terms of reference has not yet been finalised.

The mechanism could play a pivotal role in solving the long running dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over an area located near Preah Vihear temple situated in northern Cambodia near the border with Thailand.

Maps dating back to Cambodia's colonial days under French rule showed the temple, built mainly by rulers from the famous Khmer empire in the 11th and 12th century, as belonging to Cambodia but this was later disputed by Thailand on the grounds that it was not official and therefore invalid.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962 ruled that the temple was indeed situated on Cambodian territory, but much of the surrounding land was claimed by Thailand leaving Cambodia with access only up a steep hillside.

In 2001, Thai troops blocked access to the temple for more than a year in a dispute over polluted water at the temple site and tensions rose again in 2008 following Cambodia's bid to get the temple listed as a World Heritage Site.

Last year, at least two Thai soldiers were killed and seven wounded in skirmishes between troops across the disputed border.

Besides the protocol would be useful in settling maritime disputes among ASEAN member countries. However, it is unlikely to get involved in cases relating to internal disputes of member states.

This is probably the reason why despite Vietnam's best efforts, ASEAN is unwilling to mediate in the internal dispute between Hanoi and Beijing over maritime territory in the South China sea.

China has also objected to the ASEAN being party to the dispute and insists that separate talks be held with each of the ASEAN member countries.

by RTT Staff Writer Read more!

Cambodia Opens Real Estate Market To Foreigners

Have you been hankering to buy real estate in Cambodia? OK, maybe not. But you may want to give it some thought now that a new law allows foreigners for the first time to purchase real estate in the impoverished Southeast Asian country.

Those in the know already know that some investors have long gotten around the prohibition. But do you really want to do something blatantly illegal in a place such as Cambodia? Well, now you won't have to.

The new law has passed the lower house of the Cambodian parliament. It still needs approval from the Senate there and the King, but that's considered nothing more than a technicality by the 'in the know' crowd.

There is just one small caveat you should be aware of, however, if you are thinking of buying into the Cambodian dream.

Under the new law, foreigners, says the Associated Press, will only be able to buy property at least one floor above the land. In other words, you can own the building sitting atop the land, but you can't own the land itself!

Agence France-Presse quotes Cambodia's land management minister as saying the new law would "boost the kingdom's real estate market and bring in more foreign investment."

The Xinhua News Agency quotes the minister as saying the new law will now permit foreigners to own apartments and condos above the ground, or from the first floor up. So, who owns the underground parking garage, is what I want to know?? Then again, maybe that's an LA thing. You could always take a rickshaw.

Charles Feldman is a journalist, media consultant and co-author of the book, "No Time To Think, The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle." He has written about real estate related issues for several years. Read more!

Cambodia minister says Mekong nations committed to improving living standards

Phnom Penh, April 6, 2010 AKP - The four member countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) -Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam - are committed to develop sustainably the Mekong basin, aiming at increasing the living standards of some 60 million people living along this river.

The commitment was made known by Water Resource and Meteorology Minister H.E. Lim Kean Hor at a press conference held here on April 5 at Phnom Penh International Airport upon the arrival of the Cambodian delegation from the First Mekong River Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The four nations also recognized the development during the past 15 years of the International Mekong River Commission and they are determined to do their best to increase their joint cooperation in the sustainable development of the Mekong River basin, he said.

For its part, China promised to strengthen cooperation with the International Mekong River Commission and supported the good cooperation between China and the commission in information exchange on water change at the upper parts.

The International Mekong River Commission was established in 1995. It has four members; the upper-Mekong basin countries - Myanmar and China -have not joined the commission yet, but remained its dialogue partners. They also sent their participants to the summit.

Regarding the negative impacts on Mekong's water due to the construction of hydroelectric dams, Lim Kean Hor, also president of the National Mekong River Commission of Cambodia, said hydroelectric dams are very necessary, especially for Cambodia. "But, we also think about the development and the sustainability of the environment and nature," he underlined.

Cambodian Premier Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen on April 4-5 led a high-ranking delegation to participate in the First Mekong River Commission Summit, which will be held every four years according to the alphabetic order of the member countries.

Below is the full Declaration of the Mekong River Commission:

"MRC Hua Hin Declaration'Meeting the Needs, Keeping the Balance: Towards Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin'" 5 April 2010

Preamble We, the Heads of the Governments of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, meet in Hua Hin, Thailand for the First Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) on the occasion of its 15th Anniversary.

We recall the signing on 5 April 1995 of the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin (herein referred to as the Mekong Agreement) and the establishment of the MRC by the representatives of the Lower Mekong Basin Governments, and reaffirm our political commitment to its implementation;

We recognise that the sustainable management of water resources in the Mekong River Basin is crucial to the economic and social well- being of the riparian population and to the poverty alleviation efforts of Basin governments;

We note that accelerating the development of water and related resources will make a significant contribution to the socio- economic development of the region, but may also have negative impacts on the Basin environment that need to be fully addressed; and

We affirm our strong and continued commitment to cooperate and promote the sustainable development, utilisation, conservation andmanagement of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin and agree to the following statements.

Recognition of achievements

We, the Heads of Government, recognise that the institutional development of the MRC has advanced from its inception as the United Nations based Mekong Committee and Interim Mekong Committee to the independent knowledge-based inter-governmental River Basin Organization of today. An increasing level of ownership of the organization by Member Countries has led to a strengthening of cooperative governance and increased effectiveness over time.

