Hun Sen to attend summit with Laos, Vietnam next week

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) -
Prime Minister Hun Sen will attend a summit with Lao and Vietnamese leaders in Ho Chi Minh City next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Friday.
In a statement, the ministry said Hun Sen would be accompanied by Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh at the two-day meeting starting next Friday.
"At the end of the summit, the prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam will sign (a) joint declaration," the statement said.
The summit is the seventh on an initiative for a "development triangle area" covering northeast Cambodia, southern Laos and the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Law_on_Non-Gov't_Securities_Royal_Kram_Khmer

Law_on_Non-Gov't_Securities_Royal_Kram_Khmer.pdf

Law on Gov't Securities Royal Kram Khmer

  Law_on_Gov't_Securities_Royal_Kram_Khmer.pdf

Lawmakers re-elect National Election Committee

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Members of parliament unanimously re-elected Im Suosdey as president of the National Election Committee Thursday as two opposition parties boycotted the session.

The session, presided over by National Assembly Chairman Heng Samrin, was attended by 87 lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the two royalist parties, Funcinpec and the Nationalist Party.

The lawmakers also re-elected Sin Chumbo as NEC vice president along with Havan Sivilai, Mean Sathi, Em Sophat, Soum Chan Dina, Mao Sophearith, Sour Samphry and Sin Dim as members.

The nine members, who will serve for a period of five years, comprise five CPP members, two from Funcinpec and two from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

Lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party, which have both been calling for changes to the NEC, nevertheless boycotted the extraordinary session of parliament.

Im Suosdey was first elected as NEC president in 2003.
Under Cambodian law, the National Assembly has to elect nine NEC members within seven months of general elections, which are scheduled for July next year.

source: the cambodia herald

German cabinet approves law allowing circumcision

BERLIN,(AFP) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet Wednesday passed a draft law to allow circumcision in Germany after a court said the rite amounted to grievous bodily harm, a ruling that caused international uproar.

The new legislation, which must now be passed by the German parliament, "makes clear that circumcision is possible in Germany," said Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in a statement.

The ministry added the new text would "remove the legal uncertainty created by the judgement of the regional court in Cologne."

While considering a case brought against a doctor who had circumcised a Muslim boy, the court in the western German city ruled that the rite was tantamount to grievous bodily harm.

The decision united Jewish and Muslim groups in opposition and caused outrage from religious and political leaders in Israel and Muslim countries.

Diplomats admitted that the ruling proved "disastrous" for Germany's international image, particularly in light of its Nazi past.

Merkel was reported to have warned that Germany risked becoming a "laughing stock" if it banned circumcision.

The new bill stipulates certain provisos for a boy to be circumcised.

Among these conditions, the draft law stipulates the practice must be carried out "professionally" and "with the most effective pain relief".

An exception must also be made in individual cases if there are health risks, for example if the infant is suspected of being a haemophiliac.

Germany is home to about four million Muslims and more than 200,000 Jews.

source: thecambodiaherald