News EnglishAugust 28, 2008 5:28 am

Breached embankment repairing begins in Nepal

 

    KATHMANDU, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Saptakoshi Disaster Management Coordination Committee Wednesday started its works of protecting and repairing the Saptakoshi embankments, local newspaper The Rising Nepal reported on Thursday.

    Southeastern Nepal is undergoing a misfortune and painful situation created by full inundation of three Village Development Committees (VDCs) and four other VDCs partially submerged in Sunsari district, some 220 km southeast of capital Kathmandu, after the embankment of the Saptakoshi River suddenly broke down on Aug. 18.

    The coordination committee has started its assigned works establishing a Command Post in Biratnagar, some 240 km southeast of Kathmandu, the Home Ministry said.

    The committee started works as per the instruction made by the members of the high-level committee, which was formed on Tuesday.

    The members of the high-level committee comprising Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa "Badal", Physical Planning Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar, Home Secretary Umesh Mainali, Defence Secretary Baman Prasad Neupane, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Om Bikram Rana, IGP of Armed Police Force Basudev Oli and joint secretary Pratap Kumar Pathak inspected spurs in Sunsari district, the Home Ministry said on Wednesday.

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News English 5:23 am

 KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Malaysia’s de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will not be the prime minister by Sept. 16, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in Johor Bahru, capital of Malaysian southern Johor state, local media reported on Thursday.

    The prime minister said on Wednesday he was not worried by Anwar’s threats despite the latter’s victory in the by-election.

    Neither did Badawi believe that any BN (the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional) members of parliament would join opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Pact).

    "We are well aware of his threats, but as far as we are concerned, we will look after our people. We will continue to perform and we don’t have to worry (about Anwar becoming prime minister)," the New Straits Times quoted Badawi as saying.

    "BN members of parliament will not leave the party. That is not possible. They have promised to remain in BN," Badawi said.

    Anwar, who won the by-election on Tuesday with a majority of 15,671 votes over BN candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah, had announced earlier this year that he would become prime minister by Sept. 16.

    Speaking to the press on Wednesday after accompanying Sultan ofBrunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on his visit to the Malaysian southern Iskandar economic corridor, Badawi said he was not overly worried by the results of the by-election.

    Asked whether the increased majority, compared with the 13,388 majority-vote garnered by Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8 election were "warning signs" to BN, Badawi dismissed the idea.

    "After all, the last general election gave us a strong victory. We are only eight seats short of a two-thirds majority, it is not that we lost by 20 or 30 seats, only eight seats. We have a very strong government," Badawi said.

    Asked for the reasons behind BN’s loss, Badawi said: "We haven’t made an analysis yet, it is better for me to answer after that."

    Badawi however congratulated Anwar on his victory.

    "I’d like to congratulate Anwar for his win. For us in BN, it is a result which we accept, since it is the people’s choice. However, this is not a bad loss for BN.

    "Anwar was expected to win strongly enough for the BN candidate to lose his deposit, meaning that he (Anwar) needed a majority of more than 17,000 votes, but this did not happen," he added.

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News English 5:19 am

Thai military cancels talks with Cambodia on border dispute

 

    PHNOM PENH, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Amid mass protests in Bangkok, the Thai military has canceled bilateral talks with Cambodia over the border dispute near the Preah Vihear temple scheduled for Friday in Siem Reap town, local newspaper reported Thursday, citing Cambodian officials.

    Defense Ministry Secretary of State Neang Phat told the Cambodia Daily that he learned Wednesday morning of the last-minute cancellation of the talks.

    As Cambodian officials gathered Wednesday in Siem Reap town to prepare for Friday’s talks, Neang Phat said they received an emergency call from the 30-member Thai delegation, which had already arrived in Siem Reap.

    The two groups held an immediate meeting at the Century Hotel, and, at the Thai military’s request, agreed to postpone Friday’s meeting because of the protests in Bangkok, Neang Phat said.

    Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Ministry press officer Apirat Sugondhabhirom said the military had only informed the Thai government of the canceled negotiations Wednesday, but he downplayed the Bangkok demonstrations as the reason for the delay, the newspaper said.

    The Preah Vihear Temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee.

    In 1962, the International Court of Justice decided that the 11-century temple and the land around belong to Cambodia, which rankled the Thais and has led to continuous disputes.

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