Philippines scraps peace panel on MILF

Hanoi (VNA) - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo scrapped on September 3 a government peace panel seeking to end a deadly and drawn-out rebellion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the south.

President Arroyo spokesman Jesus Dureza confirmed the decision but declined to give details, according to news reports.

The move threatens the future of a five-year-old ceasefire between the government and the MILF.

It also signals a dramatic change in Arroyo’s long-standing policy of continuing a peace process with the MILF in a bid to end their rebellion before her presidential term expires in 2010.

President Arroyo’s chief aide, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was quoted by news agencies as saying that from now on any negotiations with the MILF would only proceed if they disarm and move out of their camps.

In a separate statement, President Arroyo also said her government would no longer sign a controversial draft agreement that would have given the MILF autonomy over their own Muslim homeland.-

Thailand: PAD’s leader gives hint of compromise

Bangkok (VNA) – People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) core member Sondhi Limthongkul has showed the first signs of a compromise to end the political stand-off in Thailand.

In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, Sondhi said he was contemplating a four-point compromise as the political situation appeared at a dead end. However, he stressed that the proposal would be viable only after Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej stepped down from office.

According to Sondhi, the government must promise not to amend the charter in its favour; to observe the Constitution Court’s order regarding Preah Vihear temple; to suspend all mega-projects; and to commit itself to political reforms and increased public participation in politics.

Previously on September 2, Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok after overnight clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters left three people dead and dozens injured. On the same day, the country’s Foreign Ministry explained to 105 foreign diplomats the reason for the emergency decree.

The Bangkok Post quoted Director of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tharit Charungvat as saying that the decree will be lifted if the situation does not exacerbate. The officials will not use force or resort to violence to handle the situation, but they will abide by the law and look towards the parliament to solve the problem.-

Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigns

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag has submitted resignation letter to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on September 3, just 40 days after taking the office.

The letter has not been approved by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, said Bangkok Post.

Meanwhile, the Nation newspaper of Thailand added that his reported resignation came a few days after his secretary, Poksak Nilubon, former ambassador to Sweden, resigned.

Tej, former permanent secretary for foreign affairs, reasoned his resignation that his wife, Pensri, is sick, however, it is yet unknown the real reason behind his resignation, the Nation reported.

Tej has been appointed to the position on July 27 particularly to handle the Thai-Cambodia dispute on Preah Vihear Temple. He was the second foreign minister, under Samak Government.-

Cambodia seeks recognition of Khmer Rouge prison

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia’s government is seeking to register a notorious Khmer Rouge prison and its archives with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said a local media.

The application to help preserve archive material from “S-2″ centre, now the site of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, was submitted to the UNESCO on August 30, the Phnom Penh post quoted Chey Sopheara, deputy director of the Department of Museums in charge of S-21, as saying.

The newspaper also cited a copy of the application to UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme as saying that the archive contains over 5,000 photographs of the more than 15,000 prisoners, as well as biographical records of Khmer Rouge officials and inmates, torture instruments and written confessions.

It quoted Samm Kalyan, from the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) as saying that registering S-21 with the Memory of the World project plays an important role in educating the world about Cambodia’s “dark history”.

The S-21 building started out its life as one of Phnom Penh’s secondary schools and the Khmer Rouge regime transformed it into the notorious prison after they captured Phnom Penh capital in April 1975.-

Thai PM refuses to resign or dissolve parliament

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej vowed in a live radio broadcast on September 4 that he will not resign or dissolve the House of Representatives to uphold the country’s democratic regime.

PM Samak criticised key members of the anti-government group, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), for making people misunderstand the situation in the country.

Also the same day, he announced he accepted Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag’s resignation letter, who took office just six weeks ago.

Earlier on September 2, Thailand’s Criminal Court dismissed an appeal to withdraw arrest warrants of nine PAD leaders.

The nine PAD leaders face arrest warrants on charges of sedition. Their lawyer said he would file new appeals with the Appeals Court one day later.

The Criminal Court said that the arrest warrants were issued in accordance with legal procedures.-

Thailand helps Laos improve SEA Games venues

– The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry has pledged to help Laos improve the National Football Stadium and other sport facilities in Vientiane in preparation for the 25th SEA Games in 2009, local media reported.

The ministry will spend about 21.3 billion kip (roughly 2.4 million USD) on upgrading the sports facilities in the capital city and another sum of 1.5 billion kip for training referees, athletes and officials of the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC), said the Lao news agency (KPL) on September 4.

