WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014 Successful People Read The Post 4000 RIEL

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BUSINESS [PAGE 7]
NEIGHBOURLYCONCERN
WORLD [PAGE 14]
ASIMOV FABLES
HEALTH [PAGE 18]
HERES TO LIFE
Tourism Ministry mulls issu-
ing travel warning to Thailand
amid the political crisis
UN committee warns of a
Terminator-like future lled
with killer robots
Alcohol kills one person every
10 seconds, the World Health
Organization reveals
Contrasts
stark after
disaster
in S Korea
Sexual abuse
among claims
against HAGL
Joe Freeman
Analysis
THE South Korean government is
launching a bipartisan probe this
week into the capsizing of a ferry
last month that led to the deaths of
nearly 300 people, many of
them schoolchildren.
The move comes after the govern-
ment arrested and charged the CEO
of the company that owned the
doomed Sewol ferry which sank on
April 16 after a vice principal of the
school that many of the drowned
children attended hanged himself,
and after acts of public contrition at
the highest levels of government.
South Korean President Park Geun-
hye apologised, and her prime minis-
ter publicly fell on his sword, resigning
his office and its largely ceremonial
role.
For many who watched the events
in South Korea unfold from the side-
lines in Cambodia, that aggressive
reaction could not feel more foreign
and otherworldly.
As the opposition, rights groups and
ordinary observers are quick to point
out, and the ruling party is not quick
to dispute, the South Korean govern-
ments actions in the wake of the ferry
accident highlights an utter lack of
high-level accountability in present-
day Cambodia.
Here, many say, heads will not roll,
few are thrown under the bus, and its
difficult to remember the last time, if
ever, someone fell on a sword.
So the idea of a Cambodian leader
resigning to show responsibility is a
concept that is so foreign that it could
have come from Mars as far as ordi-
nary Cambodians are concerned.
They have never seen it and probably
would be profoundly shocked if it ever
happened, said Phil Robertson, dep-
uty director of Human Rights Watchs
Asia Division, adding that there is a
history in South Korea and Japan of
leaders taking the fall for negligence
or wrongdoing.
I cannot remember any Cambo-
dian official ever resigning to take
responsibility, or any taking other
action voluntarily to show they were
responsible, he added.
The memories are equally lacking
across party lines. Members of both
Daniel de Carteret
SEXUAL assault and the annihilation
of sacred graveyards are among the
many claims levelled at Vietnamese
Rubber giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai
(HAGL) by villagers in Ratanakkiri
province, a report by the World Banks
investment arm reveals.
In February, 17 indigenous com-
munities that accused HAGL of land
grabbing filed a complaint with the
World Banks International Finance
Corporation (IFC) which invests in
the rubber producer via an interme-
diary fund called Dragon Capital
Group. The submission triggered an
investigation by the IFCs internal
watchdog, the Compliance Advisor
Ombudsman (CAO).
In an initial assessment dated
May 12 and published on its web-
site, the CAO documented villager
claims against HAGL of depleted
fish levels in waterways, encroach-
ment and destruction of sacred
land, deaths of hundreds of live-
stock, and, in one of the more
shocking accusations, sexual abuse
by company employees.
The communities also shared with
CAO that there were two instances of
sexual assault by Company workers,
resulting not only in individual duress,
but also impacting how women in the
village go about their daily activities
Vesak Bochea
Buddhist monks form a line to receive offerings at Oudong Mountain in Kandal province yesterday as part of the
Vesak Bochea day, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. PHA LINA
Workers to S Arabia
Alice Cuddy
C
AMBODIA is nearing a deal
that would open a pipeline
of workers to Saudi Arabia,
a country where Southeast
Asian migrants have in the past been
abused and even executed for crimes
that include sorcery.
Following a meeting in Hanoi
last week with Saudi Ambassador
Salah Ahmed Sarhan, Labor Minis-
ter Ith Sam Heng told reporters that
a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) between the two countries
would be drafted and signed as
soon as possible.
Saudi Arabia needs workers from
Cambodia to work in their country
and our country needs the jobs, but
we have to sign the MoU ofcially be-
fore sending workers there to ensure
our workers safety, he said.
We have never sent people to
work in Saudi Arabia before, so we
need time to examine the labour
conditions to protect our workers
rights, too.
He added that he hoped that the
agreement would open up jobs for
maids and people working in the in-
dustrial sector.
Saudi Arabia uses the kafala sys-
tem, which cedes employers unusual
powers by giving them control over
when migrants can change jobs or
leave the country.
The Saudi government, bowing to
years of pressure, adopted new la-
bour regulations for domestic work-
ers in 2013. The new rules guarantee
the monthly payment of wages, paid
vacation at the end of two years, and
a 15-hour workday.
A representative of Human Resourc-
es Development Company (HRD), a
local recruitment rm owned by the
brother of tycoon Othman Hassan,
a secretary of state at the Ministry
of Labour and prime ministerial ad-
viser, said yesterday that the agency
was preparing to send maids to the
Middle Eastern kingdom.
We heard from the Ministry of
Labour that it will be signed soon,
Imran Hassan, HRDs director, said.
When it happens, we are prepared
to send maids to Saudi Arabia.
In February, Saudi Arabia ruled that
Indonesian women working in Saudi
homes would be able to keep their
passports, communicate with their
Can the govt protect them?
Continues on page 6
Continues on page 4
Continues on page 2
PAGE 3
CNRP campaign looks beyond ballot box
NATIONAL NEWS
National
2
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
and Daniel Pye
T
HREE Phnom Penh
residents embroiled
in a land dispute with
tycoon Khun Sear,
who boasts high-level con-
nections to the ruling Cam-
bodian Peoples Party, have
been summonsed to appear
in court next week.
Three families living on a
patch of rubble-strewn land
in Phnom Penhs Tuol Kork
district claim that represen-
tatives of Khun Sear Import
Export Co have waged a cam-
paign of intimidation against
them since 2013, when the
company was awarded rights
to the land they claim to have
lived on since 1982.
In a writ dated May 8,
Phnom Penh municipal pros-
ecutor Chet Khemera, acting
on behalf of Sear, called on Li
Sivmey, 24, and Ly Bunheang,
19, to be summonsed to ap-
pear in court on May 22 on
charges of destroying and
violently grabbing the other
partys property.
In a similar complaint, an-
other resident involved in the
dispute in Boeung Kak 1 com-
mune, Sok Hoch, was called to
appear in court on May 23.
Sivmey yesterday said that
she was undeterred by the
court action.
I am not afraid of anything
since we have not done any-
thing wrong as we are ac-
cused by Khun Sear. I believe
that the court will seek jus-
tice, she said.
The Ministry of Commerce
lists Yim Leang, son of Deputy
Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly
and head of Senate President
Chea Sims bodyguard unit, as
Sears business partner.
The court action came only
a day after the latest round of
negotiations over compensa-
tion, ongoing since Friday,
resulted in representatives
of Sear making two sepa-
rate compensation offers of
$70,000 and $30,000.
The Housing Rights Task
Force (HRTF), which is acting
as a negotiator for the fami-
lies, yesterday said the charg-
es were a ploy to pressure the
families into capitulating.
I know from meetings with
the authorities that they want
a resolution to this case, but
it is difcult, said Nan Ony,
HRTF legal ofcer.
