Information about Cambodia, Oct 10, 2011

Cambodia: A village on stilts
Times of India
This journey to Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, a bewitching pool that ebbed and
waned with the seasons, was magical. After three astounding days of
exploring temples in Siem Reap, I drove a couple of miles outside the city
and caught a boat from a tiny ...
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/travel/Cambodia-A-village-on-stilts/articleshow/10287191.cms>


Cambodian Refugees Reunite in Oakland, 26 Years Later
New America Media
These days he's recognized as a devoted Cambodian Buddhist monk, a
community leader who travels back to Cambodia and Vietnam every year to do
charity work. But to the survivors of the Vietnamese Dong Rek Refugee Camp,
he was more than a leader. ...
<http://newamericamedia.org/2011/10/cambodian-refugees-reunite-in-oakland-26-years-later.php>


Thai, Cambodian People Join Merit Making for Tightening Ties
CRIENGLISH.com
Thai Deputy Agriculture Minister Pornsak Charoenprasert on Sunday presided
over a merit-making ceremony arranged by Thailand and Cambodia for the
purpose of strengthening bilateral ties. Over a thousand of Buddhist monks
from both countries came to ...
<http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/10/09/2821s661870.htm>


Guest columnist: Let's make Iowa the hunger-fighting capital of the world
DesMoinesRegister.com
KENNETH QUINN, a former ambassador to Cambodia, is president of the World
Food Prize Foundation. Contact: kquinn@worldfoodprize.org I witnessed the
most devastating scene I have ever encountered exactly 32 years ago this
month, in October 1979, ...
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111009/OPINION01/310090007/-1/gallery_array/Guest-columnist-Let-s-make-Iowa-hunger-fighting-capital-world>

Philippines ranks third on climate change vulnerability list
Inquirer.net
... and Human Security and the German Alliance Development Works said the
top 10 countries facing the highest risk are: Vanuatu, Tonga, the
Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Costa
Rica, Cambodia and El Salvador. ...
<http://globalnation.inquirer.net/14987/philippines-ranks-third-on-climate-change-vulnerability-list>


Torquay couple take fight for daughter to minister
Geelong Advertiser
The Patersons unwittingly fell into a legal loophole when, despite the fact
they had been living and working in Cambodia when they adopted Pisey,
lodged her visa application from Australia not Cambodia after returning
home to care for a sick family ...
<http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/10/10/284431_news.html>

NappyMuseTV Says Human Trafficking is Happening Right Here in America, and Not ...
PR.com (press release)
NappyMuseTV, Brooklyn, New York's leading Human Rights WebTV Network, today
announced human trafficking in not only taking place in Cambodia, parts of
Africa, and Russia, but right here in the United States of America.
Brooklyn, NY, October 09, ...
<http://www.pr.com/press-release/359616>


Flood death toll in Cambodia rises to 206
China.org.cn
At least 206 people have been killed in the Mekong River and flash floods
hitting in Cambodia since early August, Nhim Vanda, vice president of the
National Committee for Disaster Management, announced on Saturday evening.
"As of Saturday, some 206 ...
<http://www.china.org.cn/world/2011-10/09/content_23573618.htm>

Keith Eckerling, 61, adventurous international college counselor
Chicago Sun-Times
Keith Eckerling in Cambodia. He did whatever he could to help students get
into the school of their choice. Keith Eckerling was a popular teacher at
Chicago's Hubbard High School who went on to travel the globe as a college
counselor at international ...
<http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/8093317-418/keith-eckerling-61-adventurous-international-college-counselor.html>

Cambodia news update for today

Cambodian musicians joins ASEAN orchestra to raise funds for children's education
Philippine Star
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - Cambodian musicians joined ASEAN orchestra on Friday
night in Phnom Penh to raise funds for low vision children in the country
to gain their education like their peers. The 50-member ASEAN symphony was
joined by eight Cambodian ...
<http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=735179&publicationSubCategoryId=200>


At least 183 dead in Cambodia after weeks of flooding
Times LIVE
Cambodia's worst floods in a decade have left at least 183 people dead
since August and damaged nearly 100000 hectares of rice fields, the
government said Friday. Figures provided by the National Committee on
Disaster Management show flooding has ...
<http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2011/10/07/at-least-183-dead-in-cambodia-after-weeks-of-flooding>


Surgery a success for 3-year Cambodian boy at Children's Hospital LA
Long Beach Press-Telegram
Thankfully it was the last of the delays, and 214 days and a couple hours
after arriving in the United States, the 3-year-old Cambodian orphan
emerged from surgery and began on the road to recovery. As surgeon Cynthia
Herrington delivered the news that ...
<http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19064951>


