British boy dies in Pattaya Park whirlpool

A British boy was found dead under a whirlpool at Pattaya Park yesterday. It remains unclear how Naytin Clark, 14, got stuck in the whirlpool's engine room. Police are investigating the death.

The victim visited the amusement park with five other family members.
"After he mysteriously disappeared, I kept looking for him and noticed that a cover under the whirlpool was left open. I reported this to lifeguards but they wouldn't believe me," the victim's stepmother, Jintana Clark, said tearfully.
The Thai woman had raised the boy since he was five years old.
"Only after one more hour passed did the lifeguards agreed to check the engine room and find his body," Jintana said.
Damrongsak Songmarerng, a 40-year-old lifeguard, believed the boy might have removed the cover himself, unaware that such action could lead to his death.
"The whirlpool has been in service for more than a decade and there's never been such an accident before," Damrongsak said.
Jintana lamented that the cover should have been locked to ensure that tourists would be really safe.
Pattaya Park has agreed to pay compensation to the victim's family.

Source: The Nation

Thaksin ends trip around South Pacific and come to roost in Dubai

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has ended his island-hopping trip in the South Pacific and flown back to Dubai.

He denied news reports he had been trying to seek asylum in Fiji in exchange for a multi-billion-baht investment deal.
Meanwhile, a signature campaign seeking a royal pardon on Thaksin's behalf appears to have stalled after authorities said the move was unprecedented and contrary to the law. The Corrections Department, the primary agency in charge of processing pardon petitions, yesterday released a report saying the Criminal Procedural Code was clear on the issue.
A convicted offender must comply with the verdict and serve time before becoming eligible for a royal pardon.
In Thaksin's case, he is a fugitive who fled the country, and his graft verdict was read in absentia.
Articles 259 and 260 of the code make it clear Thaksin has no grounds for a pardon unless he decides to surrender himself and begin serving his two-year prison term.
In the wake of the department's report, the Justice Ministry is planning to raise public awareness about the prescribed procedures for a pardon, in order to clear up misunderstandings about the signature campaign that has been fuelling the red shirts.
Thaksin's legal adviser, Noppadon Pattama, yesterday said in Bangkok that he had just had a telephone conversation with his client in Dubai.
"Thaksin has asked me to rebut reports he was planning to invest about Bt8 billion in Fiji in exchange for political asylum," Noppadon said.
Thaksin has not planned to seek asylum, as evidenced by his withdrawal of an asylum petition in the UK, Noppadon said, adding that his client remained confident Thai authorities could not extradite him, since no foreign government would cooperate.
Noppadon said Thaksin met with Fijian leaders to gather information about investment prospects and that there was no discussion about asylum.
He ruled out speculation Thaksin had used a fake name to gain entry to Fiji and Tonga.
Chavanont Intarakomalyasut, an aide to the foreign minister, said Thaksin used a passport issued by Montenegro under his real name to travel.
Speculation about Thaksin using an alias came from reports in the Australian media, he said.
When Thaksin made a transit stop in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, the authorities did not have sufficient time to complete extradition procedures to nab him before he flew on to the South Pacific, Chavanont said.
A group of three senators led by Kamnoon Sitthisamarn issued a statement urging the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary to clarify procedures for seeking a royal pardon, to dispel confusion.
Kamnoon said clarification from the Royal Palace would help the public judge the appropriateness of a signature campaign.

LA police chief: Jackson investigation might turn criminal

Los Angeles - Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said the investigation of the death of Michael Jackson could turn criminal.

His statements Thursday to CNN were the clearest indication yet that some of the many doctors who treated Jackson over the years could have helped him illegally get the prescription drugs that were suspected of being a factor in his death.
Bratton's comments came as the Jackson family was waiting for the results of the pop star's official autopsy and the independent autopsy that were conducted shortly after his June 25 death.
"We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroner's office as to cause of death," Bratton told CNN. "That is going to be very dependent on the toxicology reports that are due to come back, and based on those, we will have an idea of what it is we are dealing (with): Are we dealing with a homicide or are we dealing with accidental overdose?"
Jackson's doctors have been issued subpoenas for his medical records as investigators try to figure out how Jackson got hold of the large quantities of prescription drugs that were in his possession at the time of his death.
Meanwhile, a family split over where to bury Jackson is delaying the funeral of the late "King of Pop," ABC News reported.
Mystery has surrounded the burial plans since Jackson's casket was whisked to a secret location after his globally televised memorial service Tuesday.
The ABC report said Jackson's body was returned to the Forest Lawn memorial home in Los Angeles while the family sorts out the burial imbroglio.
Jackson's brothers were determined to get permission to bury him at his Neverland estate outside Los Angeles. But his mother, Katherine Jackson, wants to find an alternative resting place that honours Jackson's wish made after he was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005 never to return to that home.
Jackson's brothers have already begun the lengthy process of obtaining permits to bury Jackson at Neverland, according to the report, but local officials said they have not had any contact with the Jackson family regarding the burial.
Jackson's supporters, meanwhile, appeared to have an uphill battle ahead of them to get him declared an "American legend" in an official congressional resolution.
House Resolution 600 praises the work and life of the singer of such hits as "Thriller" and "Beat It," "honouring an American legend and musical icon," and was proposed by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Los Angeles who also spoke at Jackson's memorial.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the idea, saying it would disrespect Jackson by raising the controversies that haunted his later life.
"Michael Jackson was a great, great performer," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference, saying a resolution would be a distraction and "would open up two contrary views" on Jackson's life.
Pelosi was speaking days after Representative Peter King, a Republican from New York's Long Island, blasted the media coverage of Jackson and called the performer a "pervert" and a "paedophile."

