130617-The Post English

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Issue NUMBER 1648

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MONDAY, june 17, 2013

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Coup claims brought to Royal Palace Cheang Sokha

PRIME Minister Hun Sen said on Saturday that Queen Mother Norodom Monineath wanted to meet with an opposition leader after said leader allegedly claimed the 1970 ouster of the thenPrince Norodom Sihanouk was not a coup.

But in a rare distancing, a palace official downplayed the incident, stressing that the Queen Mother had no desire for any action to be taken against Sam Rainsy Party president Kong Korm.

Speaking at a construction project inauguration in Kampong Cham province, the premier told thousands of attendees that Monineath had told his wife, Bun Rany, she “wanted to meet face-to-face with that person [Kong Korm]”.

The meeting took place last week, said Hun Sen, when Rany went to pay a birthday visit to the Queen Mother.

“But the children can protect against that,” Hun Sen said, referring to government institutions under the monarchy.

“Their bad activity cannot be Archaeologist Damian Evans compares mapping techniques captured by aerial laser technology ‘lidar’ to ruins at the Beng Mealea complex in Siem Reap province in May.

scott howes

Continues on page 6

An Angkorian revelation Justine Drennan and Alistair Walsh Siem Reap province

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ORE THAN one million people visit the famous temples around Siem Reap each year, but it took a remote sensing laser survey to discover traces of a vast urban network surrounding the Angkor and Koh Ker temple complexes and a previously unknown ancient city on nearby Phnom Kulen.

Using a laser scanner strapped to a helicopter, the researchers were able penetrate the vegetation that had long blocked a view of the ground.

Lasers reveal hidden depths to ancient city The results of that April 2012 aerial survey and subsequent on-theground fieldwork, which are to be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, may well change history as we know it.

“Our jaws dropped,” said University of Sydney’s Damian Evans, who heads the partnership of eight organisations that conducted the research, including the Cambodian government’s APSARA Authority.

“It reveals quite clearly that the

formalised, urban center of the city of Angkor extends over at least 35 sq km, rather than simply the 9 sq km conventionally recognised within the walls of Angkor Thom,” the paper notes.

Our jaws dropped The survey – the first of its kind in Asia – showed that mounds and depressions that appear pattern-less from the ground actually form the

remnants of highly structured city grids, roads, dams and canals.

According the paper, the data demonstrated that “the intensity of land-use and the extent of urban and agricultural space have both been dramatically underestimated in the Angkor region until now”.

These findings suggest that in the 12th century the area contained a “very large population” sustained by regular agricultural imports from the countryside.

Dependence on surplus agricul-

ture and large water management systems, in turn, show how droughts contributed to the civilisation’s eventual collapse, researchers say.

Pointing to a mound outside of the crumbling walls of the Beng Mealea temple on a recent expedition with the Post, Evans explained that “this was once the foundation for a block of wooden structures”.

Those structures have long since disappeared into the jungle, leaving only slight mounds and dips that are easy to overlook amid the trees and underbrush, and are overshadowed Continues on page 4

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

National

Heritage meeting kicks off Vong Sokheng

SOME 1,500 international delegates and government officials from more than 120 countries gathered in Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace yesterday for the launch of the UNESCO 37th World Heritage Committee meetings.

At last night’s opening ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed the attendees and

stressed Cambodia’s commitment to preserving its heritage sites, even in the wake of booming tourism. He also offered especial thanks to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which last week returned to Cambodia a pair of looted 10thcentury statues, in a rare act of voluntary repatriation.

From June 16 to 27, committee chair Cambodia and the 20 oth-

Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomes the return of a Koh Ker statue during the opening session of the 37th World Heritage Committee at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh yesterday. heng chivoan

er current committee member states will select about 15 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites from a list of 31 candidates, spokesman Roni Amelan said at a press conference yesterday.

Nominees recommended to join the current 962 World Heritage sites include China’s Tianshan Mountains, Italy’s Mount Etna, Japan’s Mount Fuji, North Korea’s Kaesong (capital of the medieval Koryo Dynasty), and the historic city centre of Agadez in Niger.

Ek Tha, spokesman for the meetings as well as for the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said that as chair of the meetings, Cambodia had not nominated any of its own sites for inscription.

“We wanted to show the national and international community that we are neutral” and that Cambodia is “playing a greater role at the global level by bringing together the cultural experts and policy makers to protect and preserve the cultural and natural heritage worldwide,” Tha said.

Victims file suit against ‘denier’ Cheang Sokha

A HANDFUL of S-21 survivors and victims of the Khmer Rouge filed a defamation lawsuit against acting Cambodia National Rescue Party president Kem Sokha Friday, just as the Senate approved a law making it a crime to deny the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.

Kouy Thunna, a lawyer for S-21 survivors Chum Mey and Norng Chan Phal, and fellow Khmer Rouge victims Chin Mat and Norng Chan Thorn, said yesterday that he had filed a lawsuit with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court arguing that remarks allegedly made by Sokha that S-21’s history had been fabricated by the invading Vietnamese amounted to libel.

“They are demanding a fine of $1,000 in order to hold a ceremony for the souls of the victims at Tuol Sleng museum,” Thunna said.

“I think more victims will also file petitions against Kem Sokha.”

The lawsuit was filed after Sokha refused to apologise for the remarks, which he has maintained he never made, saying the audio recordings of the statements released by the govern-

ment were taken out of context and doctored.

Sokha was in Japan yesterday, and could not be reached for comment, but CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the party was unconcerned with the suit, calling it a political ploy to paint Sokha in an unflattering light.

“We are not concerned about the complaint at all,” he said. “What we focus on are the issues of the border, immigration and the national issues that are the biggest concerns of Cambodians.”

Meanwhile, the law on Khmer Rouge Crimes Denial, which was proposed by a number of ruling-party lawmakers in the wake of the release of the alleged remarks, was approved by the Senate on Friday, said house spokesman Tep Makara.

According to a Senate press release, the law was passed without a single vote against it, a feat made possible by the fact that the vote was boycotted by all opposition senators, Sam Rainsy Party Senator Kong Korm said.

“We support the law, but it was proposed urgently, with little time for consultation about responsibility, and a lack of detailed discussion,” he said.

Self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy spoke via video conference to party supporters from Paris at the Cambodia National Rescue Party headquarters Phnom Penh yesterday. vireak mai

Rainsy avoids Sokha issues in talk to youth Meas Sokchea

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AKING his first public remarks since members of his party were sued for defamation, publicly hounded for child support and accused of attempting to pay for sex with a minor, Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy touted his Facebook popularity yesterday at a pro-opposition youth rally.

Though he took pains to mention that his profile on the social networking site had garnered more support in three months than Prime Minister Hun Sen’s had in three years, Rainsy at no point mentioned the ongoing controversies surrounding his party, neither in remarks via Skype to the youths, nor in a private teleconference with embattled acting party president Kem Sokha, a CNRP spokesman said. “[Sokha] discussed with Mr Sam Rainsy via Skype about disturbances from the ruling party, such as [local authorities] dis-

International Labour Organization

Job Announcement

turbing us when we have public forums to meet with people, and disturbances over putting up a party sign,” CNRP spokesman Yem Ponharith said.

When asked why the two leaders had not discussed the recent controversies surrounding remarks allegedly made by Sokha that the S-21 narrative had been fabricated by the Vietnamese, and accusations of extramarital impropriety made by the premier and a woman claiming to be Sokha’s mistress, Ponharith said that the party was not interested in continuing to dredge up these issues.

Speaking via Skype to about 500 youths at CNRP headquarters, Rainsy chose instead to focus on issues that have perennially been the subject of opposition criticisms – the composition of the National Election Committee and Rainsy’s own ability to return to Cambodia from self-exile and participate in elections – and even engaged in some antiVietnamese rhetoric.

“Therefore, the Cambodian People’s Party backed by the Yuon must think correctly. If they are aiming to have a joke election, not change the NEC, and not allow myself, Sam Rainsy, to participate in that election, then an election like this – there will not be anyone recognising it,” Rainsy said.

But Tith Sothea, a spokesman with the government’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said that the government was unconcerned with international recognition, and that what mattered was providing citizens with the right to vote in multiparty elections.

NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha, for his part, said Rainsy was obligated to recognise the results of July’s election, as all political parties had signed a contract agreeing to do so.

“If the election is already finished and he does not announce that he recognises it publicly, we would take those seats that he received to distribute to the other parties that were elected,” he said.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT (CCCA Trust Fund Secretariat)

Programme Assistants (GS-6 Approximately US$ 1,000 net per month) Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) is an innovative program which seeks to improve working conditions in the export garment industry in Cambodia. The project is growing, and is looking for up to four Programme Assistants based in Phnom Penh. The position will be offered one year contract with possible extension.

This work will suit a motivated candidate with established skills in the required areas and a willingness to learn new skills and take on increasing responsibility as the project evolves.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE  Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Law, Business Administration, Economics, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering and other related fields. Preferably master degree qualification.  At least five years’ work experience in a related field  Knowledge of occupational safety and health, chemical safety, productivity and/or environmental issues pertaining to the garment and footwear industry is considered an advantage COMPETENCIES 1. Excellent communications skills, both oral and written; 2. Good analytical skills; 3. Understanding of enterprise level human resource, production and quality systems; 4. Good understanding of corporate social responsibility and labor compliance issues in global supply chains; 5. Knowledge of footwear production, especially chemical safety and related OSH issues; 6. Experience in using basic computer software including e-mail, Microsoft Word and Excel, and information management systems; 7. Good knowledge of the Cambodian labour law and regulations; 8. Ability to work independently as well as contributing to the work of a team; 9. Capacity to liaise and network with a range of stakeholders including staff, donors, buyers, government officials, management, unions and NGOs ILO is an equal opportunity employer. Women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. All applicants must attach their up to date CV and 1-2 pages statement addressing their claims against the required competencies. Applicants who fail to submit the competency statement will not be considered for shortlisted. Please find detail of the job announcement at www.betterfactories.org Only short listed applications will be contacted.

Applications should be sent to bfcjobs@ilo.org or to Better Factories Cambodia Office at # 9 Street 322, BoeungKeng Kang 1, Phnom Penh. closing date for application is 28 June 2013, 17:00

The Cambodia Climate Financing Framework (CCFF) is being developed by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to inform among others the implementation of the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan (CCCSP) which is expected to be approved by June 2013, together with sectoral Climate Change Strategic Plans (CCSP) in 9 priority ministries and agencies. The CCFF therefore aims to operationalize the CCCSP and the sectoral CCSPs, and to make it possible for these strategic plans to in�luence dedicated climate funding and routine planning. As part of the CCFF process, priority line ministries will develop Climate Change Action Plans (CCAP), in line with their sector strategic plans.

CCCA is now looking to hire a quali�ied and experienced national consultant for Industry, Energy and Transport Sector– Climate Change Financing Framework.

The consultant will work within a team of international and national staff and consultants.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables  Detailed individual work plan for the assignment (jointly with the Team Leader)  Draft CCAP for Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME)  Draft CCAP for Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT)  Final draft CCAPs for MPWT and MIME Timing 65 working days (from mid July to mid October 2013) Minimum quali�ications  Minimum of a Masters degree in economics, engineering or a related subject (or Bachelors degree with 7 years relevant experience)  At least 3 to 5 years of experience working on policy analysis, including strong experience in the energy and/or industry and/or roads sector.  Familiarity with economic planning techniques  Ability to interact with government of�icials  Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability  Full pro�iciency in English and Khmer (written and spoken)

Interested individuals should �irst download full Terms of Reference from website www.camclimate.org.kh. To apply, please send a curriculum vitae (including names of three referees) with a cover letter to the Trust Fund Secretariat to the following email address. Email: daravuth.youn@gmail.com or admin@camclimate.org.kh

Closing date: Monday 24 June 2013, 12PM Women are encouraged to apply. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

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National

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

National have afforded a measure of resilience on an annual scale by ensuring food and water security for an everlarger and increasingly urbanised population; paradoxically, however, those same systems would also have created a systemic vulnerability to longer-term climatic variation.”

A broader span

An aerial laser-powered mapping technology called lidar has helped archaeologists uncover new secrets of Angkor’s ancient civilisation in Cambodia.

Francisco Goncalves

Angkor city much larger than believed Continued from page 1

by the mossy ruins of the temple. The mounds each span a few metres in diameter and look – to the untrained eye – like nothing more than natural undulations of the earth.

Archaeologists, however, have long known they meant more.

A different type of archaeology Siem Reap is a naturally flat flood plain, so even such small variegations are evidence of human settlement, Evans said.

Still, with no way to see through the tree canopy, researchers were previously able to learn about the shape and extent of this settlement only by painstakingly hacking through the vegetation by hand.

The team’s choice of laser imaging detection and ranging technology, or “lidar”, is far more efficient – though also far more expensive.

Aerial lidar surveys fire millions of laser beams at the ground and measure the time they take to bounce back, using tiny differences in time to calculate variations in elevation.

The Angkor project, which is the most extensive archaeological lidar survey ever conducted, used a particularly high concentration of beams to ensure that some made their way through the trees to the earth below and then back to the machine.

After a computer screened out results reflected from vegetation, the data revealed – up to a resolution of a few centimetres – images of “every small dyke, every ancient road”, said Jean-Baptiste Chevance, program manager of the Archaeological and Development Foundation, another group involved in the project.

“We clicked a button, and – boom!”

Evans said.

Dense urban networks The results, according to archaeologist Michael Coe, are “absolutely mind-boggling”.

“This is the greatest advance in

our knowledge of Angkor as a living city in the past century,” said Coe, who some 60 years ago, according to the team’s paper, first suggested using laser to map ancient forest civilisations.

Before now, Coe said, most scholars believed Angkor was urbanised in a “dispersed-urban pattern”, with populations loosely scattered around hubs like canals, roads and family-maintained ponds.

“What the lidar images reveal is something that we had not anticipated: a densely occupied city with streets and avenues laid out on a grid pattern aligned with the cardinal directions.”

Around Angkor, “the lidar imagery shows the area is very precisely organised into city blocks of a very specific size,” Evans said. “Each of the city blocks has four elevated mounds and pond, and there would have been wooden structures on each of those mounds.

“It would have been tightly packed and teeming with life – a very busy place.”

Cambodia historian David Chandler termed the discoveries “thrilling developments”.

“The lidar has shown streets and canals that obviously required central planning and coordination,” he said.

Additionally, Evans said, the lidar data showed that the networks of roads and settlements continued outside temple complexes’ moats and walls, which were previously thought to form the outer bounds of settlement.

“There are no gates where the roads cross,” Evans said. “So what’s happened is that there was some kind of pre-existing urban network in this area, and this temple and its enclosure have been stuck into the middle of it all.”

According to Coe, the survey’s results at Angkor mean scholars are going to have to revise their population estimates for the city at its height.

Based on radar and ground surveys, scholars in recent years had offered “a ‘guesstimate’ of 750,000 inhabitants”, Coe said.

“Back in 1979,” he said, “the late Bernard-Philippe Groslier, based on his contention that Angkor was a ‘hydraulic city’ that used the great barays, or reservoirs, to irrigate the rice fields, proposed a figure of 1.9 million people. It now looks like Groslier was right.”

Evans was more cautious about the survey’s implications for population figures, stressing that the topic required much more study.

Researchers hope they can match the lidar data with fieldwork on the ground and written accounts from the time to suss out population figures. But the frequent rebuilding and relocation of Angkorian centres over the span of 1,000 years, with many sites built on top of others, makes determining a population at any given time more difficult, Evans said.

In the end, the team hopes they will gain insight into a key question: What happened to this civilisation?

Sceptical of explanations that attribute the decline of the great Khmer Empire to invasion by the Thais, the team suspects a more gradual source of decline – the civilisation’s unsustainable dependence on large-scale water-management systems.

Among the lidar data is evidence of great dams and canals that demonstrate the importance of water management not just for Angkor but for all Khmer cities at the time, said Evans.

The lidar shows, for example, that a five-kilometre-long elevated strip near Koh Ker, previously believed to have been a road, does not rise and fall with the land around it but remains constant in elevation, suggesting that it actually was a dam.

These findings give support to the theory that Angkorian residents “muddled through for a few centuries” with massive water-manage-

ment systems but that the empire eventually collapsed due to major droughts that are visible in environmental evidence such as tree rings, Evans said.

“The new data lends further weight to an emerging consensus that the development of the vast engineered landscape of Angkor over several centuries was fundamentally unsustainable,” the researchers write.

“Increasingly sophisticated technologies of water management may

The team’s 20-hour lidar survey covered 370 square kilometres at a cost of about a quarter of a million dollars.

Generally archaeologists, finding such costs prohibitive, have used only whatever relevant data they could glean from lidar studies conducted for non-archaeological purposes – usually for less-detailed national topographical surveys.

The Angkor survey was only the second ever carried out over a large area specifically for archaeological research.

In 2009, the first such survey succeeded in penetrating vegetation to map the ancient Mayan city of Caracol in Belize. Plans are under way for an expanded follow-up study.

Finding adequate resources for the Angkor project required the cooperation and funding of eight different organisations, including the Cambodian government’s APSARA Authority and the French École Française d’Extrême Orient.

Archaeologists are now in the process of exploring on the ground the features detected from the air, downloading the lidar data into handheld GPS units and heading out into the field with maps of the aerial survey as guides.

Evans demonstrated the process to the Post at Beng Mealea last month, showing how the seemingly random mounds around the temple corresponded, on the lidar map, with a regular topographical grid.

Picking up a rust-coloured piece of ceramic lying on one mound, he identified it as part of an ancient roof from one of the wooden structures that once stood there.

Scattered bricks and ceramics tend to be the main traces of these structured settlements that remain for researchers on the ground, Evans said.

There have been some larger discoveries, however. A team led by

Tourists visit the ruins of temples in the Beng Mealea complex in Siem Reap province in May. scott howes

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

National

An overview of the lidar research areas in Siem Reap province.

Stéphane De Greef from the Archaeology and Development Foundation at the sacred mountain of Phnom Kulen to Angkor’s northwest has confirmed – through on-theground fieldwork – 28 new temples detected by the lidar and found dozens of carvings in a riverbed.

World Heritage potential These discoveries have given some heritage experts hope the survey will help expand the international recognition and protection given the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site to include Phnom Kulen, which was long mine-riddled, relatively difficult to access, and lacking temples as iconic as Angkor Wat. “It’s really been off of people’s radar,” said Evans.

Now, the survey’s findings of new temples, roads and a wholly new city there have buttressed heritage groups’ claims that the Kulen has “cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value” – the basis for world heritage site designation.

“This newly discovered urban landscape,” the study says, “corresponds to the 8th-9th [century] city named Mahendraparvata, one of the first capitals of the Khmer Empire, which was previously known only from written inscriptions but was commonly assumed to be located in the Phnom Kulen region.”

Chandler called the evidence of the city “mind -bending, suggesting that the very first years of Angkor – early to mid-9th century, perhaps earlier – so poorly documented in inscriptions, might already have involved relatively dense populations and a level of fairly sophisticated urban planning.”

Anne LeMaistre, country director for UNESCO in Cambodia said: “Phnom Kulen is really the symbolic source of Angkor.”

“At Phnom Kulen, King Jayavarman in 802 declared himself king of kings, unified all the little kingdoms and integrated them into the Ang-

Khmer Archaeology LiDAR Consortium

korian Empire. So it makes sense to include the Kulen in the Angkor perimeter.”

But when Angkor initially was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992, the Khmer Rouge still occupied Phnom Kulen, so including it in the World Heritage Site was not an option, LeMaistre said.

Since then, incorporating Phnom Kulen “has been in APSARA’s mind and in UNESCO’s mind for a long time,” she said. Now the lidar study’s remarkable results have spurred the organisations to start the application process, which is “just at the beginning”.

UNESCO received support for the scheme in December from the government’s APSARA Authority and from Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, chairman of the National Commission from UNESCO. Going forward, UNESCO and the government will need to work to restore and renovate the site and write the nomination, which then would be evaluated by the World Heritage Committee.