Chilliwack shares knowledge with Cambodian leaders
BCLocalNews
By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress Chilliwack has been sharing its
economic and agricultural expertise with two struggling communities in
Cambodia. A Cambodian delegation arrived in Chilliwack last week, and spent
four days touring success ...
<http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/131358173.html>


Sansern says Chuvit's rice smuggling videos old news
Bangkok Post
Videos showing rice being smuggled into Thailand from Cambodia shown in
parliament on Thursday by Rak Thailand Party leader Chuvit Kamolvisit are
old footage, says army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd. Col Sansern made the
statement yesterday in response ...
<http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/260284/sansern-says-chuvit-rice-smuggling-videos-old-news>


Cultural survivors: Angkor Dance Company preserves the traditions of Cambodia
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
These practitioners of a serene and beautiful art form are the children of
people who survived the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. With unflinching
brutality, the Khmer Rouge government sought to erase Cambodia's
centuries-old culture by slaughtering ...
<http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2011/10/cultural_survivors_angkor_danc.html>


Tainted rice wine kills nine in Cambodia: police
AFP
... of a bottle previously used for weed killer. Cambodians often drink
locally brewed rice wine, which is relatively inexpensive but can be
dangerous if not mixed properly. A Cambodian woman decants rice wine into a
water bottle for sale in Phnom Penh (
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ile4XX2LjeAFDGiT13LqQzQEWw1w?docId=CNG.3f2f95e33765a36d1f4aa9f46af18f0e.3f1>


Export Service Centre Cambodia to offer handmade eco-friendly iPad and iPhone ...
AddPR.com (press release)
“Every item showcased at our booths boasts well of its great quality and
uniqueness and is created by our artisans with great passion,” said
Sokneang Chhour, export manager of the Export Service Centre Cambodia.
“For example, buyers will be stunned by ...
<http://www.addpr.com/articles/non_profit/90449.html>
 
Cambodia builds for the future
Asia Property Report
Cambodia's first constructers association was officially launched this
week. The association allows constructers in Cambodia to share experiences
and knowledge with constructers from other ASEAN countries and the ASEAN
Constructors Federation. ...
<http://www.property-report.com/site/cambodia-builds-for-the-future-16493>


'Reel' voices speak at film festival
NorthJersey.com
"The producer will give us the big picture of what's going on in Cambodia
and then we will hear people from our own community who have taken positive
action." Another personal favorite this year is "Love Hate Love," which
tells the stories of people ...
<http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/131309294__Reel__voices_speak_at_film_festival.html>

Senior US lawmaker aims for trafficking downgrade

FRIDAY, 07 OCTOBER 2011 12:02

KRISTIN LYNCH

• 
• 

0

Share

A senior United States congressman is moving to have Cambodia’s human trafficking ranking downgraded from Tier 2 to Tier 3, saying such a move would result in a reduction in aid to the Kingdom. 

Ed Royce, a California Republican in the US House of Representatives and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, this week added an amendment to a bill calling for the downgrade.

The amendment to the bill renewing the State Department’s trafficking rankings reclassifies Cambodia as a Tier 3 country on the State Department’s human trafficking ranking.

“My amendment … would cut off non-humanitarian aid to Cambodia in order to push for real reform,” Royce wrote on his blog.

In the Trafficking in Persons Report 2011, released by the US Department of State in June, Cambodia was classified as a Tier 2 country, which groups countries that do not fully comply with minimum standards of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act but are making “significant efforts” to do so.

Countries placed on Tier 3 are considered not to be making significant efforts to comply with the standards and could be subject to penalties, including sanctions on some forms of foreign aid.

Bills passed by House committees must ultimately be voted on by members of the US House of Representatives.

Ten Boramy, deputy director of the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department at the Ministry of Interior, yesterday declined to comment on Royce’s amendment. Department director Bith Kimhong could not be reached for comment.

US embassy spokesperson Michelle Bennett did not comment directly on the amendment, but said: “While there is still much work to be done to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards, Cambodia is making significant efforts to do so.”

Rare cub rescued from soldier

FRIDAY, 07 OCTOBER 2011 12:03

VINCENT MACISAAC

• 
• 

A sun bear cub rescued from a military base in Preah Vihear province on Wednesday was likely destined for a bear farm in Vietnam, according to Wildlife Alliance.

