US politicians have told the crisis-hit "Big Three" carmakers to come up with their own viable recovery plan if they want a $25bn (£17bn) government rescue. The leaders of both houses of Congress said Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had until 2 December to present a plan. Their comments came after four senators - Republicans and Democrats - said they had agreed a bipartisan aid deal. The White House said President George W Bush favoured their deal, which would have used an energy department loan. "This is an agreement the president could support," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "We encourage the Congress to pass it as soon as possible." But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be no bail-out without a plan showing that the money would make the firms financially viable. "Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," she said. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said that motor industry leaders needed "to get their act together". "The executives of the auto industry have not been able to convince the American people or the Congress that this bail-out would be their last," he added. After the car industry executives return to Washington on 2 December, Congress could be reconvened the following week to vote on a bail-out bill. But time is short: the car-makers have suffered a collapse in sales and General Motors says it will run out of money by early next year. 'Disappointed' Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, from Michigan, the heart of the US car industry, and Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio said they had a bipartisan deal, but this did not garner wider support. Their deal called for using a $25bn energy department loan to the motor industry, which was originally designed to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles. The idea was that as the industry recovered, it would replenish the fund and the money would be used for its original purpose. This was the approach favoured by the Bush administration. "Their plan provides assistance from already-appropriated funds and has strong taxpayer protections," Ms Perino said. Senator Levin said she and her three colleagues were "obviously... disappointed". Jobs risk The chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler pleaded for the $25bn bail-out before two congressional committees this week, but came away empty-handed. They were lambasted for making the trip to Washington by private jet. The car firms say they risk collapse, which could lead to millions of Americans losing their jobs. Democrats have demanded that the White House and the Treasury carve out $25bn in funding from the already-agreed $700bn finance industry bail-out to support the car firms. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers president, Ron Gettelfinger, said on Thursday that politicians needed to take immediate action on a $25bn bridge loan bill to support the US car industry, otherwise he said one or more firms could fail. Mr Gettelfinger, who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday to congressional committees in support of the loans, said action was needed "now, today". | |
| Written by Meas Sokchea | |
| Thursday, 20 November 2008 Her appearance dispells more than a week of gruesome reports about an alleged razor attack by a government official's jealous wife  Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN A healthy, happy DJ Ano appears on TV3 on Wednesday. TELEVISION presenter DJ Ano on Wednesday put to rest more than a week of rumours that she had been attacked with razors by the wife of a high-ranking government official and had fled to Vietnam to recover from her injuries. The TV3 presenter, whose real name is Suon Pheakdei, appeared live on her network in full health and showing no signs of the alleged 83 razor cuts that had formed the substance of the lurid rumours. In addition to refuting stories of the attack, which began circulating more than a week ago when she failed to turn up for work, Ano said she has asked for a police investigation to determine who might be responsible for spreading false information about her. "I will file a complaint against those who started the rumours," she said. "When I heard the information about me, I had no idea what to do." Kha Puon Keomony, director general of TV3, said Ano had taken time off from work to visit relatives abroad but that at her request, he had not released the information to the media. "I didn't tell anyone," he said. "She asked me not to speak about her." |
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 November 2008
The Senate's legislation and law commission is undertaking an examination of laws and irregularities inside Cambodia's courts, said Ouk Bunchhoeun, head of the commission. 
A senator said Thursday his commission had not identified the root of the court system's problems.
"We just started the survey since the first semester, in Kampong Speu [provincial] court," he said. "We found some irregularities, like verdicts that must be applied to a person though the person refuses to have them applied, and the problem of over-extended provisional detention."
Cambodia's courts are widely accused of bias and corruption, something Ouk Bunchhoeun acknowledged the commission had found.
"But it seems difficult to evaluate clearly the origin of the problem," he said.
The examination will continue throughout Cambodia's 24 provinces and municipalities. The Senate commission is now examining the courts in Kandal province. Next on the block: the provinces of Prey Veng, Svay Rieng and Kampong Cham.
The commission is not only surveying the courts but is questioning local organizations that work with them, Ouk Bunchhoeun said.
Chan Saveth, a senior investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said Thursday that in reality, poor defendants saw swift action from the courts, unlike the rich or powerful.
"If the case is related to politics, the suspect is not easy to catch and the court delays action," he said. "And usually the poor say they lose justice because they have no money to pay the corrupt. Plus, we can note that the court is under the pressure of politics and powerful people."
Among other overhauls, donors have requested a reform of the judiciary.
According to a recent Center for Social Development survey, between April 1 and June 30 this year, 322 defendants failed to show in 137 trials. Of these, 6 percent were in detention but were not brought to court. The other 94 percent were not detained; they were either released or never arrested.
USAID in 2007 began hanging information boards inside court compounds to help the public understand transparently set fines for different crimes.
Ouk Bunchhoeun said the commission's work was ongoing, but at the end of it the Senate planned to write a report with recommendations that will be sent to relevant institutions like the Ministry of Justice.
Justice Minister Ang Vong Vattana said Thursday the commission's work "will help us reform in the future."
