South coast blaze 'unpredictable'

Swirling winds are creating unpredictable conditions for firefighters battling a blaze close to homes at Burrill Lake on the New South Wales south coast. Authorities haify;">Authorities have confirmed a holiday cottage near Dolphin Point was destroyed by the blaze last night. Helicopters are waterbombing the fire and crews from surrounding areas have been called in to help protect properties. Tim Carroll, from the Rural Fire Service (RFS), says strong winds are pushing the fire towards the township of Lake Tabourie, south of Ulladulla. He says several rural properties are in the path of the fire and if residents choose to leave the area, they...

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Swat diary: 'Bright future ahead'

Munir (not his real name), an administrator in the Swat region of Pakistan, has returned to his home in Swat three months after his family fled the conflict there. He describes the challenges of daily life with optimism about the future. We returned to Swat on 2 August. We were very excited. We were desperate to go to our village, but we were told by other villagers over the phone that people were not allowed to enter the village without a special pass.Therefore we had to stay near Mingora for two days to obtain such passes before we could return to our home village. More than two feet grass had grown while we were away. Everything seemed to...

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Cosgrove honoured amid E Timor celebrations

Retired General Peter Cosgrove has been presented with one of East Timor's highest honours at a ceremony celebrating the country's 10 years of independence. Galign: justify;">General Cosgrove has been presented with the collar of the Order of East Timor by the country's President, Jose Ramos-Horta. General Cosgrove was the head of the Australian-led multinational peacekeeping mission which arrived in East Timor after the vote for independence in 1999. He says he is receiving the award on behalf of all those involved in the mission in East Timor. Earlier today, Dr Ramos-Horta thanked Australia for its support and friendship. Australia's...

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Adopted teen finds answers, mystery in China

By Barbara DemickChristian Norris of Easton, Md., remembers little of his pre-U.S. life. A reunion at a Beijing hotel helps fill in some of the gaps. Reporting from Beijing - The father fell to his knees, weeping. The mother quietly buried her face in her hands. The 17-year-old boy stood upright and motionless -- whether out of shock or stoicism, no one knew.Christian Norris, who had just returned to China for the first time since he was adopted by an American eight years ago, didn't know what to think.The interpreter stood quietly on the sidelines waiting for what seemed an eternity, the only sounds were the sobs and the clicking of cameras...

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10,000 homes are threatened

Homeowners Jack and Debra Carr feel relief after hearing word from a U.S. Forest Service employee that their home in Big Tujunga Canyon is safe on Saturday night. (Christina House / For The Times / August 29or The Times / August 29, 2009)Across the burning foothills, 1,000 are ordered to flee. Others watch, and dread the phone call to evacuate.The unstoppable Angeles National Forest fire threatened 10,000 homes Saturday night as it more than tripled in size and chewed through a rapidly widening swath of the Crescenta Valley, where flames closed in on backyards and at least 1,000 homes were ordered evacuated.Sending an ominous plume of smoke above...

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U.S. fears clock ticking on Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Mark Chieffallo of Pittsburg arrives at an observation post on a peak above a village in Helmand province with over Marines. (Julie Jacobson / Associated Press / August 22, 2009)As public support wanes, the Obama administration feels it needs to deliver speedy progress in Afghanistan so that it can gain time and backing for its long-term military strategy.Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Washington - The Obama administration is racing to demonstrate visible headway in the faltering war in Afghanistan, convinced it has only until next summer to slow a hemorrhage in U.S. support and win more time for the military and diplomatic...

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U.S. fears clock ticking on Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Mark Chieffallo of Pittsburg arrives at an observation post on a peak above a village in Helmand province with over Marines. (Julie Jacobson / Associated Press / August 22, ed Press / August 22, 2009)As public support wanes, the Obama administration feels it needs to deliver speedy progress in Afghanistan so that it can gain time and backing for its long-term military strategy.Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Washington - The Obama administration is racing to demonstrate visible headway in the faltering war in Afghanistan, convinced it has only until next summer to slow a hemorrhage in U.S. support and win more time for the military...

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Suicide Blast Kills 12 in Pakistan's Swat Valley

A Pakistani police officer stands at the site of a suicide bombing in Mingora, the main town of Pakistan's troubled of Pakistan's troubled Swat Valley, Sunday, 30 Aug. 2009By VOA NewsPakistan officials say at least 12 police recruits have been killed in suicide bomb attack.Authorities say the attack in the northwestern Swat Valley happened Sunday while the cadets were training near a police station.Associated Press says television footage shows officers picking up mutilated bodies.The attack on the police comes a day after Pakistan's military announced it destroyed a training camp for suicide bombers in the Swat Valley.The army said in a statement...

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Fighting Stops as Kokang Surrender Arms to Chinese

ighting near the Sino-Burmese border came to an abrupt halt today after about 700 Kokang troops handed over their weapons to Chinese officials following days of clashes that sent thousands fleeing across the border.Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst who is close to the Kokang, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that at least 700 soldiers from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic-Kokang militia, crossed the border into China today and surrendered their arms to local officials.He added that troops from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a much larger force allied to the Kokang, have been repositioned to Wa-controlled territory.The Irrawaddy was unable to verify this information with other independent sources.The sudden end to 0AThe sudden end to the fighting came...

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Cambodia Wants Closer Relationship With Next Japanese PM

Written by DAP NEWSCambodian-japanese cooperation will increase in all fields and a closer relationship with newly the elected Japanese Prime Minister will help ties “become more developed and better than before,” a Foreign Affair and International Cooperation spokesman told DAP News Cambodia on Friday.A general election will be held in Japan on August 30 as the Liberal Democratic Party (CDP) leader, Taro Aso, is unpopular among voters having led Japanese into one of the worst economic crises in living memory. According to a survey in Japan, opposition party leader, Yukio Hatoyama, of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is expected to be voted...