0

Photo by: Photo Supplied

Share3

After a “tense” meeting with a military commander on Wednesday, an endangered sun bear cub was rescued from a military base in Preah Vihear province before it could be sold for an estimated US$1,000.

The 10-kilogram cub was found at a base near Preah Vihear temple in Choam Khsan district, in the possession of a soldier who was trying to sell it, likely to a bear farm in Vietnam.

Wildlife Alliance worked with Forestry Administration officials to gain access to the military base after receiving information that a captive bear cub was for sale.

Forestry officials and members of the team “first went to speak to the regional military commander, who then aided the team in raising awareness about the law [among soldiers”, said program manager at Wildlife Alliance Lesley Perlman yesterday.

Wildlife Alliance described the meeting with the unnamed military commander as “tense”, but said that following the meeting the commander helped raise awareness of laws governing endangered species among solidiers.

“As the soldier voluntarily handed over the bear, no charges were filed,” Perlman said.

The bear is being transferred to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre and Perlman said greater effort was needed in Cambodia and regionally to protect endangered species.

“In Cambodia, stronger law enforcement is needed to combat the illegal trade in wildlife on the ground,” she said. Regionally, “both demand and supply side efforts are needed”, she said.

Sun bears are sold as pets or used in Chinese traditional medicine, which highly values their paws and gall bladder bile.

A rapid response team working in Cambodia confiscates about 10 live Malayan sun and Asiatic Black bears a year, Perlman said.

Fainting factory hit with ‘illegal’ strike

From Phnom Penh post 

FRIDAY, 07 OCTOBER 2011 12:03

TEP NIMOL

• 
• 

0

Share

Photo by: Photo Supplied

Chea Mony speaks at a protest near the M&V garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province yesterday afternoon.

Workers at M&V International Manufacturing’s garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province went on strike yesterday afternoon after talks between management and the Free Trade Union workers broke down.

FTU secretary-general Man Seng Hak said yesterday “the strike would continue until all demands are met and workers will set tyres aflame [today]”. The demands include the reinstatement of 20 employees allegedly fired last month for attempting to establish a branch of the union at the factory.

The FTU has said that workers at the factory began joining its union after two mass fainting incidents at the factory in August. The incidents prompted investigations by the labour ministry, the International Labour Organisation and global brand H&M, which buys apparel from the factory.

A spokesman for H&M told the Post yesterday that the company was “in contact with the FTU and M&V management”. He also said it was “finalising the results from [its] investigation” into August’s mass faintings.

FTU president Chea Mony said that 20 staff had been dismissed for trying to join his union last month.

M&V, however, has said the workers were on short-term contracts that had expired. Soum Sinath agreed, saying “the termination of the contracts between the company and workers was legal, and the factory had no work for them so it ended their contracts”.

He also described yesterday’s strike as illegal. “According to the law, if both sides fail to reach an agreement, they forward their dispute to the Arbitration Council and if the company does not follow the order of the Arbitration Council they have the right to strike,” he said.

FTU’s president at the M&V facility, Tem Silak, said she was among the 20 workers allegedly fired for attempting to establish the union at the factory. She said M&V had dismissed 290 workers in September. “We asked the company to allow them to return to work when work is available, but the company rejected this,” Tem Silak said.

The FTU said 3,000 of the factory’s 4,000 employees joined yesterday’s strike, while Soum Sinath put the number at 1,000.

M&V management declined to comment.

Apple 'genius' Steve Jobs dies from cancer

• Published: 6/10/2011 at 07:32 AM
• Online news:

Apple founder and visionary Steve Jobs died Wednesday from cancer aged just 56, a premature end for a man who revolutionized modern culture and changed forever the world's relationship to technology through inventions such as the iPad and iPhone.