Source: The Nation

Cambodia deploys tanks at border

Cambodia is reported to have deployed six tanks and a large number of troops along its border with Thailand near Preah Vihear temple on Friday morning.
It was also reported that Thai troops have built 20 large bunkers to strengthen their positions on the border against any Cambodian troop incursions.
Chief of the Sao Thong Chai Tambon Administrative Organisation in Si Sa Ket’s Kantharaluck district, Boonmee Buatan, said he had warned people to refrain from traveling to border area near the ancient Khmer temple.
He was also in touch with state agencies in case people needed evacuating if there was any fighting.

Source: BKK Post

Report: Ousted Thai leader Thaksin seeking Pacific asylum

Wellington - Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister of Thailand, is touring the Pacific seeking political asylum, according to a report Thursday on the Fiji-based Pacnews website.
Thaksin and an entourage were given the full VIP treatment when they flew Monday into Fiji on a private jet and reportedly met the Pacific island state's military strongman, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, in the capital Suva.The talks included other Fiji government officials, including investment authorities, Pacnews reported, but no details of the discussions were revealed. All media outlets in Fiji are subject to strict censorship by the military regime.Currently based in Dubai, Thaksin reportedly spent a night at Suva's Holiday Inn hotel before flying to the island kingdom of Tonga.

Source: The Nation

Fugitive Thaksin eyes Fiji as shelter

Fugitive former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra flew in his Learjet to Fiji for a secret meeting with the controversial prime minister and military commander Frank Bainimarama, Fiji and Australia media reported Thursday.
Fiji radio quoted sources as saying Thaksin and his entourage were accorded full VIP treatment.
Meanwhile the Australian online reported Thursday the subject of their discussions, held in Bainimarama's office in Suva on Monday, is unknown, but informed sources in Fiji claimed Thaksin was considering investing $300million in the country.
In return, he would probably be assured safety there from extradition, if he should choose to use Fiji as one of his bases in exile. Thaksin is particularly looking for countries that do not have extradition treaties with Thailand. Fiji and Tonga seemed to fit the bill.
Thaksin used an assumed name to enter Fiji, although his true identity was known to the authorities, who approved his visit in advance.
After his meetings here on Monday, he spent the night at Suva's luxurious Holiday Inn hotel before he flew off on Tuesday.
The Thai government has cancelled Thaksin's Thai passport, and says he is currently using a passport issued by Montenegro.
Thaksin was believed to be heading next for Tonga and then to Port Vila in Vanuatu, which is tomorrow hosting the annual meeting of the heads of the Melanesian Spearhead Group of countries -- Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.
The MSG meeting is important for Bainimarama because he will not be able to attend this year's Pacific Islands Forum summit in Cairns in August, as Fiji has been suspended from the Pacific body.
The Fiji economy is in considerable trouble, with tourism in a downward spiral globally as a result of the economic downturn, and with the other major industry, sugar, suffering from the withdrawal of subsidies from the European Union following the failure of the Fiji government to announce elections.
Noppadon Patama, Thaksin's legal adviser, earlier claimed the stopover in Kuala Lumpur was merely in order to refuel the jet.
He said there was no attempt to arrest him in Malaysia. He said foreign leaders were willing to welcome Mr Thaksin because they understood the charges against him were politically motivated.

