07.02.2011
Fresh clashes at Thai-Cambodia border: Cambodia PM
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Troops from Thailand and Cambodia clashed Monday for a fourth straight day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, as tensions again surged in a border dispute that has left at least five people dead. "The firing has started for the fourth time," Hun Sen said at a graduation ceremony in the capital. A Cambodian military commander who did not wish to be named said both sides traded fire just after 8:00 am (0100 GMT). He was unable to say what kind of weapons were involved.
News of the fresh fighting follows accusations by Cambodia that claim Thailand damaged an 11th-century temple during recent military attacks and has appealed to the United Nations to halt the "aggression".
The Cambodian premier had earlier urged the United Nations Security Council to hold an urgent meeting "so as to stop Thailand's aggression" which has "gravely threatened peace and stability in the region".
But Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn rejected the accusation that his country was the aggressor, saying: "Thailand has clear policy that we will not invade any country."
The ancient Preah Vihear temple, which is surrounded by disputed territory, was damaged by Thai artillery fire on Sunday, according to Cambodia, which said one wing of the building had "collapsed" as a result.
Ties between the neighbours have been strained since Preah Vihear was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008. Thailand and Cambodia have each accused the other of starting the ongoing clashes.
Violence had erupted for the third day in a row on Sunday, ending a ceasefire agreed after earlier fighting.
Hun Sen said "many" artillery shells had been fired into Preah Vihear temple on Sunday, in a statement addressed to the current president of the UN Security Council.
He said some shells fired by Thailand had landed around 20 kilometres (12 miles) inside Cambodian territory.
Thai television showed images of bloodied soldiers and people being evacuated clutching blankets.
Thousands of people fled their homes as villages were evacuated on both sides of the frontier after the fighting first erupted on Friday.
Observers say the temple dispute had been used as a rallying point to stir nationalist sentiment in Thailand and Cambodia.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.
Cambodia said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed in Friday's fighting, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.
A Thai soldier was killed in a brief resumption of hostilities on Saturday morning.
The media in both countries have said the toll could be much higher, however, with Thai newspapers suggesting 64 Cambodian soldiers were killed. Across the border, it was reported that at least 30 Thai troops had died.
Tensions have flared in recent weeks in the wake of the arrest of seven Thai nationals for illegal entry into Cambodia in late December.
Two of them were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for spying, in a case that has caused outrage among the nationalist "Yellow Shirts".
Around 5,000 "Yellow Shirts", an influential force in Thailand's colour-coded politics, gathered outside the government compound in Bangkok on Saturday calling for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's resignation.
It has been suggested that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations could move to mediate in the row and sources in the Cambodian foreign ministry have said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit the country on Monday.
Indonesia is the current chairman of ASEAN.
But the subject of the meeting is unknown and Abhisit on Sunday dismissed ASEAN intervention as "unnecessary".
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U.N. maritime body launches anti-piracy drive
LONDON (Reuters) – The U.N.'s maritime agency called for a new drive against piracy Thursday as officials and ship-owners voiced fears that the growing scourge of Somali pirates was outpacing international efforts to deal with them.
The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) action plan, which calls for closer international coordination of military and civilian efforts against piracy, comes at a time of growing concern over the expanding reach, ambition and firepower of Somali-based pirates.
"Piracy seems to be outpacing the efforts of the international community to stem it," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told delegates at the launch of the plan at the London headquarters of the IMO.
Ransom payments of hundreds of millions of dollars had created a "pirate economy" in some areas of Somalia and insurance premiums were on the rise, Ban said.
"The threat to international trade routes is clear," he said, calling for action to support alternative jobs to piracy for Somalis, including rehabilitating coastal fisheries.
The IMO's plan called for efforts to build up the capacity of states in pirate-infested regions to bring pirates to justice, but is short on specifics.
FRUSTRATION
Speakers at the launch reflected frustration in the shipping community at the growing threat the pirates pose to key shipping lanes and vital oil supply arteries in the Indian Ocean despite the deployment of international naval ships there.
"The situation has worsened during the past years with fiercer and increasing attacks on ships. The increased use of so-called 'mother' ships has enabled the pirates to operate at a vastly greater range," said Robert Lorenz-Meyer, president of BIMCO, the world's largest private ship-owners' association.
"Today there are more than 700 seafarers held hostage for ransom on 32 ships ... This does not speak well for the effectiveness of the measures taken by the international community," he said.
Separately, the owners of the "Beluga Nomination," a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates on January 22, said this week Somali pirates had shot dead a crew member.
Lorenz-Meyer appealed to the U.N. Security Council to increase the naval presence in the Indian Ocean and to make it easier to prosecute detained pirates.
"Without robust and effective counter-measures, piracy will ... make the use of this important sea lane an unacceptable risk to ship owners," he said.
David Cockroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation, a union grouping representing seafarers, said many crew members were at breaking point because of the stress of passing through the area frequented by pirates.
"If the risks cannot be eliminated, then seafarers will demand not to sail into the area at all and responsible ship owners will support them," he said.
There would never be enough navy ships to counter the pirates in the vast ocean, he said, calling for "robust political and military intervention" onshore in Somalia, led by the key states in the region.
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
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Packers score twice in 24 seconds for 14-0 lead, 1Q
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Green Bay Packers have jumped out to a 14-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl by scoring twice in 24 seconds.
Aaron Rodgers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson with 3:44 left in the first quarter. The Packers then kicked off and the Steelers started at their own 7 after a holding penalty on the return.
On the first snap after that, Ben Roethlisberger was under pressure when he threw. The ball floated and Nick Collins intercepted it and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
The Steelers had punted on their first two drives
On their offensive scoring drive, the Packers went 80 yards on nine plays. The touchdown came on Rodgers' perfectly placed pass to Nelson, who had defender William Gay running with him down the right sideline near the end zone.
The championship game Sunday put the focus back on the field after a long, cold week in North Texas that included two wintry storms with snow and ice. There were no weather woes inside $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, and it wasn't bad outside either on game day.
Deion Sanders, one of seven former players elected to the Hall of Fame this weekend, tossed the coin. The Packers won the toss, and deferred their choice to the start of the second half.
The 45th Super Bowl, the NFL's signature event, pitted two of its storied franchises and capped a season that saw the league reach new heights of popularity despite a string of off-field incidents and that potential lockout with the current CBA expiring next month.
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