We applaud the significant achievements of cooperation among Member Countries in the 15 years since the signing of the Mekong Agreement.

We are encouraged by the achievements of the MRC and its Member Countries through our joint efforts in implementation of the Mekong Agreement that include strengthening dialogue on regional water resources development; facilitating a Basin-wide, consultative planning process through an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach; reducing the risks of regular flooding and promoting the beneficial effects of the annual flood pulse; increasing international trade opportunities through safer and more effective river transport and legal frameworks for cross-border navigation; defining a balance between the opportunities and risks of proposed hydropower projects; an enhanced understanding of the Basin's aquatic biodiversity and fisheries; providing environmental decision support; and initiating a process to help the people of the Basin adapt to the consequences of climate change.

Over the past fifteen years, the water and related resources of the Basin have been protected through the effective environmental governance of MRC and its Member Countries. Mekong partners and stakeholders now know and understand more about this complex and productive river system. We note with appreciation these positive outcomes that have come about through a strong sense of regional cooperation and continued national capacity building among the Member Countries. We acknowledge the progress made to extend cooperation between the MRC and international, regional and local partners including MRC's Dialogue Partners, namely the People's Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar, and its Development Partners. The sharing of hydro-meteorological data by People's Republic of China in the current drought situation is highly appreciated and we hope the cooperation will be continued. We appreciate the efforts of MRC to further strengthen and expand its relationships with People's Republic of China, Myanmar and all MRC partners in pursuing the organization's development goals.

We note that the MRC has forged new alliances and working relationships with a range of international organizations including ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank to further promote the sustainable development and management of the Mekong Basin's water resources.

We welcome and appreciate the continued and extensive strategic, financial and technical support from MRC's Development Partners over the years which has allowed the MRC to successfully implement the Mekong Agreement and become a more effective organization.

We acknowledge with appreciation the outcome of the International Conference on Transboundary Water Resources Management in a Changing World held prior to the First MRC Summit as reflected in the Conference Summary.

Regional opportunities and challenges

We, the Heads of Government, acknowledge that there are both opportunities and challenges to be faced by the MRC over the next decade as a result of development pressures including expanding populations and rapid economic growth. We commit to cooperate further to tackle critical emerging challenges in the Mekong Basin that include: reducing the loss of life and assets at risk from flooding and loss of livelihoods from drought conditions; better integrating sustainability considerations into the development of the Basin's significant hydropower potential; ensuring effective management of water for agricultural production, particularly as part of drought management strategies; preparing for climate change adaptation measures to minimise poverty and food insecurity among vulnerable communities; minimising any deterioration of water quality, loss of wetlands and deforestation, which present risks to biodiversity and peoples' livelihoods; better managing the Basin's unique natural fisheries; and reducing the risks associated with expansion of river transport.

Building on the solid foundation of 15 years of capacity building, we encourage MRC to address these challenges through the preparation and implementation of the IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy and the forthcoming MRC Strategic Plan for 2011-2015. We note that significant opportunities exist through intensifying partnerships and relationships with an increasing range of Partners, including ASEAN, the ADB, the GMS, the World Bank and other transboundary river basin organizations. We confirm that the continued focus of MRC on active stakeholder participation with a range of civil society organizations and the private sector will strengthen its ability to meet its development goals.

Vision of the MRC

We, the Heads of Government, note:

The existing Vision of the Mekong River Basin as "An economically prosperous, socially just and environmentally sound Mekong River Basin"; " The Vision for the MRC as

A world class, financially secure, International River Basin Organization serving the Mekong countries to achieve the Basin Vision"; and

The Mission of the MRC, "To promote and coordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries' mutual benefit and the people's well-being."

We resolve to enhance efforts to realize these goals through a broad consultative approach that feeds into and influences MRC's strategic directions and ensures continued relevance of the MRC for future generations.

Priority Areas of Action

We, the Heads of Government, pronounce that building on the achievements of fifteen years of implementation of the Mekong Agreement, further cooperation over the coming years between the governments of Member Countries will be required to optimise multiple-use of water resources and mutual benefits for all riparians, to avoid any harmful effect that might result from natural occurrences and man-made activities and to protect the immense value of natural ecosystems and ecological balance.

We expect the MRC to focus on and prioritise:

Adopting and implementing the IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy;

Intensifying efforts to effectively manage the risks from flood, drought and sea level rise including establishment of forecasting and warning systems across the whole basin;

Facilitating an international legal framework that encourages river navigation and trade;

Researching and addressing the threat to livelihoods posed by climate change and cooperating with other regional partners in addressing haze pollution;

Monitoring and taking measures to improve water quality in priority areas of the Basin;

Sustaining the existing and future uses of water and related resources, and aquatic biodiversity, wetlands and forests in the Basin;

Identifying and advising on the opportunities and challenges of hydropower and other infrastructure development in the Basin, especially risks as they pertain to the protection of food security and livelihoods;

Continuing to improve the implementation of the Procedures for Data and Information Exchange and Sharing, the Procedures for Water Use Monitoring, the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement and the Procedures for Maintenance of Flows on the Mainstream and finalise the Procedures for Water Quality;

Exploring and identifying opportunities for expansion of cooperation between the organization's current Dialogue Partners and Development Partners, in particular to address common water resources and climate change challenges, as well as identifying new Development Partners and other stakeholders.

Way ahead We, the Heads of Government, reaffirm our solidarity and the highest level of political commitment to the implementation of the Mekong Agreement.