Source: The Nation

UEM Group mulls jobs in Vietnam, Cambodia

UEM Group Bhd has been offered huge projects in Vietnam and is also mulling whether to accept a contract to build a bridge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The projects in Vietnam are worth a "few billion US dollars", chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently.They are in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, and work includes building an airport and a port."It's so big that we may have to rope in other Malaysian contractors," Tajuddin said.The bridge project in Cambodia is worth about US$100 million (RM356 million) and UEM is in the final stages of evaluating the job.
Vietnam has been a favourite destination for Malaysian builders, with companies like SP Setia Bhd and Gamuda Bhd already having a presence as they seek to grow profits amid a slowing home market.UEM Group has ventured abroad through its construction arm UEM Builders Bhd, mainly to countries like India and Qatar.Tajuddin also said that UEM was confident of defending itself against a legal suit from the Qatar Public Works Organisation."We have received from the Qatari authorities the certificate of completion for the entire Salwa Road project. We have also got the extension of time for the job to January 31 2009," he said.Because of this, UEM Group will not make provisions for the suit. At the same time, it also has a RM1 billion claim for work already done for the same project.It is understood that the Qatar Public Works Organisation is seeking damages, reportedly about 878.3 million Qatari riyal (RM880 million), against design consulting engineer Parsons International Ltd, UEM and Qatar Insurance Co over work on the Salwa International Road.UEM has been named as the second defendant in the suit, Tajuddin said.

Source: Business Times

Survivor of Khmer Rouge prison testifies she still has scars where she was bound for beatings

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A woman tortured by the Khmer Rouge testified Wednesday that she has spent most of her life trying to forget the horrors she endured in the 1970s and never spoke of the past, even to her husband and children.
Chin Meth, now 51, told the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal that her ankles and wrists still bear scars where she was bound for beatings - attacks that sometimes lasted until she passed out. Her testimony is the first by a female survivor.
"They beat me with a wooden stick. They twisted my ankles with pliers," she said, speaking softly and staring straight ahead. "While they tortured me, they tied my hands behind my back and beat me very seriously. It was terrifying."
Her testimony came at the trial of Kaing Guek Eav - better known as Duch - who headed the regime's notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh. Up to 16,000 people were tortured under his command and later taken away to be killed during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 rule. Only a handful survived.
Chin Meth, a former Khmer Rouge soldier, said she was arrested in 1977 and accused of being a spy for the CIA or Russia's KGB - a common accusation levelled at prisoners. She was sent to S-21 and kept there for 15 days of hard torture, she said.
"I told them I have no idea what the CIA or KGB is," she said.
She was transferred to a different prison in Kandal province, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of the capital, where other soldiers from her unit were being kept for "re-education."
At the new prison, she was held in a house not a cell and security guards ordered her to look after fruit and vegetable gardens that fed the Khmer Rouge officers. She stayed there until Vietnamese forces invaded to oust the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and then embarked on three decades of trying to forget.
"I did not want to hear anything about my past," she said. "When I got married, I never told my story to my husband and children."
"When I heard the word 'prison,' I felt so much suffering," she said.
S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, is now a genocide museum with pictures of prisoners lining its walls. Chin Meth said she visited the prison for the first time in November 2007 after filing her initial testimony with the tribunal, which was seeking survivors' accounts.
"I saw my picture, and the pictures of my friends. I almost fainted, but someone caught me," she said.
Duch (pronounced DOIK) told Wednesday's hearing that he doubted Chin Meth spent time at S-21, because the only survivors were prisoners with skills who could serve the Khmer Rouge. All others under his command were sent for execution. He then suggested she might have survived a different prison, known as S-24, which was more of a "re-education" facility.
Three S-21 survivors testified recently. They included two artists who painted propaganda portraits of Khmer Rouge leaders and a mechanic who fixed the officials' cars, tractors and typewriters.
Duch, 66, is the first senior Khmer Rouge figure to face trial and the only one to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. He is charged with crimes against humanity and is the first of five defendants scheduled for long-delayed trials by the U.N.-assisted tribunal.
Senior leaders Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Sary's wife, Ieng Thirith, are all detained and likely to face trial in the next year or two.

Source: The Canadian Press

Cambodia celebrates 1-year of world heritage status for temple on disputed border

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia held nationwide celebrations Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of a U.N. decision to list an ancient temple as a World Heritage site - the subject of a heated border dispute with Thailand.
Buddhist temples around the country beat their drums, school bells chimed and students sang Cambodia's national anthem in unison at 11 a.m. - the time requested by Prime Minister Hun Sen for the national commemoration.
The 11th-century Preah Vihear temple sits on a cliff in a disputed border zone between Thailand and Cambodia. It has been a source of tension and fueled nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border for decades.
Last year, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO backed Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a world landmark, prompting a flare-up of the long-standing dispute that resulted in both sides rushing troops to the border. Small battles ensued on a few occasions that left at least seven soldiers dead and prompted brief concerns of war.
Thailand claimed that the UNESCO decision undermined its claim to a small amount of adjacent land.
The Thai government issued a request ahead of UNESCO's recent annual meeting to reconsider the listing, a decision the agency put off until early next year.
Thailand's deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said Tuesday the government had no immediate comment on Cambodia's celebrations but noted that "the listing has reignited an old conflict that is clearly not the purpose of UNESCO."
The border was calm Tuesday but Cambodian troops were on the "highest alert," said Brigadier Gen. Yim Pim, a front-line commander.
"I have ordered troops to be ready for fighting if there is any new entry from the Thai side," he said, contacted by phone.
Both sides routinely blame the other for any skirmishes.
In the capital, Phnom Penh, the mood was jubilant.
"Today is a historic day for us," said Phnom Penh governor Kep Chutema, who presided over a ceremony at Wat Phnom, one of the capital's main Buddhist temples. "We are very proud as Cambodian people."
Several hundred people attended the morning ceremony, with a larger one planned for later in the day at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium.
Cambodia and Thailand share an 800-kilometre (500-mile) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.
The World Court awarded the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