Lim Yeang is very connect-
ed and so is his father, Yim
Chhay Ly, so the authorities
cannot fully implement their
wishes, he added. I must
come to the conclusion that
the company and court are
working together to force the
families to accept the com-
pensation offer.
Summonses for three
in dispute with tycoon
Workers to
Saudi Arabia
Continued from page 1

families, get paid every month and have
time off.
The accord follows years of criticism over
abuses of Indonesian and Filipino maids
and harsh punishments for alleged crimes
committed against their employers, which
led to a moratorium being imposed on
new maids being sent from Indonesia in
August 2011.
The same year, a 54-year-old Indonesian
maid was beheaded for killing her female
boss with a meat cleaver. Ruyati binti Sa-
pubi had suffered years of abuse before
attacking her employer when she was de-
nied permission to return home, accord-
ing to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
At least 45 Indonesian domestic workers
are thought to be on death row in Saudi
Arabia. The Saudi Embassy in Hanoi did
not respond to requests for comment.
Rights groups yesterday expressed con-
cern over the prospect of sending Cam-
bodian workers to a country that inicts
harsh punishments and even the death
penalty on many of its foreign labourers.
Its hugely worrying. The Ministry of
Labour is willing to send people anywhere
it can to make money. This is yet another
shameful example of that, Phil Robert-
son, deputy director of HRWs Asia divi-
sion, said.
The Cambodian government has re-
peatedly shown its inability to protect
workers abroad. Cambodia cant even
protect people going next door to Thai-
land let alone to Saudi Arabia, he added.
In October, 2011, Prime Minister Hun
Sen announced a moratorium on sending
maids to Malaysia amid mounting con-
cerns over rights abuses. But Robertson
said Saudi Arabia presents more risks.
This is an entirely different league to
what we see in Malaysia, he said. The
punishments [in Saudi Arabia] are more
draconian. It has a brutal, barbarian
penal code [with] cruel, unusual, inhu-
mane punishments.
NGOs [for foreign workers] dont exist
on the ground in Saudi Arabia, so workers
would be on their own in a hostile situa-
tion. And the Cambodian government
would be no help . . . it has already shown
itself to be incompetent and corrupt.
Joel Preston, a consultant with the
Community Legal Education Centre,
said female domestic workers were par-
ticularly at risk. Saudi Arabia has a long
history of inicting severe psychologi-
cal, physical, and sexual abuse upon its
migrant domestic workers, he said. We
saw the same thing in Malaysia. Indone-
sian maids were consistently subjected to
torture, rape and death. The Indonesian
government instituted a ban on sending
workers there. But the Cambodian gov-
ernment was more than willing to pick up
the slack, sending its citizens to work in
places where too many Indonesians had
already died and suffered.
It was essentially a death sentence for
many young Cambodian women and its
happening all over again.
Chak Sopheap, president of the Cam-
bodian Center for Human Rights, said the
government should work harder to create
better job opportunities at home to avoid
the need to migrate in the rst place.
One of the problems is there is a lack
of job opportunities in the country. The
government should create more jobs,
she said. Individuals who choose to leave
the country for work should benet rather
than suffer from the move. ADDITIONAL RE-
PORTING BY DANIEL PYE AND SEN DAVID
A group of migrant construction workers have a food break at a construction site in the Saudi
Arabian capital of Riyadh late last year. AFP
A resident of Boeung Kak I commune poses with a snake last year that
was allegedly thrown into his house during a land dispute in Phnom
Penh. PHA LINA
National
3
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Standard forms aim for
public bid transparency
Stuart White
THE Ministry of Economy and
Finance on Monday announced
the release of standardised bid-
ding forms for public contracts,
a measure it said would increase
transparency and accountabil-
ity, though the opposition and
Transparency International
Cambodia offered more cau-
tious assessments yesterday.
According to a state media
announcement, the docu-
ments would be used across all
ministries for procurement and
new construction projects, and
will promote a transparent,
accountable, fair and equal
process and best use of the
money at all [of the] govern-
ments institutions.
In the past, the government
has had a spotty record of
enforcing existing public bid-
ding regulations.
Chinese-funded infrastruc-
ture projects have been criti-
cised for their opaque bidding
processes, and last year the
$1.2 million contract for the
construction of the late King
Father Norodom Sihanouks
crematorium was awarded,
sans bid, to a company owned
by the daughter of Royal Palace
Minister Kong Sam Ol.
Though a step in the right
direction, the ministrys new
forms are unlikely to serve as a
cure-all for the Kingdoms bid-
ding woes, Transparency Inter-
national Cambodia executive
director Preap Kol said.
Ideally, it should make the
documents and bidding process
more open and accessible to
interested companies, or make
the accountability a bit improved,
but its not guaranteed.
Procurement in a country
like Cambodia plays a huge role
in corruption, he continued,
noting that firms should be
proven to be free of ties to offi-
cials granting the contracts.
Without [scrutiny] . . . and
sanctions for companies that
violate those rules, the compa-
nies wont comply, he said.
Opposition lawmaker-elect
Son Chhay agreed, adding that
despite regulations requiring
bidding, government officials
had long used sub-decrees and
sly dealing to circumvent them,
and that laws on bidding had
been amended so many times
that he no longer knew what the
penalties were for violators.
There is a system in this
country where any ministry in
charge of any project would . . .
give [the contract] to their
friends or relatives so they can
make some money, he said.
Campaign looks beyond poll
Kevin Ponniah
Analysis

S
INCE the sub-national
councillor election
campaign kicked off
on May 2, leaders of
the Cambodia National Res-
cue Party have embarked on
a whirlwind tour of the King-
dom, drawing large crowds
that will come nowhere near a
polling booth this Sunday.
According to observers
though, thats beside the point.
The election is non-univer-
sal and the more than 11,000
sitting commune councillors
that are eligible to vote for pro-
vincial, district and municipal
councils are expected to do so
along party lines.
However, Koul Panha, di-
rector of elections watchdog
Comfrel, said that the opposi-
tion was looking well beyond
Sundays election with its fe-
verish campaign.
Beyond that, its more
[about] countering the [Cam-
bodian Peoples Party] govern-
ment and the CPP parliament.
Its more of a CNRP political
statement regarding the CPP,
and they [are trying] to warm
up their supporters to be more
aware about the current situa-
tion, he said.
The opposition also hopes
that its throngs of supporters
the party has called on 20,000
to take part in a planned -
nal campaign march through
Phnom Penh on Friday might
help lure ruling party com-
mune councillors to their side.
According to Ou Chanrith,
a lawmaker-elect in Kandal
province, the CNRP wants to
show the country that after
more than half a year of politi-
cal deadlock, the opposition
still has serious momentum.
[This] election, we know
who is going to vote for who,
but at least [with the campaign]
. . . the CPP councillors might
consider voting for us, because
we show that there is so much
support for the CNRP.
[The councillors] might see
that soon the CNRP will run the
country, so they might decide
they dont want to stay with the
CPP anymore. They lose hope.
At the last election in 2009,
the ruling CPP kicked off
its election campaign with
a thousands-strong march
through the capital.
This time, however, they
have been near absent from
the public eye, and have re-
portedly focused instead
on targeting their nearly
8,300 councillors directly.