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Electric Crematorium Online

Written by DAP NEWSCambodia’s newly-constructed electric crematorium will soon open to replace the wood burning crematorium located in Resey Sanh pagoda, Preysor commune, Dongkor district, Phnom Penh, according to the Phnom Penh Governor on Thursday.“This news electronic crematorium cost US$500,000 and will much reduce environmental affects by replacing burning by wood,” Kep Chuktema (First smiling man in picture) told reporters on Thursday.“This cremation will serve all class of citizens and we do not charge poor people. We don’t force to those who do not want to use this crematorium, but it shows the attention of the Phnom Penh authorities.”The...

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Wife found her husband after he went missing for 20 days

A woman found her husband, 20 days after he went missing. But when she found him, instead of a scream of joy, she screamed in anger causing panic and curiosity among passersby.The woman standing in front of her husband's car to block him from driving off. Source: Deum Ampil newspaper Reported in English by KhmerizationA 45 year old man went missing for 20 days with his luxury Lexus at a time when one of his children was very sick and when his wife went to do business in Siem Reap. After the man failed to return home, the wife cut short her trip and returned to look for him across Phnom Penh City.At 11:40 pm today (30th), passersby and shoppers...

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500 soldiers from Division 11 withdrawn from Preah Vihear

Source: Khmer Sthapana newspaperReported in English by KhmerizationCambodia had unilaterally begun to withdraw troops from the disputed borders with Thailand under order from Prime Minister Hun Sen to cut troops by 50% from the disputed border areas.A convoy of military trucks transporting soldierrucks transporting soldiers fks transporting soldiers from Division 11 passing through Phnom Penh to Takeo on 28th August.At 4 am on 28th August, 500 troops from Division 11 had been withdrawn from Preah Vihear in a convoy of 36 American-made military trucks to return back to their barracks in Takeo.Gen. Chea Drara, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Cambodian...

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Being so used to be hand-fed by the CPP for free, Kampuchea Thmei couldn’t fathom why someone would pay to buy their own food to listen to Mu Sochua

$20 fee to meet with Mrs. Mu SochuaKampuchea Thmei (Pro-CPP) newspaperTranslated from Khmer by Socheata[KI-Media note: It is customary in democratic countries where a large number of Cambodians are currently living, that participants who attend meetings with Cambodia politicians help pay for their own food and other miscellaneous cost to organize these meetings. This is quite contrary to Cambodia where, corrupt politicians usually pay for the public to come to listen to them. Generally, due to poverty, Cambodians are enticed to come and listen to propaganda speeches organized by CPP candidates in exchange for one or two kilos of rice, one krama...

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Duch’s trial: black day for victims’ participation

By Stéphanie GéeKa-setThe role of civil parties is one of the main issues at stake in Duch’s trial, which enshrines their first participation in a jurisdiction with international support established to judge crimes against humanity. However, this characteristic of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal – often presented as an important progress – was severely curbed on Thursday August 27th, Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 27/08/2009: The hands of François Roux, Alain Werner, Ty Srinna, Nil Nonn, Jean-Marc Lavergne, Hong Kim Suon, Vincent de Wilde and Kar Savuth during the debate on the admission of civil parties on Day 66 in Duch’s trial at the ECCC 
(Photo:...

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Unconvincing Salesman Par Excellence

Alternatives Watch – 30viii09Op-Ed by Ung Bun AngOriginally posted onlineCouncil for Development of Cambodia secretary-general Sok Chenda may find it most difficult to attract foreign investments. He is confident, enthusiastic, and optimistic, which are necessary attributes for the task. However, he may need to be more. Reporter Roger Mitten, who conducted and published an insight interview with Sok Chenda, concludes he is only half convinced after encountering the man he dubs the salesman par excellence.Sok Chenda SopheaThere are reasons why the salesman par excellence is not fully convincing. He claims all businessmen are interested only in...

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Let Freedom Ring For Khmer-Krom

By Somalin ThachKhmer Krom Youth Quarterly Vol. 9I would like to say THANK YOU to our youths who attended the KKFYC 3rd World Conference in Philly for your great support and precious time from the very bottom of my heart. Also THANK YOU to the elders for their warm support with places for us to stay and food for us to eat while we were on our mission at the UNPFII.Just like our people in our homeland facing oppression due to restrictions of the Vietnamese Government, we here are facing depression due to economic crisis. Everyone is busy trying to make ends meet and trying to over come daily challenges life have set forth for us. I hope these...

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3 homes destroyed, many more threatened by Ca fire

LOS ANGELES – Authorities say a wildfire north of Los Angeles has destroyed at least three homes and is threatening thousands more. Captain Mike Dietrich — the incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service — said at a news conference Saturday night that the fire was "the perfect storm of fuels, weather and topography coming together" and called the situation "very treacherous." He says firefighters have discovered three burned homes in remote sections of the Angeles National Forest and are looking for more that may have been destroyed. The fire near the mountain communities of La Canada Flintridge...

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Police review cases for connections to kidnap case

ANTIOCH, Calif. – Police on Saturday searched the home of a California couple charged with kidnapping a little girl 18 years ago looking for evidence linking them to other open cases in the area, including the unsolved murders of prostitutes.The investigations are "preliminary," said Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, east of San Francisco Bay. He declined to discuss what cases were being reviewed.Police in Pittsburg are investigating whether Phillip Garrido, whose home is in nearby Antioch, is linked to several unsolved murders of prostitutes in the early 1990s. Antioch police are also looking into unsolved...

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