Source: The Associated Press

Axiata Said to Consider Paying $700 Million for Millicom Assets

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Axiata Group Bhd., Southeast Asia’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, is considering an offer for Millicom International Cellular SA’s assets in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The Kuala Lumpur-based company may bid as much as $500 million for Millicom’s stake in its Cambodian unit and $200 million for the Sri Lankan operations, one of the people said, asking to not be identified because the discussions are private.
Expanding in Cambodia and Sri Lanka may help Axiata boost earnings as the government-controlled phone operator faces slowing growth at home, where wireless subscriptions are estimated to have exceeded the country’s population. Luxembourg- based Millicom said last week potential suitors had submitted “expressions of interest” for its Asian assets and that the company hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as an adviser.
Axiata, whose 100 million customers place it behind Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. in Southeast Asia, has fallen 1.8 percent this year in Kuala Lumpur trading. Millicom, which trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the U.S., has risen 27 percent.
Millicom is reviewing several proposals, Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger said in an interview today, declining to name any potential bidders. The company is considering selling its businesses in Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka separately or together, he said.
Spun Off Unit
Axiata declined to confirm or deny the talks, saying in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News that the company “has always communicated that in-country consolidation is of strategic importance in some of our markets.” Edward Naylor, a Goldman spokesman in Hong Kong, declined to comment.
Axiata was spun off as the mobile-phone unit of Telekom Malaysia Bhd. in April 2008. The company operates in about 10 countries and spent about $2 billion last year buying a stake in Idea Cellular Ltd. in India and merging it with Spice Communications Ltd.
The Malaysian company reported cash and equivalents of 3.9 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion) as of March 31 and said last month it’s exploring opportunities for acquisitions in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
Axiata owns 85 percent of Dialog Telekom Plc, which as Sri Lanka’s largest mobile-phone network has 5.8 million mobile customers in the country. It also controls Telekom Malaysia International (Cambodia) Co., with about 600,000 subscribers.
‘Strategic Sense’
“If there are opportunities which make financial and strategic sense the Group would certainly consider them,” Axiata said in yesterday’s e-mailed response to questions.
Millicom owns 100 percent of Celltel Lanka Ltd. in Sri Lanka and 58 percent of MobiTel in Cambodia, according to its Web site. The company also has a 74 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. in Laos. Celltel has about 2.1 million subscribers, while MobiTel has 2.2 million customers, Millicom said.
About 8 out of 10 people in Cambodia didn’t have mobile phones at the end of 2007, compared with three out of five in Sri Lanka and 1 out of 10 in Malaysia, according to data from the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union compiled by Bloomberg. The number of wireless subscribers exceeded the population in Malaysia as of the end of March, according to Khair Mirza, a Kuala Lumpur-based telecommunications analyst at Maybank Investment Bank Bhd.
Millicom’s Asian operations and joint ventures generated revenue of $68 million and net income of $4 million in the first quarter, Millicom said in its statement on July 2. Its subscribers in Asia increased by 34 percent to 4.5 million in the three months ended March 31, the company said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Soraya Permatasari in Kuala Lumpur at soraya@bloomberg.net.

Poignant service says goodbye to M.J., the man

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson was an entertainment phenomenon both triumphant and troubled, a dazzling performer who transcended barriers, transformed the music world and transfixed fans and non-fans alike in every corner of the Earth. But Tuesday's memorial was not for that Michael Jackson. Instead, those closest to the legend gave us a glimpse of Michael Jackson the man. Click here to Read More......

Source: Yahoo

Cambodia sets up first state carrier

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s first State-owned airline, established in partnership with Vietnam Airlines, will come into existence on July 27.
Cambodia Angkor Airline (CAA) would initially fly only on domestic routes, according to Phnom Penh Post.
Cambodian Government officials said Preah Sihanouk International Airport, formerly known as Kang Keng Airport, will be inaugurated on the same day.
Mao Havannal, civil aviation secretary, said on the first day two ATR-72 aircraft would fly between Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk Province.
He added that representatives of carriers based in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and Laos would also be present at the July 27 inauguration to learn about Cambodia’s air travel potential.
According to an agreement signed by the Cambodian Government and Vietnam Airlines, CAA will buy Airbus 320 and 321 aircraft in late 2009 and early 2010 to expand its services to countries like South Korea.
Ho Vandy, managing director of World Express Tour and Travel, was quoted by the Post as saying that CAA has been formed not only to make profits but also to benefit the Cambodian economy, especially the tourism industry.
The creation of the new national airline would help attract tourists travelling by sea to Preah Sihanouk Port to Angkor Wat.