A final decision would be about three years away, LeMaistre said.

Evans noted that Phnom Kulen was one of a handful of Cambodian sites under consideration for World Heritage Site status.

It is not yet decided whether the proposed extension would coincide with the current Phnom Kulen National Park or be smaller or larger – a matter up to APSARA. Bun Narith, director-general of APSARA, said his organisation was “in the process of preparing” for the project.

“The site must have an exceptional value,” he said, joining LeMaistre in noting that reforestation was necessary to improve the site.

Chevance, too, said he hoped the extension of the World Heritage site would encourage both archaeological and environmental protection.

But he noted that despite international support, the Cambodian government, as sovereign manager of

the current Heritage Site around Angkor, still struggled to provide adequate protection and monitoring of the site against loggers and careless tourists.

Still, he said, “certification and registration of Phnom

Dr Damian Evans compares new lidar findings alongside established maps of the Beng Mealea temple area in Siem Reap province in May. scott howes

for, firstly, managing the land use in the region. It will be helpful to make an accurate land use map,” he said.

The data would also help the government prioritise which areas to preserve, and to “develop public and tour-

Angkor would have been tightly packed and teeming with life – a very busy place Kulen as a World Heritage Site should bring a better level of protection. Because you can’t do whatever you want in a World Heritage Site.”

Further Study Not just at Phnom Kulen but across the former Khmer Empire, the lidar results offer important information for further research and management of the sites, Im Sokrithy, one of the researchers and a spokesman for APSARA, said.

“APSARA will use the data

ist infrastructures in the park without impact to the historic sites,” he said.

Balancing these interests could be a delicate matter, said Evans.

“You can’t just say that you can’t build anywhere that there is an ancient feature or something like that, because pretty much everywhere in the greater Angkor area, including in Siem Reap town, was a part of the ancient urban landscape,” he said.

The prevalence of ancient

features, however, “highlights the need for us to do as much survey work as quickly as possible in order to more effectively plan things like development and more effectively manage the site.”

This is one of the reasons that Evans’s team hopes in 2014 to conduct a second lidar survey, which would map a larger swath of sites not covered last April. The project would include more of Phnom Kulen and the ancient “industrial city” of Preah Khan (not to be confused with the Angkor temple of the same name).

“In the Phnom Kulen area, all we’ve done is just cover a small subsection. The same is really true in Angkor,” Evans said. “But we now know where the sweet spots are.”

In some areas, traces of urban networks extend all the way to the end of the lidar maps, and researchers are eager to learn how far beyond they continue.

Evans is currently in the process of securing funds for the second survey. At roughly $500,000, it would cost twice as much as the first one, but Evans said the groundwork for the first study and its success has helped clear the way.

Meanwhile, some features the lidar picked up are still mysteries, including “a series of rectilinear coil-shaped embankments of indeterminate function” just south of Angkor Wat’s moat.

“They don’t fit into any conventional idea of what the Angkorian landscape looks like,” said Evans.

“They’re not in any Angkorian art, and there are no parallels to things in other parts of the world. They don’t really make sense in terms of agriculture or water management.”

But further research would eventually reveal their purpose, he said.

“There always turns out to be a rational explanation.”

A relief map shows the terrain beneath vegetation in the Phnom Kulen area. Green shows areas previously documented. Areas shaded red show new finds that indicate an extensive urban layout. Archaeology and Development Foundation - Phnom Kulen Program

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National

police blotter

Comments rile Continued from page 1

avoided and history will condemn them. It is a cheap act and an insult.”

Korm, who is also a senior SRP senator, reportedly said in late May that the 1970 coup by Lon Nol was in fact a plot masterminded by Sihanouk. A tape of his alleged comments was leaked by the ruling party government shortly thereafter, and the party’s coalition partner, royalist Funcinpec, has threatened to sue, calling it an insult to the monarchy.

Oum Daravuth, advisor to the general secretariat of the Queen Mother’s office, told the Post yesterday that the Queen Mother is indeed furious with the comments, but said she did not order officials to take action against Korm.

“She is feeling pain . . . with this exaggerated information [by Korm],” Daravuth said, adding that she had been privy to the late King Father’s decisions for more than 60 years.

“But the Queen Mother is in the top institution and she is too high, so she has no plan for action against Kong Korm.”

Noting that the facts were quite clear surrounding the history of the 1970 coup, Daravuth said Korm’s comment had been “made with a lack of evidence or consideration”, and added that not only was the

Queen Mother upset over the words, but that numerous others were.

Contacted yesterday, Korm again refused to comment on the veracity of the leaked tape, but slammed the Cambodian People’s Party for drawing the Palace into a political fight.

“I listened and saw that Samdech Bun Rany, the wife of Samdech Techo – the head of the government – reported the matter to the Queen Mother. I think it would be better not to bring such political issues to the Queen Mother or to the Royal Palace which is neutral and not supposed to be involved with the matter of politicians,” he said.

The opposition has been reeling over the past few weeks after the fallout from another leaked tape, one of Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha allegedly claiming that Vietnam “staged” the notorious Tuol Sleng security centre.

That tape has led to widespread protests and a defamation lawsuit against Sokha.

On Thursday, meanwhile, Hun Sen ignited a new controversy after announcing he had ample evidence that opposition leaders had engaged in extra-marital affairs and the purchase of under-age sex and was prepared to leak that, too.

Marshal Lon Nol’s soldiers surrender their arms during the Khmer Rouge’s takeover of Phnom Penh in April 1975. afp

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Workers beat drinking pal with farm tools

TWO plantation workers were arrested for sowing discord on Friday. According to police, the three men had gathered at the plantation to drink for a few hours. However, an argument eventually broke out, prompting two of the men to beat their drinking chum unconcious with hoes. The victim was hospitalised, and the suspects fled, only to be arrested the same day. Police said the two confessed, saying that they were too drunk to control themselves. NOKORWAT

Farmer busted for her lucrative side-job Yorm Bopha, 29, exits Phnom Penh’s Court of Appeal on Friday. heng chivoan

Observers condemn Bopha’s guilty verdict Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell

R

IGHTS groups have continued condemning the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold a guilty verdict against Boeung Kak land-rights activist Yorm Bopha, saying that “weak” evidence and “inconsistent” testimony failed to link her to an axe and screwdriver attack on two motodops.

The 29-year-old mother will remain in prison, possibly until September next year, after judges rejected her appeal on Friday, but suspended one year of her three-year sentence.

Amnesty International’s Cambodia researcher, Rupert Abbott, who was in court for the case, called for Bopha’s immediate release.

“There was inconsistency in testimony and really weak evidence. To suggest she was involved seems really farfetched,” he said yesterday.

Abbott said the presumption of innocence had been missing from the trial, suggesting “outside influences are at work again”.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights said in a statement that it was outraged the “bogus” conviction against Bopha had been upheld.

“The accounts of the alleged victims were often convoluted and did not corroborate,” the statement said.

At the end of the four-hour hearing, judges changed the intentional violence charge against Bopha to a charge of masterminding an assault.

Presiding Judge Taing Sun Lay said Bopha ordered her brothers Yorm Kanlong and Yorm Seth to carry out an attack on motodops Nget Chet, 28, and Vath Thaiseng, 24, last August.

Speaking outside court, Bopha’s husband, Lous Sakhon, vowed to appeal the decision.

“I think the Supreme Court might support all the other courts, but I will still appeal because I want to show the whole world what justice is like in Cambodia,” said the 56-yearold, who was given a suspended prison term last December over the same incident.

During the hearing, Vath Sareth, the father and uncle of the motodops, said he knew

“clearly” that Kanlong and Seth had attacked the motodops. But when pressed further he said he had overheard only later that the brothers were the attackers.

“I don’t know who [stabbed my son] because there were many people around and it was confusing,” he said.

In a closing statement, prosecutor Than Seng Narong said Bopha and her husband masterminded the violence but added he did not know why authorities had imprisoned “the woman in this case and not the man”.

Bopha’s lawyer, Ham Sunrith, said witnesses and evidence presented had failed to prove Bopha was guilty.

When the motodops’ lawyer, Neang Hay, disagreed, the usually calm Bopha began shouting, interrupting to demand he solemnly swear the evidence he had presented was true.

Boeung Kak housing-rights activist Tep Vanny said yesterday that her community would continue protests and take straw effigies of “corrupt officials” to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house today, urging his intervention.

Bandith trial ends with prosecutor accusing two May Titthara and Kevin Ponniah

THE final day of former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith’s trial on Friday saw heated argument between lawyers and witnesses over who was responsible for shootings that injured three garment factory workers at a demonstration last year.

More than 20 witnesses testified during the three days of hearings, with a former deputy commune police chief telling the Svay Rieng court on Thursday that he saw his former boss shoot at workers.

Svay Rieng Provincial Court Judge Leang Sour said a verdict will be announced on June 25.

On Friday, lawyers for Sar Chantha, the Bavet town police chief who was also charged with the shootings, argued that pro-Bandith witnesses had given false testimony, Community Legal Education Center’s labour head Mouen Tola said.

Lawyers for the three victims – Buot Chenda, Keo Near and Nuth Sakhorn – argued the same, said Tola, who observed proceedings.

“The lawyers argued that [the witnesses’] testimony to the police, to the prosecutor, and to the investigating judge were all different,” he told the Post.

Tola added that the prosecutor said in his concluding

remarks that it appeared both Bandith and Chantha had unintentionally injured the workers as charged.

“He said Chhouk Bandith might have injured Buot Chenda and Keo Near, [while] Sar Chantha might have injured Nuth Sakhorn.”

In an unprecedented decision, the Appeal Court in March ordered the provincial court to try Bandith; and re-charged him after charges were dropped by the lower court with scant explanation last December.

Bandith did not attend the trial and his lawyer walked out of the court on the first day of proceedings citing a technical error in court documents.

A 31-YEAR-OLD farm caretaker was taken care of by authorities on Friday after she was accused of stealing and selling from her employer. Police said that a police official hired the woman and her husband to look after his plantation. After two months, however, the couple had allegedly sold the property owner’s car battery and lawn mower, among other things.

The woman was arrested, though her husband managed to escape. NOKORWAT

Husband angers wife, gets cleaver to head

BAKAN district police in Pursat are on the lookout for a 44-year-old woman who allegedly attacked her drunken husband with a cleaver on Friday. According to police, the husband, 49, was a habitual drinker, and often picked fights with his wife. One night he came home, loudly complaining about his spouse.

Unable to sleep, the spouse in question allegedly grabbed a cleaver and hacked him on the head and shoulder. The man was hospitalised, and his wife is still at large. NOKORWAT

Cops catch extraordinary burgler red-handed

POLICE on Thursday arrested an alleged notorious thief thought to have stolen more than $60,000 of valuable items in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district. Police said that at least 10 families had filed complaints against the man.

Police investigated the matter, and then caught the man red-handed as he was stealing 13 pieces of zinc. They said the suspect confessed to the accusations, and was swiftly sent to court. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Nothing says romance like a tandem arrest

Police arrested a 26-year-old man and his date on Friday for allegedly picking her up on a stolen motorbike.

According to police, the man had hired a motodop, then led him to a secluded place.

Once alone, the man allegedly pulled a gun, and made off with the bike. Police apprehended the suspect a few hours later with his lady friend. The bike was returned, and the pair was sent to court.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Translated by Phak Seangly

7

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

National

Villagers say chief withheld voter IDs

Cambodian-American soldier jailed over leak

Phak Seangly

A United States army officer of Cambodian descent has been found guilty of passing on classified military information and failing to report contacts he had within the Cambodian military and government, US media reported yesterday.

Major Seivirak Inson, 43, who fled Cambodia after his parents were killed under the Khmer Rouge, was sentenced to 10 years confinement by a military jury on Friday, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Inson, who was based at the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, was accused of transmitting classified intelligence assessments about Cambodia between 2009 and 2012 to “an unidentified person not entitled to have them”, it reported.

He was, among a litany of charges including adultery, found not guilty of collecting information about US officers of Cambodian descent with “the intent to transmit that information to the Cambodian military”, the newspaper said.

According to local media outlet Hawaii News Now, military prosecutors said Inson attempted to pass “a number

V

iLLAGERS in Ratanakkiri province and rights group Adhoc will file a complaint with provincial police today after a local authority allegedly denied 200 residents identification cards, preventing them from voting in next month’s election.

Adhoc and seven representatives of the aggrieved residents of Bakeo Chas village in Bakeo district’s Laminh commune sent the complaint to the village chief on Friday, Adhoc provincial coordinator Chhay Thy said.

“Without ID, they are not allowed to vote, so I will forward the letter to provincial police this Monday,” Thy said.

The village chief charged villagers – who had recently been forced off land they had occupied since 1999 by a series of private and state development projects – $5 to process IDs and between $30 and $50 for a family record book, Thy said.

“It is an illegal act and against the Ministry of Interior policy that the authority demanded the villagers to

Villagers in Ratanakkiri province’s Bakeo district worked with a rights group to file complaints against a village chief on Friday. photo supplied

pay for the making of ID or a family book,” Thy said.

“The authority regards us as anarchic villagers or living illegally here, so they do not want to give us any documents” said Ek Orng, one of the seven representing villagers in the complaint.

“We are worried that we are not able to vote next month.”

About 100 people failed to register for an ID simply because they could not afford it, Orng added.

But Laminh commune chief Pen Sophon denied claims that IDs were kept out of the villigers’ hands.

“Only about 10 villagers have not received IDs because they were not home when the village chief handed over the ID from home to home,” Sophon said.

He added that village chief did not charge money for the IDs. Most of the villagers occupy the land without village chief’s permission, Sophon added.

Kevin Ponniah and Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

of military secrets to members connected to the Cambodian government”.

Lieutenant General Nem Sovath, chief of cabinet at the Defence Ministry, said neither he nor the ministry were aware of the case.

“We do not know this person.

The Ministry of National Defense of Cambodia has never been involved in the issues raised,” he said.

General Pol Saroeun, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, said he did not know about the case.

“Nothing like this ever happened,” he said.

The US embassy in Phnom Penh referred the Post to the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) in Hawaii yesterday, as the case was a “military judicial matter”. USPACOM could not be reached for comment.

According to the Star-Advertiser, Inson’s lawyer, Emmanuel Tipon, told the court Inson had compiled information about Cambodian-American army members for social purposes and “networking”. Although Inson was not charged with espionage, he said the prosecution had tried to paint him as a Cambodian government spy.

Anti-corruption

Minister plays down absence from pledge

M

INISTER of Information and Cambodian People’s Party member Khieu Kanharith on Friday defended his party’s decision not to join six others in signing a Transparency International pledge to fight corruption on Wednesday.

At a press conference convened Friday, Kanharith said the CPP had already signed an anti-corruption memorandum of understanding with the AntiCorruption Unit in 2012 and therefore had no need to sign TI’s pledge.

“We did not sign a pledge just to look good and instead are working to implement the fight against corruption,” Kanharith said.

He called TI’s criticism of the CPP’s failure to sign “confusing for the public” and added that “in fact, the CPP not only signed an MoU with the ACU but also with the UN and with other Southeast Asian countries”.

Of the eight political parties registered for the upcoming national election, only the CPP and the Cambodian Nationality Party did not sign the TI pledge.

JUSTINE DRENNAN

8

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

National

Kandal man charged for rape and kidnapping of teenage girl Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A

27-year-old man was charged by the Kandal provincial court on Saturday with the rape and kidnapping of a 17-year-old female student.

Koh Thom district police officer Kim Saroeun told the Post yesterday that police arrested pig farmer Peng Sovanna, 27, last Thursday after receiving a complaint from the girl’s parents saying she had been missing since June 10.

“He knew the victim by telephone,” Saroeun said, adding that the pair had increasingly frequent phone contact after Sovanna rang the victim’s number by accident.

“He contacted her and lured her to visit his home at his pig farm in the village, and forcibly raped her. After raping her, he locked her inside his room, and continued to rape her for a period of three days.

“After three days of raping and detaining her, he brought her [via motorbike] to her house and

was immediately arrested by our police there,” he added, noting police had been tipped off after the parents’ complaint.

After being questioned at the police station, Sovanna denied the accusation, claiming he and the girl were in love and engaged only in consensual sex, Saroeun said.

Sovanna was sent to the provincial prison yesterday for pretrial detention. Sovanna and his defence lawyers as well as the victim and her parents could not be reached for comment.

Workers hurt in crash with train Khoun Leakhana

Joy ride

A young fisherman steers his boat through the water near the Arey Ksat Ferry Dock in Phnom Penh yesterday. HONG MENEA

AT LEAST 16 garment workers were injured on Saturday in a collision between a train and a van in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung District.

Man Chanrith, Kandal Stung district police chief, told the Post the van, transporting the garment workers home from work, crashed into a speeding freight train in Trapaing Veng commune.

The accident was caused by the motorist, who apparently did not notice the traffic sign motioning the van to stop for the train, Chanrith said.

Five people suffered broken limbs and several others were knocked unconscious, while

the rest suffered slight injuries. All were sent to the hospital on Saturday night, Chanrith said.

Police are questioning the driver and the van has been impounded at the Kandal Stung district police station while they deliberate on the cause of the accident, Chanrith said.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation has cracked down on overloaded vehicles in recent years, but such accidents continue apace.

A similar one occurred in February, when a truck carrying 50 garment workers – more than twice its capacity – crashed, killing one and injuring dozens.

9

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Business Indicative Exchange Rates as of 14/06/2013. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates.

USD / KHR

EUR / USD

AUD / USD

NZD / USD

GBP / USD

USD /CNY

4,078

1.3358

0.9594

0.8058

1.5707

6.1355

USD / JPY

USD / HKD

94.71

7.7637

USD / SGD

USD / THB

1.2498

30.53

BHP bribery scandal puts Aussie police in hot water Daniel de Carteret

A man eats his breakfast as he walks under solar panels belonging to a solar power plant in Shenyang, Liaoning province, in June.

REUTERSi

Move to contain China row Robin Emmot

A

GROUP of free-trading northern European nations has urged the EU’s trade chief to contain a growing dispute with China or risk a negative spiral that could choke exports.

Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands said on Friday that EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht needed to find a diplomatic solution with Beijing to avoid a titfor-tat trade war, after Brussels imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels and Beijing retaliated with an

investigation into European wine.

“It is not the right way to go. When the one side begins to close up, the other continues. And then we have a negative spiral that doesn’t stimulate trade,” Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling told reporters at the start of a meeting with De Gucht and fellow EU ministers in Luxembourg.

Britain and Ireland will also press De Gucht on the issue, their diplomats said.

De Gucht, who handles trade issues for the European Union’s 27 countries, went ahead with sanctions against Chinese solar panels

on June 6, despite opposition from 18 of the bloc’s governments, who fear retaliation from Beijing.

The European Commission, the EU executive, accuses Beijing of dumping billions of euros of solar panels at below the cost of production, unfairly winning 80 per cent of the EU market.

However, De Gucht softened his earlier plan to levy punitive tariffs averaging 47 per cent immediately, and went ahead with tariffs at 11.8 per cent for two months, leaving a window for Brussels and Beijing to reach a negotiated solution.

Still, China responded with a de-

cision to investigate accusations of dumping of EU wine, an apparent attempt to target France and Italy, the two countries most in favour of European tariffs on Chinese solar panels.

“There is still time to resolve this if the Commission and the Chinese move forward on the (solar) issue,” Dutch Trade Minister Lilianne Ploumen said.

EU ministers were set to discuss the issue over lunch in Luxembourg, and Denmark said it would make it clear it doubted if there was evidence of illegal Chinese trade subsidies. REUTERS

THE Australian Federal Police (AFP) have come under fire for a failure to investigate the BHP Billiton corruption scandal in which the mining giant is alleged to have bribed government officials in Cambodia and China, according to a report published yesterday in the Australian newspaper The Age. Confidential documents obtained

by The Age reveal that US anticorruption investigators were critical of the AFP and Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, for closing the bribery case in 2011 without conducting any individual investigations after it was referred to them by US investigators in May 2010.