“The ministry is ready to assist Laos with its preparation for the games,” Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat was quoted as saying.

“The sporting collaboration would help strengthen the relations between Laos and Thailand,” he added.

Once completed, the football stadium can hold more than 10,000 audiences, according to the news agency. –

Cambodia’s population approaches 14 million

– Cambodia’s population is approaching 14 million people, more than half of whom are women, according to preliminary results from the first general census, conducted from March 3-10.

The preliminary results, announced on September 3, showed that of the total population nearly 6.5 million are male and 6.9 million are female.

The average household contained 4.7 people, according to census figures.

The projected annual growth rate in 2010 is expected to be 1.54 percent, still higher than that of East Asia, which stands at 1.3 percent.

The official result will be announced by mid-next year. –

Laos, DPRK set up inter-governmental committee

Vientiane (VNA) – Laos and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to set up an inter-governmental committee on economic, trade, scientific-technological cooperation in a bid to strengthen bilateral relations in the future.

An agreement to this effect was signed during a visit to the DPRK by Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh from August 30-September 2.

While in DPRK, PM Bouasone Bouphavanh and his DPRK counterpart Kim Yong Il held talks, affirming the two countries’ traditional friendship and mutual assistance for development of each country, for peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world as whole. –

Vietnamese 2nd for taking nonprescription drugs

– A major online survey recently conducted by the Nielsen Company in partnership with the Association Of The European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) ranked Vietnam as the number two nation of self-medicators – people who buy medicines over the-counter, rather than seeking the advice of a registered medical practitioner.

Some 28,000 respondents from 51 countries were surveyed, and 45 percent of Vietnamese respondents said they have taken medicine for minor ailments such as headaches, colds and indigestion.

It is common for Vietnamese to ask the advice of unlicensed pharmacists or friends when choosing medicine, rather than seeing a doctor and getting a prescription, which is far more costly.

Doctor Nguyen Viet Hung, chief of Bach Mai Hospital ’s Anti-Bacterial Contamination Department, said self-prescribing medicine can be harmful, with the medicine having no effect, or damaging ones health if incorrectly prescribed. Long-term use of an incorrectly prescribed medicine can cause the body to build up a tolerance, making treatment more difficult, he said, adding that liver and kidney damage was likely if medicines were over-used.

Dr Hung said 75 percent of allergic cases seen at the department are from self-prescribing antibiotics, and a further five percent are allergies to common medicines like paracetamol.

The doctor advises patients not to buy medicines without specialist advise, and not to be swayed by advertisements for medicine, as they are often misleading.

Doctor Nguyen Nang An, director of the Vietnam Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology says 60 percent of the poisoning cases he has seen are caused by patients taking nonprescription medicine.

According to Ly Ngoc Kinh, director of the Treatment Department of the Ministry of Health, self-medication has become increasingly popular among Vietnamese. Kinh believed this is due to availability of over-the-counter anti-biotics, and other drugs commonly needing a prescription.

Weak enforcement of regulations covering medicine use also compounds the problem, said Kinh.

Ministry of Health regulations forbid the sale of 48 types of medicines without a doctor’s prescription.-

Accurate information helps reduce losses from bird flu

Hanoi (VNA) – The provision of accurate information regarding avian influenza will help the government make correct decisions in preventing and controlling the disease, said a workshop in Hanoi .

Addressing the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop for journalists on Sept. 4, the Rector of the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH), Le Vu Anh, said that economic losses caused by bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam constituted one percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The US Deputy Chief of Mission , Virgina E. Palmer, praised Vietnam for its achievements in bird flu prevention and control, which has set an example for other countries to follow.

As one of the first of the 61 countries reporting an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry, Vietnam experienced four major outbreaks between Dec. 2003 and Aug. 2008, with 106 reported human cases, 52 of which were fatal.

According to the Head of the Preventive Medicine Department of the Health Ministry, Nguyen Huy Nga, Vietnam is one of the nations facing a high risk of bird flu re-emergence, as 97 percent of those infected were exposed directly or indirectly to the virus. However, he confirmed that there is no evidence of human-to-human H5N1 transmission in Vietnam .

At the workshop entitled “Getting the story”, jointly held by the HSPH and the US Embassy in Hanoi , participants discussed challenges to bird flu prevention and control in Vietnam , such as clamping down on the smuggling of poultry and the lack of knowledge amongst vets in dealing with the virus.

There is currently no effective bird flu vaccine for humans, and one of the conclusions arising from the workshop is that more effective measures should be in place to prevent the spread of the disease from wild animals and migrating birds.-