We commit to working together to achieve sustainable integrated water resources management for sustainable development, economic growth and the alleviation of poverty and improvement of livelihoods in the Mekong River Basin. In parallel, we recognise that efforts need to be expanded to protect the natural resources of the Mekong Basin for the sustainable management and use of the Basin's resources.

We reiterate our support for the MRC's role in promoting and facilitating coordinated and sustainable development; enhancing and strengthening the working relationships with Dialogue Partners, ASEAN, the GMS, the ADB, the World Bank, other Development Partners, civil society, the private sector and others. In this connection, we welcome other Riparian States to join the MRC in the future.

Consistent with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, we emphasise the need to prioritise resources, funding and capacity building for those Member Countries where poverty is highest and economic need is most urgent.

Recognising that economic development is progressing in the Mekong Region, we commit to a vision for the MRC to be financially sustained by Member Countries by 2030. We refer to institutional models adopted by other international river basin organizations and encourage the MRC to increasingly explore de-centralised implementation modalities for its core river basin management functions.

We agree that progress made in implementing the resolutions of this Declaration will be monitored through the MRC Council. We decide that an MRC Summit will be convened every four years. The host country will rotate among the MRC Member Countries in alphabetical order.

We express our sincere appreciation to the host country, Thailand, for hosting the First MRC Summit.

ADOPTED at Hua Hin, Thailand on 5 April 2010 in the English Language."
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Drought grips parts of China, Southeast Asia amid dam concerns

By Miranda Leitsinger, CNN

Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- Dams have dried up in southwest China, Thai fishermen have almost completely stopped their fishery activities on the Mekong River, and nearly half of northern Vietnam's farmland is under threat because of a regional drought.

The region is facing water shortages and low water levels along the Mekong River -- particularly the tributaries that feed into it -- after a shorter-than-usual monsoon season last year and light rainfall in the dry season, affecting millions of people, livestock and hectares of land, and generating losses in the millions of dollars, officials from various countries and the United Nations say.

"This is a regional drought. It's not just restricted to one area. We expect it to go on now for maybe another two to three weeks before the rainy season starts, and then the water levels on the river will hopefully start to rise," said Jeremy Bird, chief executive officer of the Mekong River Commission, which was formed in 1995 by Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to oversee sustainable development along the waterway.

In southwest China, the drought has lasted for six months and is still spreading, resulting in an economic loss of more than $2.5 million in Yunnan province, according to a presentation made last week by Chen Mingzhong, deputy director general of China's Ministry of Water Resources, to a Mekong River Commission summit.

Less rainfall in the Mekong River basin led to a decline in water levels, with 662 rivers and water at 3,674 small dams drying up, Chen said in the presentation.

In Thailand, 7.6 million people and 59 of the country's 76 provinces have been affected by the drought, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The drought has been severe in the Southeast Asian nation, said Srisuwan Kuankajorn, co-director of the environmental nonprofit Terra in Thailand.

"According to villagers who live along the river in Thailand ... the Mekong is really drying. At some point, people seem to be able to even walk across the river, which has never happened before," he said Monday, adding that some locals have said they couldn't travel by boat or grow crops along banks of the rivers, and some reported cargo getting stuck.

People who live in the north, particularly Chiang Rai province, were in "big trouble," Srisuwan said, citing information received from local nonprofit groups. "They cannot fish. Fisheries are a very important source of income and source of protein ... they have almost completely stopped their fishery activities."

The Mekong is nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) long, stretching from the Tibetan plateau, through southern China, and then along the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, through Cambodia to Vietnam. Some 60 million people live in the river basin, and Bird said the river's fisheries are the most productive in the world.

Forty percent of northern Vietnam's total farming area was under threat and 22 provinces on high alert for forest fires because of the dry conditions, according to the United Nations. Saltwater has also flowed into southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta in greater amounts than usual because of the low water levels, threatening rice and other crops on 620,000 hectares.

The mainstream Mekong in its upper reaches has now recovered from one-in-50-year low levels reached in February, but problems remain in tributaries that feed into the river, Bird said.
"Those are still running at extreme dry levels, the driest we have seen on record for the 50 years that we have been recording," Bird said. "It's really a question of very low water levels for communities, drinking supplies for agriculture, for livestock."

China's dams on the Upper Mekong Basin -- so far, three are operational and one is being filled with water -- have come under scrutiny amid the drought and river lows, with some critics questioning if Beijing was stocking up water in a bid to battle the drought in that country's southwest.

At the Mekong River Commission meeting last week in Thailand, Chen, the Ministry of Water Resources official, said his country was not to blame.

"The current extreme dry weather in the lower Mekong River Basin is the root cause for the reduced run-off water and declining water level in the main stem Mekong," he said in comments published by the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency. "The hydropower stations built on the Lancang River (Mekong) will not increase the chance of flood and drought disasters in the downstream. Instead, it will considerably enhance the capacity of flood control, drought relief, irrigation and water supply for the downstream countries."

There are eight existing or planned Mekong dams in China's Yunnan province, and 11 proposed by Cambodia, Laos and Thailand are in various stages of research, according to the Mekong River Commission.

The commission was studying the influence of upstream dams in China, but past studies showed dams can have beneficial and detrimental effects.

For example, Bird said releases of water from dams upstream in China in early March this year helped keep water levels in northern Laos higher than they would have been in natural conditions and helped the upper reaches of the Mekong move from the one-in-50-year lows to one-in-10-year lows.

