China's FM to visit SE Asia
China's FM to visit SE Asia
CHINA: China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will visit Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam in mid-June for bilateral and regional meetings with Southeast Asian and other countries, the foreign ministry said.
Li, who was newly appointed in March, will attend the "10+3" ASEAN-China-Japan-South Korea ministerial meeting and the 10th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) from June 17-19 in Phnom Penh, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Li will also attend the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences and participate in the ASEAN-China dialog, as well as hold informal meetings with foreign ministers from Japan and South Korea, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Before and after the meetings, Li will also have bilateral meetings in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, she said. --AFP
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thailand-shooting Gun-toting Thai student kills friend, wounds five JP/11/ASEAN
Student goes on shooting rampage
THAILAND: A 17-year-old Thai student shot dead a friend with a pistol and wounded five classmates at a school in southern Thailand on Friday, minutes after they lined up in the morning to sing the national anthem.
Police in Nakhon Si Thammarat province said that they arrested Anucha Boonkwan, who witnesses said fired a 9-mm pistol at classmates after learning that school officials were searching students for firearms.
Teachers said the student, who stole the pistol from his father, had earlier been involved in a conflict with a classmate who was among the wounded. --Reuters
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Cambodia-Khmer Rouge JP/11/ASEAN
Cambodia, UN sign pact for KR trial
CAMBODIA: Cambodia and the United Nations on Friday signed an agreement to hold a genocide trial for former leaders of the Khmer Rouge (KR), whose draconian reign allegedly led to the death of thousands of people.
Sok An, Cambodia's chief negotiator of the pact, and Hans Corell, the UN deputy secretary-general for legal affairs, signed the document at Chaktomouk conference hall, which the government has set as the venue for the internationally assisted tribunal.
The agreement must still be ratified by Cambodia's legislature, and Corell and others have warned that it may still be a long time until any trials, with joint teams of Cambodian and international prosecutors and judges, are actually convened.
However, the agreement -- 24 years after the Khmer Rouge lost power and six years after Cambodia first asked for UN assistance in holding a tribunal -- marks a breakthrough in the quest for justice for those who claim they were victimized by the Khmer Rouge.
None of the Khmer Rouge leadership have ever faced trial for the alleged atrocities committed during their 1975-79 rule. --AP
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Philippine-hostage Philippines says last Abu Sayyaf hostage free JP/11/ASEAN
RP hostage escapes from Abu Sayyaf
PHILIPPINES: The last hostage held by Abu Sayyaf, a Philippine kidnap gang linked by Washington to the al-Qaeda network, escaped this week after more than three years in captivity, the military said on Friday.
Roland Ullah, a Filipino cook abducted with 20 other people from a dive resort on Sipadan in eastern Malaysia in April 2000, was found by civilians on the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
He was discovered on Thursday after fleeing his captors on Wednesday during an encounter between Abu Sayyaf fighters and soldiers, Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, chief of the armed forces' public information office, told reporters.
The rebels released all of the hostages in batches, except for Ullah, in exchange for ransom money. There was speculation Ullah was kept because of his cooking skills. --Reuters