Source:VNS

Kasit vows to fight until the end

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday said he would not step down, vowing instead to fight terrorism charges in court now that the police had linked him to last year's seizure of Bangkok's airports.

The embattled minister turned himself in to police yesterday to acknowledge charges levelled against him over his alleged involvement in the temporary closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.
He voiced his sentiments on Channel 11's "Khui Nok Tamniap" (Talk outside the House). He also denied the al-Jazeera news report quoting him as saying he would definitely step down.
Kasit told the media in an interview on February 23 that if he were one of the People's Alliance of Democracy (PAD) leaders facing arrest, he would quit his ministerial post as a show of respect for the justice system.
He made this comment at a time when the chief investigator, Pol Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano, was seeking arrest warrants for 21 PAD leaders. Kasit's remarks made the headlines in several newspapers the very next day.
Pol Lt-General Wut Puawes, assistant chief of the National Police Commission, said Kasit denied all charges while being questioned by investigators at Thung Song Hong police station yesterday. The Foreign Minister also requested he be allowed to submit written statements in his defence in the next 30 days and said he would be available to give additional statements as and when requested.
Kasit was among 35 PAD leaders summoned by police earlier this week.
Chavanont Intornkomalsut, secretary to the Foreign Minister, said Kasit was not concerned about the charges, because he had taken part in PAD rallies as a speaker, not as a rally leader.
Democrat Party spokesman Thepthai Senpong said the party would allow Kasit to exercise his own judgement and would not discriminate against him. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier said the government would let the case proceed in a straightforward manner and not interfere.
"The party will decide whether to let him continue in the post should the prosecutor decide to indict him and file the case in court," he said.
Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit insisted Kasit should step down, saying the Foreign Minister was the country's face and that with Kasit facing serious terrorism charges, it would be unsuitable for him to host the next Asean meeting.
"Abhisit should not trade Thailand's face and integrity now that the foreign minister is a suspected terrorist. He should act to protect the interests of the country, not of his party or his ministers," he said.

Source: The Nation

Thaksin spotted in Malaysia: report

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly visited Malaysia last weekend before leaving for Fiji, Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam said yesterday.

Thaworn said he understood Thaksin went to Malaysia on Saturday and left on Sunday. However, his reasons for visiting Malaysia are unknown, and Thaworn admitted the report was unconfirmed. Police are verifying it.
Thaksin left Malaysia before Thai police could take action, Thaworn said. It remains the responsibility of the police, the attorney-general and the Foreign Ministry to get Thaksin back to serve the convictions against him, he said.
The deputy interior minister said the government was not worried by reports Thaksin was back in Thailand's neighbourhood.

Source: The Nation

Cambodian Leader Talks To Influential Colo. Women

The leader of an opposition party in Cambodia came to Colorado last week, not only to ask for help for her country, but to teach a lesson about freedom.In a backyard in Boulder Bounty, on the eve of America's Independence Day holiday, a group of women gathered to change the world. Among them was world leader Mu Sochua from the Opposition Party in Cambodia."I'm here to ask the American public to be aware what is going on in Cambodia right now," Sochua told the women.Sochua faces imprisonment after speaking out against the prime minister. With her freedom running out, she came to the United States to beg Americans to help free her country from corruption and to ask where American money goes in Cambodia."We're talking about 36 percent of our population living below poverty line," Sochua said. It's a condition that she says has lead to children as young as 3 years old being sold as sex slaves for as little as $50. "I'm an abolitionist. I rescue slaves," she said.Beth Klein knows what Sochua is up against and called on some of Colorado's most influential women activists to help. A Boulder attorney, Klein works in her spare time rescuing women from the sex trade in Cambodia. "It's a huge effort that needs to be made to support these people, who through no fault of their own, became a thing and now they need to become somebody," Klein said. Sochua says she will return to her country for those women and children. "We cannot continue selling our children because of a corrupt government. It has to be stopped," Sochua said. Her hope is that those of us lucky enough to have freedom will help free others."I wish I could be here for the Fourth of July, but I won't be here," she said. "But in my heart I will breathe the freedom and that's why I go back, hoping one day there will be a Fourth of July in Cambodia."