In 2009, the CPP conduct-
ed a large campaign. But this
time, because the CPP govern-
ment has tried to ban freedom
of assembly . . . they just follow
government policy, Panha, of
Comfrel, said.
But the CPP is very, very
concerned about councillors
crossing party lines, he added.
In April, the CPP tried to
pay money to [their] council-
lors. Thats the rst time that
ever happened before. Before,
they paid to other [parties]
commune councillors [to get
them to switch], he said.
This didnt happen during
the election campaign, be-
cause [then it would be con-
sidered] like vote buying [un-
der the election law]. [So] they
paid during Khmer New year.
Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam
Yeap yesterday did not deny
that his party had made nan-
cial contributions to commune
councillors during the holiday
period ahead of the campaign.
It is normal of the CPP, which
always contributes some mon-
ey to some of our members. It
is the right of the CPP and there
is no problem, he said, adding
that his party had no fear its
councillors would vote for the
opposition on Sunday. ADDITION-
AL REPORTING BY VONG SOKHENG
Cambodia National Rescue Party supporters rally through the streets
of Phnom Penh on Sunday. PHA LINA
Continued from page 1

to avoid potential harm, the
CAO report reads.
HAGL declined to respond
yesterday, but from the com-
panys perspective laid out in
the May 12 CAO assessment,
the agriculture giant main-
tains it has abided by Cambo-
dias laws, though conceded it
could have initially done more
for villagers evicted to make
way for the development.
The Company recognizes
that it had not put greater fo-
cus on developmental oppor-
tunities for local communities
earlier in the development of
their operations, the state-
ment reads.
Affected villages contact-
ed yesterday were not privy
to the cases of assault but
claimed continued mistreat-
ment at the hands of HAGL
workers, including the theft
of farming equipment.
We think that they did this
because they did not want us
to do any farming on the land
that they cleared, Romam
Tham, a farmer from Kak vil-
lage, said yesterday.
The Post reported last week
that HAGL had suspended
work on three of its projects in
Ratanakkiri from May 1 to No-
vember 30. An April 28 com-
pany memo instructing the
suspension did not detail the
reasons for halting work, but
noted the response followed
a meeting with the IFCs om-
budsman on April 2.
The Washington-based CAO
reiterated its message via email
that its report states both vil-
lagers and HAGL have agreed
to a dispute resolution process
that the IFCs ombudsman
will facilitate.
HAGL has constantly been
at the centre of controversy
over its agricultural invest-
ments in Cambodia. Last
year, UK-based NGO Global
Witness published a report
accusing the company of il-
legally logging outside con-
cession areas and of being in
possession of at least 47,000
hectares of economic land
concessions almost ve
times the legal limit.
Eang Vuthy, executive direc-
tor of NGO Equitable Cambo-
dia, which is working with af-
fected families, said yesterday
that having an open dialogue
was an important step, but
that there was still work to be
done in achieving an appro-
priate resolution.
It is important to give it a
try for all parties to meet and
talk, he said. If we cant ad-
dress the problem we will con-
sider [the] next stage. ADDITION-
AL REPORTING BY MAY KUNMAKARA
Election watch
Monitors:
CPP stiing
campaign
I
N A report released yester-
day, local election monitor-
ing organisation Comfrel
accuses the ruling Cambodian
Peoples Party of stiing the
opposition Cambodia National
Rescue Partys campaign for
district, provincial and munici-
pal council elections.
Though the campaigns have
been largely non-violent, the
report notes, authorities of
the ruling CPP have been
interfering in the work of the
National Election Committee
in violation of the law, and have
created a difficult environment
for other political party.
Comfrel cited the closure of
Phnom Penhs Freedom Park
to would-be campaigners,
and the incidents of May 4,
when the armed forces were
deployed to block a CNRP rally
in Kampong Cham.
However, senior CPP law-
maker Cheam Yeap yesterday
brushed off the concerns, and
in a Monday press release the
NEC stated that the campaigns
had proceeded smoothly so far.
The CNRP is the only
party actively campaigning
for the May 18 vote which is
only open to sitting com-
mune councillors and party
spokesman Yem Ponharith
maintained yesterday that
despite the ruling partys
interference, we can move
forward. VONG SOKHENG
National
4
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
A woman waits for a city bus at a stop on Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh last month. PHA LINA
City Hall seeks bus authority
Caltex staffers stick to guns
Banh denies supporting Russia
Chhay Channyda
PHNOM Penh Municipal Hall
has requested guidelines on
setting up a public-private
partnership that would take
over city buses, control of
which was stripped from the
previous contract holder due
to unspecified technical prob-
lems, it said yesterday.
Municipality spokesman
Long Dimanche said the city
was awaiting approval from the
government to set up an
autonomous authority for
public transportation, in which
the government would hold
most of the power along with a
minority private partner.
We have asked the govern-
ment in the last five months,
and we are waiting for the deci-
sion, he said. If allowed, the
authority would work with a
private partner, and the [tran-
sit] authority would have a 51
[per cent] share and the private
partner gets the rest.
City Hall is considering the
qualifications of three compa-
nies, he continued, adding that
the city would eventually require
an additional 40 buses to cover
more planned routes. Diman-
che declined to offer specifics,
saying the city was studying the
expansion step by step.
In March, Chinese-owned
firm Global (Cambodia) Trade
Development was awarded the
contract to run the citys bus
service along Monivong Boul-
evard. The firm had pledged to
expand services to several other
major roads, but in April, during
its one-month probationary
period, City Hall suspended the
contract and has operated the
Monivong route since.
According to figures released
in March, 10 buses carry some
1,500 passengers along that
route every day, with each pay-
ing 1,500 riel for a ticket.
Chio Dae Yong, director of
Trans Choice, a South Korean
firm which operates a Phnom
Penh taxi service, said his com-
pany was among those that
had submitted a bid for the
public transport contract since
it was taken from Global.
Sen David
CALTEX petrol stations will
remain closed for now after
negotiations between the com-
pany and staff, many of whom
went on strike on Monday
demanding better pay, ended
in disagreement yesterday.
Sar Mora, president of the
Cambodian Food and Service
Workers Federation, said the
meeting resolved only about 10
per cent of the issue and work-
ers would continue to strike
after refusing to accept a pro-
posed solution from the firm.
The company said it needs
two or three months to survey
[the wage situation], he said,
adding that Caltex had offered
its cashiers an extra $10 per
month, which had been refused.
The negotiations produced lit-
tle result.
About 300 employees from
more than 20 stations across
the country began striking on
Monday, demanding a mini-
mum monthly wage of $160 per
month, the same amount the
nations garment workers are
calling for. Mora said other
workers had since followed.
Cashiers now earn $130, serv-
ice staff $110 and cleaners $100.
Yeun Reth, a representative of
those on strike, said workers
would continue to keep Caltex
stations from serving motorists
until they were granted raises.
The workers have demand-
ed increases since early last
year, he said, adding that the
strikers would press on with
their industrial action until May
20, when more negotiations are
planned. If the company does
not increase our salary then, we
will continue to strike.
Caltex is marketed by Chev-
ron (Cambodia) Limited, a sub-
sidiary of US-based Chevron.
Chanlek Than, a Chevron
spokesperson, said via email
yesterday that Chevron was dis-
appointed that the union con-
tinues to reject our proposals.
We hope that our unionised
employees will agree to resolve
this matter amicably and to
abandon their unlawf ul
strike, she said.