The AFP recently re-opened the bribery case after a self-initiated review, The Age reports.

Documents obtained by the Fairfax Media-owned newspaper show that in May 2010 Australian authorities were warned that US investigators had found evidence that BHP Billiton was allegedly “paying bribes to foreign public officials”.

The claims stem from a Global Witness investigation in 2009 questioning BHP payments to the Cambodian government of $3.5 million, for which the London-based NGO could not trace back to government accounts for mining concessions.

The Age previously reported in March that Prime Minister Hun Sen had closely overseen negotiations with BHP before an agreement on a mining concession for exploration of bauxite in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province was signed in 2006.

BHP shut down it’s exploration activities in Cambodia in 2009 citing the global financial crisis and Cambodia’s “own poor financial management”,diplomatic cables obtained by The Age reveal.

10

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Business

calls out Thais admit losses on rice Singapore banks over growing Chatrudee Thepara and Wichit Chantanusornsiri

T

HE Thai premiere’s Office Minister Varathep Rattanakorn has admitted for the first time that the 130-billion-baht ($4.2 billion) loss estimate by a subcommittee overseeing the rice pledging scheme’s accounting under the Finance Ministry for the previous two crops is valid.

But it remains to be seen whether an additional 80 billion baht in losses from the 2012-13 main crop will emerge, Varathep said after meeting representatives from the Commerce Ministry, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and the subcommittee.

Varathep has been assigned

by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to compile information from all relevant agencies amid a looming rift between the Commerce and Finance ministries, which have reported far different loss estimates.

The subcommittee has estimated losses of almost 137 billion baht from the first two crops – the 2011-12 main and second harvest crops - well above the 34.84-billion-baht figure of the Commerce Ministry.

The subcommittee’s loss estimate of more than 200

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom (right) holds a meeting of the National Rice Policy Committee in Bangkok last week. bangkok post

billion baht for the previous crops led to strong criticism, while Moody’s Investors Service warned that such huge losses threatened Thailand’s credit rating, although the company later walked back the comment.

The current rice pledging scheme was begun by the Yingluck administration to fulfil promises made during the 2011 election campaign.

The state guarantees the purchase of every single grain at a price of 15,000 baht a tonne for white rice paddy and 20,000 baht for fragrant hom mali paddy, which are 40 to 50 per cent above the market prices.

An unnamed source at the Finance Ministry insists there is no plan to change accounting methods for estimating the scheme’s losses as requested by the Commerce Ministry.

The Commerce Ministry has asked the subcommittee to revise the accounting methods for the scheme, especially the calculation of losses from stockpiled rice.

The subcommittee, headed

by Supa Piyajitti, the deputy finance permanent secretary, calculated losses from rice stockpiles by comparing the average price per tonne from the recent sales of stockpiles with the government’s buying price plus expenses related to rice milling, storage, interest and other factors.

The Commerce Ministry has excluded current stockpiled rice, saying it has yet to be delivered and can’t be calculated, as well as rice sold under the state’s low-cost food programs.

The figure calculated by the Finance Ministry’s subcommittee may be more realistic in determining the scheme’s outlook. After reports of potential heavy losses from rice pledging, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong on Thursday said the buying price could be cut to reflect the current circumstances.The decision ultimately rests with the Thailand’s National Rice Policy Committee.

BANGKOK POST

rate-rigging scandal

SINGAPORE has censured 20 banks, including top global lenders, over attempts to manipulate local benchmark rates – part of a widening rate-rigging scandal being investigated by financial regulators worldwide.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Friday that a review found that 20 banks – including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Standard Chartered – had insufficient internal controls and risk management, which allowed traders to attempt manipulation.

“MAS has censured these banks and directed them to adopt measures to address their deficiencies,” the city-state’s central bank said in a statement.

“The banks are required to report their progress to MAS on a quarterly basis and conduct independent reviews to

Bank of Scotland, UBS and Barclays paying fines worth millions of dollars.

MAS ordered 19 of the banks to set aside deposits ranging from S$100 million (US$80 million) to S$1.2 billion for one year.

ING Bank NV, UBS AG and the Royal Bank of Scotland had the highest deposit requirements due to the “severity of attempts” by their traders to influence the rates.

Three of Singapore’s homegrown banks were also censured, with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp asked to set aside up to S$800 million while DBS and United Overseas Bank were told to put aside up to S$600 million each.

“While there is no conclusive finding that . . . benchmarks were successfully manipu-

MAS has censured these banks and directed them to adopt measures to address their deficiencies ensure the robustness of their remedial measures.”

Singapore is a global financial and wealth management centre that houses the regional offices of the world’s top financial institutions.

MAS, the city-state’s central bank, said 133 traders from these banks were found “to have engaged in several attempts to inappropriately influence the benchmarks”.

Three-quarters of these traders have resigned or been fired, while the rest face disciplinary actions including loss of bonuses and demotion.

The MAS crackdown is the latest in a global campaign by financial regulators to curb malpractices in the setting of benchmark rates, which has resulted in banks such as Royal

lated, the traders’ conduct reflected a lack of professional ethics,” MAS said.

However, it said that based on available information and evidence, no criminal offence appears to have been committed under current Singapore laws.

MAS said it will propose a new regulatory framework for financial benchmarks to strengthen safeguards against manipulation.

“Ensuring the integrity of the processes for setting financial benchmarks is vital,” said MAS deputy managing director Teo Swee Lian.

“MAS has taken firm supervisory actions against the banks, based on a careful assessment of their respective deficiencies.”

AFP AND DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Fixed Deposit Interest Rates Cambodian

Financial Institutions As of JUNE 14, 2013

On Deposits 3 Months

6 Months

USD

RIEL

USD

RIEL

12 Months USD

RIEL

Prasac

5.50%

6.50%

6.50%

7.50%

8.00%

9.75%

ABA Bank

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

ACLEDA Bank

2.50%

5.00%

3.75%

6.00%

5.00%

7.00%

ANZ Royal Bank

1.45%

3.50%

2.75%

4.00%

3.75%

5.50%

Bank of India

2.25%

N/A

3.00%

N/A

4.00%

N/A

Cambodia Asia Bank

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

Cambodia Mekong Bank 2.75%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

3.50%

N/A

Cambodian Public Bank 2.25%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

4.00%

N/A

Canadia Bank

2.50%

5.00%

3.50%

6.00%

4.75%

7.00%

Maybank

2.25%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

4.25%

N/A

Maruhan Japan Bank

2.00%

2.00%

3.00%

3.00%

4.50%

4.50%

RHB Indochina Bank

2.75%

4.00%

3.50%

5.00%

4.75%

6.00%

SBC Bank

3.00%

N/A

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

Union Commercial Bank 3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

11

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Troubles for Tonlesap Air Anne Renzenbrink and Mak Lawrence Li

Hor Kimsay

A

BOUT two months after Phnom Penh-based Tonlesap Airlines suspended its chartered flights, the local carrier’s future seems as cloudy as ever.

Vann Chanty, the director of air transport with Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said yesterday that the airline had not resumed operations and that he didn’t know when the company’s planes will start taking off again.

The airline, which also had a branch in Taiwan, operated flights from Siem Reap to destinations such as Taipei, South Korea, Hong Kong and Mainland China, according to its website.

According to an employee of the Civil Aeronautics Administration of Taiwan, who declined to be named because she was not authorised to speak to the media, Tonlesap owes money in landing fees to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

“Tonlesap Airlines stopped their operation about two months ago because of not paying the landing fees to Taoyuan Airport,” she told the Post.

She added that no one was working in the Taiwan Branch of Tonlesap and no such company existed any more in Taiwan.

She speculated that in scenarios such as these, either the company had gone bankrupt or had started operating under a different name.

Earlier this month, the Taipei Times reported the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation as confirming that Tonlesap

Markets Business Cassava farmers rely on Thai seed imports

Tourists take pictures of Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 building in 2011. Local carrier Tonle Sap Airlines have suspended all flights to Taipei, Hong Kong and China since April. reuters

owes the airport about NT$1.66 million ($55,668) in landing fees. The report said the airline had not paid on time since December last year, and despite sending out notices and fining the airline for late payment, there was no response.

Two employees at Siem Reap and Phnom Penh International Airport confirmed yesterday that Tonlesap was not operating any flights.

Industry website ch-aviation.com said in April that Tonlesap ceased operations “for the summer with the intention of refinancing” itself and resuming operations sometime in fall.

Tonlesap Airlines could not be reached for comment yesterday, as none of the hotlines for their Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Taipei office seemed to work.

A Post reporter yesterday visited the address listed on a website purporting to belong to the company and found no official trace of Tonlesap.

The sign still shown on a photo of the Phnom Penh office on the website could not be seen at its office yesterday.

Last month, the Post reported that Tonlesap had four planes leased from different companies from which it was only holding on to a Boeing 757.

CASSAVA farmers in Banteay Meanchey province had to import seeds from Thailand this season in response to rapidly-changing weather conditions that interfered with seed growth.

Te Haing, a cassava farmer in Banteay Meanchey who planted more than 1,000 hectares this season, told the Post yesterday that the lack of seeds has been a traditional challenge for his business and other farmers in the province.

“Earlier, we faced a drought.

[Now we] just [have] huge rain and it is harming cassava planting,” Haing said.

“Some farmers have replanted [seeds in the same field] two times or at least once already. The majority of farmers just have seed reserves for planting seeds only once and now we need to import new seeds from Thailand for a second or third planting.”

Haing said the imported cassava seeds cost him about 30 baht (3,600 riel) per bunch and he needs to spend about 650,000 riel on seed for 180 bunches to grow cassava on one hectare of land.

Cassava is the second larg-

est agricultural crop in terms of cultivation area for Banteay Meanchey farmers after paddy.

Run Sophanara, head of the agronomy office at the Banteay Meanchey provincial agricultural department, said that the province’s cultivated area for the new planting season is expected to reach 45,000 hectares.

However, he said the dependency on seed imports makes production costs higher, especially for those who have to replant seed once or twice after their initial stock doesn’t grow.

A possible solution to tackle the challenge and ensure stable prices could be the development of more processing facilities in the province, Haing suggested.

“If we have local processing factories, there will be raw cassava demand on a regular basis,” he said. “So we could harvest every time the cassava tree provides seeds to farmers for the next planting.”

He said Cambodian facilities could reduce farmers’ dependency on foreign buyers, give them more markets for their goods and increase their bargaining power and the price.

12

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Business

In brief So-called tax havens agree to tighten rules

BRITAIN on Saturday struck a deal with its overseas territories clamping down on tax evasion. During preG8 summit talks at Prime Minister David Cameron’s Downing Street office, he reached an agreement with territories such as the Cayman Islands, often seen as a tax haven. AFP

SUV giant in India buys into auto parts firm

INDIA’s biggest sports utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, announced Saturday it was acquiring a 13.5 per cent stake in Spanish auto component company CIE Automotive. The news caps two years of talks between the Indian equipment-toaerospace conglomerate and the Spanish company. AFP

Streak of declines for Asian stocks continues

ASIAN stocks outside of Japan fell for a fifth week at the end of trading on June 13, the longest streak of losses in two years, amid concern central banks are losing an appetite for more stimulus.

Bloomberg

Croatia food supplier moves in on rival

CROATIA’S largest food retailer Agrokor signed a €240 million ($320 million) deal to acquire a 53 per cent stake in its main regional rival, Slovenia’s Mercator, the companies said. Agrokor plans to make a takeover bid for the rest of the company at the end of the year. AFP

Spain’s PM has plan for unleashing bank credit SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday called on the European Central Bank to create a funding scheme for small businesses, mirroring those used by authorities outside the euro zone to try and get credit flowing via banks.

REUTERS

Saudi stock exchange falling amid ongoing Syria conflict Deema Almashabi and Glen Carey

S

HARES on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, the Arab world’s biggest, had the largest drop in almost two years over the weekend, led by banks and telecom companies, amid concern that fighting in Syria may escalate.

Al Rajhi Bank, the biggest Saudi lender by market value, slid the most since August 2011 on Saturday, while Etihad Etisalat Co, known as Mobily, also tumbled. Saudi Basic Industries Corp, the world’s biggest petrochemical maker, known as Sabic, fell to the lowest level since May 15.

The Tadawul All-Share Index declined 4.3 per cent to 7,294.38, the biggest slump since August 2011, at the 3:30 pm close in Riyadh, the capital. The gauge has gained 7.3 per cent this year. “[Saturday’s] decline in the Saudi stock index is mainly linked to the geopolitical tensions in Syria and how it may impact the region overall,” Mohammed Al-Omran, president of the Gulf Center for Financial Consultancy in Riyadh, said Saturday in a phone interview. “There are diplomatic movements by international leaders to arm Syrian rebels, and the sudden return of King Abdullah following such news alarmed people.”

King Abdullah interrupted his vacation in Morocco Friday and returned to Jeddah because of “escalating concerns relating to events in the region”, the stateowned Saudi Press Agency said.

The same day, Saudi Sheikh Saud al-Shuraim, an Imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, denounced in a sermon what he called “tyranny” in Syria under President Bashar al-Assad.

The conflict in Syria, which has killed at least 93,000 people

Brokers monitor a screen displaying stock market index at an investment bank in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week.

based on a United Nations’ study, is threatening to become a larger regional proxy war as the US ups its involvement.

President Barack Obama decided to send light weapons to the Syrian opposition as the Assad regime made military gains on the battlefield. Regime forces supported by fighters from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah have moved north after

defeating rebels in al-Qusair, a setback that triggered concern in Washington that Iran and its Lebanese ally are tipping the balance in favour of Assad.

The US has located 300 Marines in northern Jordan near the border with Syria along with a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, the London-based Times reported. The deployment north of Al-Mafraq is be-

ing described as a military training exercise but it will remain in place for several months, “The king returned to Saudi Arabia perhaps because of what is coming up in Jordan regarding the Syrian civil war,” Ted Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said. “What is going to happen is that some Arab nations, par-

reuters

ticularly Saudi Arabia, are going to ask the Free Syrian Army to move to the south in safe haven that perhaps may contain a nofly zone.”

Al Rajhi slid 4.5 per cent to 68.75 riyals, while Mobily lost 4.1 per cent to 77 riyals. Sabic dropped 2.1 per cent to 91.75 riyals. The exchange is the only Persian Gulf bourse open on Saturdays. BLOOMBERG

13

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World Police seal off flashpoint park Michelle Fitzpatrick

P

OLICE sealed off a flashpoint Istanbul park yesterday after firing tear gas and water cannon to dislodge thousands of protesters in a night of violence that sent tensions soaring in Turkey’s relentless anti-government unrest.

Riot police were still sporadically clashing with pockets of protesters in streets near Gezi Park as tens of thousands of supporters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan began gathering for a rally 10 kilometres away.

The operation to clear Gezi Park on Saturday evening came just two hours after Erdogan issued an ultimatum to demonstrators to end their two-week occupation of the site, the symbolic heart of nationwide protests against the government.

Thousands of campers scrambled to escape the clouds of acrid smoke, as officers with gas masks and riot shields stormed the patch of green, clearing it within minutes and leaving a trail of empty tents in their wake.

Many demonstrators sought refuge in the luxury hotels bordering the park, prompting police to douse the lobby of at least one five-star establishment with water, as guests choked on tear gas fumes.

“We have an Istanbul rally tomorrow (yesterday),” Erdogan told tens of thousands of cheering loyalists at an election rally for his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) shortly before the police operation.

“If (the area) is not evacuated, this country’s security forces know how to evacuate there,” he said in the capital Ankara.

“Nobody can intimidate us,” he added. “We don’t take orders or instructions from anybody except from God.” As the clashes raged in Istanbul, thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Ankara and the western city of Izmir in solidarity, though the dem-

A riot policeman fires tear gas during an anti-government protest in Istanbul early yesterday.

onstrations stayed peaceful. It was Gezi Park that first lit the flame of the unrest that has rocked Turkey.

On May 31, a peaceful sit-in to save the park’s 600 trees from being razed in a redevelopment plan was met with a brutal police response, snowballing into angry demonstrations against Erdogan across the country.

Critics accuse the premier of increasing authoritarianism and of forcing Islamic conservative values

on the mainly Muslim but staunchly secular nation of 76 million.

The crisis has claimed four lives and injured nearly 7,500 people so far, according to the Turkish Medical Association, and represents the biggest challenge yet to Erdogan’s decade-long rule at the head of an Islamic-rooted government.

Mey Elbi, a 39-year-old yoga teacher, was in Gezi park when police entered.

“They took our goggles and gas

Attack in France angers Chinese CHINESE internet users reacted with outrage to reports of a racist assault on six Chinese oenology students studying in France yesterday, while others denounced the victims whom they said were children of wealthy officials.

The students were attacked in the early hours of Saturday in France’s wineproducing region of Bordeaux, France’s interior ministry said, describing the violence as an act of xenophobia.

Two of the three alleged attackers have been detained and are now in police custody, while a female student was seriously hurt in the face by a glass bottle which was thrown at her.

The attack was widely criticised on China’s most popular social networking service, Sina Weibo, which is similar to Twitter.

“How dangerous is France!We need to be cautious about going there now, and avoid going as far as we can. We should go to better countries,” one user wrote.

“This is too far for the French people.

My impression of France used to be quite good, but now it’s damaged,” said another.

One of the victims was the daughter of a retired senior government official, the head of the student’s school said.

Chinese media carried reports of the

How dangerous is France!

We need to be cautious about going there now attacks on Sunday, but did not mention the victim’s political connection.

The topic of politicians sending their children abroad to study provokes widespread resentment in China and is rarely discussed by the country’s tightly controlled press, which is rarely allowed to discuss the family life of senior officials.

Still, some internet users speculated

that the students were wealthy. “Those who can afford to study abroad are either the children of government officials or rich families,” one user said.

“They’re not worthy of sympathy,” another user said.

Others reading English-language reports turned their anger on the students. “Even foreigners can’t bear with the migration of corrupt officials and are punishing them abroad. This is karma,” another user said.

“That a random violent crime abroad has a government officials child involved again proves there are no clean officials in China,” another wrote.

The attack came on the eve of one of the biggest wine shows in the world, Vinexpo, which is held in the region.

China, which is French winemakers’ third biggest market, has increased its participation at the show, with 18 exhibitors expected this year, up from two in 2011. AFP

REUTERS

masks,” she said. “I won’t give up,” she vowed. “We’re angry, this is not over.

“The world has seen that together, we can stand up to Tayyip.”

The Taksim Solidarity group, seen as most representative of the protesters, condemned Saturday’s “brutal attack”.

“The police raid left hundreds of protesters injured and there are dozens more who were hit by rubber bullets,” it said in a statement.

Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said 44 people had been injured in Saturday’s trouble, none seriously.

Yesterday, police strictly controlled access to Gezi Park and the adjoining Taksim Square, another focal point for protests.

Yellow tape lined the area, blocking entry to pedestrians, as refuse trucks and bulldozers removed debris and broke up protesters’ makeshift barricades. AFP

Bangladeshis back Islamists in a setback for ruling party BANGLADESH’S Islamist-backed main opposition yesterday swept mayoral elections in four cities in a major setback for the ruling party ahead of general polls.

The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won by big margins in the major cities of Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Barisal, Election Commission spokesman SM Asaduzzaman said.

In the third largest city of Khulna, home to about one million people, BNP candidate Moniruzzaman Moni beat the incumbent Abdul Khaleque by a margin of 60,671 votes.

Analysts said the results reflected a nationwide erosion of support for the ruling Awami League party six months ahead of general elections, while the growing influence of Islamists who backed the BNP after their

traditional parties did not contest contributed to the huge margins of victory.

“In mayoral elections local issues play important role but the results are a verdict against the government’s poor performance,” said Ataur Rahman, a former professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.

“Many people believe this government is anti-Islamic and they did not like the way government aggressively cracked down on the Islamists in recent months,” Rahman added.

Leading Islamists including the entire leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami have been tried by the country’s much criticised war crime court that is probing the atrocities committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World

Iranians revel in new president Zahra Hosseinian

I

RANIANS celebrated into yesterday after moderate Hassan Rohani was elected president in a popular repudiation of conservative hardliners, and he pledged a new tone of respect in Tehran’s international affairs after years of increasing antagonism.