Source: Courtesy cbs4denver.com

Procurator delegation visits Cambodia

A procurator delegation led by Deputy Director of the People’s Supreme Procuracy of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Thuy Khiem began a working visit to Cambodia on July 1.
The delegation held talks the same day with a delegation from the Cambodia Supreme Court headed by General Prosecutor Chea Leang, who described the visit as an important step to bolster ties between judicial and prosecuting agencies of the two countries.
The Vietnamese official asked for enhanced cooperation among criminal and judicial agencies as well as in personnel training between the two neighbours. She also stressed the importance of boosting cooperation between border localities in the fight against criminal and transnational crimes.
She also took the occasion to invite the Cambodia Supreme Court to attend the ASEAN-China chief procurators meeting slated for November in Vietnam .
Chea Leng expressed her hope that Vietnam and Cambodia will organise more workshops on judicial and criminal matters and increase exchange of visits by the two sides.
During the five-day visit, the Vietnamese delegation will pay a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Hun Sen and visit the Cambodian Justice Ministry.

Source: (VNA)

Vietnam Plans To Build Border Economic Zone With Cambodia

HANOI, July 4 (Bernama) -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a master plan to build the region along the border with Cambodia into a major economic zone, according to the Vietnam news agency's report.
Under the ambitious scheme, the southwestern border areas, comprised of four provinces in the Central Highlands and six provinces in the southern region, will be developed into an economic zone of national and international importance by 2020.
The border economic zone including Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dac Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang provinces, will act as an entry point for trade, services and cargo transportation between the Greater Mekong's Sub region and the East Sea.
The area, which totals 73,369sq.km, is home to 12,650,000 people and expected to become a national economicdriving force in terms of agriculture, forestry, hydropower and transportation, according to the plan announced by the Government website.
By 2030, the areas along the Cambodia border will become a major economic zone of national and international importance, which can have a special influence to the Central Highlands and the central and southern regions of Vietnam, as well as to other economies in the Gulf of Thailand.
The area is expected to become the nation's biggest natural reserve of biological diversity and ethnic cultures, and one of the major tourist attractions in the ASEAN region, the news agency said.
The cities of Buon Ma Thuot and Pleiku in the Central Highlands, Long Xuyen in the Mekong Delta and Trang Bang Town in Tay Ninh will be developed into the development cores of the region.
Priorities will be given to developing urban centres and economic zones along the border with Cambodia. Phu Quoc Island will become a special administrative and economic zone under the plan, which has a vision through 2030.
-- BERNAMA

KR Trial - News summary for May

In May 2009, media report trial of former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, corruption allegation solution within Khmer Rouge tribunal, request for Nuon Chea and Ieng Thirith’s defence team, and other news relating to Pol Pot’s clothing placed for bidding with high price.

In 18 May 2009 hearing, former Toul Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, admitted that murder at S-21 torture center or Tuol Sleng prison was a “Ho Chi Minh’s theory implementation”, saying ‘before cutting bamboo, remove thorn’. In addition, Duch raised implementation of Communist Party of Kampuchea’s policy, CPK, at S-21 security center, saying arrested and accused of enemies, ones were not released. Even those who were confusedly arrested were not freed for security and secrecy maintenance. Separately, in 26 May hearing, Duch said, raising his right hand, “Armed conflicts between Khmer Rouge and Vietnam were conflicts of Indochina Federation line – conflicts between Communist Party of Kampuchea secretary Pol Pot and Vietnamese Communist Party Boss Le Duan. Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, said of relation between Communist Party of Kampuchea and Vietnamese Communist Party which caused problems within the two sides’ relation politics. Duch said Pol Pot had conflicts with Le Duan who wished to establish only one party, called Le Duan-led Indochina Party.

Craig Etcheson, 53, Khmer Rouge scholar, participated as expert witness to give testimony on Khmer Rouge’s structural assignment and technical documents in the case of former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch. The expert witness said first documents were instructed by Office 870 (CPK’s Standing Committee) dated 1 January 1979, being released about a week after Vietnamese troops began launching massive attack on Cambodia during Democratic Kampuchea. Craig Etcheson raised CPK’s policy implementation at S-21 led by Duch.

In 19 May hearing, the American Khmer Rouge historian, raised large-scale purge and purification (arrest and murder) arose in Khmer Rouge military unit led by Son Sen. In addition, second expert witness Nayan Chanda appeared in Cambodia’s war crimes court on 25 May, testifying on the facts of CPK’s policy implementation at S-21 and armed conflict during Khmer Rouge regime.

The allegations of corruption have arisen since the beginning of the Cambodian’s UN-backed tribunal’s 2007 proceedings. Now allegations of corruption within the tribunal are known across the US and worldwide after the well-known CNN of the power country broadcast the corruption allegations. Until now they have not been addressed, causing doubt over capacity, independence, and the future of the hybrid court.