Khiev Savuth, deputy director
of the Labour Ministrys dispute
department, who attended the
meeting, referred questions to
ministry spokesman Heng Sour,
who could not be reached.
Cheang Sokha
MINISTER of Defence Tea Banh yesterday denied
allegations that Cambodia supported Russias
annexation of Crimea.
Local media reported yesterday that during a
meeting with the defence minister on Monday,
Russian Ambassador Dmitry Tsvetkov thanked
the Kingdom for supporting Moscow in the recent
secession crisis in Ukraine and offered to convert
Cambodian debt to the federation to aid money.
Banh denied taking sides on the Ukraine issue
during Mondays meeting, telling the Post that it
is out of Cambodias depth to get involved in the
ongoing dispute. Ukraine is their issue not our
issue, he said. We do not say whether we
support them or not, and do not judge if
what they are doing is right or wrong.
Banh also said that while he met with the ambas-
sador to discuss bilateral military cooperation and
the $1.5 billion in unsettled loans Cambodia bor-
rowed in the 1980s, no decisions had been made
on how to address the issue and it would require
further discussion among experts.
Cambodia has made several attempts to cancel
the debt, which also came up in a recent meeting
between Tsvetkov and Foreign Minister Hor Nam-
hong, to no avail. Several lawmakers and analysts
have maintained that Cambodia does not need to
repay the loans, as the money was borrowed from
Moscow under the Soviet Union, and not Russia.
Officials at the Russian Embassy in Phnom
Penh were not available for comment yesterday
as the office was closed for a holiday.
Sexual abuse among HAGL claims
Numbered logs sit inside a rubber concession belonging to a subsidiary company of HAGL in Ratanakkiri
province last year. GLOBAL WITNESS
Kandal duo
linked to
killing boss
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
TWO men were arrested in
Kandal province yesterday in
connection with the murder
of a 44-year-old Chinese busi-
nesswoman in the capitals
Por Sen Chey district earlier
this month.
One of the arrested men is
accused of covering hat factory
owner Chang Lis mouth to pre-
vent her from screaming while
her throat was cut by another
man on May 2, while the other
allegedly received a stolen lap-
top as a result of the crime,
police said. Both men were
employed by Chang, who was
found dead by other staff mem-
bers in her shop in Chom Chao
commune a day after the
alleged attack, according to
local police.
These two men were cap
tailors working with the victim.
They are not the killers, but
have been involved in the vic-
tims murder, said Eav Cham-
roeun, chief of Kandal provin-
cial police.
The two suspects were arrest-
ed during a police raid of their
rental room, a search that recov-
ered Changs stolen laptop.
The two will continue to be
questioned, Chamroeun said,
and police are in the process of
identifying and finding the
killer. Police arrested another
man on Monday, but later
released him.
National
5
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Victim proves pain in
the necklace for thief
A THIEF more than met his
match when he tried to snatch
a womans necklace on Satur-
day in Phnom Penhs Tuol
Kork district. The woman was
riding her moto home when
the robber sped by and
attempted to grab her jewel-
lery. He not only failed to steal
her necklace but took a tum-
ble after the would-be victim
pushed him off his moto. She
called for help and bystanders
escorted him to the nearest
police station. DEUM AMPIL
Baaaad thieves get
thrown out of farm
OLD MacDonalds farm may
only ever have had cows, chick-
ens and pigs, but similar Cam-
bodian nursery rhymes may
soon have to add thieves to the
list of inhabitants that children
should learn about. In the lat-
est case of farm filching, two
farm workers were injured on
Monday after three men tried
to steal equipment from their
employers Kandal property
and then beat the workers
after they tried to sound the
alarm. The trio escaped and
police are on the lookout for
them. KOHSANTEPHEAP

Guards take risk with
gamblers prized ride
JUST because someone is
throwing away their money
inside a casino doesnt mean
they dont care about the
worth of their car parked out-
side. Most high rollers expect
casino security to keep a close
eye on their ride. But guards
at a Bavet town casino failed
to do that on Monday when a
car was pinched from the
parking lot they were guard-
ing. They almost made up for
that blunder, though, when
they tracked down the thieves
with police and retrieved the
car. DEUM AMPIL
Toilet break costs boss
hundreds of dollars
A CONSTRUCTION worker
envious of his wealthy employ-
er has likely landed himself
behind bars after he got
caught pinching the mans
wallet. The 27-year-old was
doing some work in a Daun
Penh villa when the house
owner went to the bathroom,
leaving his note-stuffed wallet
at his desk. When he returned,
the wallet was gone and the
worker had fled. Police soon
tracked down the suspect and
returned the stash of $250 he
had stolen. KAMPUCHEA THMEY
Bottle of booze goes
straight to mans head
THREE men offered their
friend a bottle of wine in
Phnom Penhs Sen Sok dis-
trict on Monday night. Unfor-
tunately for him, they offered it
to his head and used quite a
lot of force while doing so.
According to police, the four-
some were drinking merrily in
the shop until something went
wrong what exactly, remains
unclear leading three of
them to attack the remaining
one with the bottle. They fled
but the bar owner called
police and they were later sent
to court. KOHSANTEPHEAP
Translated by Sen David
POLICE
BLOTTER
National
6
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Contrasts stark after S Korea tragedy
Continued from page 1

were hard-pressed to think of
a single instance in which it
has happened.
I dont have any example
on this topic at all, Minister
of Commerce Sun Chanthol,
a ruling Cambodian Peoples
Party appointee, said, without
offering a reason as to why it
hasnt happened.
Opposition Cambodia Na-
tional Rescue Party leader
Sam Rainsy said such deci-
sions are impossible under
a one-party system with no
independent institutions and
no checks and balances.
Asked if he could come
up with an instance of some-
one being hauled in to answer
for larger wrongdoing, he
said: Never.
Maybe occasionally a small
sh is forced to play the role
of a scapegoat. But never has
a big sh even been identied
to help render any justice to
any people.
Cambodia historian David
Chandler said the Sewol disas-
ter sort of resembles the Koh
Pich accident in 2010, when
more than 350 people died
during a panicked stampede
on a desperately overcrowded
bridge since torn down in
Phnom Penh.
While Prime Minister Hun
Sen did say at the time that
Koh Pich was the worst calam-
ity to befall Cambodia since
the rise of the Khmer Rouge,
no one took responsibility, no
one was arrested and no legis-
lation was passed to prevent
similar tragedies in the future.
The closest Hun Sen has
ever come to personally bear-
ing the brunt for a national ca-
lamity is his years-old promise
to chop off his own head if il-
legal logging in Cambodias
forests continued. The threat,
hyperbolic as it was, has not
curtailed rampant logging.
In cases involving state-sanc-
tioned violence and corrup-
tion, the reaction from those in
charge is also nonexistent.
Earlier this year, when mili-
tary police killed at least four
garment workers outside an
industrial park in Phnom
Penh, no one in the armed
forces stepped forward to
shoulder responsibility.
After former Svay Rieng
Provincial Governor Chhouk
Bandith shot three garment
workers at a protest in Bavet
town in February 2012, he was
eventually convicted in absen-
tia. Instead of facing the music
and turning himself in, he left
the show and the authorities
have yet to arrest him.