Rohani, a Shi’ite cleric and former chief nuclear negotiator with Western powers, received a resounding mandate for change from Iranians weary of years of economic decline under UN and Western sanctions and security clampdowns on dissent.

His victory goes some way to repairing the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic, punctured four years ago when an election marred by fraud allegations led to mass unrest, and may give leverage for reformist voices muzzled since then to re-emerge.

But the hopeful reaction abroad was tempered by scepticism that Rohani could overcome the mistrust and alienation prevailing between Tehran and much of the world, and arch-enemy Israel warned against any complacency on Iran’s disputed quest for nuclear power.

“The international community must not give in to wishful thinking or temptation and loosen the pres-

sure on Iran for it to stop its nuclear programme,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

He noted that it was Iran’s theocratic supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and not the president who sets nuclear policy. Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, and the West fear Iran is enriching uranium with the aim of developing nuclear arms, an accusation Tehran denies.

Rohani’s surprise win will not resolve anytime soon the row with the West over Iran’s nuclear ambitions or lessen its support of Syria’s president in the civil war there – matters of national security decided by Khamenei.

But the president runs the economy and has important influence on decision-making and Iranians clearly felt change was essential after eight years of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a belligerent, populist hardliner associated with mismanagement, waste and repression.

“This victory is a victory of wisdom, a victory of moderation, a victory of growth and awareness and a victory of commitment over extremism and illtemper,” Rohani told state television, promising to work for all Iranians, including the hardline so-called “Principlists” whom he defeated at the poll.

State TV re-broadcast his victory

Supporters of moderate cleric Hassan Rohani celebrate his victory in Iran’s presidential election in Tehran yesterday. REUTERS

speech yesterday and its website quoted him as saying: “With their celebrations last night, the Iranian people showed they are hopeful about the future and God willing, ethics and moderation will govern the country.”

However, he told the state news agency IRNA that “the country’s problems won’t be solved overnight and this needs to happen gradually and with consultation with experts”.

But Rohani said there was a new chance “in the international arena” for “those who truly respect democracy and cooperation and free negotiation”.

The United States said it stood ready to engage with Iran to reach a “diplomatic solution” over its nuclear program, even though it – along with Israel – have refused to rule out military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

“We respect the vote of the Iranian

people and congratulate them for their participation in the political process, and their courage in making their voices heard,” the White House said in a statement.

“It is our hope that the Iranian government will heed the will of the Iranian people and make responsible choices that create a better future for all Iranians,” the White House said. REUTERS

15

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Car bombings kill 25 in Iraq A

WAVE of car bombs and shootings, mostly targeting Shiites, killed 25 people yesterday as Iraq grapples with a spike in violence and prolonged political deadlock, sparking fears of allout sectarian war.

In all, at least 10 vehicles rigged with explosives went off in eight cities in Iraq’s Shiite Muslim-majority south during morning rush hour, leaving about 100 people wounded, while the main northern city of Mosul witnessed a deadly shooting.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target Shiites, whom they regard as apostates, in coordinated attacks.

Car bombs went off in Kut, Aziziyah, Nasiriyah, Basra, Mahmudiyah, Madain, Jbela and Najaf, officials said.

In Kut, provincial capital of Wasit and 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in an industrial area packed with vehicle repair garages, killing seven people and wounding 15.

Another car bomb in nearby Aziziyah in the town’s main

Iraqi security forces personnel gather at the scene of a car bomb attack, where police reported two dead and 19 injured, in Nasiriyah city, 375 kilometres south of Baghdad yesterday. AFP

marketplace and near a Shiite mosque killed five and wounded 10.

“The cafe and the street outside is covered in blood,” said Hisham Shadhan, whose father owns a cafe badly hit in the Aziziyah attack.

“The car was parked just next to the cafe and when it went off,

it destroyed the front part of the cafe. Many cars have caught fire, and it also caused huge damage to nearby shops.”

The force of the blast overturned cars and left shrapnel strewn across the scene, but authorities quickly cleaned up much of the visible damage, a journalist said.

Twin blasts in the southern port city of Basra killed five people, including a bomb disposal expert looking to defuse one of the rigged vehicles.

Five others were killed and dozens more wounded in bombings in Nasiriyah, Mahmudiyah, Najaf, Madain and Jbela.

Early yesterday, three police-

men were shot dead near the main northern city of Mosul, which is primarily Sunni Arab.

The violence was the latest in a spike in attacks nationwide, with last month registering the highest death toll since 2008, sparking fears of a return to the all-out sectarian war that blighted Iraq in 2006 and 2007.

There has been a heightened level of unrest since the beginning of the year, coinciding with rising discontent among the Sunni Arab minority that erupted into protests in late December.

Analysts say a lack of effort by the Shiite-led authorities to address the underlying causes of the demonstrations has given militant groups fuel and room to manoeuvre to carry out their activities.

Political leaders have pledged to resolve a multitude of longstanding disputes and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has met with his two chief rivals, the Sunni parliament speaker and the Kurdish regional president, in a bid to ease tensions, but no tangible moves have been agreed.

Analysts and diplomats have voiced fears the stalemate could persist through to parliamentary elections next year. AFP

World Vietnam arrests blogger

A VIETNAMESE blogger has been arrested for anti-state activity, reports said yesterday, the third online government critic detained in less than a month in an intensifying crackdown on dissent.

Dinh Nhat Uy, 30, was taken into custody on Saturday and will be held for three months while he is investigated on suspicion of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the State”, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said.

The charge – routinely laid against dissidents in authoritarian Vietnam where the ruling Communist Party forbids all political debate – carries a maximum seven-year jail term.

Uy is the brother of computer technician Dinh Nguyen Kha, 25, who was jailed for eight years at a trial in May together with university student Nguyen Phuong Uyen on charges of spreading anti-state propaganda, the VNA report said yesterday.

Investigators have accused Uy of “posting pictures and articles on his personal blog, distorting the truth and badly influencing the prestige of state organisations”, the report added. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World

The future of food: insects, edib Killian Fox

A

S the global population rises and food prices do too, many scientists are looking for alternatives to traditional foodstuffs

Eating insects Two billion people around the world, primarily in southeast Asia and Africa, eat insects – locusts, grasshoppers, spiders, wasps, ants – on a regular basis. Now, with food scarcity a growing threat, efforts are being made to normalise the concept of entomophagy, or the consumption of insects, for the other five billion. Last year, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published a list of more than 1,900 edible species of insects; the EU, meanwhile, offered its member states $3 million to research the use of insects in cooking.

Why? Because insects, compared to livestock and fish, are a much more sustainable food source. They are available in abundance: for every human on Earth, there are 40 tonnes of insects. They have a higher food conversion rate than even our fastest-growing livestock

(meaning they need to consume less to produce the same amount of meat) and they emit fewer greenhouse gases. As a fast-food option, which is how people treat them in countries such as Thailand, insects are greatly preferable to the waterguzzling, rainforest-destroying, methane-spewing beefburger.

They are nutritious too: rich in protein, low in fat and cholesterol, high in calcium and iron.

That leaves the issue of palatability. Insects are generally

monumentally wasteful. Last January, a report found that almost half of the world’s food is thrown away each year. In the UK alone, according to the government’s waste adviser, Wrap, we generate 6.6 million tonnes of food, drink and packaging waste per annum, at a cost of $16 billion.

The fight against waste has thrown up some intriguing solutions.

For Harvard bioengineer David Edwards, the answer

Insects, compared to livestock and fish, are a much more sustainable food source viewed with disgust in the west, but attitudes are beginning to change. Thanks to adventurous restaurants – Copenhagen’s Noma has served up ants and fermented grasshoppers – and pioneering organisations such as Ento in London, we are coming to terms with the notion that insects might actually be nice to eat.

Edible packaging Our present food system is

to the packaging problem is simple: just eat it. Last year, Edwards launched WikiCells, a company that makes edible packaging for fruit juices, coffee, ice-cream and other products. Mimicking the design of a piece of fruit, the packaging consists of a soft skin “entirely comprised of natural food particles held together by nutritive ions� encased in a protective outer layer that is edible or at least biodegradable. Not

only are the membranes more environmentally friendly than plastic, they are designed to taste good too.

Other packaging innovations promise to lengthen the shelf life of perishables, which would mean a reduction in food and drink waste. Pepceuticals, a company based in Leicester, is developing an antimicrobial film that it claims “should significantly prevent the deterioration of . . . fresh meat and save waste�.

Food replacement and eco-food innovation One of the hottest trends attracting investors in Silicon Valley has a lot to do with our future eating habits. A growing number of young entrepreneurs, driven by ecological as well as profit motives, are seeking to replace resourcehungry foods such as meat with synthetic and plantbased alternatives – and the likes of Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone are giving them financial support.

Their motives are wellfounded. With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, and as western eating habits spread

A woman poses with a locust on her tongue at a discovery lunch in Brussels in Sep

to countries such as China and India, more efficient and environmentally friendly ways are needed to produce

protein-rich foods. Imitation meat is not a new concept, but Bay Area innovators, such as Beyond Meat, are

CONSULTANCY SELECTION FOR ELECTRICITE DU CAMBODGE (EDC) TERMS of REFERENCE FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

CONTEXT

Job Opportunity - Vacancy NÂş WASH/13/005 Individual Consultancy - System Design for Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Monitoring and Evaluation System The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Cambodia Country OďŹƒce, is seeking to hire a qualiďŹ ed international consultant (Individuals only) to design a RSH M&E System for implementation in the 5 target provinces of the CR-SHIP. The design is expected to cover the RSH Sector in term of organizational, functional and operational aspects of the M&E system and, by doing so, delineate and establish the principles, structure, agency, process and supporting infrastructure for M&E data collection, consolidation, storage, reporting, analysis, management and dissemination.

The complete Terms of Reference (ToR) is available at http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/overview_20966.html SpeciďŹ c objectives: The consultant will be responsible for the following activities:  Conduct preparatory desk review including of existing national M&E system in Cambodia;  Coordinate with DRHC-MRD through the Project Coordinator/Manager and other key stakeholder institutions;  Conduct in-country consultations with key informants for factual information, insights and inputs;  Identify the minimum criteria of principles, and national and international standards and/or good practices that underpin the RSH M&E System design;  Delineate the RSH M&E organizational structure (internal and external links; national, sub-national and local), functional roles, responsibilities and relationships, and potential coordination mechanisms;  Identify options in terms of suitable M&E approaches, measurements tools (primary and secondary, quantitative and qualitative, validation and participatory) and data analytical methods;  Identify reporting needs and ow, and strategies on information utilization and dissemination/advocacy;  Design data collection and reporting forms for use by the M&E sta in the ďŹ eld of RSH  Produce the RSH M&E System User’s Manual as the master document for the design of the RSH M&E System;  Create an RSH M&E Database, able to provide quick summary information on the Project indicators and generate customized reports, and accessible online with an online help;  Write the RSH M&E Database modules, conduct demonstration or testing of database use, deploy the database, and provide post-installation/ after-service support;  Formulate terms of reference or job descriptions for the RSH M&E sta at national and sub-national levels;  Make a presentation summarizing System Design aspects and outputs.

Duration of Contract: Estimated to 50 days within the months of July and September 2013.

Submission of Applications: Applications shall be considered only if accompanied by the following required documentation: 1. Technical Proposal: The bidder shall prepare a “Technical oerâ€? on the basis of the criteria detailed in the ToR. 2. Financial Proposal: Lump-sum oer with the cost breakdown: Consultancy fee and any other costs according to the format provided in the ToR. A two stage procedure shall be utilized in evaluating proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. More information contained in the ToR. The P11 form can be downloaded from our website at www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html Regret letters will only be sent to shortlisted candidates. All applications are treated with conďŹ dentiality.

Applications shall be addressed to: UNICEF Cambodia, Supply Section, No. 11, Street 75, Sangkat Sraschark, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; or email to cbdhrvacancies@unicef.org Applications MUST include the title and vacancy number.

The deadline for receipt of applications is Monday 24 June 2013 (GMT + 7 hours)

On March 7th, 2013, ElectricitĂŠ du Cambodge (EDC) sent to Agence Française de DĂŠveloppement (AFD) two RIÂżFLDO Applications for Financing for i. the 115kV Transmission Line and Rural (OHFWULÂżFDWLRQ Project in the Provinces of Kampong Cham and Kratie (“Kampong Cham – Kratie Projectâ€?) and ii. the 115kV Transmission Line and Rural (OHFWULÂżFDWLRQ Project in Koh Kong province (“Koh Kong Projectâ€?). AFD is willing to support these projects by providing long-term loans to EDC for the purchase of equipment (115kV and 22kV lines and Grid substations), civil works and installation, as well as consulting services for project implementation.

Kampong Cham – Kratie Project The project covers: approximately 100km of 115kV transmission line from Kampong Cham to Prek Pra Sob area, one 115/22kV grid substation in Prek Pra Sob area, one 115kV outgoing line bay in the existing 115/22kV Kampong Cham substation and approximately 100km of 22kV lines, along the western bank of the Mekong River. The initial cost estimate for this project is approximately USD 33 million. Approximately 32 600 households would EHQH¿W from electricity access or improved energy services. The project will mainly cross agricultural land and it is estimated that limited resettlement will be required by the installation of the 115kV line.

Koh Kong Project The project covers: approximately 100km of 115kV transmission line from Srae Ambel to Koh Kong, one 115/22kV grid substation in Botum Sakor district, one 230/115/22kV grid substation in Koh Kong town and approximately 100km of 22kV lines. The initial cost estimate for this project is approximately USD 47 million. Approximately 22 500 households and some industries in Koh Kong special economic zone would EHQH¿W from electricity access or improved energy services. As part of the project will cross the Cardamom Area, it is likely the transmission lines will be built along road n°48 to limit the negative environmental impacts.

SCOPE OF WORK The scope of work for these consultancy services includes: - a comprehensive feasibility study for the projects, including technical ÂżQancial, and economic analysis; - an environmental and social impact assessment of the projects, including relevant Environmental and Social Management Plan; and - preparation for the procurement for the projects, including projects detailed design, procurement plan, bidding documents and ToRs for consultancy services for project implementation.

The consultants will be required to present a comprehensive team with all relevant skills to fully respond to the assignment.

The consultants will be required to present concrete team coordination solutions in order to fully integrate environmental and social aspects into the feasibility of the projects.

For this assignment a total of approximately 10 to 15 personmonths of consulting services will be engaged over a period of 3 months.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS All consultancy ¿UPV applying for this work must provide in their application some relevant information showing that they have the set of skills and the experience required to conduct the study (presentation booklet, similar study references, comparable experiences, adequacy of the knowledge of the staff). Whether independent or in consortium with other consultancy ¿UPV all relevant applications will be considered for the work. It is expected that the team of consultants present the following skills/experiences: - Strong expertise and track record in feasibility studies for transmission lines and substations (15 years experience minimum) - Long-term experience in environmental and social impact assessment of transmission lines (10 years minimum) - Long-term experience in economic and ¿QDQFLDO analysis of projects in the energy sector (10 years minimum) - Proven track record with international ¿QDQFLQJ institutions’ practices, including for feasibly studies, ¿QDQFLDO and economic analysis, procurement and environmental and social requirements (10 years minimum); - Experience in developing countries, and especially Cambodia is not mandatory but will constitute and comparative advantage.

The list of individuals who would be working on the assignment must be precisely mentioned and their CVs provided.

Expression of Interests must be limited to a maximum of 50 pages. All documents exceeding this limit will only be considered based on the information provided in the ÂżUVt 50 pages.

All Expressions of Interest must be sent to the following addresses by 1st July, 2013 12pm (Phnom Penh time): Attn: HE Chan Sodavath, Deputy Managing Director Mobile: +855 12 895 454 Email: sodavath@edc.com.kh EDC, Phnom Penh And Dr. Praing Chulasa Director of Cooperate Planning and Project Department, Mobile: +855 12 444 968 Email: chulasa_praing@yahoo.com Tel : +855 23 42 6938 / 426 018 Fax : +855 23 426 938 EDC, Phnom Penh Attn: Mr AndrÊ POUILLES-DUPLAIX Agence Française de DÊveloppement 5, street 106, BP102 Sangkat Wat Phnom. Khan Daun Penh Phnom Penh – CAMBODGE Email: afdphnompenh@afd.fr Based on all the received applications, EDC/AFD will thereafter establish a shortlist of the most relevant candidates for the task, and send them the corresponding Request for Proposal.

17

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World

ble packaging and GM rice

ptember.

go in muffins, mayonnaise and other sauces.

Augmented-reality kitchens

REUTERS

making a chicken substitute good enough, they claim, to compete with the real thing.

Meanwhile, Hampton Creek

Foods, founded by 32-yearold entrepreneur Josh Tetrick, is working on a plant-based replacement for egg yolks to

As the popularity of programs such as MasterChef indicates, we have become a nation of food enthusiasts.

For every budding culinary genius among us, however, there will always be a kitchen klutz who bungles the recipe and burns everything to cinders. What we need, in the view of Japanese computer scientist Yu Suzuki at Kyoto Sangyo University, is a helping hand from technology.

Going several steps further than the online how-to video, Suzuki and colleagues have kitted out a kitchen with ceiling-mounted cameras and projectors that overlay cooking instructions on the ingredients. Detecting the outline of a fish, for example, Suzuki’s system will help you fillet it by highlighting where an incision needs to be made.

Meanwhile Jinna Lei, a computer scientist at the University of Washington, is developing a system that uses depth-sensing cameras to keep track of what the cook is doing. When a mistake is made, the system

will prompt the cook to make amends.

While this may sound like good news, some critics believe these innovations will also minimise the basic joys of cooking. Technology writer Evgeny Morozov says: “Such standardisation can make our kitchens as exciting as McDonald’s franchises.”

Enhanced rice Thirty years ago, scientists announced the creation of the

But in spite of continuing resistance to GM food among environmentalists and those wary of the corporations that control it, breakthroughs are expected.

Next year, it is hoped that golden rice – normal rice modified to produce betacarotene, which the body converts into vitamin A – will be planted by farmers in the Philippines. If successful, golden rice will help counter blindness and other diseases

Standardisation can make our kitchens as exciting as McDonald’s franchises world’s first genetically modified plant. The new technology, it was hoped, would increase crop yields worldwide and ease global malnutrition. Since then, the fortunes of GM food have been decidedly mixed. Its uptake has been limited to just a few countries and many of its promises – including, more recently, the hope that GM crops would help reduce climate change emissions – have yet to be realised.

in children in the developing world.

Meanwhile, another series of enhanced rice varieties is being developed using only conventional plant-breeding techniques. Zhikang Li, the Chinese plant breeder behind green super rice, which produces more grain while proving more resistant to droughts, floods and disease, hopes that his innovation will feed an extra 100 million people. THE GUARDIAN

Recession pasta

Italian wins with dish to suit times

G

IRGIO Nava, an Italian chef based in South Africa, won the World Pasta Championship in the Italian city of Parma on Saturday with a low-cost recipe that he said suited Italy’s deep economic crisis.

Nava, who has won awards for his work at the Cape Town restaurants 95 Keerom and Carne SA, wooed the public and the jury with a simple plate of cavatelli small pasta shells - broccoli and oregano flowers.

“Simplicity was the key.

I presented a recipe that is very cheap but very tasty,” Nava said after his victory.

“Others competed with expensive fish-based recipes but right now, given the economic situation in Italy, it did not seem right to come forward with extravagant dishes.”

The pasta championship, which was held for the first time last year, took place at the Barilla Food Academy in Parma, considered Italy’s food capital and best-known for Parmesan cheese and cured Parma ham. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World

North Korea proposes new talks with US Jung Ha-Won

N

ORTH Korea yesterday proposed highlevel talks with the US on denuclearisation and easing tensions on the Korean peninsula, just days after it abruptly cancelled a rare meeting with the South.