Apple on Wednesday announced the death of its visionary co-founder Steve Jobs, pictured in June 2011. Apple fans were invited to share their thoughts, memories and condolences by sending messages to rememberingsteve@apple.com.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," the California-based gadget-maker said in a statement from its board of directors.
"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
Tributes flowed in from around the world for Jobs, while Apple fans flooded the Twitter and Facebook to voice their sorrow at the passing of the man who helped put mini computers in the shape of phones in millions of pockets.
Jobs was just 21 when he founded Apple Computer in 1976 with his 26-year-old friend Steve Wozniak in his family garage.
From such humble beginnings the company, with its ubiquitous trademark of an apple with a bite taken out of it, grew to eventually become one of the world's most valuable companies.
In July Apple's second quarter profit hit $7.31 billion on revenue of $28.57 billion.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute late Wednesday to one of America's "greatest inventors."
"He transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world," Obama said in a written statement.
Microsoft boss Bill Gates agreed.
"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates said in statement, cited on the Wall Street Journal website.
The two men were rivals in the race to dominate the market at the start of the personal computer era.
But while personal computers powered by Microsoft software ruled work places, Jobs envisioned people-friendly machines with mouse controllers and icons to click on to activate programs or open files.
Tim Cook -- who had been handling Apple's day-to-day operations since Jobs went on medical leave in January, and was made CEO in August after his resignation -- led the praise for the Silicon Valley legend.
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor," he said.
"Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."
Apple turned its home page into a tribute to Jobs, posting a large black-and-white photo of the bearded high-tech maestro in his trademark black turtleneck and small round glasses. The only caption: "Steve Jobs, 1955-2011."
Jobs' family also issued a statement, saying he had lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer surrounded by his relatives.
"In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family," it said.
Born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother and adopted by a couple in nearby Mountain View at barely a week old, Jobs grew up among the orchards that would one day become the technology hub known as Silicon Valley.
Under Jobs, Apple introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.
He was elevated to idol status by ranks of Macintosh computer devotees, many of whom saw themselves as a sort of rebel alliance opposing the powerful empire Microsoft built with its Windows operating systems.
Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses.
He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in 1986 from a former Lucasfilm computer graphics unit that he bought from movie industry titan George Lucas.
Apple's luster faded after Jobs left the company, but they reconciled in 1996 with Apple buying NeXT for $429 million and Jobs ascending once again to the Apple throne.
Apple went from strength to strength as Jobs revamped the Macintosh line, revolutionizing modern culture and launching a "post-PC era" in which personal computers give way to smart mobile gadgets -- the iPod, iPhone and the iPad.
His passing will raise doubts over whether the Cupertino, California-based company can continue its dominance in the hugely competitive technology sector.
His death comes only a day after Cook presided over the launch of the new iPhone 4S in a move that failed to dazzle investors. Apple shares dropped more than four percent on Wall Street on Tuesday after the company doused analysts expectations that they would unveil a new iPhone model.
Jobs is survived by his wife Laurene, with whom he had three children. He also had a daughter with a woman he dated prior to marrying.

‘Army’ leader confesses

Original source from Phnom Penh Post

Wednesday, 05 October 2011 12:02

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

• 
• 

0

Share

Photo by: Pha Lina

Chea Sarann, leader of the 'Sovannaphumi Army Movement', leaves the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

The self-described leader of a group that aimed to overthrow Cambodia’s leadership claimed yesterday a middleman had offered him US$20 million – allegedly from the Taiwanese government – to form the “army” movement.

Chea Sarann, leader of the so-called “Sovannaphumi Army”, went on trial yesterday with his five alleged accomplices after being arrested and charged in April with forming an illegal armed force.

The 49-year-old has admitted his guilt, along with Liv Sok Sovann, 49, Chum Vichey, a miner, and Phlot Vy, a 62-year-old teacher of traditional medicine.

Two more men – farmers Poth Porn, 46, and Yorm Hev, 41 – have denied the charge, although Poth Porn said yesterday that in March, he had unwittingly brought Chum Vichey to look for a cache of buried weapons in his village in Banteay Meanchey province.

During explosive testimony in the  Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Chea Sarann, who is also thought to be a former member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, claimed the army had been established in early 2006 to “overthrow and change” the Kingdom’s government.

In a bizarre turn of events, he added: “The main purpose of the Sovannaphumi Army Movement was to earn US$20 million in aid from the Taiwanese government.”

A man called Thab The, reportedly a former SRP member, had told him  the Taiwanese government would give him the money via its embassy in Thailand in exchange for establishing the movement, Chea Sarann said.

Thab The had since disappeared,  Chea Sarann said.

Representatives at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand said yesterday they were unaware of the trial.

Cambodia does not have a corres-ponding office, but Chinese embassy  spokesman Yang Tianyue said he would look into the case.

Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn said that “establishing any armed movement without authorisation from the Royal Government of Cambodia is an illegal act and is absolutely prohibited.”

Deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpiseth asked for the suspects to be “strongly punished”.

The Sam Rainsy Party yesterday called for justice to take its course but emphasised that the party “had not been involved in establishing this armed force”.

“The SRP is the party that uses nonviolence and only ideas and pen points for advocacy to defend the nation,” Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said.

A verdict in the trial is due on October 27.