He also said China shared data at the meeting indicating that more water was being released from its dams rather than stored from December 2009 through March.

"We see the cause as extremely low rainfall, both at the end of the wet season and this dry season -- not due to dam operation," Bird said.

But for Srisuwan Kuankajorn of Terra, the dams are the main problem. He said villagers had detected fluctuations in water levels that they did not believe could be attributed to rainfall, rather thinking it was because of releases of water from dams by China.

"I don't ignore what the Chinese authorities are trying to say -- the drought, the low rainfall," he said, but added that China's actions had "been done without transparency, without taking into consideration the principles of sharing." Read more!

Maoist rebels kill at least 76 soldiers in east India

The guerrillas' attack on paramilitaries in Chhattisgarh state is among the deadliest in memory and illustrates the persistence of an insurgency that India has tried to wipe out since the late 1960s.

Men carry an injured paramilitary soldier for treatment at Jagdalpur in India. Maoist rebels launched a series of deadly attacks on forces patrolling the forests of eastern India. (Associated Press / April 6, 2010)


By Mark Magnier and Anshul Rana


Reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and New Delhi - Maoist rebels in eastern India killed at least 76 paramilitary soldiers Tuesday, authorities said, underscoring the continued strength of an insurgency that India has tried for decades to wipe out. The dawn attack in Chhattisgarh state was among the deadliest by the guerrillas in memory.

S. R. Kalluri, a deputy police inspector in densely forested Dantewada district where the attack occurred, told local media that the soldiers were on an extended patrol and stopped to rest Monday night.

At some point, insurgents learned of their location and "at the break of dawn the Maoists attacked," Kalluri said. "Now we are chalking a strategy to retaliate."

Several thousand people have died in attacks since the Maoist insurgency began in the late 1960s. The rebels are said to number about 20,000, including an estimated 6,000 hard-core combatants.

In recent months, they have stepped up their attacks in response to a police offensive initiated late last year across several "red corridor" states. On Sunday, rebels set off a land mine that killed at least 10 members of an elite anti-Maoist unit in the mineral-rich eastern state of Orissa.
The rebels are funded in part by hundreds of millions of dollars extorted from companies each year. Their arsenal includes automatic rifles, shoulder-fired rocket launchers, mines and related explosives, some of which have been stolen from Indian authorities and some purchased from Chinese smugglers.

The Maoists, who say they are fighting for poor farmers and landless workers, are particularly strong in impoverished, rural areas where basic government services are limited and local corruption is endemic. Even as India's expanding middle class struts its stuff in the cities, clogging roads and crowding shopping centers, vast swaths of the country have not shared in their gains.

Home Affairs Minister P. Chidambaram said there was an evident intelligence failure that saw the patrol, a joint operation of state and central government forces, walk into a trap. Monday was reportedly the second night that the paramilitary units had been camping out in remote jungle terrain.

"I am deeply shocked at the loss of lives," he said. "This shows the savage nature" of the Maoists.

Police spokesman R. K. Vij estimated that 1,000 rebels took part in the attack, while others put the number closer to 300.

While the state has claimed progress in its current "Operation Green Hunt" campaign against the Maoists, the number of attackers and their ability to avoid detection suggests the government faces a tough fight ahead. More than 1,000 attacks, resulting in 600 deaths, were recorded last year.

"They will hit you where you are the weakest and run and hide when you are strong," said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, a think tank. "It is the basic principal of guerrilla warfare. . . . The government needs to stop telling people about massive deployments and giving sound bites to the media. It needs to develop a strategy."

Air force pilots worked Tuesday afternoon to fly the injured and dead from the area, even as senior military officials rushed to the site and pledged to redouble their efforts to root out the insurgency.

mark.magnier@latimes.com
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Benefit for Cambodian Landmine Removal today in Palm Springs

Peabody's Cafe in downtown Palm Springs is set to host its third annual benefit for Cambodian Landmine Removal from 7 to 9 p.m.

Attendees can bid on exotic items made in Cambodia as well as items donated by Palm Springs merchants, according to a Small Hotels of Palm Springs (SHoPS) e-mail. The items to be auctioned typically value $30-$50, the e-mail stated.

Cambodian Landmine Removal has "a huge impact on those in especially rural and more remote areas who suffer from the fear of living amongst old land mines and far-to-often (sic) the devastating injuries sustained when encountering them directly," the e-mail stated. "This organization also takes care of about thirty youngsters who've lost limbs due to landmines."

Those interested can RSVP by sending an e-mail to peabodyscafe@gmail.com with a head-count in the subject line, the e-mail stated.. Read more!

Aspire Signs MOU to Explore Mining Property in Cambodia

Aspire Has Obtained the Right for Exploration and Geological Data Collection in Cambodia

TORONTO, April 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aspire International, Inc. ("Aspire" or the "Company") (OTCBB:APIT) announced today that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) of Cambodia for conducting geological data collection in Phnum Ngout area, Salakrau district, Pailin province, Ratanakmondol and Samlot districts, Battambang province, Kingdom of Cambodia.

The objective of the MOU is the cooperation of geological data collection for preliminary geological survey for mineral deposits in the above-mentioned area. The MIME Ministry of Cambodia agrees to allow the Company to cooperate with General Department of Mineral Resources (GDMR) to conduct the geological data collection to consider in applying for the exploration and exploiting licenses in the future.