Tension has been high since the North’s third nuclear test in February that triggered new UN sanctions which ignited an angry response from Pyongyang, including threats of nuclear attacks on Seoul and Washington.

A rare high-level meeting between two Koreas scheduled for June 12 and 13, which would have been the first between the two sides for six years, was cancelled on Tuesday due to spats over protocol.

The latest proposal came as the North was under increasing pressure to abandon its atomic arsenal and its belligerent behaviour, not only from the US and its ally the South,

but also Pyongyang’s sole major ally, China.

“We propose senior-level talks between . . . the [North] and the US to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula and ensure peace and security in the region,” the North’s powerful National Defense Commission said in a statement carried by state media.

The North is willing to have “broad and in-depth discussions” on issues such as the building of “a world without nuclear weapons” being promoted by US President Barack Obama, it said, inviting the US to set the time and venue for the meeting.

“If the US has true intent on defusing tensions on the Korean peninsula and ensuring peace and security in the US mainland and the region, it should not raise preconditions for dialogue and contact,” it said.

Analysts said the US was unlikely to accept the latest proposal without any concrete ac-

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front right) visits the Yuphyong Revolutionary Site, in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency yesterday. REUTERS

tion from Pyongyang to move towards denuclearisation – a pre-condition for any talks long demanded by the US. Glyn Davies, the US pointman on North Korea policy, last week repeated calls for the North to take steps to end its nuclear program and warned that this year’s crisis increased Washington’s hesitancy to engage again.

“The US has repeatedly made it clear that it was not interested in a dialogue for the sake of dialogue,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University North Korean Studies in Seoul.

“So I’m not sure if Washington will respond to the talks offer, especially if it was made without any behind-the-curtain negotiations between

Pyongyang and Washington in advance,” he said.

In another move to step up pressure on the North, chief nuclear envoys of the US, the South and Japan are to meet in Washington on Wednesday to discuss ways to resume the stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks on the North.

The nuclear-armed communist state said in yesterday’s

statement it was committed to denuclearisation but defended its atomic arsenal as “self-defence” against what it called military and nuclear threats from the US. “The legitimate status of the [North] as a nuclear state will go on . . . until . . . the threats from outside are put to an end,” it said, urging the US to also scrap sanctions against it. AFP

19

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World Taiwan, Philippines agree over use of force TAIWAN and the Philippines have pledged not to use force in fishing disputes, officials said, as they tackle a row over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coastguards.

The agreement was reached during their first preparatory meeting on fishery cooperation held in Manila on Friday, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement released late on Saturday.

It said the agreement was aimed at avoiding a recurrence of incidents such as the death of 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng, who died after his boat was fired upon by Filipino coastguards while operating in waters near a Philippine island that Taiwan also claims as part of its economic zone.

“Both sides have guaranteed to avoid the use of armed force or violence in the implementation of fisheries laws,” it said.

The two sides agreed to share their maritime law enforcement procedures and establish means for notifying each other without delay whenever actions are taken against vessels and crews of the other party, it said.

They also agreed to develop a mechanism for the prompt

release of detained fishing vessels and their crews, in line with international practice.

Further meetings would be held on fisheries cooperation including management and conservation schemes, it said.

Philippine investigators on Thursday said they had recommended that criminal charges be filed against coastguards involved in the fatal shooting after coastguard chiefs in Manila initially insisted the fishing vessel had tried to ram the coastguard boat and their personnel had fired in self-defence.

The killing caused outrage in Taiwan, with President Ma Ying-jeou describing it as “coldblooded murder”.

His government ordered a freeze on the hiring of Filipinos to work in Taiwan, issued a “red-alert” warning tourists against travelling to the Philippines and staged naval drills near Philippine waters.

Philippine President Begnino Aquino repeatedly apologised and sent an envoy to Taiwan, but these actions were rejected as insincere.

Following pressure from Taiwan, the Philippines agreed to joint investigations into the incident. AFP

Pollution fight may go local

C

HINA has pledged to hold local government leaders responsible for improving air quality, officials said, after heavy smog across China earlier this year stoked social discontent.

The State Council, or cabinet, announced the move along with a range of other policies aimed at reducing emissions of pollutants – from forcing industries to install anti-pollution equipment to strengthening the collection of fines.

China has long been criticised for incentivising local officials to pursue economic growth while placing little emphasis on meeting environmental targets, leading to weak enforcement of environmental laws.

But the country will “build a targeted responsibility and evaluation system for cities and provinces based on air quality improvement”, according to a report of a State Council meeting carried on its website on Friday.

The statement suggests that local officials will be assessed on improving general air quality, rather than merely facing targets for reducing emissions of individual pollutants.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also agreed that the government would

A man rows a boat on a river during a hazy morning in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, yesterday. China has pledged to make local government responsible for air quality. REUTERS

not approve industrial projects which fail to meet emissions standards, and curb the growth of highly polluting industries such as steel and aluminium manufacturing, according to the report.

The capital Beijing earlier

this year saw levels of particulate matter in the air reach almost 40 times World Health Organization limits, as other cities in China were hit by high levels of pollution, provoking outrage nationwide.

Air pollution contributed to

1.2 million premature deaths and 25 million healthy years of life lost in China in 2010, the US-based Health Effects Institute reported in March, basing its figures on a global survey published in British medical journal The Lancet. AFP

20

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

World

Boom time for Thailand’s Northeast Paul Carsten and Pairat Temphairojana

S

TEEL girders jut from the low skyline of the Thai city of Udon Thani near the Lao border as workers lay cement for a new shopping mall, one of many illustrating a boom in the Thai economy beyond the bright lights of Bangkok.

The malls, factories and construction sites in Thailand’s northeast are emerging alongside its farms as a potent economic fuel in one of Asia’s top emerging markets. Growth in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, has begun to slow, but the economy of the northeast is in the grip of a boom.

The economic renaissance of “Isaan”, Thailand’s poorest and most populous region, has coincided with expansionary policies – from wage increases to farm subsidies – that are enriching an area at the heart of a “red shirt” protest movement that backed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in a 2011 election.

As a new middle class emerges, investors and companies are taking note. CLSA emerging markets guru Chris Wood cites

the region in explaining longterm bets on Thailand.

“There is a macroeconomic ramping up of the northeast,” he said.

The potential may never be realised if a crucial 2.2 trillion baht ($71 billion) infrastructure program becomes a casualty of the feuding between Yingluck’s ruling Puea Thai Party and its opponents.

But if the plan went ahead, as is generally expected, it would change the entire economic structure of the northeast, said Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Barclays Capital.

“It’s the next entry point for investors and consumers – if they link it up to China, it becomes the entry point to Thailand, not Bangkok,” he said.

“But it’s been difficult for the bureaucracy to execute programs because they don’t know who will be in power in a year or two.”

Economic growth in the region reached 40 per cent from 2007 to 2011, against 23 per cent for the country and just 17 per cent for greater Bangkok.

Monthly household income rose 40 per cent between 2007 and 2011, the biggest jump of any Thai region. Interviews with businessmen and invest-

ment data suggest the trend is continuing.

The number of private investment projects in the northeast rose 49 per cent in 2012 from the previous year, with the total amount invested more than doubling to $2.3 billion, according to the Bank of Thailand. Much of it is concentrated in property – from highrise condominiums to town houses and shopping plazas.

“The northeast has a large population, a dense population, so the income is big,” said Naris Cheyklin, chief financial officer of Central Pattana Pcl, referring to the one-third of Thailand’s 68 million people who live there.

In April, Central Pattana opened a 2.75 billion baht ($88.7 million) mall in Ubon Ratchathani, near the southern tip of Laos, their third in the region.

Politically driven boom Politics explains part of what is going on.

Yingluck’s government brought in a nationwide minimum wage of 300 baht ($10) a day in January. In some Isaan provinces, that was an increase of 35 per cent, among the biggest gains in the country, on top

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of a nationwide 40 per cent rise in April 2012.

Many workers, such as those building the 168 Platinum Mall in Udon Thani, are happy to return to the northeast for wages that are now on a par with Bangkok’s.

Isaan’s Red Shirts are among the staunchest supporters of Yingluck’s brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup but influences policy from self-imposed exile in Dubai.

While in power from 2001, his populist policies – from virtually free healthcare to low-interest

Yingluck’s government, farmers have been paid 15,000 baht per tonne of unmilled rice, a 50 per cent premium over market prices, according to exporters.

“During the Thaksin and Yingluck era, a lot has been given to Isaan, and the amount of money being poured into the region is significantly more than previous governments spent,” said Ittiphol Treewatanasuwan, mayor of Udon Thani, once a US Air Force base for anti-communist operations in Southeast Asia.

Lives are being transformed.

Panjaporn Phatanapitoon,

If they link it up to China, it becomes the entry point to Thailand, not Bangkok loans to the rural poor – made him a hero in Isaan.

The Red Shirts formed the core of a movement that paralysed Bangkok in April-May 2010 in protest at the government of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the forces that ousted Thaksin – the traditional Bangkok elite including top generals, royal advisers, business leaders and old-money families.

Those protests were put down with force, but the red shirts had their revenge in the 2011 election and now see the rewards.

“A lot of the boom is upcountry, and that is politically driven, partly, because that’s where Thaksin’s supporters are,” said Wood at CLSA. The poverty rate in Thailand fell to 13 per cent of the population in 2011 from 58 per cent in 1990, according to the World Bank, but per capita gross domestic product in Isaan in 2011 was still less than an eighth of that of Bangkok at $1,600 a year, according to the state planning agency, the NESDB. That is changing. Government policies have pushed up purchasing power by subsidising agricultural products such as rice, tapioca and rubber. Under

general manager of the 168 Platinum Mall, said people in the northeast were now better educated, attitudes were evolving fast and urbanisation would come much more quickly than in Bangkok.

Regional investment The 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin caused years of unrest, but political calm has returned since Yingluck’s election win.

“When we change the politicians, they change the policy. If there are more changes to these policies, it will damage the economy,” said Uthai Uthaisangsuk, a senior vice-president at property developer Sansiri Pcl. Sansiri is developing two $127 million condominium projects in Khon Kaen, 380 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, in 2013 and plans a third for $35 million in 2014.

“At least five years and then we’ll get something done,” Uthai said, highlighting the need for a high-speed train and further infrastructure.

Now such plans are in hand, given impetus by floods that devastated the industrial central region, near Bangkok, in

late 2011. “Logistics providers and consumer products are moving upcountry because of the floods,” said Patan Somburanasin, general manager of TPARK, a logistics company and subsidiary of TICON Industrial Connection Pcl, which is investing up to 2 billion baht in a 79-acre logistics park in the northeastern city of Khon Kaen.

Isaan should also profit as factories and distribution centres move in ahead of an EU-style ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) planned by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from late 2015 or 2016.

The AEC’s East-West corridor, a motorway and infrastructure route for trade, will stretch from Vietnam’s Danang port through Laos, Thailand and Myanmar to the Andaman Sea, cutting through the centre of the northeast and its commercial hub of Khon Kaen.

That will support Thailand’s ambitions to position itself as a gateway to China via road and rail links through Laos, itself seeing dramatic economic change.

The infrastructure program and the urbanisation it will foster, if the plan goes ahead, will support Thai growth into the future, Credit Suisse said in a report, raising its estimate of trend GDP growth in 2014 to 2018 to between 4.5 and 5.0 per cent from 4.2 per cent.

No wonder, then, that Thai manufacturers such as CP All Pcl , Thai Beverage Pcl and Siam Cement , plus foreign firms with Thai plants such as Panasonic Corp, Kraft Foods Group Inc and Fraser and Neave Ltd, are gravitating towards the northeast.

“If you look at all the corporates, every single large cap out there, they don’t talk about Bangkok any more. They talk about provincials,” said Patrick Chang, head of ASEAN equity for BNP Paribas Investment Partners. “The sexy stuff is the provincial urbanisation and the way it impacts consumption.” REUTERS

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Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités Group for the Environment, Renewable Energy and Solidarity House no.350, Street 350, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 3, P.O.Box 2528, Phnom Penh 12304, Cambodia Tel: +855(23)986 891, Fax: +855(23)221 314 / www.cambodia.geres.eu – cambodia@geres.eu

A Thai woman leads her buffalo through a field outside a village on the outskirts of Udon Thani, in Thailand’s impoverished northeast, in September 2010. REUTERS

21

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Opinion www.phnompenhpost.com editorial personnel Publisher Ross Dunkley Editor-in-Chief Alan Parkhouse Managing Editor David Boyle Editor-in-Chief Post Khmer Kay Kimsong Managing Editor Post Khmer Sam Rith Chief of Staff Cheang Sokha Deputy Chief of Staff Chhay Channyda National News Editor Chad Williams Deputy National News Editor Abby Seiff Deputy News Editor Vong Sokheng Group Business Editor May Kunmakara Deputy Business Editor Joe Freeman Property Editor Rupert Winchester Foreign News Editor Dan Besant Sports Editor Dan Riley Pictorial Editor Kara Fox Lifestyle and 7Days Editor Poppy McPherson Deputy Head of Lifestyle Desk Pan Simala Special Projects Officer Stuart Alan Becker Chief sub-editor Michael Philips Sub-editors Emily Geminder, Shane Worrell, Stuart White, Joseph Freeman, Justine Drennan, Joe Curtin, Julius Thiemann, Rosa Ellen, Claire Knox, Daniel de Carteret, Anne Renzenbrink Reporters Meas Sokchea, Mom Kunthear, Khouth Sophak Chakrya, May Titthara, Khuon Leakhana, Kim Yuthana, Roth Meas, Ung Chamroeun, Sen David, Phak Seangly, Rann Reuy, Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Chhim Sreyneang, Sieam Bunthy, Lieng Sarith Photographers Vireak Mai, Sreng Meng Srun, Heng Chivoan, Pha Lina, Hong Menea Regional Correspondent Roger Mitton Web Editor Leang Phannara Webmasters Seng Sovan, Uong Ratana, Horng Pengly Siem reap bureau

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Demonstrators protest against recent election results that declared Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak the winning candidate in May. reuters

Fickled fortune pushes two leaders to the edge

siem reap

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Regional Insider Roger Mitton

F

ORTUNE is a fickle beast that can suddenly propel a nobody to prominence and reduce a king to a commoner.

It has no favourites, as two of this region’s most powerful men discovered last week when fortune pushed them to the precipice and, to paraphrase Steppenwolf, left them with political tombstones in their eyes.

First, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was humiliated by his own people on Tuesday when the country’s legislature held its inaugural confidence vote on the national leadership.

Dung, 63, came in last among the most senior elected officials.

It was a pitiful show, as one third of the members of the National Assembly voted against him, and an astonishing 57 per cent said they did not have complete confidence in him.

Of course, the Vietnamese public has long loathed and ridiculed him, but now large swathes of his own party have turned against him.

Crippled, the man survives by the skin of his teeth only because the

dysfunctional Vietnam Communist Party is petrified of the ramifications of sacking him and his coterie of corrupt dunderheads.

The VCP knows it is reviled for chronic economic mismanagement and continued rampant graft, particularly in the huge and inefficient nationalised enterprises that still dominate the economy.

Certainly, Dung’s fellow party members know that if they do not act soon change will be forced on them, either peaceably, as recently in Indonesia and Myanmar, or violently,

which caused then PM Abdullah Badawi to quit, but it came second in the total number of votes cast nationwide.

Najib had promised to reverse Abdullah’s shocking losses, but he never came close and as a result the coalition is now a front in name only.

Its Chinese and Indian components deserted en masse to the opposition People’s Alliance led by former Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim.

It was only thanks to pandering to the rural Malay Muslim masses that the Front managed to scrape home

The benefits of economic transformation must flow to all Malaysians . . . no one will be left behind. as in Egypt, Libya and now Turkey.

Concurrently, fortune has also turned against another regional leader, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose position, while not as desperate as Dung’s, is now under severe threat.

Najib, 59, led his ruling National Front government to its worst election result last month.

The Front not only lost more seats than in its disastrous 2008 showing,

with a reduced majority.

So, as with Dung in Vietnam, many now view Najib as a lame duck PM and the kris daggers are already being unsheathed by many in his own party, the United Malays National Organisation.

Last week, one of its old warhorses, Razaleigh Hamzah, openly talked to government and opposition MPs about his desire to replace Najib as PM.

Razaleigh, 76, is a quixotic animal who has already challenged for the premiership back in 1987 when he came close to unseating then PM Mahathir Mohamad.

Ironically, it was the votes of Najib’s faction that helped Mahathir retain power and consigned Razaleigh to the wilderness, until his reassimilation into the party years later.

So there is no love lost between the two men and if Razaleigh can muster 112 MPs he could oust Najib on a parliamentary confidence vote.

It is unlikely to happen, but in acting as a stalking horse he may siphon off enough support from Najib that stronger UMNO leaders will enter the fray and then the PM’s fate will be doomed.

On Thursday, Najib tried to forestall such an outcome by saying he’d got the message from the voters and he will make the Front more meritocratic and restore its appeal to the non-Malay communities.

“The benefits of economic transformation must flow to all Malaysians,” said Najib. “I will work to ensure our national success leaves no one behind.”

That’s going to be a tough task, but unless it happens, and happens fast, fortune will leave him and his hapless Hanoi counterpart dead ducks before the year is out.

22

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Lifestyle Google’s ambitious balloons G

OOGLE revealed top-secret plans Saturday to send balloons to the edge of space with the lofty aim of bringing internet to the twothirds of the global population currently without web access.

Scientists from the technology giant released up to 30 helium-filled test balloons flying 20 kilometres above Christchurch in New Zealand Saturday, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations.

While still in the early stages, Project Loon hopes eventually to launch thousands of balloons to provide internet to remote parts of the world, allowing the more than four billion people with no access to get online.

It could also be used to help after natural disasters, when existing communication infrastructure is affected.

“Project Loon is an experimental technology for balloonpowered internet access,” the company said on its latest project from its clandestine Google (x), “where we work on radical, sci-fi-sounding technology solutions to solve really big world problems”.

“Balloons, carried by the wind at altitudes twice as high as

Project Loon solar panels and high a altitude balloon before take off in Southern New Zealand. afp

commercial planes, can beam internet access to the ground at speeds similar to today’s 3G networks or faster,” it added.

“It is very early days, but we think a ring of balloons, flying around the globe on the stratospheric winds, might be a way to provide affordable internet access to rural, remote, and underserved areas down on earth

below, or help after disasters, when existing communication infrastructure is affected.”

It works by ground stations connecting to the local internet infrastructure and beaming signals to the balloons, which are self-powered by solar panels.

The balloons, which once in the stratosphere will be twice as high as commercial airliners

and barely visible to the naked eye, are then able to communicate with each other, forming a mesh network in the sky.

Users below have an internet antenna they attach the side of their house that can send and receive data signals from the balloons passing overhead.

Some 50 people were chosen to take part in the trial and

were able to link to the internet.

The first person to get Google Balloon Internet access was Charles Nimmo, a farmer and entrepreneur in the small town of Leeston who signed up.

He told the New Zealand Herald he received internet access for about 15 minutes before the transmitting balloon he was relying on floated out of range.

Google’s ultimate goal is to have a ring of balloons – each the length of a small light aircraft – circling the Earth, ensuring there is no part of the globe that cannot access the web.

But Richard DeVaul, chief technical architect at Google (x), cautioned that “it’s awfully early to think about covering the entire planet”.

The next step might be to make a ring of balloons around the same latitude as New Zealand, he added, to extend coverage to countries such as Australia, South Africa and Argentina.

Google did not say how much it was investing in the project.

“The idea may sound a bit crazy – and that’s part of the reason we’re calling it Project Loon – but there’s solid science behind it,” Google said, but added: “This is still highly experimental technology.” afp

New York foodies in grip of ‘Cronut’ craze Brigitte Dusseau

SOME hungry customers began queueing outside the pastry shop around 3:30am. Others managed to keep their taste buds at bay for a few more hours, arriving at the patisserie around 6am.

They were all united by a desire to sample the food craze that has gripped New York since its debut a month ago. Half-doughnut, half croissant: the “cronut” has left the Big Apple’s gourmets in a frenzy.