Nuon Chea’s defence team urged judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal to take measure against kickback paid to senior Cambodian officials of the internationally standardized court. Andrew Ianuzzi, a legal consultant for Nuon Chea's defence team, said, “I did not see any method for the pre-trial chamber willing to address kickback in the Khmer Rouge court.”

The government of Cambodia agreed to negotiate with the UN to form anti-corruption mechanism within the Khmer Rouge tribunal after Japan gave US$4,17 million to the corruption-tainted tribunal. Separately, US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, Clint Williamson claimed anti-corruption process in Cambodia was in progress though no any agreement was reached.

Public Affairs Chief Reach Sambath said 251 Khmer Rouge victims had participated as civil parties in case 002 of former Democratic Kampuchea’s National Assembly President and Brother Number 2 Nuon Chea. It is hoped more people would participate as civil parties.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, ECCC, rejected Nuon Chea’s appeal against provisional detention and dismissed a request for conditional release. According to a decision made 4 May 2009, Nuon Chea, 84, would be provisionally detained at the Khmer Rouge tribunal until 19 September 2009. Nuon Chea was detained first time for a year on 10 September 2007. Co-investigating Judge Marcel Lemond said plan to end case 002 investigation at the end of this year could be an ambition of the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges as the case was so complicated.

Former Khmer Rouge Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith’s defence team claimed confessions of 5000 Tuol Sleng prisoners were unlawful and could not be used for evidence against former senior Khmer Rouge leaders. In addition, Ieng Thirith filed an appeal against provisional detention, but was rejected on the ground of public order and her personal safety.

According to 18 May press release reads Mr. Reach Sambath, currently Press Officer, is promoted to become Chief of Public Affairs, responsible for media relations and provision of public information on the workings of the ECCC. The present Chief of Public Affairs, Dr Helen Jarvis will be redeployed to head up the Victims Unit.

Phnom Penh Municipality, Senate, and National Assembly on 20 May 2009 marked remembrance of the Cambodian people killed in Pol Pot’s regime at Chhoeung Ek Genocide Museum. The service was held to commemorate the deceased under genocidal regime of three years, eight months, and 20 days.

Four accused former Khmer Rouge leaders failed to cooperate in investigation process, You Bunleng said in a weekly press conference of the Khmer Rouge tribunal on 27 May.

An official of the Khmer Rouge tribunal on 5 May 2009 said that the tribunal took four ageing former Khmer Rouge leaders detained – Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Thirith to hospital last week to take medical examination, claiming, “They are ageing and routine medical check is always done.”

Japan gave US$ 4,000,000 to the Khmer Rouge tribunal for monthly wages of the Cambodian side’s staff after facing funding shortfall for a while. Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said 1 May the amount of money would be used for the monthly wages of the Cambodian side’s staff until 31 December 2009. “This is the large amount of money and completely valuable. We warmly welcome to Japan’s decision to announce its immediate contribution to the Khmer Rouge tribunal.”

Khranh Tony, administration interim director of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, explained the tribunal wanted to create a close relationship culture with the tribunal and the press – or create a discussion forum rather than leaving negotiation of rumor. Wednesday is a start of the tribunal’s weekly press conference in which both Khranh Tony and Knut Rosandhaug, tribunal’s administration deputy director, raised general progress of the tribunal.

Pol Pot’s properties and clothing were placed for bid with high price by his then-subordinate photographer. The properties include tapes, revolutionary songs of Democratic Kampuchea, thousands of Pol Pot’s photos, over two-hour video, clothing, toilet, and over ten other documents.

http://newsupdateblog-khmerboy.blogspot.com

Influenza A(H1N1) cases yesterday shot pass the 2,000 mark, while the fatality count stayed at seven.

The 231 new confirmed cases reported yesterday brought the overall figure to 2,076, of which all have been treated except for 33 patients who remain hospitalised.
Phaijit Warachit, deputy permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, warned people with flu symptoms against taking aspirin, which could possibly lead to Reye's syndrome - a potentially fatal disease that can harm the brain and liver.
Instead, the drug paracetamol was advised.
Another first aid technique is to reduce body temperature by wettowelling patients in a direction toward their heart, or behind their body joints.
All of the 800plus government hospitals are set to establish a special mechanism to admit people with flu symptoms - through a quicker process separated from other patients to minimise exposure to other people.
Special isolation rooms would also be needed for people with flu symptoms in hospitals that can afford to arrange them.
A medical team of experts in the treatment of respiratory diseases has been put on standby around the clock to advise both state and private hospitals across the country.
Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai visited to all four provinces in the East while his deputy Manit Nopamornbodi toured Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon and Ratchaburi to promote the ministry's campaign to "Eat hot, use the middle spoons and keep your hands clean".
Manit called on youths to stay home during the fiveday weekend rather than go to video game shops, tutorial schools and other crowded places.
He visited a team of doctors at Ratchaburi General Hospital who treated a person who became the country's seventh death due to the flu. One of the doctors has had the flu for three days and is now held in quarantine for special treatment.
In Chachoengsao, a 18yearold man died of lung complications after falling sick for four days. His symptoms included high fever and high body temperature before he started coughing up blood.
Suthin Thongloh was admitted on Friday and pronounced dead yesterday afternoon. The results of his lab tests and autopsy will be available soon.
In Yala, a patient with the disease was recovering at the provincial general hospital. There is no other reported case in this southern province, said Dr Sawas Aphiwajjaneewong, chief of the provincial public health office.
Source: The Nation