The surface area by mining standards is quite exceptional at 261 square kilometers. This sizeable area under acquisition is considered to contain rich amounts of Iron Ore that, based on historical exploration data, represents a potential resource size believed to be in excess of 1 billion tons of exploitable Iron Ore.

Iron Ore has more than doubled in price over the past year and currently sells for as high as $140 per ton. With recent media reports of expectations of prices in excess of $200 per ton by year's end, it makes this MOU an especially valuable opportunity for Aspire to acquire a very sizeable Iron Ore deposit so close to China, which is by far the largest importer and most voracious consumer of Iron Ore in the entire world.

Aspire International Inc. (OTCBB:APIT) was registered on December 18, 2007 in the state of Maryland. Perfisans Networks Corporation, founded in 2001, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aspire International Inc. and is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Canada.

More information can be obtained from the Company's web sites at www.perfisans.com and http://www.apit.ca

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains statements relating to future results of Aspire (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the markets addressed by the company's and its customers' products; demand for and market acceptance of new and existing products; successful development of new products; the timing of new product introductions; changes in product mix; product obsolescence; the availability of manufacturing capacity; fluctuations in manufacturing yields; pricing pressures and other competitive factors; the ability to develop and implement new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual property; the uncertainties of litigation; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in Aspire's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Aspire International, Inc.
Investor Relations
(905)943-9996 x 230
ir@perfisans.com Read more!

ASIA: People’s voice absent in Mekong river talks - activists

BANGKOK, 5 April 2010 (IRIN) - Millions of people living in and around Southeast Asia’s largest river, the Mekong, need a greater voice in determining its future, say activists.

“There needs to be more recognition of the voice of the people who depend on the river and what their vision of the river is,” Carl Middleton, the Mekong programme coordinator for the US-based NGO International Rivers, told IRIN.

“Decision-makers should listen better to the people that are affected by [infrastructure] projects.”

His comments coincide with the conclusion of the first ever Mekong River Summit on 5 April in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin, which brought together leaders from China, Laos, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Thailand and Myanmar to discuss its management.

The summit, organized by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to mark its 15th anniversary, comes at a critical time: the river’s water-level is at its lowest point in 50 years in Laos and northern Thailand.

Boat traffic has been halted along many parts of the 4,350km river, and fisheries and irrigation systems have been adversely affected.

Dams in China

While unusually low rainfall is widely believed to be responsible for the current low level of water in the Mekong, many environmentalists and NGOs claim China has exacerbated the situation by damming the river upstream.

China has four dams on the river and four more planned, but Beijing denies the dams are contributing to the current low level of the Mekong, and used the MRC meetings to reiterate its stance that natural causes are to blame.

"The current extreme dry weather in the lower Mekong river basin is the root cause for the reduced run-off water and declining water level in the main stem Mekong," Chen Mingzhong, deputy director-general of China’s Department of International Cooperation, Science and Technology, told a conference on 2 April that preceded the international summit.

On 4 April, China’s delegation promised increased cooperation among Mekong river countries on water management issues, particularly concerning its dams. This comes after China agreed for the first time ever late last month to share water-level data at two dams.

“This is a positive step,” Middleton told IRIN. A lack of rainfall is obviously a very important factor in the low level of the Mekong, he said, but questions remain as to whether China’s dams have also exacerbated the situation, or whether the dams could be used to alleviate the problem.
The summit focused on regional cooperation in solving drought and flooding problems in the Mekong region. The final joint declaration covered how the river can be used to reduce poverty, boost sustainable energy development, help people adapt to climate change, improve infrastructure and increase the involvement of civil society stakeholders in planning and decision-making.

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China rejects Mekong River dam criticism

China has rejected claims that its dams on the Mekong River are to blame for record low water levels in downstream nations.

Speaking at a summit in Thailand, China's vice foreign minister said drought and not hydropower was to blame for the reduced river flow.

More than 60m people from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam depend on the Mekong River for their livelihoods.

Parts of the river are at their lowest levels in 50 years.

Further downstream drought, salt deposits and reduced soil nutrients are threatening food production in the rice bowls of Cambodia and Vietnam.

'Serious problems'

The leaders of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam all attended the Mekong River summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.

Addressing the summit, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned that the river would not survive without good management.

"The Mekong River is being threatened by serious problems arising from both the unsustainable use of water and the effects of climate change," he said.

Activists have blamed Chinese dams for contributing to the drop in river flow and producing irreversible change to the river's ecology.

China has eight planned or existing dams on the mainstream river and says it wants more.

But Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao said the dams were not the problem.

"Statistics show that the recent drought that hit the whole river basin is attributable to the extreme dry weather, and the water level decline of the Mekong River has nothing to do with the hydropower development," he said.

He said that by regulating water flow, the dams could help with flood prevention and drought relief.

And he said that China had increased its information sharing in recent months - highlighting the provision since March of data from two hydrological stations to downstream nations.

Mr Abhisit said that the dialogue with China had been positive, and that he hoped information sharing would become "more systematic and more consistent" in the future. Read more!

Man fatally wounded in S. Phila. shooting

By VALERIE RUSS
Philadelphia Daily News

Ranny Thon was a peacemaker who was trying to calm an angry man when he was shot and killed early Saturday in South Philadelphia, relatives said yesterday.

The man killed Thon, 24, and wounded three relatives: a 22-year-old man who was shot in the shoulder; a 24-year-old man who was shot in the thigh and back; and a 17-year-old female cousin, who was grazed in the stomach, police said.