By the time the Dominique Ansel Bakery in the heart of trendy SoHo opened its doors to the public at 8am, the salivating customers were at breaking point. Within the hour, every single cronut available has been sold.

The bakery’s owner, Dominique

Ansel, says the crowd reflected the typical pattern since the May 18 launch of the the cronut, a food sensation powered by social media. On the first day, 50 were sold. The next day 100 flew off the shelves, within 15 to 20 minutes.

Since then the bemused pastry chef has become accustomed to queues of 150 to 200 people winding down the street before the bakery has opened.

Ansel settled upon the idea of the cronut after deciding he wanted to create a hybrid pastry that would be instantly recognisable as a marriage of French and American food cultures.

His revolutionary confection offers the delicate puff pastry of a traditional croissant shaped into a round doughnut, which is then

deep-fried, filled with cream, rolled in maple sugar and coated with a light glaze.

It’s soft yet crunchy, light and delicious, say cronut devotees.

Ansel, regarded as one of the most talented pastry chefs in New York, said settling upon the cronut recipe was a painstaking process.

“It took me about two months to perfect the recipe,” he said.

It is so perfect that Jessica Amaral, 30, thought nothing of leaving home at 3am to get in line. The two cronuts she is buying are a treat for her husband to mark the couple’s eighth wedding anniversary.

At 8am, the wait was over. Ansel flung open the doors and welcomed his first customers. By 8:56, almost all of the approximately 250 to 300 had been sold. afp

A cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid at Ansel’s bakery. afp

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James Joyce’s ‘last collection’ published A SMALL Irish press is publishing what it is calling “almost certainly the last undiscovered title

by James Joyce” – 10 short pieces by the author, written six months after he completed Ulysses.

Penned by Joyce in 1923 and described by the author as “epiclets”, the pieces range from vignettes or sketches to more substantial short stories or fables, said Ithys Press, which published the work just ahead of Sunday’s Bloomsday, the annual global celebration on 16 June of Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses. afp

Kim Kardashian gives birth to baby girl

REALITY television star Kim Kardashian gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday, her first child with rapper boyfriend Kanye West, news reports said. Kardashian, 32, was admitted to CedarsSinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills five weeks ahead of her due date and delivered a baby girl, the entertainment news website TMZ.com reported. The website said West was present at the birth and had cancelled an event to promote his new album late Friday after Kardashian had complained of feeling a “little off”. afp

Happy Birthday song causes legal discord

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Happy Birthday to You is the subject of a fresh US legal dispute, with a production firm claiming the tune’s copyright owner has no exclusive right to the most popular song in the English language. Good Morning to You Productions (GMTY) has filed suit in a federal court in New York against Warner/Chappell Music.

According to GMTY, the tune comes from a song called Good Morning to All, which was composed in 1893 by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill. afp

23

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Travel PREAH SIHANOUK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 130 1-3-5 12:55 13:55

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE FROM PHNOM PENH Flighs

Days

Dep

TO PHNOM PENH Arrival

PHNOM PENH - BANGKOK Daily

12:05

01:10

K6 721

Daily

02:25

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PG 931

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PG 932

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TG 580

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TG 581

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TG 584

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BEIJING - PHNOM PENH 08:00

16:05

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DOHA - PHNOM PENH ( Via HCMC)

QR 605

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QR 603

..34..7

15:50

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CZ 6059

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CZ 323

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HO CHI MINH CITY - PHNOM PENH

VN 841

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VN 3856

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19:20

20:05

VN 3857

Daily

18:00

18:45

PHNOM PENH - HONG KONG 1.2.4.7

11:25

15:05

KA 208

1.2.4.6.7 08:50

10:25

KA 207

6

11:45

22:25

KA 206

3.5.7

14:30

16:05

KA 209

1

18:30

22:05

KA 206

1

15:25

17:00

KA 209

3.5.7

17:25

21:00

KA 206

2

15:50

17:25

KA 205

2

19:00

22:35

PHNOM PENH - INCHEON Daily

23:40

06:40

KE 689

Daily

18:30

22:20

OZ 740

Daily

23:50

06:50

OZ 739

Daily

19:10

22:50

PHNOM PENH - KUALA LUMPUR

5J - CEBU Airways.

MH - Malaysia Airlines

2 Tuesday

AK - Air Asia

MI - SilkAir

3 Wednesday

BR - EVA Airways

OZ - Asiana Airlines

4 Thursday

CI - China Airlines

PG - Bangkok Airways

5 Friday

CZ - China Southern

QR - Qatar Airways

6 Saturday

FD - Thai Air Asia

QV - Lao Airlines

7 Sunday

FM - Shanghai Air

SQ - Singapore Airlines

K6- Cambodia Angkor Air

TG - Thai Airways | VN - Vietnam Airlines

This flight schedule information is updated about once a month. Further information, please contact direct to airline or a travel agent for flight schedule information.

AIRLINES

KUALA LUMPUR - PHNOM PENH

AK 1473

Daily

08:35

11:20

AK 1474

Daily

15:15

16:00

MH 755

Daily

11:10

14:00

MH 754

Daily

09:30

10:20

MH 763

Daily

17:10

20:00

MH 762

Daily

3:20

4:10

20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH- PARIS

PHNOM PENH - PARIS 20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH - SHANGHAI 2.3.4.5.7

1 Monday

INCHEON - PHNOM PENH

KE 690

FM 833

KA - Dragon Air

HONG KONG - PHNOM PENH

KA 207

2

COLOUR CODE

2817 - 16 Tigerairways

HANOI - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - HO CHI MINH CITY

AF 273

AIRLINES CODE

GUANGZHOU - PHNOM PENH

CZ 324

VN 840

CROATIA’S azure Adriatic coastline dotted with over a thousand verdant islands has already won the nation a spot on the world tourist map and hopes are high that July’s EU entry will boost the sector and provide a shot in the arm to the struggling economy.

“EU entry will certainly improve Croatia’s image as a tourist destination and might even bring an investment surge,” said Goran Hrnic, chief executive of the Gulliver Travel agency, a member of TUI Travel, Europe’s largest tour operator.

In 2012, Croatia hosted a record 11.8 million tourists, nearly triple its population of 4.2 million.

Tourism provides key support for Croatia’s economy, which has struggled in recession since 2009. Last year, tourism accounted for about 15 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product with income totalling some €6.8 billion ($8.8 billion).

After peaking in the 1980s, Croatia’s tourism was hardhit by its 1991-1995 independence war.

The conflict even touched the so-called Pearl of the Adriatic, when Serb forces laid seige and shelled the medieval port of Dubrovnik in 1991, killing and wounding dozens.

But since the end of the war, the industry has gradually recovered to surpass its pre-war levels. An alluring Mediterranean climate, budget airline connections, and affordable prices have proved a winning formula for tourists seeking sun and sand and young clubbers out for a good time.

But its luxurious night spots also draw international celebrities and its and lavish marinas serve the yachting set.

“We definitely expect stronger demand for Croatia” after July 1 when the nation will wind up a decade-long process and join the European Union, Zeljko Miletic, head of the Du-

CZ 323

PHNOM PENH - DOHA ( Via HCMC)

PHNOM PENH - HANOI

brovnik hoteliers’ association, told AFP. Hanke Reitz from Germany decided to visit Dubrovnik before the crowds move in at the peak of the season in July that coincides with the EU entry.

“Many in Europe will now notice Croatia and realise they do not have to go to Greece or Spain to have beautiful holidays,” said Reitz.

In Dubrovnik, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed medieval town described by George Bernard Shaw as “paradise on Earth”, tourists often outnumber citizens.

Last year, almost 800,000 tourists visited its famous twokilometre-long city walls, built over the 12th to the 17th century, and strolled along the polished stone blocks of the main promenade Stradun.

Apart from tourists, who arrive mainly by plane and stay an average five days, every year Dubrovnik hosts around one million cruise-ship visitors.

Even the owners of a cafe that has made itself an international reputation by doing things the traditional way sees some value in the change coming next month.

“For the past 50 years nothing has changed, neither quality nor service, that is why people like us,” said Dinka Popovic, the Skola owner.

Popovic says it “will be better in EU” as she served homemade prosciutto and cheese sandwiches, sardine salad, and strudel to clients at her seven tables.

“There will be no borders, so people might decide on visiting even more,” added her husband Miljenko.

But membership into the EU might have some negative impact as Croatia has had to introduce visas for tourists from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to comply with the bloc’s rules. “Our bookings from Russia and Ukraine are some 15 per cent lower than what we had planned,” Hrnic said. afp

Arrival

PG 938

PHNOM PENH - GUANGZHOU

Lajla Veselica

Dep

K6 720

CZ 324

Croatia hopes ‘EU label’ will boost tourism

Days

BANGKOK - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - BEIJING

Windsurfers and swimmers seen on a beach known as the Zlatni rat (Golden Horn) near Bol at the Croatian Adriatic island of Brac. reuters

Flighs

SIEM REAP - PREAH SIHANOUK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 131 1-3-5 11:20 12:20

19:50

AF 273

2

SHANGHAI - PHNOM PENH 23:05

PHNOM PENH - SINGAPORE

FM 833

2.3.4.5.7 19:30

22:40

SINGAPORE - PHNOM PENH

MI 601

1.3.5.6.7

09:30 12:30

MI 602

1.3.5.6.7 07:40

08:40

MI 622

2.4

12:20

15:20

MI 622

2.4

08:40

11:25

3K 594

1.3.6

12:35

15:55

3K 593

1.3.6

10:40

11:50

3K 599

2.4.7

17:25

20:25

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

3K 592

5

20:45

23:45

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

MI 607

Daily

18:10

21:10

MI 608

Daily

16:20

17:15

2817

1.3

16:40

19:40

2816

1.3

15:00

15:50

2817

2.4.5

09:10

12:00

2816

2.4.5

07:20

08:10

Air Asia (AK) Room T6, PP International Airport. Tel: 023 6666 555 Fax: 023 890 071 www.airasia.com

Cambodia Angkor Air (K6) PP Office, #90+92+94Eo, St.217, Sk.Orussey4, Kh.7Makara, PP, Cambodia.

Tel: 023 881 178/77-718-333 Fax: (+855)-23-886-677 E: mai@royalaviationexpert.com

Qatar Airways No. 296 Blvd. Mao Tse Toung (St. 245), Ground floor, Intercontinental Hotel PP Tel: +23 42 40 12/13/14 www.qatarairways.com

Jetstar Asia (3K) PP: No. 333B Monivong Blvd.

Myanmar Airways International Tel: 023 220909.Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.Tel: 063 964388 #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, www.jetstar.com Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

T:023 881 178 | F:023 886 677 www.maiair.com

Dragon Air (KA) #168, Monireth, PP Tel: 023 424 300 Fax: 023 424 304 www.dragonair.com/kh

Cebu Pacific (5J) Phnom Penh: No. 333B Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 219161 Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.

Tel: 063 965487 E-mail: cebuair@ptm-travel.com www.cebupacificair.com

Tiger airways G. floor, Regency square, Suare, Suite #68/79, St.205, Sk Chamkarmorn, PP Tel: (855) 95 969 888 (855) 23 5515 888/5525888 E: info@cambodiaairlines.net

SilkAir (MI) Regency C,Unit 2-4,Tumnorb Teuk, Chamkarmorn Phnom Penh Tel:023 988 629 www.silkair.com

2817

6

14:50

17:50

2816

6

13:00

14:00

2817

7

13:20

16:10

2816

7

11:30

12:30

09:10

11:35

PHNOM PENH SORYA BUS TRANSPORT SCHEDULE INTERNATIONAL ROUTES

PHNOM PENH -TAIPEI BR 266

Daily

TAIPEI - PHNOM PENH 12:45

17:05

PHNOM PENH - VIENTIANE

BR 265

Daily

VIENTIANE - PHNOM PENH

VN 840

Daily

17:30

18:50

VN 841

Daily

11:30

13:00

PP-HO CHI MINH DEPATURE

HO CHI MINH-PP

QV 920

Daily

17:50

19:10

QV 921

Daily

11:45

13:15

6:45, 8:30, 11:45

6:45, 8:00,11:30

PP-BANGKOK

BANGKOK-PP

6:30

6:30

PP-PAKSE,VIENTIANE

PAKSE,VIENTIANE-PP

6:45

7:30

PHNOM PENH - YANGON 8M 404

3. 6

YANGON - PHNOM PENH 20:10

21:35

8M 403

3. 6

16:45

FROM SIEM REAP

TO SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP - BANGKOK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 700 Daily 12:50 2:00 PG 924 Daily 09:45 11:10 PG 906 Daily 13:15 14:40 PG 914 Daily 15:20 16:45 PG 908 Daily 18:50 20:15 PG 910 Daily 20:30 21:55 SIEM REAP - GUANGZHOU CZ 3054 2.4.6 11:25 15:35 CZ 3054 1.3.5.7 19:25 23:20 SIEM REAP -HANOI K6 850 Daily 06:50 08:30 VN 868 1.2.3.5.6 12:40 15:35 VN 842 Daily 18:05 19:45 VN 844 Daily 19:45 21:25 VN 800 Daily 21:00 22:40 SIEM REAP - HO CHI MINH CITY VN 3818 Daily 11:10 12:30 VN 826 Daily 13:30 14:40 VN 3820 Daily 17:45 18:45 VN 828 Daily 18:20 19:20 VN 3822 Daily 21:35 22:35 SIEM REAP - INCHEON KE 688 Daily 23:15 06:10 OZ 738 Daily 23:40 07:10 SIEM REAP - KUALA LUMPUR AK 281 Daily 08:35 11:35 MH 765 3.5.7 14:15 17:25 SIEM REAP - MANILA 5J 258 2.4.7 22:30 02:11 SIEM REAP - SINGAPORE MI 633 1, 6, 7 16:35 22:15 MI 622 2.4 10:40 15:20 MI 630 5 12:25 15:40 MI 615 7 12:45 16:05 MI 636 3, 2 18:30 21:35 MI 617 5 18:35 21:55 3K 599 2.4.7 15:50 20:25 SIEM REAP - VIENTIANE QV 522 2.4.5.7 10:05 13:00 SIEM REAP - YANGON 8M 402 1. 5 20:15 21:25

BANGKOK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep K6 701 Daily 02:55 PG 903 Daily 08:00 PG 905 Daily 11:35 PG 913 Daily 13:35 PG 907 Daily 17:00 PG 909 Daily 18:45 GUANGZHOU - SIEM REAP CZ 3053 2.4.6 08:45 CZ 3053 1.3.5.7 16:35 HANOI - SIEM REAP K6 851 Daily 19:30 VN 843 Daily 15:25 VN 845 Daily 17:05 VN 845 Daily 17:45 VN 801 Daily 18:20 HO CHI MINH CITY - SIEM REAP VN 3809 Daily 09:15 VN 827 Daily 11:35 VN 3821 Daily 15:55 VN 829 Daily 16:20 VN 3823 Daily 19:45 INCHEON - SIEM REAP KE 687 Daily 18:30 OZ 737 Daily 19:20 KUALA LUMPUR - SIEM REAP AK 280 Daily 06:50 MH 764 3.5.7 12:10 MANILA - SIEM REAP 5J 257 2.4.7 19:45 SINGAPORE - SIEM REAP MI 633 1, 6, 7 14:35 MI 622 2.4 08:40 MI 616 7 10:40 MI 636 3, 2 13:55 MI 630 5 07:55 MI 618 5 16:35 3K599 2.4.7 13:50 VIENTIANE - SIEM REAP QV 512 2.4.5.7 06:30 YANGON - SIEM REAP 8M 401 1. 5 17:05

19:10

Arrival 04:05 09:00 12:45 14:35 18:10 19:55 10:30 18:30 21:15 17:10 18:50 19:30 20:00

10:35 12:35 16:55 17:40 20:45 22:15 22:40 07:50 13:15 21:30 15:45 09:50 11:50 17:40 11:35 17:45 15:05 09:25 19:15

DOMESTIC ROUTES PP-SIEM REAP SIEM REAP-PP 6:15, 7:00- 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 5:30, 6:30, 7:00, 9:30, 10:30,12:30, 13:30 PP -SIHANOUK SIHANOUK-PP 7:00 To 12:00, 13:00, 14:30, 16:30 7:10, 8:00, 10:30,12:15, 14:00,15:30,17:30 PP-BATTAMBANG BATTAMBANG-PP 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 5:30, 6:45, 7:45, 8:30, 9:30,10:30 PP-MONDULKIRI MONDULKIRI-PP 8:30 8:30 Further information, please contact: Tel: 023 210 359, Email:168@ppsoryatransport.com

REGULAR SHIPPING LINES SCHEDULES CALLING PORT ROTATION LINE

CALLING SCHEDULES

FREEQUENCY ROTATION PORTS

1 Wed, 08:00 - Thu 16:00

1 Call/week

2 Thu, 14:00 - Fri 22:00

1 Call/week

3 Fri, 20:00 - Sat 23:59

1 Call/week

1 Th, 08:00 - 20:00

1 Call/week

2 Fri, 22:00- Sun 00:01

1 Call/week

SITC (BEN LINE (4 calls/onth)

Sun 09:00-23:00

1 Call/week

HCM-SHV-LZP-HCMNBO-SGH-OSA-KOBBUS-SGH-HGK-CHM

ITL (ACL) (4 calls/month) APL (4 calls/month) COTS (2 calls/month)

Sat 06:00 - Sun 08:00

1 Call/week

SGZ-SHV-SIN-SGZ

1 call/week

SIN-SHV-SIN

RCL (12calls/moth) MEARSK (MCC) (4 calls/moth)

Fri, 08:00 - Sun, 06:00 Irregula

SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN HKG-SHV-SGZ-HKG (HPH-TXGKEL) SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN SGN-SHV-LZP-SGN - HKG-OSA-TYO-KOB - BUS-SGH-YAT-SGN - SIN-SHV-TPP-SIN

2 calls/month BBK-SHV-BKK-(LZP)

34 call/month BUS= Busan, Korea HKG= HongKong kao=Kaoshiung, Taiwan ROC Kob= Kebe, Japan KUN= Kuantan, Malaysia LZP= Leam Chabang, Thailand NBO= Ningbo, China OSA= Osaka, Japan SGN= Saigon, Vietnam

SGZ= Songkhla, Thailand SHV= Sihanoukville Port Cambodia SIN= Singapore TPP= TanjungPelapas, Malaysia TYO= Tokyo, Japan TXG= Taichung, Taiwan YAT= Yantian, China YOK= Yokohama, Japan

FLY DIRECT TO MYANMAR WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY YANGON - PHNOM PENH PHNOM PENH - YANGON FLY DIRECT TO SIEM REAP MONDAY & FRIDAY SIEM REAP - YANGON YANGON - SIEM REAP #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Tel 023 881 178 | Fax 023 886 677 | www.maiair.com

24

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Lifestyle

Chhim Sreyneang Social Life Manager

PPDW @ Plantation The skies might have been grey, but Phnom Penh Designers Week was anything but a damp affair.

Despite the drizzle, the city's fashion crowds turned out in their droves for the threenight long event, which took place at boutique hotel the Plantation. The event, organised by F Magazine, showcased new collections by a total of 9 Cambodiabased designers - ranging from the simple chic of Mitsou's pastel range to punk couture

by CGBCM and abstract jewelry designs from Waterlily.