Panhavuth Long, a program
ofcer with the Cambodian
Justice Initiative, said South
Koreas democracy is strong,
and, therefore, so is its rule
of law.
Long said the core values
in Cambodia are, in order:
politics, economics, and then,
in last place, the lives of the
people, when it should be the
other way around.
Some argue, however, that
Cambodias turbulent history
has created a culture where ac-
countability is unable to thrive.
South Koreas government has
peacefully changed hands be-
fore, but Cambodia is still driven
by the same ruling party faithful
who were installed in the post-
Khmer Rouge government
backed by the Vietnamese.
Usually, when a country
is ruled by leaders from the
generation that has emerged
from conict and without [a]
proper legal and accountabil-
ity system in place from the
start, the leaders have made
uncountable mistakes over
the period of administration
until they get used to be-
ing free of accountability or
punishment for making mis-
takes, said Preap Kol, head
of Transparency International
in Cambodia.
Deep inside them, there is an
absence of a sense of responsi-
bility and a feeling of guilt.
In South Korea, Kol contin-
ued, it is different. Leaders
there are much more sensitive
to social pressure and their own
personal sense of guilt.
Though it may prove dif-
cult to single out a senior of-
cial who quit out of a sense of
shame or for the greater good,
it is easy to nd Cambodians
who wouldnt mind seeing
it happen.
Waiting for customers on
Sothearos Boulevard yester-
day, Sok Vannarith, a 36-year-
old motorbike taxi driver, said
he viewed the resignation of
the South Korean prime min-
ister as symbolic of high re-
sponsibility for his citizens . . .
[which] in Cambodia, I have
never seen since I was born.
Vannarith also made a com-
parison to the Koh Pich catas-
trophe, and said a similar ges-
ture by the government could
have helped assuage the pain
that followed.
We wanted our leaders to
take high responsibility for the
disaster in Koh Pich, for the
City Hall governor or owner of
Koh Pich to take high respon-
sibility, not just offer compen-
sation. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY
VONG SOKHENG AND AFP
A television screen shows an image of South Korean prime minister
Chung Hong-won announcing his resignation last month as relatives of
family members of the Sewol ferry wait for developments. AFP
7 THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Business
Tourism Ministry mulling Thailand travel warning
Chan Muyhong
THE Ministry of Tourism is consider-
ing issuing an official travel warning
to all citizens thinking of travelling
to Thailand as the political crisis
there continues.
Minister of Tourism Thorng Khon
said yesterday that despite no notable
decrease in tourist numbers between
Cambodia and Thailand having yet
resulted from the crisis, the govern-
ment remains wary of the risks.
We have not sent out any warning
alert for Cambodian tourists who wish
to visit Thailand yet. We are monitor-
ing the situation now, he added.
The Indian Embassy on Friday
issued an updated travel advisory
warning all citizens to be cautious of
their personal safety as Thai anti-
government protesters move to occu-
py central government buildings and
as rallies in the capital continue. The
unrest has been ongoing for more
than six months.
Last week, the UK, Canadian, Sin-
gaporean and Australian governments
all issued similarly increased warnings
regarding travel to Thailands capital
and border crossings with Malaysia
and Cambodia.
But a warning now may not be war-
ranted, with domestic tourist senti-
ment still generally healthy, Sinan
Thourn, chairman of the Pacific Asia
Travel Association, said.
Thourn said Cambodian tourists
have not been cancelling their travel
plans but that he had seen a slight
decrease in the number of people
choosing to visit Thailand.
Tour operators who are receiving
booking requests for Thailand will
[likely] be persuading their clients to
go to other countries in the region
rather than facing the risk of tourists
cancelling, he said.
Meanwhile, new Ministry of Tour-
ism show a 13 per cent decline in all
tourist arrivals from Thailand during
the first quarter of 2014 over the same
period last year.
With a potential decrease in cross-
border tourism looming, Hor Vandy,
co-chair of the Government-Private
Sector Working Group on Tourism, said
that a possible drop in foreign tourist
arrivals due to travellers seeking to
avoid Thailand is also a concern.
Hundreds of tour operators in
Thailand are providing affordable
tour packages partnered with cheap
flights, which include Cambodia and
other nearby countries in their route,
Vandy said.
Up to 30 per cent of foreign tourist
predominantly from Europe
arrive in Cambodia via Thailand,
he added.
If tourists choose to avoid Thailand
altogether, then they would likely skip
Cambodia too, he said, citing a lack
of affordable direct flights to Cambo-
dia from major tourist sources.
Anti-China
protest hits
factories
in Vietnam
THOUSANDS of workers
staged a protest at an indus-
trial park in southern Vietnam
yesterday over Chinas deploy-
ment of a drilling rig in con-
tested waters, damaging facto-
ries and offices, state-run
media said.
Photos posted on the news
site of the Ministry of Informa-
tion showed what appeared to
be extensive damage to a Tai-
wanese factory that was appar-
ently mistaken for a Chinese-
owned plant.
Local policeman Ho Quang
Thanh said the protest in Binh
Duong province was triggered
by the row over the oil rig,
which Beijing moved into dis-
puted waters this month to the
dismay of Vietnam.
Hanoi has branded the move
as illegal and dispatched ves-
sels to the area.
China and Vietnam are
locked in long-standing territo-
rial disputes in the South China
Sea over the Paracel and Sprat-
ly islands, which both claim.
There have been repeated
skirmishes near the oil rig in
recent days involving vessels
from the two countries, with
collisions and the use of water
cannons. Vietnamese protesters
staged multiple, large anti-Chi-
na demonstrations Sunday with
at least 1,000 people gathering
in Hanoi and a similar-sized
crowd in Ho Chi Minh City.
Dozens of anti-China dem-
onstrations have been held in
Vietnam since 2007 to protest
Beijings perceived aggression
over territory. Attacks on for-
eign-backed factories, which
are a key part of Vietnams
economy, mark an escalation
of the public backlash.
Vietnam has alternated
between tolerating the rallies
and violently breaking them
up. The communist regime is
wary of public gatherings that
could threaten its authoritarian
rule. AFP
People enter an Alceda Bank branch late last month in Phnom Penhs Chamkarmon district. SRENG MENG SRUN
Finance reforms in full swing
Daniel de Carteret
C
AMBODIAS private
sector is taking on a
larger role in manag-
ing public nances,
and companies involved in
the transition say that they
are well placed to accept the
added responsibility.
The government began
shipping close to 400,000 civil
servant salaries over to Acleda
Bank, Wing and Canadia Bank
in January in an effort to rid
the public sector of cash pay-
ments. The three nancial
institutions have since been
meeting with the dozens of
ministries to get their busi-
ness as well.
Mobile payment and mon-
ey transfer company Wing,
which is the smallest of the
three rms competing for the
payroll business, has been
able to gain tens of thousands
of accounts thanks to its rural
reach, CEO Anthony Perkins
said yesterday.
We have picked up several
different government depart-
ments. We are processing
quite a lot, he said.
While generally welcomed,
the move from cash to elec-
tronic payments has drawn
scepticism. The opposition
Cambodia National Rescue
Partys chief whip, Son Chhay,
said in January that the elec-
tronic system could give rise
to ghost staff nonexistent
government workers receiving
salary payments.
Perkins said yesterday that
face-to-face account openings
ensured that double counting
was avoided.