Yesterday, the 17-year-old cousin was sitting on the front steps of a house on 8th Street, near Moyamensing Avenue, with relatives and friends. The young woman, who asked that her name not be used, translated for Thon's mother, who came to this country from Cambodia and spoke Khmer, when she appeared briefly at the front door.

"She said to let everyone know, 'I miss him and I love him very much and I feel like I am going crazy because my son died,' " the young woman said.

Thon and his relatives were shot as they stood outside Thon's aunt's house. The girl said she believed the shooter was also Cambodian. She said Thon and his siblings were born in the United States.

No arrests had been made as of last night.

The relatives kept candles burning at a sidewalk memorial that included incense, a bowl of noodles, a cup of beer and a white plastic chair filled with stuffed animals and a picture of Thon.

The 17-year-old cousin said Thon had tried to intervene when a man came by about 2:30 a.m. and began arguing with a couple who were out on the sidewalk with her male relatives.

The man left the block for about 10 minutes and when he returned, "he got mad because the guy he was arguing with had gone," the 17-year-old said.

As Thon tried to calm the man down, the gunman started shooting. Her three male relatives were shot outside and the teenager as she stood just inside the front door. "I just screamed and started crying," the girl said. "I didn't know I was hit until I got inside."

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Cambodia OKs foreign property ownership

PHNOM PENH—Cambodia's parliament on Monday approved a law allowing foreign ownership of property such as apartments and office buildings, in a measure intended to increase economic growth.

The draft law, which will permit foreigners to buy leaseholds on buildings and apartments, but not own the land beneath them, was passed when 85 of 96 members of parliament who attended the Monday meeting voted in favor.

Land management minister Im Chhun Lim told the national assembly the law would boost the kingdom's real estate market and bring in more foreign investment.

The law will take effect after approval from Cambodia's Senate and promulgation from King Norodom Sihamoni, which are both considered formalities.

Under old rules, foreign property investment could only be made through the name of a Cambodian national and many were unwilling to risk losing their assets to potentially unscrupulous local partners.

The cash-strapped country's investment law was amended in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of buildings but the legislation was never implemented and the initiative foundered.

Despite the restrictions, billion-dollar skyscraper projects and sprawling satellite cities promising to radically alter Phnom Penh have bloomed over the past few years.

But many projects have been halted or slowed down as Cambodia was buffeted by the world financial crisis after several years of double-digit growth, fuelled mainly by tourism and garment exports.
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Thaksin not allowed to use Cambodia to criticise Thai govt : Hun Sen

By The Nation


Convicted ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra will not be invited to Cambodia during the red shirts' protest to prevent him from using the country as a base to criticise Abhisit government, Cambodia's PM Hun Sen said Sunday.

As long as the red shirts hold mass rally in Thailand, Thaksin, an economic adviser to Hun Sen and the Khmer government, will not invited as guest of Cambodia.

Thai Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban said Hun Sen conveyed the message during their meeting on the sideline of mekong Summit in Hua Hin.

Hun Sen's message surprised many. It is because Hun Sen had angered Thai government by appointing Thaksin as economic adviser and the appointment led to the downgrading of the mutual ties.

Hun Sen himself had criticised Abhisit government, saying that his government is not willing to deal with Abhisit government. He even challenged Abhisit to dissolve the House and hold a snap election
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PAD protesters tell Cambodia's Hun Sen he's not welcome in Hua Hin

VOICING THEIR OPINION: Members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy show their opposition to Cambodian Prime Minsiter Hun Sen yesterday.

PHETCHABURI : More than 100 activists arrived in Cha-am on Saturday to deliver a letter protesting against Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's visit to Thailand.

Key People's Alliance for Democracy figure Veera Somkwamkid led the group and handed the letter of protest to Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister.

Hun Sen is due to attend the Mekong River Commission summit in Hua Hin tomorrow.

Mr Veera said the Cambodian prime minister is "persona non grata" in Thailand and accused Hun Sen of having tried to interfere in Thailand's domestic affairs.

He said Hun Sen showed a disregard of the Thai judicial system when he criticised it over its handling of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal cases.

Mr Veera said Hun Sen offended Thais by appointing Thaksin as an economic adviser and his own personal adviser.

Mr Veera attacked Hun Sen for putting personal relationships and individual interests above relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

Mr Veera accused the Cambodian prime minister of trying to infringe on Thailand's sovereignty by sending troops to invade the 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple. He also alleged Hun Sen was trying to take control of other disputed areas along the Thai-Cambodian border and the overlapping areas in the Gulf of Thailand.

Mr Veera said he and other Thais would fight to protect the country's territorial integrity.

He said Thais would not be bound by any agreements and actions by past and present governments that violate the constitution and hurt the country's interests.

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Charity Concert for Cambodia

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Cellist Mark Kosower and pianist Oh Ji-won will perform in a fundraising concert for disadvantaged Cambodians.

The duo’s recitals, organized by PBC and Sharing Fund, a nongovernmental organization that helps underdeveloped Asian countries, will be held on Wednesday and Friday at Kumho Art Hall, downtown Seoul.

Kosower is a renowned American artist who is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize. He currently holds a solo position with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. Oh is an accomplished chamber musician who has performed extensively in Europe and North American including the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Lincoln Center in New York.

The first concert will feature Rachmaninov’s Sonata for Cello and Sonata No. 19. Singers from the Rime Opera Ensemble will take the stage during the second half of the performance to deliver widely loved songs such as ``Time to Say Goodbye’’ and ``Ah! Je Veux Vivre’’ from Gounod’s opera ``Romeo and Juliet.’’