Thailand reports 231 new A (H1N1) flu cases, raising total to 2,076

Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaew Paradai announced Sunday that 231 new cases of type-A (H1N1) influenza were confirmed, raising the total cases in Thailand to 2,076.Of the new case, 205 are students, Witthaya said.He said 33 of the patients are still in hospitals and the rest have been cured and discharted from hospitals.

Source:The Nation

Local Rotary gets $300K grant for Cambodia project

Since 2005, the Rotary Club of Gainesville and locally run nonprofit organization Sustainable Cambodia have worked together to improve the quality of life in impoverished villages of rural central Cambodia's Pursat province.AC = -->
They have established a school for children, funded the construction of wells for clean drinking water supplies and crop irrigation and helped bolster the area's sustainable food supply with gardens and the donation of livestock to village families.
But their past ventures together have never had the one-time infusion of funds the groups just received - a $300,000 grant from Rotary International.
Richard Allen, the president and co-founder of Sustainable Cambodia and a member of the Rotary Club of Gainesville, said the majority of the money will go toward additional water wells in the dry region, where drought lasts some five months a year.
Drinking supplies, crops and the survival of livestock all depend on those wells, Allen said.
"Water, over there, is the linchpin of everything that takes place," Allen said.
To date, Sustainable Cambodia has funded more than 100 water wells in the Pursat province.
The grant money will fund 80 additional wells and 8,000 water filters to supply clean water to the region.
It will also fund construction of 800 new latrines, 20 community ponds for farming fish, raised gardens able to withstand floods, and road repairs in the Pursat's Kravanh district, according to a press release from the Rotary Club of Gainesville.
In addition to the infrastructure projects in Cambodia, the Gainesville groups have helped establish a partner organization in Cambodia - the Rotary Club of Pursat.
Elena Casson, chair of the Rotary Club of Gainesville's Cambodia committee, said that, working with the club in Cambodia, planning has already started on the projects the grant will fund so construction work will be able to begin by the end of the year.
The Rotary Club of Gainesville was one of 15 worldwide recipients of the rotary International grant. The local group had to pledge $30,000 in matching funds.

Source: Gainesville Sun

Cambodia says it gave UN a plan for Preah Vihear in April

Cambodian authorities have dismissed a claim by Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti in the dispute over the drawing up of a plan to "safeguard and develop" the Preah Vihear Temple. Cambodia says Phnom Penh submitted the plan in April.
Suwit said earlier, after the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Spain, that the committee had delayed its decision to take up the Preah Vihear issue since Cambodia had not yet completed its management plan.
Hang Soth, the general director of Cambodia's Preah Vihear National Authority, said Cambodia had submitted conservation plans to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on April 4.
"We don't understand why Thai leaders have said Cambodia has until next year to submit the plan," Hang Soth was quoted as saying by the Phnom Penh Post as seen yesterday on its website.
"We have already submitted our projects … Cambodians made the temple. Why can't we conserve it?" he said.
Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the Thai statements were meant to cover up their failure at the Unesco meeting in Spain, where they were unable to get their challenge to the Preah Vihear plan on the agenda.
"The Thai leaders' comments are just to hide their failure to review the listing," he said.
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Spain on June 23-30 issued its decision 33COM 7B.74, which has been seen by The Nation and does indeed say that Cambodia submitted its report for the safeguarding and development of the temple in April and the committee reviewed it on April 24.
The committee made a request to the State Party (Cambodia) to submit to the World Heritage Centre by February 1, 2010, a report on the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations by the committee in its decision 32COM 8B.102, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010.
In fact there is no extension of a timetable, as February 2010 was mentioned in the previous decision in the 32nd session in Quebec, in paragraph 16, saying: "further requests the State Party of Cambodia to submit to the World Heritage Centre by February 2010, for submission to the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010, a full management plan for the inscribed property, including a finalised map".

Source: The Nation

Billboard - Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh Municipality has put up a billboard on the wall of Tonle Sap restaurant in front of Cambodian Council for Development by showing then port activities for recent Cambodian generation to see the history of the place where was a port in the past.