We have had no concerns
on obtaining their IDs and en-
suring that they are the legiti-
mate person for the payroll,
he said.
At Cambodias largest bank,
Acleda, three of the largest-em-
ploying ministries the Minis-
try of Economy and Finance,
the Ministry of Education and
the Ministry of Health are all
now actively on the electronic
payroll, president and CEO In
Channy said yesterday.
Two more ministries are
near completion and the
Acleda CEO expressed hope
that the remaining would be
added by year-end. The bank
has recorded nearly 147,000
civil service accounts since the
process began, Channy said.
Other ministries are yet to
complete their account open-
ing for all their ofcials.
Acledas role in government
nances does not end with
payroll. The Post reported ear-
lier this month that the bank
was taking charge of tax rev-
enue collection.
Channy said yesterday that
government revenues and
expenditures were also now
handled by the his bank.
This means that government
payments made to suppliers
on projects countrywide are
now tracked through Acledas
systems, he said.
It is a big responsibility but
we have the systems in place,
we have the largest network
and coverage across the whole
country, Channy said, refer-
ring to the nancial responsi-
bilities outsourced to the pri-
vate sector.
Channy declined to put a g-
ure on government revenues
and expenditure expectations
this year, but said transparen-
cy in the banking system was
part of the public reforms.
World Bank senior public
sector management specialist
Leah April, who is helping sup-
port the public nancial man-
agement reforms, said that
up to 80 per cent of govern-
ment employees are now paid
through the banking system.
This government is aiming for
all its employees to be paid into
an account by the end of 2014.
The benets of using of the
banking system are likely to
be substantial as it facilitates
timely payments to creditors
and government staff as well
as receipt of revenues, she
said in an email last week.
The Ministry of Economy
and Finance declined to com-
ment on the progress of the
reforms yesterday.
USD / JPY
101.62
USD / SGD
1.2475
USD /CNY
6.2535
USD / HKD
7.7514
USD / THB
32.51
AUD / USD
0.9366
NZD / USD
0.8627
EUR / USD
1.3835
GBP / USD
1.693
Indicative Exchange Rates as of 9/5/2014. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates.
USD / KHR
4,025
Fran Wang
T
HE Chinese govern-
ments xed-asset
investment, a main
measure of govern-
ment spending on infrastruc-
ture, rose at its slowest pace in
more than 12 years in January-
April, data showed yesterday,
fuelling calls for Beijing to
boost the economy.
Growth is decelerating, but
leaders in Beijing say they
want to wean the country off
investment as the key driver
of expansion and shift the fo-
cus to consumer spending.
Fixed-asset investment in-
creased 17.3 per cent year-on-
year in the rst four months
of 2014, slowing from 17.6 per
cent in the rst three months,
the National Bureau of Statis-
tics (NBS) said.
The gure is only released
cumulatively, and the reading
was the lowest since a 13.7 per
cent increase for the whole of
2001, NBS data showed.
It was one of several statis-
tics adding to concerns over
the weakening of Chinas
economy, a key driver of
global growth, and analysts
called on Beijing to ease its
monetary policy.
The pressure for more pol-
icy easing continues to build,
Zhang Zhiwei, Nomuras econ-
omist based in Hong Kong,
said in a research note.
Industrial output, which
measures production at fac-
tories, workshops and mines,
increased 8.7 per cent year-
on-year in April, the NBS said,
edging down from 8.8 per cent
a month earlier. The indicator
rose 8.6 per cent in the rst
two months of the year, the
slowest in ve years.
And retail sales, a gauge of
consumer spending, grew 11.9
per cent year on year, the NBS
added, down from a 12.2 per
cent rise in March.
The gures are the latest to
show a slowdown in the econ-
omy, which grew 7.4 per cent
year-on-year in the rst three
months of 2014. That gure
was weaker than the 7.7 per
cent in October-December
and the worst since a similar
7.4 per cent expansion in the
third quarter of 2012.
Premier Li Keqiang in March
announced a growth target of
around 7.5 per cent for 2014.
Ofcials have publicly ruled
out a massive stimulus to kick-
start growth but have instead
introduced a series of smaller
measures, including a cut in
the amount of money rural
banks have to keep in reserve
and tax breaks.
But ANZ analysts Liu Li-
gang and Zhou Hao said the
growth target was unlikely to
be achieved without a cut in
interest rates as well.
If the government still
views that achieving a 7.5 per
cent growth target is impor-
tant for its credibility, Chinas
monetary policy will have to
play its necessary role by eas-
ing further in order to help
pull the economy out of a
state of lethargy, they said in
a report.
China in April cut the re-
serve requirement ratio for
rural banks by up to two per-
centage points, the rst such
move since May 2012, when
it slashed the ratio to 20 per
cent for large nancial insti-
tutions and 16.5 per cent for
smaller ones.
It has not reduced lending
rates since July 2012.
Some economists, however,
believe the current policies are
sufcient to prevent growth
from decelerating further and
Beijing is unlikely to take more
aggressive measures.
In a research note Louis Kuijs
and Tiffany Qiu of Royal Bank
of Scotland attributed the in-
vestment growth deceleration
to earlier monetary tighten-
ing, corporate reluctance to
expand capacity, and a slow-
down in the real estate sector.
We expect the current ap-
proach to macroeconomic
policy supporting growth
without resorting to major
stimulus to be broadly main-
tained, they said.
Chinas bank lending fell
sharply in April from March,
data showed on Monday, af-
ter central bank governor
Zhou Xiaochuan reportedly
ruled out the possibility of
any massive stimulus at a fo-
rum over the weekend, add-
ing his institution would only
ne-tune its policy. AFP
Business
8
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR
CAMBODIA COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP (CCJAP)
INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)
The Cambodia Community Justce Assistance Partnership (CCJAP) contnues the support that Australia has 1.
provided over the past 17 years in the criminal justce sector in Cambodia; the assistance has moved from
being donor-driven and insttutonally focused to an increasingly community oriented and locally owned and
administered program of support to provide communites with equitable access to justce.
The aim of CCJAP is to provide safer communites for women, youth and children through less crime. CCJAP 2.
will work toward strengthening court and prison systems through more eectve management of pre-trial
arrangements, use of non-custodial sentencing and improved prisons.
Now the Ministry of Interior invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for constructon of prison small scale 3.
infrastructure and equipment, to be constructed in Kampong Speu, Batambong, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear,
Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kampong Cham and Say Rieng provincial prisons.
Procurement Method will be conducted through Natonal Compettve Bidding (NCB) procedures consistent 4.
with:
Royal Government of Cambodia: Procurement Manual for Externally Financed Projects/Programs in Cambodia,
September 2005 and,
Government of Australia: Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.
Interested qualied eligible bidders are invited to obtain a copy of the bidding documents free-of-charge from 5.
the address given below by submitng a writen applicaton and by providing a copy of their current company
legal certcaton (Ministry of commerce; Ministry of Economic and Finance; Ministry of land Management and
Urban Planning and Patent year 2013 and 2014), there shall be no other conditon for obtaining the bidding
documents.
To be considered eligible applicants must: 6.
Be a legally consttuted rm - copies of original documents dening the consttuton or legal status, place of
registraton, and principle place of business shall be submited with the bid.
Have completed within the last 3 years contracts of similar nature of at least 50% of the value of the bid.