On Friday, Kosower and Oh will take the stage again for more chamber music. The duo will play Debussy’s Cello Sonata No. 1, Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 2 and Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances.

Also included in the program are Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonata No. 2 and Dutilleux’s ``Trois Strophes sur le Nom de Sacher.’’

Tickets for both concerts cost from 30,000 to 100,000 won. Proceeds from the event will go toward an aid fund to help develop agricultural and educational projects, provide medical assistance to landmine victims and donate wheelchairs to the disabled, among other causes.
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Cambodia may tweak Phuket property

Phuket NEWS Hound

– A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket's international community

PHUKET: Cambodia is trying to encourage international investment by relaxing laws on property ownership by foreigners.

The Financial Times reports that Cambodia's draft law is under discussion at the National Assembly and would allow non-nationals to fully own residential apartments for the first time.

While resort islands such as Phuket and Bali remain the most popular destinations for foreigners looking to purchase a holiday home in southeast Asia, Cambodia's lawmakers hope deregulation will help to lift the Cambodian property market out of the doldrums.

While Hong Kong and Singapore pose few barriers to foreign ownership of property, the less developed nations of southeast Asia still labor under significant restrictions against it. In Thailand, total foreign ownership of buildings must not exceed 49 per cent.

But with property prices under pressure across Asia, a number of countries are now considering liberalising discriminatory property laws.

Protests shut down shopping
The Star
More than than 30,000 red shirted protesters converged on the main shopping area in Bangkok on Saturday and threatened to stay until the prime minister calls elections, forcing big department stores to close and paralysing traffic.

The red-shirted protesters swarmed an intersection whose upmarket stores are a symbol of wealth in the Thai capital, accusing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government of neglecting the poor on the 21st day of their mass street rally.

Central World, the second-largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia, and other big malls shut their doors in response to the protests.

Jatuporn Prompan, a red-shirt leader, said from a makeshift stage: "It is time for the under-privileged to liberate themselves from oppression made by the elite-backed government.”

While the protests in the nation's capital continue, Phuket remains calm, as does the rest of Thailand outside the Greater Bangkok area. However, the political turmoil is clearly inflicting mounting damage on tourism in Phuket.

On Wednesday, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) president Somboon Jirayus said that tourism in the resort province this year has seen only 60-70 per cent of the check-ins it enjoyed during the same period last year.

Thailand faces sugar shortage
The Nation
Thailand’s Commerce Ministry has found that 20 provinces are facing an inadequate supply of sugar, while consumers are paying more than the controlled price in 50 provinces.

Furthermore, Thailand is facing a serious sugar shortage, as most millers have refused to supply the commodity to the ministry for a special 80,000-tonne allocation aimed at easing the tight market situation.

Yanyong Phuangrach, permanent secretary to the ministry, yesterday said that since an agreement was reached late last month, only one miller had come forward, supplying only 360 tons.

The ministry now plans to send teams to inspect sugar millers' stockpiles to prevent hoarding and price speculation. If the government were to find any unfair practices, traders could face imprisonment and a 140,000-baht fine, the ministry warned. Read more!

From California to Cambodia, Fighting for Women

By SETH MYDANS


MAK PRAING, Cambodia

IT was at Berkeley in the 1970s that Mu Sochua, a shy teenager fleeing a war in Cambodia, learned the thrill of speaking her mind.

The daughter of a well-to-do merchant in Phnom Penh, she had been sent to the West at the age of 18 to study and to be safe from the fighting that later brought the brutal Khmer Rouge regime to power.

“When I hit San Francisco I knew that was my city,” said Ms. Mu Sochua, who is now 55. “I began to shine. I let my hair grow. I looked like a hippie.” She learned English, she said, by listening to the Beatles.

She earned a master’s degree in social work from Berkeley and transformed herself enthusiastically from a demure traditional Cambodian woman to one who knew her rights and was not shy about demanding them.

That is her problem today as the most prominent female member of Parliament, a leader of the country’s struggling political opposition and a campaigner for women’s rights in a society where women are still expected to walk and speak with a becoming deference.

“I have to be careful not to push things too far,” she said in a recent interview on the campaign trail here in southern Cambodia. “I have to be very, very careful about what I bring from the West, to promote women’s rights within the context of a society that is led by men,” she said.

“In the Cambodian context, it’s women’s lib. It’s feminism. It’s challenging the culture, challenging the men.”

She has this in mind as she campaigns through the villages of Kandal Province, a woman with power but a woman nonetheless. “I walk into a cafe and I have to think twice, how to be polite to the men,” she said. “I have to ask if I can enter. This is their turf.”

Ms. Mu Sochua is a member of a new generation of female leaders who are working their way into the political systems of countries across Asia and elsewhere, from local councils to national assemblies and cabinet positions.

A former minister of women’s affairs, she did as much as anybody to put women’s issues on the agenda of a nation emerging in the 1990s from decades of war and mass killings.

During six years as minister, Ms. Mu Sochua campaigned against child abuse, marital rape, violence against women, human trafficking and the exploitation of female workers. She helped draft the country’s Prevention of Domestic Violence law.

In part because of her work, she said, “People are aware about gender. It’s a new Cambodian word: ‘gen-de.’ People are aware that women have rights.”

But she lost her public platform in 2004 when she broke with the government and joined the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, and she is finding it as difficult now to promote her ideas as to gain attention as a candidate.