Kompheak Kep, Sreng Leang Peng and Ou Kosal

Sreynoun, Sophy and Sopheary and Sara Chhak

Ly Sokchhayly, Lang Suychen, Sadi Sangvar, Lux and San Voleak

Waterlily

F Magazine team

Hanvi Soth Oudom, Mavali Chhoeun and Han intrakseila

Mana Winor, Loy Te and Ivy

Adele, Aurelie and Anta

Seyha,Sophea, Sophie

Sophea Ke, DJ Buffy and Mari Anabrrera

Kenzo, Yulia Khouri, Norodom Soma and Yumi Anna Ono

Ramyk, Chorn Chanleakna and Mario

Keo Sophy,Oeurn Wathna and Chhieu Pakre Nharath

Anne Oaym and Esther Mwauka

Lee Pin, Phalla

Designers Claude Garrigues, Don Protasio and friends

DON PROTASIO

SCT

CGBCN

KEOK'JAY

MITSOU

CGBCN

CGBCN ANINE NOELLE LA'OR

A.N.D

KEOK'JAY

SCT

25

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Lifestyle

Socheata and Sontery Social Life Team

Hennessy Appreciation Dinner

@ Sofitel

Meas Sovan and Bav Wathanak @ Attwood

Kwanlar T Nyirady

Lity Yap and Doung Elite

Tabuy, Sana and Hennessy Team

Old world flavour was given a contemporary twist last week, when the vice-president of cognac label Moet Hennessy, Gilles Hennessy, dropped into Phnom Penh on Tuesday. A lively spread was put on for the Frenchman, who is a descendent of the original Irish cognac baron, Richard Hennessy, with a soundtrack courtesy of Malaysian hip hop dance crew ELECOLDXHOT.

Lim Chhiv Ho,Gilles Hennessy, Kov Sambath

Chem Puthea, Keo Pisey, Van Vuth

Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa @ Malis Restaurant

Yi Lynol, Managing Director @ Destination Asia, and Meng Phala, Managing Director @ Kambuja Voyages

Uill Yaing and Pat Chrise

Hanno, GM @ Victoria, Samnag, FDB @ Victoria and Christine, Sales @ Victoria

Veronique Ducassy, Managing Director @ Asian Trails and Pierre Jungo, Managing Director @ Diethelm Travel

Upmarket Siem Reap hotel Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa held a celebratory cocktail party for friends last Friday at Cambodian restaurant Malis. Colleagues from travel agencies in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap were thanked for supporting the hotel, and rewarded with no shortage of canapes and white wine. A lucky draw - with gifts courtesy of Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa - ended the night.

Pich Kimhean, Operations Manager @ Hanuman, and Sergey Oreshko, Sales Manager @ Hanuman

Van Is Pirath, Asst Sales & Marketing Manager at Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa, and Huoth Sophea

Yem Sonika, and Bora Roeun

Michael Taylor, Director of Sales @ B2B Tours and Reuel R Tomas, Marketing Manager @ B2B Tours

Huoth Sophea,Deouty Country Manager @ Other Way and Men Sedaravy, Manager Director @ Ravy Angkor Tour

Esther and Win Zaw

Chvea Mon, Tour Operator @Charming Cambodia Tours,and Chy Visal, Operations Manager @ CCT

26

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Entertainment NOW SHOWING

Nerd Night @ The Village

platinum cineplex

Inspired by the world renowned Pecha Kucha presentation format, the bimonthly Nerd Night is an exhibition of local talent and ideas through short-fire presentations. This week’s line-up features a talk on nutrition from fermented food (prahok, kimchi, yogurt, and more) and Teri Yamada, co-founder of the Nou Hach Literary Association, which promotes Cambodian literature.

AFTER EARTH A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.

9:15am, 11am, 12:50pm, 2:40pm, 6:50pm, 8:40pm

The Village, #1 Street 360 7:30pm

FAST & FURIOUS 6 Hobbs has Dom and Brian reassemble their crew in order to take down a mastermind who commands an organisation of mercenary drivers across 12 countries. Payment? Full pardons for them all.

4:30pm

Yoga @ Yoga Phnom Penh A lunchtime yoga class offers a chance to stretch out, relax and refresh after the weekend. Yoga Phnom Penh have linked up with ARTillery Café so you can place an order before class to have a healthy meal delivered to the door before the end.

RAPTURE PALOOZA Two teens battle their way through a religious apocalypse on a mission to defeat the Antichrist.

7:15pm

Yoga Phnom Penh, #172 z2 Norodom Bvld, 12:15pm

legend cinema AFTER EARTH (See above.)

1:35pm, 8pm, 9:45pm EPIC (See above.)

3:35pm

No small fry: Prahok, along with other fermented food, is good for nutrition, a speaker will argue at Nerd Night. PHA LINA

TV PICKS

1:20pm - THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW: Jack Hall, paleoclimatologist for NORAD, must make a daring trek across America to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age. FOX MOVIES

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 (See above.)

9:30pm, 2:10pm, 9:25pm NOW YOU SEE ME An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

5:40pm RAPTURE PALOOZA (See above.)

10pm

9:15am - XMEN: FIRST CLASS: In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start World War III. FOX MOVIES

3:25pm - WHAT LIES BENEATH: The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost – or that she’s losing her mind. FOX MOVIES

Denzel Washington stars in American post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli. BLOOMBERG

8pm - THE BOOK OF ELI: A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. FOX MOVIES

Pizza @ Showbox Every Monday, Phnom Penh’s favourite mobile pizza chefs, ‘Katy Peri’s Peri Peri Chicken and Pizza’, station themselves at the gates of alternative music venue Showbox. A night of fast food, and indie tunes.

Show Box, #11, Street 330 6pm

Margaritas @ Riverhouse Margaritas of every flavour are on offer at this Phnom Penh institution tonight – even better is that they’re two-for-one all night. As for the soundtrack, DJ Narata will mash up classic songs.

Riverhouse Lounge, corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 110 8:30pm

Thinking caps “THEY’RE ON THE MONEY” ACROSS 1 5 9 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 27 29 30 32 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 46 48 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Arias, often Showed up Cracked, as a glass door?

House calls?

Bowling site Angrily offended Make a sharp turn Light, semitransparent fabric Send, as a parcel Poet who is on the money?

Bygone Las Vegas casino Type size From the same tree?

Crossed swords Author Waugh Land of the Taj Mahal Cover with moisture, as grass Corn-eater’s throwaway Increases (with “to”) Natural talent Venture Muumuu accessory .946 liter Brazen type Bottom line Tries hard to sell Do drudgery Grownup A little teapot has one Author who is on the money?

Barge load Sermon on the Mount deliverer “Author unknown” byline On the protected side Observe Yom Kippur Dispense “Hopalong Cassidy” actor William Turned on the waterworks Nurse a resentment

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 33 35 36 38 39 41 42 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53

Participate in a 401(k) “Hear ye” Offensive facial expression They live on acres of Acre’s Influence Comfortable dress Pinochle play It has one pupil Set upon Country singer who is on the money?

Bone-dry Gym counts Stay away from “Don’t hurt me!” for one Depict unfairly Say it’s so Combination lock feature Successfully anesthetized Rocker who is on the money?

Cut and paste Eric the Red’s language Utter loudly Teacup part Ottoman Empire dignitaries Moon phase Vacuum attachments, often Computer command Frame of a ship Pickled Boxer’s prize money Greek writer of fables Lessen the courage of Bayonet thrust Game played on a 300-yard-long field Rose with spikes “Wall” or “mobile” follower Shoreline shelter Had no doubts about Big part of a dinosaur skeleton

Friday’s solution

Friday’s solution

27

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Sport Hem Bunting hits hat-trick of Halfs H S Manjunath

C

ambodia’s most successful long distance runner Hem Bunting lived up to his reputation yesterday by winning the third International Phnom Penh Half Marathon, one of the country’s three charity runs alongside Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

Like his two previous wins in this event, Hem Bunting, who has a SEA Games silver medal among his worthy collection, had nothing to fear as he settled into a pace of his choice.

In one of the closest finishes ever seen in these stamina sapping runs, the women’s event was won by Veronique Messina of France, barely a fraction of a second ahead of Cambodia’s Ly Nary.

The city’s premier running event, now in its third edition, has added significance in that it marks the confluence of three special occasions – the Queen Mother’s birthday celebration, World Environment Day and International Olympic Day. A record number of more than 4,000 runners in three categories were flagged off from the start and finish point in front of the Royal Palace an hour after first light. The participation numbers this year show a marked increase of nearly 65 per cent in overseas entries and 50 per cent among locals.

When the blue riband half marathon field came under the starter’s orders, Hem Bunting was one among the crowd but once he settled down into his stride and brought his endurance and experience into play, the rest seemed to belong to another parish.

The notable exception, however, was Japanese-Cambodian Neko Hiroshi, who chased Hem Bunting desperately hard and eventually finished a minute and a half behind in second place. Australia’s Gary Breen hacked through a tiring pack to fin-

Hem Bunting celebrates his win on top of the podium after the 2013 Phnom Penh International Half Marathon yesterday.

ish third, almost seven minutes behind the winner.

An ecstatic Hiroshi, who became a naturalised Cambodian citizen last year, was more than pleased with his effort. “Bunting was too strong and I am happy with my performance,” he told the Post, as he jumped around with joy.

It may be recalled that the 35-yearold Japanese TV comedian was at the centre of a controversy when he was picked to represent the Kingdom at the London Olympics just after getting his Cambodian citizenship, a decision that was later reversed following a directive from the world governing body IAAF on eligibility

YEUN PONLOK

criteria. Hem Bunting, meanwhile, can be proud of another well-executed race victory.

“I had set a sectional target for myself this year. I set my watch to a little under four minutes per [kilometre] and I stuck to it. Overall I am happy with my timing of 1:15.34 because it wasn’t an easy route with

so many corners to turn,” he told the Post yesterday.

It soon became evident after the start that Veronique Messina, who is a French teacher settled in Phnom Penh, and Ly Nary, who has working interests in both Cambodia and the US, would fight every yard of the way.

When the two turned the final bend towards the finishing line, there was nothing much to choose between the two. Messina’s strong final kick, however, proved decisive.

Cambodian trio Ma Viro, Chun Sokphoung and Kieng Samorn finished in that order at the top of the heap in the men’s 10km run. Ma Viro, who has been doing consistently well in these type of races, recorded 34.45 minutes for the race, with Chun Sokphoung checking in at 34.50. These two had a comfortable margin to spare over Kieng Samorn, who represented Cambodia in 800m at the London Games last year.

The women’s 10km version went to Australia’s Emily Sims in a time of 45:47 ahead of Mulhem Kaitlyn, an expat living in Phnom Penh. Collier Alice of the US missed by a few yards to catch up with the runner-up, who timed 48:01 to the American’s 48:12.

The 3km fun run for women was won by Ally Hoy ahead of Heng Meng Chou and E Yanot. In the men’s section, Ely San went on to score a comfortable win over Mar Vor in second and Top Sophon back in third.

“Every year this event is growing bigger and this year’s huge increase in foreigner participation is very encouraging,” Tourism Minister and President of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia Thong Khon said.

NOCC Secretary General Vath Chamroeun confirmed there were more runners this time compared to last year. “We are succeeding in our efforts to boost tourism-related sports,” he said.

IRB The Lord vanquish the Dragons in CBL clash H S Manjunath

A Sela Meas player (left) tries to throw past Cellcard Eagles men during their CBL game at Beeline Arena on Saturday. SRENG MENG SRUN

Ante-post favourites for the title, IRB The Lord, came out gunning in the dying minutes to grab a 52-48 win over Phnom Penh Dragons in Saturday’s Cambodian Basketball League thriller at the Beeline Arena.

It is still early days, the finish line is months and scores of matches away, yet The Lord performed like any well-touted fancy ought to, snatching victory from the Dragons, who led by six points at one stage in the fourth quarter.

The contest boiled down to one crucial three-pointer Monh Ratana scored from the perimeter after an in-and-out move from under the rim.

That gave The Lord a distinct advantage of five points going into the last two minutes.

Dragons coach Michael Dibbern tactically called time out at this juncture to set a threepoint offence. Regis Martin missed the first attempt and

the Dragons were forced to foul to stop the clock. To their dismay, Monh Ratana bucketed both free throws, stretching the lead to seven.

Though Ben Laird sank a three-pointer for the Dragons, they were short by at least two regular baskets when the hooter was sounded.

The Dragons led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, with Martin and Matsuki Nishikawa scoring four points each. However, they suffered a minor setback towards the end of the quarter as an elbow check on centre Erik Laughlin’s face left him bleeding. He came back in the second quarter during which the Dragons allowed The Lord to knot the scores at 20-all.

Dragons nosed ahead 35-32 at the end of the third and skipped a little further in the fourth before The Lord caught up and passed them.

“Of course we are disappointed over the loss, special-

ly after we led by six points in the fourth quarter. But we have improved a lot since our first game. With time we will get stronger,” Dragons coach and CBL coordinator Michael Dibbern told the Post yesterday.

Rindra Norodom (10), Monh Ratana (9) and Kim Vengoun (9) shared The Lord’s scoring burden. Erik Laughlin (14) and Ben Laird (9) were Dragons leading scorers.

From 34-34 at the end of the third quarter, Cellcard Eagles jumped to a 49-43 win over all-Cambodian side Sela Meas in the day’s first game. The Eagles managed their fouls better this time, though three players were on the edge with four fouls each.

Don Buer’s two crucial baskets opened up the game for the Eagles when they were dashing to the line. He was second best scorer for the Eagles after Sean Looney (15 points). Pheng Darath, whose 13 points included a trio of

three-pointers, topped the Sela Meas scoring with Sok Samnang chipping in 10 points.

A game of nice rhythm and fast breaks kept the audience in good spirits as CCPL Heat generated a lot of it through their lead scorer You Heng Hour (22 points) to burn out Ganzberg’s hopes by a widening 20 points at 68-48. Kim Ran was second best for Heat with 13 points.

Despite Jeff Cruz adding some pep to the finish by scoring 11 points out of his overall 19 in the final quarter, Ganzberg had too big a gap to bridge and national team player You Heng Hour was always keeping the Heat going.

“It is not that we underestimated Heat. After our short loss to Alaxan FR, we thought this could be an easier game.

We had a few players missing but it still is a big disappointment,” Ganzberg manager Robin Dionco told the Post.

28

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Rugby

Caught out there Julian Savea of New Zealand (centre) jumps for the ball in front of Maxime Machenaud (left) and Bernard Le Roux of France during their second rugby Test match at AMI stadium in Christchurch on Saturday. The reigning World Cup champions hammered their French visitors 30-0. In other rugby internationals on Saturday, Japan walloped Wales 23-8, England outclassed Argentina 51-26, Ireland routed Canada 40-14 and South Africa turned over Scotland 30-17. AFP

Injuries force more Lions call-ups T Robert Kitson

he Lions have been forced to call up three extra players to ease their mounting injury crisis before next Saturday’s first Test.

The England backs Christian Wade and Brad Barritt are due to arrive in Australia today, while the former Welsh wing Shane Williams has also been added to the squad as temporary cover. All three will start against ACT Brumbies in Canberra tomorrow.

Wade, who made his Test debut only a week ago, and the more experienced Barritt, have been called up amid growing doubts over the tour participation of George North, Tommy Bowe, Manu Tuilagi and Jamie Roberts, who suffered a suspected hamstring tear in the 47-17 win against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday.

Williams, currently playing in Japan, is due to join the tour only for the Brumbies match. “I’m sure he’ll come in and do the jersey proud,” said the head coach, Warren Gatland.

As yet, none of the Lions’ walking wounded have been officially ruled out of the tour, but Barritt’s call-up suggests Roberts is struggling.

Wingers are becoming such an endangered species that Wade, who enjoyed an excellent season with London Wasps, may yet find himself a Test contender.

British and Irish Lions’ Jamie Roberts gets medical assistance on the sideline after being injured during the game against the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney. REUTERS

Roberts was to have a scan on his right hamstring yesterday to assess the full extent of the injury he sustained in the final quarter.

“The medics thought it might have been a hamstring, but he said he has never pulled a hamstring before so he is not sure,” Gatland said.

North (hamstring) and Tuilagi (shoulder) are struggling to recover in time for the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday, while Bowe is nursing a broken bone in his hand.

An outstanding display by Jonathan Davies, Roberts’s Welsh centre colleague, has at least given the man-

agement an obvious alternative to partner Brian O’Driscoll in midfield.

“The way we operate there’s a lot of interchanging between 12 and 13 and Jonathan gives us a left-foot option as well,” Gatland said. “When you are looking at picking a Test side you want the collective to be good.

That was a collective performance.

When we come to finalising the Test side there are going to be some really tough decisions. If people play well on Tuesday we expect to have a few headaches. There is a lot of competition in the side.”

The Test team is beginning to take

shape, with Tom Youngs and Tom Croft set to be among the big winners when the side is announced.

Their Welsh rivals Richard Hibbard and Dan Lydiate will both be on the bench tomorrow. Rory Best has been named as captain.

Gatland praised his players for refusing to rise to “provocation” and retaining their discipline and their unbeaten record. The management were unhappy that key players such as Jonathan Sexton were targeted for what they felt was excessive offthe-ball attention.

“There were little shoulder charges and guys being taken late,” Gatland said. “There was some provocation out there. But it is how you respond to that niggle and our boys were magnificent.

“The big key in this game was keeping our discipline. The 9 and 10 were being tackled off the ball.

It would have been easy enough for someone to be taken late, lose their head and throw a punch and then be cited.

“We felt there has been a little bit of off-the-ball stuff in the first couple of games, but we said we were not going to bitch and moan about it. We are not going to get involved in any accusations against the opposition.”

In Leigh Halfpenny, the Lions also possess a player in the form of his life. The Welsh full-back scored two of his side’s five tries and has missed

one of 23 attempts at goal on tour.

“Lions tours and World Cups are often won on goal-kicking,” Gatland said. “Apart from his goalkicking, some of his lines of running, his kicking out of hand, his positional play defensively were superb. He is the ultimate professional and he is playing at the top of his game.”

Gatland also resisted any temptation to hit back at the former Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer, who described the touring team as “cheats” before the game. The Lions believe the negative reaction to Dwyer’s comments has been over the top.

“It is a sad indictment on the media that they rolled out Bob Dwyer,” Gatland said. “He deserves more respect, for what he has achieved in the game. To see the abuse to which he has now been subjected on websites and stuff, I find that sad. He doesn’t deserve that for what he has achieved in the game.”

The Waratahs coach, Michael Cheika, admitted the Lions had left an impression.

“We got stuck right in, but where we got caught out was when we turned over the ball. Their class showed,” the former Leinster coach said.

“You have got to put heat on the 9 and 10 at this level. They are orchestrating the team, the direction, the plays, so you’ve got to keep them hopping.” THE GUARDIAN

29

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Sport Paille pots OT winner as Bruins knot finals

Daniel Paille scored at 13:48 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday that knotted the NHL Stanley Cup finals at one game apiece. After Chicago triumphed in a triple-overtime game-one marathon, the Bruins turned the tables to pull level in the best-of-seven championship series, which shifts to Boston for game three today. The series marks the first time that two of the NHL’s Original Six franchises have met in the Stanley Cup finals since 1979, when Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in five games. AFP

Murat visa denial wipes out fight with Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins, the oldest boxer to win a major world title, will not defend his lightheavyweight crown in July against Karo Murat because the German has been denied a US visa, promoters said on Friday. Hopkins, who took the International Boxing Federation title at age 48 last March with a victory over Tavoris Cloud to break his own age mark by nearly two years, was to have faced mandatory challenger Murat on July 13 in Brooklyn.

But Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer said the US State Department had declared Murat ineligible to receive a US entry visa and thus cannot fight in New York, so the entire fight card has been cancelled. AFP

Mercedes to reveal ‘permission to test’

Mercedes will turn the tables on the FIA at this Thursday’s hearing in Paris by producing written evidence that they had permission to test Pirelli’s tyres.

Both Mercedes and the Italian tyre firm will be in the dock after the Formula One’s governing body decided they had a case to answer following their threeday, 1,000km test in Barcelona after last month’s Spanish Grand Prix. The test enraged the other teams, particularly Red Bull. Contrary to FIA regulations, Mercedes used their current 2013 car rather than one at least two years old, as favoured by Ferrari in another testing session. But Mercedes are ready to play their trump card, in the form of an FIA email – allegedly from their race director and safety delegate, Charlie Whiting – granting them permission to test. THE GUARDIAN

Capital’s Alex Ovechkin named MVP of the NHL

Right wing Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals edged Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby for the NHL’s 2012-2013 Most Valuable Player award announced on Saturday.

In voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, Ovechkin garnered 1,090 points to the 1,058 of Crosby, claiming his third Hart Trophy in the past six seasons. The Russian also won in 2008 and 2009. The margin of victory – just 32 points from a record-setting 179 ballots cast – represents the closest Hart Trophy race since Montreal’s Jose Theodore and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla finished in a virtual tie in 2002, the NHL said. AFP

Australia focus on Malinga

U

nder-pressure Australia coach Mickey Arthur tried to focus on cricket and the threat posed by Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga as the fall-out from the David Warner affair continued on Saturday.

Title-holders Australia must beat Sri Lanka at The Oval today to have any chance of qualifying for the semifinals of the Champions Trophy.

But they go into the key fixture still facing questions about their team culture after Australia opening batsman Warner’s attack on England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Warner was suspended until the start of the Ashes by Cricket Australia on Thursday and fined A$11,500 (US$11,000).

That means he will miss today’s match, where Australia need to overcome the unique challenge posed by slingshot seamer Malinga, renowned for his yorkers, if they are to reach the last four.

Australia do at least have some recent experience of facing Malinga, having played 10 one-dayers against Sri Lanka during the past 18 months.

“Malinga is a phenomenon. He’s the best death bowler in the world without a doubt at the moment,” Arthur said Saturday.

“We’re very fortunate to have played Sri Lanka a lot over the last 15 months. We’ve had two one-day

Australia will attempt to contain Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga (centre) during their Champions Trophy group stage game today at the Kensington Oval. REUTERS

series against them. All our players have faced quite a bit of Malinga and we’ll have our plans, come the game.

“You talk about the big three in Sri Lanka’s batting; Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Sri Lanka have built up a really nice unit . . . We know we’ve got to be really on our money.”

In March, four Australia players were

Campbell-Brown ‘tests positive’ for a diuretic The 200m world champion, Veronica Campbell-Brown, has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance.

The 31-year-old is the most decorated female Jamaican athlete in history but reports in her homeland on Saturday claimed that a banned diuretic had been found in her system at the Jamaican International Invitational meeting in Kingston on May 4.

Campbell-Brown, who won Olympic gold at the 2004 Games in Athens and at Beijing in 2008, could face a twoyear ban if her sample for the masking agent furosemide is confirmed. Campbell-Brown was said to be present at the World Anti-Doping Agency headquarters in Montreal last week to be shown the results of her B sample.

When contacted by the Observer on Saturday, the International Association of Athletics Federations would not comment on the allegations, although the WADA code lists furosemide, taken as the pill Lasix, on its list of forbidden substances.

On Saturday night, the president of the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association, Warren Blake, confirmed that a major name among the country’s sprinters had failed a doping test and that they were awaiting the results of a back-up sample.

Furesomide, taken to promote the production of urine and help high blood pressure and used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, is known as a masking agent because it can hide traces of other illicit substances in a

person’s body that boost performance.

To avoid a suspension she would have to explain to WADA that there are exceptional circumstances around her sample, although the anti-doping body operates a policy of strict liability where ignorance to the substances inside an athlete’s body is no defence.

A two-year ban would rule her out of defending her world title in Moscow later this year.

Reports in Canada suggested she has withdrawn from the Edmonton International Track Classic, scheduled for June 29.

Campbell-Brown won gold in Daegu two years ago and also picked up a silver medal with Jamaica in the 4x100m relay at London 2012. She finished fourth in the final of the women’s 200m in London, having competed in the same preliminary heat as Cambodia’s Chan Seyha.

If her test is confirmed it would arguably be the biggest international scandal since the American Marion Jones confessed to doping in 2007 and was subsequently stripped of her Olympic medals. It would also plunge Jamaican athletics into deep uncertainty after the country’s high levels of success in recent years.

Only last week the island’s 400m runner Dominique Blake received a six-year ban for her second doping offence since 2006, the Jamaica antidoping disciplinary panel issuing the suspension after she tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine at last year’s Olympic trials. THE GUARDIAN, ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAN RILEY

dropped for a Test in India for failing to produce a written response to South African coach Arthur’s request for feedback on how the team could improve.

Following the latest disciplinary problem, Australia’s Channel Nine television suggested former vicecaptain Shane Watson, one of those dropped in India, had accused Arthur of double standards on the grounds

Warner would be available for the first Test against England in Nottingham, starting on July 10.

However, Arthur – whose own manmanagement skills have come under intense scrutiny in recent times – told Australian media that all-rounder Watson had “no massive view” on the kind of punishment Warner should receive.

Arthur, who said it was “irrelevant” how team management found out about the Warner-Root incident, accepted it would be a gamble to play the talented left-hander in the first Test.

“Hypothetically, it would be a risk,” Arthur said. “He wouldn’t have had any cricket – but he would have had training.”

As for the latest off-field controversy involving Warner, who only three weeks ago was fined A$5,750 over an expletive-ridden Twitter tirade at two Australian cricket journalists, Arthur said: “I certainly think Dave has put it behind him.

Today’s match gets under way at 7pm Cambodian time.

Saturday’s game saw World Cup holders India continue their formidable Champions Trophy form with a rain-marred eight-wicket demolition of arch-rivals Pakistan.

The highly-anticipated encounter in front of 22,000 boisterous flag-waving supporters from both sides who packed the Edgbaston stands, was interrupted several times by bad weather over Birmingham. AFP

30

THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Football

Murdoch plans summer contest R Mark Sweney and Owen Gibson

upert Murdoch’s global broadcasting company is exploring an ambitious plan to create a summer football competition featuring Europe’s top clubs, including English Premier League sides, with matches to be played in cities from Los Angeles to Shanghai.

Leading clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea would be invited to participate, should the tournament come to fruition, competing with the biggest clubs from Europe’s other top leagues – the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

The idea would see a 16-team competition run for 10 years with a potential start date of 2015 in the close season when clubs traditionally play exhibition matches.

Matches would be aired on Sky and by Murdoch’s other broadcasters worldwide. The mogul’s 21st Century Fox company – being separated from publishing business News Corporation later this month – also owns broadcasters in Italy, Germany, Asia and the United States.

One source described the plan as akin to the “Formula One-isation of football�, with cities from Europe, Asia and the Americas bidding to host tournament matches.

The Guardian understands that ap-

Rupert Murdoch’s broadcasters around the world would air matches from the summer football competition under the plans. AFP

proaches have been made to a number of cities by executives from Murdoch subsidiary Fox International to explore partnerships to host the exhibition-style tournament matches.

But the proposal is at its early stages. “One of the major issues is if it gets to the stage of trying to pull the

empire together and paying what they think is a fair share,� said a second source.

With more than half of the clubs in the Premier League in the hands of overseas owners, and five of those now owned by Americans including Manchester United, Arse-

nal and Liverpool, the desire to go global has increased.

Manchester United, third behind Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid in terms of overall revenues, have shown the way in commercialising their overseas fanbase, vastly increasing their income by tapping into international sponsorship markets. As such, plans for overseas tours in the close season have also become increasingly ambitious.

Chelsea, for example, headed to the US to play Manchester City as soon as their marathon season finished and will head to Thailand, Malaysia, India and back to America before the start of the 2013-14 season. Manchester United will go to Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. It is in that context that Fox International executives have drawn up their plan, but they will have to convince club owners that it represents a better bet than forging their own path.

The Guinness International Cup, featuring eight clubs including Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Juventus and LA Galaxy would appear to be a dry run for the more ambitious scheme. Early rounds will take place in Europe, with the finals in Miami in August.

The thinking may also be influenced by the fact that Fox has lost the rights to live Premier League football in the US to NBC for the next three seasons. In what is expected to be a

watershed moment for the appeal of football in the US, NBC will show every match live including 20 on its main network.

Murdoch has made several attempts to shake up sports – in the 1990s News Corp set up its own rugby Super League in Australia, forcing the sport’s national governing body to partner to create the National Rugby League competition.

Earlier this year it emerged that BSkyB and News Corp were interested in creating a new world series of cycling – while in 2011 Murdoch’s media group made an unsuccessful attempt to take control of Formula One. Plans for a European Super League have been proposed with various degrees of seriousness several times in the past decade.

There was a detailed plan doing the rounds in 2009 and again in 2011, but the UEFA president, Michel Platini, has been alive to the threat and sealed a deal in 2012 with the European Clubs Association, representing 137 of the biggest clubs, that will hold until 2018 and should keep them within the UEFA fold.

With the idea of playing regular season games abroad torpedoed in the short term by the negative reaction to the Premier League’s unusually half-baked “39th game� plan in 2008, attention has turned to the close season. THE GUARDIAN

Coming up on Friday, June 28, The Phnom Penh Post proudly presents

INSURANCE CAMBODIA

From June 16 and running through to June 27, for the first time and as second nation in Asia ever, Cambodia has the honour to be chairman of the 37th yearly convention of the World Heritage Committee.

In the eight to 16 pages strong reports published in Khmer and English version of the Post, our newspaper will give insights into how Cambodia's UNESCO chairmanship will contribute to a robust future of the national tourism industry and the conversation of our World Heritage Sites such as Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear

A special report that reviews what’s available and what’s new in Cambodia for:

During the convention the Kingdom will host more than 1400 delegates of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee coming from 190 different countries and more than 200 members of the international press.

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The Post will publish messages of welcome from the Royal Government as well as a schedule of events and highlights of what's on the agenda.

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In the June 28 report two weeks later, we will publish what happened during the important series of meetings, including the Siem Reap closing ceremony on June 27.

This is not only a chance for travel agencies, airlines, hotels, restaurants, banks, telecoms and all kinds of providers to highlight their companies in the special reports but all companies that are proud of Cambodia.

For the special occasion the Post will increase its production by several thousands and distribute the papers to the international guests. Advertisers will be offered special discount rates for inclusion in both publications on June 14 and 28.

Phnom Penh To advertise, contact borom.chea@phnompenhpost.com - call 012 76 34 81 or Siem Reap: Sophearith Blondeel - call 092 752 801 | 063 964 151 | Email:Sophearith.Blondeel@phnompenhpost.com This is a chance to show how much your company cares about the preservation of Cambodia's antiquities.

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Football

I didn’t want to succeed Fergie, says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho insists there was never any chance he would try to succeed Alex Ferguson at Manchester United even though he knew the legendary boss was set to retire months before the rest of the world. Mourinho had long been linked with a potential move to Old Trafford and many pundits felt he would be United’s number one choice when it was revealed that Ferguson was going to step down at the end of the season.

Although Mourinho claimed Ferguson told him several months ago he was planning to quit, even that bombshell apparently didn’t persuade the Portuguese coach to make a play for the United job. AFP

Lionel Messi overtakes Maradona’s goal tally Boeung Ket Rubber Field’s Tul Sothearith (front) vies with Phnom Penh Crown’s Leng Makara during their Metfone C-League match at Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

SRENG MENG SRUN

Crown rub salt on Boeung Ket wounds, Senate slump H S Manjunath

F

ew teams in the Metfone C-League can do a better job of it than Phnom Penh Crown when it comes to rubbing salt into a wound as defending champions Boeung Ket Rubber Field painfully realised in their 3-1 defeat at Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

Stretched like elastic to its breaking point in the last few weeks, Boeung Ket snapped yet again under the crushing weight of Crown’s solid performance, going down to their third defeat in a row following an inglorious 1-1 draw against second from the bottom Asia Europe University.

After their 10-win run in the first half of the league season, the second phase has been nothing less than traumatic

for Boeung Ket. An own goal sealed their fate against Build Bright United, Kirivong Sok Sen Chey bounced back from 3-5 down to a 7-5 win and now Crown avenged their first round loss by a strikingly similar scoreline.

Crown’s Dutch striker Ellroy Van der Hooft let the power of his right foot be marked by his rivals when he struck an 18th minute goal and captain Khim Borey doubled the lead in the 39th through a neat header off a Bin Thierry flagkick, as the side went into the break 2-0 with victory in sight.

Adding to Boeung Ket’s misery was a second yellow card for Chukwuma Ohuruogu in the 66th minute. Reduced to 10 men, Boeung Ket to their horror found Crown giving nothing away.

Adding to their frustration

on the pitch was the woodwork coming in the way of a few promising attempts.

Twice Chan Vathanaka drove into the post, and his midfield partner Degule Momoh suffered the same fate.

Boeung Ket, however, found some elbow room when Sok Pheng headed home a Chan Vathanaka cross to reduce the margin. Not to be outdone, Crown tightened their hold on the game when Khim Borey made the most of a rebound off Van der Hooft’s first attempt to complete his well deserved double.

In Saturday’s second fixture, Naga Corp stoutly defended Sun Sovanarithy’s 18th minute goal to down Kirivong Sok Sen Chey 1-0.

Meanwhile, a resurgent Ministry of National Defence put it across Svay Rieng 2-1

at the Old Stadium. The Army men have obviously found a second wind after a somewhat patchy performance in the first half of the season, when they were deep down the standings.

Pov Phearith gave MND a sound start when he scored in the 27th minute. Svay Rieng drew level through Hoy Phallin 10 minutes into the second session, but the Army reasserted themselves through Op Kamok’s eventual match winner in the 71st minute.

In yesterday’s clash of the bottom-enders, Asia Europe University edged Senate Secretariat 1-0 thanks to a solitary strike from veteran hitman Nuth Sinoun. The result meant the struggling Senate side, who have mustered just a single point all season, will not be able to escape the rel-

egation zone by the end of the season and will play Division A1 football next year.

In yesterday’s late kick-off, BBU maintained their recent hot streak with a 2-1 victory over National Police Commissary. Japanese signing An Jinyan got on the scoresheet after just five minutes to put the University-backed team ahead, but two minutes later Police’s Prum Puthsethy netted an equaliser.

BBU’s Chan Chhaya then grabbed back the lead moments before the interval with a goalless second half confirming the Police’s fate.

The league table has been given a bit of a shake up after the weekend’s quota of surprises. Boeung Ket continue to lead, ahead of Svay Rieng but both Crown and Naga are closing in.

Brazil beat Japan but protests spoil opener

Brazil’s Thiago Silva (left) fights for the ball with Japan’s Shinji Kagawa during their Confederations Cup Group A match at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia. REUTERS

Neymar’s stunning early strike set Brazil on the way to a 3-0 win over Japan in the opening match of the Confederations Cup on Saturday, although the occasion was marred by trouble at a protest outside the stadium.

More than 30 people were injured and 22 arrested as police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protestors angry at the amount of public money being spent on stadiums for the tournament and next year’s World Cup. President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA president Sepp Blatter were jeered before the match at the Mane Garrincha National stadium as the public showed their discontent.

Some fans in the 67,000 crowd had to be treated for the effects of tear gas fired by riot police at about 500 protesters outside the rebuilt stadium, which like many other venues has been plagued by delays.

On the field, it was plain sailing for

five-times world champions Brazil as second-half goals from Paulinho and substitute Jo completed a comfortable win in Group A of the eight-team tournament.

Boosted by Neymar’s early strike, Brazil, playing their first competitive match since the Copa America nearly two years ago, dealt competently with the Asian champions, who created some nice moves in midfield but lacked punch.

“What mattered most was the result and this continued the tactical evolution of the team,” said Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose side beat France 3-0 in a friendly last Sunday.

“I thought Neymar played very well, he ended a run without scoring, and I only took him off as he had a slight injury,” added Scolari. “I’ve no idea what happened outside the stadium, I have to focus on my team and I can’t comment on that.” REUTERS

Lionel Messi scored a hattrick to help a second-string Argentina record an easy 4-0 away win over Guatemala in a friendly and overtake Diego Maradona’s international goals tally. Messi came on as a substitute in recent World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador but was given a place in the largely experimental starting line-up which coach Alejandro Sabella fielded for Friday evening’s match in Guatemala City’s Mateo Flores stadium. REUTERS

Spain to meet Italy in European U21s final

Spain and Italy will meet in the European U21 Championship final, a repeat of the title showdown at the Euro 2012 senior tournament, after beating Norway and Netherlands respectively on Saturday. Holders Spain swept aside Norway 3-0 in Netanya while Italy needed a late goal from Liverpool striker Fabio Borini to defeat the Dutch 1-0 in Petah Tikva. The final will be in Jerusalem tomorrow. Italy are looking for a sixth title since the biennial competition began in 1978 while Spain go in search of a fourth crown. REUTERS

Germany mourns death of World Cup winners

Germany mourned the death of two former World Cup winners yesterday with 1974 champion Heinz Flohe passing away hours before 1954 winner Ottmar Walter. Flohe won 39 caps for Germany and scored eight goals, including two in the 1978 World Cup. Walter, capped 21 times, scored four goals at the 1954 tournament. REUTERS

saturday’s results 2014 World Cup Qualifiers

Morocco 2 Gambia 0 Cape Verde Islands 1 Sierra Leone 0 Gabon 4 Niger 1 Uganda 2 Angola 1 Congo 0 Burkina Faso 1 Botswana 3 Central African Republic 2 Zambia 1 Sudan 1 On Friday Libya 2 Togo 0

International Friendlies

China 1 Thailand 5 Guatemala 0 Argentina 4 On Friday Moldova 2 Kyrgyzstan 1

tonight’s fixture 2013 Confederations Cup Tahiti v Nigeria – 2am

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THE PHNOM PENH POST June 17, 2013

Sport

Prayad tames the beast of Samui to win Queen’s Cup T

hailand’s Prayad Marksaeng finally tamed the beast of Samui when he edged out compatriot Arnond Vongvanij by three shots to win the 9.6 million-baht (US$312,000) Queen’s Cup yesterday.

Having come close with three topthree finishes since the Queen’s Cup made its debut on the Asian Tour in 2009, Prayad was seeking his first victory at the Santiburi Samui Country Club and he showed his resolve by closing with a eagle to win with a final round four-under-par 67.

Arnond applied the pressure on Prayad by firing two birdies in his last three holes, but it was not enough to catch the 47-year-old veteran who signed off with a four-day total of 14-under-par 270.

Arnond enjoyed his second top-10 finish of the season by carding a 69 to take second place while Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka posted a 68 to secure third place with a 275 total.

Backed by the passionate home crowd at the Santiburi Samui Country Club, Prayad started the day in second place, one shot behind Bangladesh’s Siddikur.

He stumbled with an opening bogey but birdied holes four and six to take over the lead.

Prayad dropped another shot on the seventh but a spectacular eagle-three on the eighth hole saw him extend his advantage to two at that stage.

When Arnond bogeyed the parfour 12th, Prayad was confident that he would finally lay claim to the Queen’s Cup’s trophy.

After making nine straights pars starting from the ninth hole, Prayad then savoured a well-deserved victory with a closing eagle-three on the 18th hole.

“When Arnond bogeyed the 12th, I had a feeling that this would be my week. I’ve been struggling with injuries for so long and I finally got my game together this year,” said Prayad.

“I’ve come so close to winning here but couldn’t finish the job previously. So obviously this win really means a lot to me.”

Arnond came into the final round hoping to add the Queen’s Cup to the King’s Cup which he won during his rookie year last season.

Starting his round in third place, the 24-year-old tried to stage a comeback with two birdies and a bogey in his opening front-nine.

He dropped another shot on the 12th and despite a late charge with two late birdies in the last three holes, it was not enough to pip Prayad on a day where he was at his best.

“I tried to go out there and do my best. The conditions were really difficult today. I hung on as well as I could, but Prayad putted and hit the ball really well today. He’s a deserving winner,” said Arnond.

Having held the lead for two rounds, Kataoka was looking for his career breakthrough on the region’s premier Tour this week.

However he posted his week’s highest score of 74 in the third round and found himself five shots back of the leader, heading into the final round.

The 24-year-old dug deep to haul back into contention with a bogeyfree outward-nine that was highlighted by birdies on holes five and six. He then mixed three birdies against two bogeys in his homeward run to settle for yet another thirdplace finish. THE ASIAN TOUR

Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand celebrates his win yesterday after round four of the Queen's Cup at Santiburi Samui Country Club on Thailand's Koh Samui. AFP