Not be under any notce of disbarment issued by the Government, The ADB, World Bank or other projects.
Bids must be delivered to the address given below at or before 7. 2:30 hours on 11 June 2014. Late bids will be
rejected. Bids will be opened in public immediately thereafer at the address given below in the presence of the
Bidders representatves and the projects beneciaries. Bidders representatves who choose to atend shall be
allowed to be present in person.
All bids must be accompanied by a bid securing declaraton, as described in the bidding documents, any bid not 8.
accompanied by one will be rejected as non-compliant.
The bidding process is as follows: 9.
Start of bid document distributon: 8:00 hrs, 13 May 2014
Deadline for Submission: 2:30 hrs, 11 June 2014
The address referred to above where properly sealed and stamped bid must be addressed is as follow: 10.
To: Lt.Gen. Kuy Bunsorn
Director General Department of Prison, as Project Director;
Chairman of Procurement Commitee;
Ministry of Interior,
Address: CCJAP Oce, 2
nd
oor of the Department of Local Administraton (DOLA building)
Norodom Boulevard,
Phone & Fax: 023 726 207,
Email:nouarun@ccjap.org
Execs lose as Sony prots crash
Age of entitlement over: Aus
Kyoko Hasegawa
STRUGGLING electronics giant
Sony will not pay bonuses to
senior executives for the third
straight year, the Japanese
company said yesterday, as it
braces for another disastrous
earnings showing.
The move means that com-
pany president Kazuo Hirai will
not have received any bonuses
since he became chief execu-
tive officer in 2012, a Sony
spokeswoman said.
Sony said earlier this month
it would report a bigger than
expected annual loss, blaming
costs tied to its exit from the
personal computer business,
as the once-mighty company
undergoes painful reforms.
Hirai has led a sweeping
restructuring, including plans
to cut 5,000 jobs and asset liq-
uidisation that saw the $1.0
billion sale of Sonys Manhat-
tan headquarters.
Earlier this month Sony said
it expected to book a 130 bil-
lion ($1.27 billion) net loss in
the fiscal year to March, while
it slashed its operating earn-
ings outlook.
The figure is worse than a
110 billion net loss forecast
just three months ago, when it
said it would cut 5,000 jobs in
its struggling computer and
television units.
The move came after Moodys
downgraded its credit rating on
Sony to junk, saying it must do
more to repair its battered bal-
ance sheet.
Sonys earnings, due out
today, will offer a depressing
comparison with sector stable-
mates Panasonic and Sharp,
both of which have reported
profits following on from huge
losses the previous year.
But a Tokyo-based analyst
at a major brokerage firm said
that the company was making
some progress.
What Sony has done in the
past such as positioning itself
for the high end of the TV busi-
ness and restructuring its PC
business is having an impact,
said the analyst, who was not
authorised to speak to the press
on the subject.
If its smartphone and elec-
tronic device businesses dont
encounter major problems, its
possible that the business
could reach break-even. AFP
TREASURER Joe Hockey called
on all Australians to help mend
the countrys finances yester-
day, declaring the age of enti-
tlement over as he announced
a temporary tax on high income
earners and plans to lift the
pension age to 70.
The budget aims to bring the
deficit down from AS$49.9 bil-
lion (US$46.6 billion) to AS$29.8
billion next year.
Hockey said the days of bor-
row and spend must end if the
deficit is to be further reduced
to AS$2.8 billion by 2017-18.
It is time, for all of us, to con-
tribute and build, he said.
The age of entitlement is
over. It has to be replaced, not
with an age of austerity, but
with an age of opportunity.
After more than 20 years of
growth, the Australian economy
is in the midst of a major trans-
formation as an Asian-driven
mining investment boom
winds down, with real GDP
expected to remain below trend
at 2.5 per cent in 2014-15.
He said that money would
be spent to help build roads,
railways, ports and airports,
with the governments invest-
ment expected to reach a total
of AS$50 billion by the end of
the decade.
Measures will see those earn-
ing more than AS$180,000 a
year paying a tax to reduce the
deficit over the next three years,
while there will be a one-year
freeze on the salaries of mem-
bers of parliament.
Government spending will
be cut, with 16,500 public serv-
ant jobs lost over the next
three years.
Growth in the foreign aid
budget will also be reduced,
with the government saving
A$7.9 billion over five years,
while family welfare payments
and unemployment benefits
will be tightened.
He said structural changes to
cope with Australias ageing
population included a modest
A$7 payment for visits to
the doctor.
Defence was quarantined
from the cuts, with the budget
committing to building spend-
ing up to 2 per cent of GDP
within a decade, while govern-
ment measures to deter asy-
lum-seekers arriving by boats
had delivered savings of A$2.5
billion. AFP
China investment slowest since 01
Finance Street in Beijing. The Chinese government is trying to shift
focus from investment to consumer spending. BLOOMBERG
CHINESE SHADOW BANKS
NOW WORTH $4.4 TRILLION
C
HINAS vast shadow
banking sector is
now valued at $4.4
trillion, according to
the governments premier
research group the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences
(CASS), which is warning of
potential risks to the
financial system. Shadow
banking in China
encompasses a huge network
of lending outside formal
channels and beyond the
reach of regulators, including
activities by online finance
platforms, credit guarantee
companies and microcredit
firms. The system is worth 27
trillion yuan ($4.4 trillion),
equivalent to nearly a fifth of
the domestic banking sectors
total assets, according to a
report by the Institute of
Finance and Banking under
CASS Chinas highest
academic research
organisation in the social
sciences. Once big risks
arise from the shadow
banking system, they could
rapidly spread to the banking
segment and the real
economy through the
monetary and credit markets,
posing systemic financial
risks, a CASS statement said
yesterday. AFP
Feeling lucky?
Scratchies
eyed to ease
illicit gaming
T
HAILANDS Government
Lottery Office (GLO)
is looking into issuing
lottery scratch cards to lure
punters away from the under-
ground lottery and reduce the
problem of vendors overpri-
cing tickets.
GLO director-general Atta-
grit Tharechat hopes scratch
lotto cards would draw at least
40 per cent of the money spent
on the underground lottery into
the system.
He said the GLO currently
has only one product, which is
a business risk. Its now-can-
celled two-digit and three-digit
lotteries had proven attractive
to gamblers and it was hoped
the proposed new scratch
lotto would be able to com-
pete with the illegal lottery.
The office estimated the
underground lottery sucked
about 100 billion baht ($3
billion) a year from the system,
and it hoped to get back about
40 per cent of the market, or
40 billion baht.
However, it first needs
approval from the GLO board,
and a study of related laws to
see it it was able to issue such
a scratch card. BANGKOK POST
Markets
9
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Business
THE Malaysian government
says its on track to achieve
its goal of becoming a high-
income nation by 2020 as the
country enters the mid-point
of a 10-year program to trans-
form the economy and reduce
reliance on oil revenues.
Gross national income per
capita in Southeast Asias third-
largest economy rose to $10,060
last year, the government says
in the 2013 annual report for
its so-called Economic Trans-
formation Program. That com-
pares with $9,970 in 2012, and
the target of $15,000 by 2020.
Prime Minister Najib Razak
is dismantling decades of sub-
sidies to address scal risks
identied by Fitch Ratings,
which cut Malaysias credit
outlook in July.