LIKE dissidents and opposition figures in many countries, she has found herself with a new burden, battling for her own rights. As she has risen in prominence, her political stands have become more of a political liability than her gender.

Most recently, she has been caught in a bizarre tit-for-tat exchange of defamation suits with the country’s domineering prime minister, Hun Sen, in which, to nobody’s surprise, she was the loser.

It started last April here in Kampot Province when Mr. Hun Sen referred to her with the phrase “cheung klang,” or “strong legs,” an insulting term for a woman in Cambodia.

She sued him for defamation; he stripped her of her parliamentary immunity and sued her back. Her suit was dismissed in the politically docile courts. On Aug. 4 she was convicted of defaming the prime minister and fined about $4,000, which she has refused to pay.

“Now I live with the uncertainty about whether I’m going to go to jail,” she said. “I’m not going to pay the fine. Paying the fine is saying to all Cambodian women, ‘What are you worth? A man can call you anything he wants and there is nothing you can do.’ ”

Ms. Mu Sochua was still in California when the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia in 1975 and began mass killings that would take 1.7 million lives over the next four years.

“We were waiting, waiting, waiting to hear from our parents,” she said. “They told us they were on the last plane to Paris. They never made it.”

She headed for the Thai border, where refugees were fleeing by the tens of thousands, and it was there that she met her future husband, an American, when both were working in the refugee camps. They have lived together in Cambodia since 1989, where he works for the United Nations, and have three grown children living in the United States and Britain.

Ms. Mu Sochua makes frequent trips into the countryside around their villa, introducing herself to constituents who may never have seen her face. The next parliamentary election is still three years away, but she is already campaigning because she is almost entirely excluded from government-controlled newspapers and television.

She paused politely the other day at the stoop of a small open-fronted noodle shop in this riverside village, where men sat in the midday heat on red plastic chairs. She let her male assistants enter first.

She had succeeded in halting a sand-dredging project that was eroding riverbanks here, and she wanted the men to know that she had been working on their behalf. “I came here to inform you that you got a result from the government,” she told the men, showing them a legal document. “I want to inform you that you have a voice. If you see something wrong, you can stand up and speak about it.”

Asked afterward what it was like to have a woman fighting his battles, Mol Sa, 37, a fisherman, said, “She speaks up for us, so I don’t think she’s any different from a man. Maybe a different lady couldn’t do it, but she can do it because she is strong and not afraid.”

FEAR was a theme as Ms. Mu Sochua moved through the countryside here.

At another village where cracks were appearing in the sandy embankment, a widow named Pal Nas, 78, said the big dredging boats had scared her.

“I’m afraid that if I speak out they will come after me,” she said. “In the Khmer Rouge time they killed all the men. When night comes I don’t have a man to protect me. It’s more difficult if you are a woman alone.”

Mr. Hun Sen’s ruling party holds power through most of rural Cambodia, and Ms. Mu Sochua said party agents kept an eye on her as she campaigned. At one point a man on a motorbike took photographs of her and her companions with a mobile telephone, then drove away.

Later, as the sun began to set, a farmer greeted her warmly, calling out to his wife and climbing a tree to pick ripe guavas for her.

“I voted for you,” he said as he handed her the fruit. “But don’t tell anyone.” Read more!

Experts Say Cooperation Needed on Mekong River Resources

The Mekong River runs more than 4,000 kilometers through six countries, vital to large populations for farming, fishing, drinking water, industry and power generation

Experts meeting to discuss Mekong River resources have urged countries along the Southeast Asian river to improve cooperation in developing hydropower. Delegates also urged China to share more information about its dam building on the Mekong.

After two days of discussions, some 200 experts on water, environmental protection, and finance concluded there is not enough cooperation on developing the Mekong River's resources.

They urged Mekong countries to find a balanced approach to harness the river's economic benefits such as hydropower without causing too much social and environmental damage.

Ian Matthews, who is with the ANZ Bank in Singapore, says international standards for environmental protection are not being met on Mekong dam projects when international banks are not involved.

"As a country, as a government, there's a clear desire to have hydropower finance because it is an increasingly valuable resource in places like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. If the international bank is not going to finance it, and they're not going to apply World Bank standards, IFC standards, to these projects, what you get are banks coming in who have much lower standards. Now, that will lead to much greater degradation of the environment, it will lead to the exclusion of other stakeholders," said Matthews.

China is the only country with hydropower dams on the Mekong and along with Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand is also planning to build more.

Until recently China provided very little information from its dams to its downstream neighbors.
And when the river flooded in 2008 and this year dropped to a 50-year low, many along the Mekong blamed China.

However, the Mekong River Commission, the organization coordinating cooperation on the river, says drought was the real culprit.

But the MRC says dams on the Mekong are likely to have adverse effects on fish migration and sediment flows.

Pham Thi Thanh Hang is coordinator of the MRC's Basin Development Program. She noted China was giving more data on its dams but said even more was needed.

"We have been benefiting from the sharing of informations, from the sharing of the borders used, with our Chinese colleagues, and comparing the model results. But, we will also benefit if further, extensive information will be shared. For example, on the operations of the dams. So that the countries down here can really plan and work according to a good understanding of what are the opportunities and risks," she said.

MRC member countries are Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Their prime ministers are to meet Monday to discuss for the first time efforts to improve transparency and cooperation on the river.

They will be joined by dialogue partners from upstream countries Burma and China.

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