Malaysias economic trans-
formation is evolving to ac-
quire the characteristics of a
high-income economy that
is service-based, private-con-
sumption driven and being
less reliant on oil revenues,
the government said.
A nation is considered high
income when GNI per capita
meets or exceeds $12,616, ac-
cording to the World Bank.
BLOOMBERG
Malaysia on
track to bag
income goal
Rubber surplus erases price
Aya Takada and
Supunnabul Suwannakij
P
RODUCERS of nat-
ural rubber used
mostly in tyres are
creating a global sur-
plus for the fourth straight
year, leaving prices mired in a
bear market that is the worst
of any major commodity.
Farmers will expand output
faster in 2014 than the gain
in demand from surging car
sales, creating the biggest
glut in at least a decade, the
International Rubber Study
Group said on May 2 in an es-
timate that was triple its fore-
cast in December.
Lower prices in the $26 bil-
lion rubber market are pro-
viding an earnings jolt for tyre
makers including Pirelli & C.
SpA and Bridgestone Corp
and squeezing prot for small
farmers who tap rubber-tree
bark and account for about 80
per cent of supply.
While top producer Thailand
is taking steps to curb out-
put as it has during previous
slumps, lower-cost growers in-
cluding Vietnam and Indone-
sia are still protable and show
no signs of cutting back.
I have a family to feed,
said Indonesian farmer Luk-
man Zakaria, 64, who owns
200 hectares on the island of
Sumatra that produce about
1.2 tonnes of latex per hectare
annually. Zakaria said he cant
afford to reduce production,
even with lower prices.
While Thailand probably
will cut production by 80,000
tonnes to 4.06 million tonnes
this year, the combined out-
put of Indonesia and Vietnam
will rise by 97,000 tonnes to
4.13 million tonnes, The Rub-
ber Economist estimates. The
three countries account for
two-thirds of world output.
Indonesia and Vietnam are
vying for a bigger share of a
market dominated by Thai-
land, which supplies a third of
the worlds rubber.
In August 2012, Thailand,
Indonesia and Malaysia
agreed to limit exports, cut
down old trees and stockpile
rubber to end a slump in pric-
es. The commodity rallied as
much as 64 per cent by Febru-
ary 2013. Since then, futures
have tumbled 39 per cent and
last month touched 196.7 in
Tokyo ($1.91), the lowest since
September 2009. BLOOMBERG
A worker carries rubber sheets at market in Surat Thani, Thailand. A global surplus of rubber is pushing the
price of the commodity down, impacting Southeast Asias suppliers. AFP
Business
10
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
German investment sentiment mired in a slump
Simon Morgan
INVESTMENT sentiment in Germany
fell to the lowest level for nearly 1.5
years in May amid concern that
growth in Europes top economy is set
to lose momentum, a survey found
yesterday.
The widely watched investor con-
fidence index calculated by the ZEW
economic institute fell by 10.1 points
to 33.1 points in May, it said in a
statement.
It was the fifth monthly decline run-
ning in the index, bringing it to its
lowest level since January 2013.
Analysts had been projecting a
much softer drop to 41 points.
Already, there are indications that
Germany will not be able to maintain
this fast pace of growth, said ZEW
president Clemens Fuest.
Nevertheless, one can assume a
positive underlying trend for the eco-
nomic development for the year 2014.
The decline of the experts economic
expectations for Germany should be
seen against the backdrop of a strong
economic development in the first
quarter, Fuest said.
Official first-quarter growth data are
scheduled for release later this week.
However, analysts are pencilling in
an acceleration in gross domestic
product (GDP) growth to 0.7 per cent
in the period from January to March.
In the preceding three months, the
German had grown by 0.4 per cent.
Nevertheless, analysts believe the
first-quarter growth figures will have
been boosted by the unusually mild
winter, which favours key industries
such as construction.
Just last month, the German cen-
tral bank or Bundesbank warned
that growth is heading for a notice-
able slowdown in the second quar-
ter, even if the underlying trend
remains positive.
The economy ministry agreed.
Following growth of 0.4 per cent in
final quarter of 2013, the economic
performance will have gathered
strength in the first quarter of 2014. By
contrast, the spring upturn will be
slightly weaker than usual, the min-
istry warned in a statement.
Nevertheless, overall, the recov-
ery has firmed and broadened, it
insisted.
The sub-index measuring financial
market players view of the current
economic situation in Germany rose
by 2.6 points to 62.1 points in May its
highest level since July 2011.
On this basis, analysts were confi-
dent that the current uptrend
remains intact.
Overall, the data suggest that the
current economic situation is not
being tangibly hurt by the uncertain-
ty surrounding the situation in
Ukraine, said BayernLB economist
Stefan Kipar.
The effect on the economic per-
formance of Germany and the euro
should have been very small so far,
the expert said.
Nati xis economist Johannes
Gareis said the May ZEW reading
showed that investors are increas-
ingly cautious. Nevertheless, for-
ward-looking sentiment is still at a
comfortable level, suggesting that
the expansion of the German econ-
omy is currently not at significant
risk, he said.
But Capital Economics economist
Jessica Hinds was less optimistic.
The fifth consecutive decline . . .
suggests that the German recovery
might not gain much pace from here,
she said.
As survey responses were taken
between April 28 and May 12, it
seems that investors were not overly
impressed by the European Central
Banks pledge [last week] to act again
in June, Hinds said. AFP
Growth in
emerging
economies
weakens
GROWTH i s seemi ngl y
weakening in the worlds
major emerging economies,
the OECD said yesterday,
while the recovery in the
eurozone remains on track
despite showing some indi-
cations of a slowdown in
Germany.
The OECD index of com-
posite leading indicators
(CLI) showed that growth
conditions were below trend
in Brazil, China and India
and even losing momentum
in Russia, struck by the crisis
in Ukraine.
Inside the eurozone, the
CLIs show growth strength-
ening in Italy and the single
currency bloc as a whole,
with the two biggest econo-
mies France and Germany
showing stable growth.
But other data this week
has suggested that the Ger-
man economy, which has
been a longtime bright spot
in the often troubled euro-
zone, may be stalling.
The French central bank
meanwhile forecast that
France, while avoiding reces-
sion, will only see anaemic
growth of 0.2 per cent in the
second quarter this year.
The head of the French
MEDEF employers union
Pierre Gattaz said that his
data showed no reversal in
the outlook for France except
for perhaps a halt in the
decline of certain sectors.
For the OECD as a whole
and the United States, Cana-
da and Japan in particular
growth remained at a stable
momentum wit h Britai n
showing initial signs of accel-
eration. AFP
Financial traders monitor data on computer screens at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, in February 2014. A
survey has found that Investment sentiment in Germany is at its lowest in one and half years. BLOOMBERG
Russia offers bonds as borrowing costs fall
Vladimir Kuznetsov
RUSSIA will offer 10 billion
rubles ($287 million) of bonds
as falling borrowing costs
prompt the Finance Ministry
to sell its first debt in more
than a month.
The government will tender
the notes due August 2023 at an
auction today, according to a
statement on the ministrys
website yesterday. The yield on
the bonds has declined 73
basis points in the last six days
to 8.95 per cent as of 4:21 pm
in Moscow.
Russia hasnt placed any
bonds since the start of April
and cancelled its last auction
on April 23 due to a lack of
adequate bids, according to
the ministry. Borrowing costs
fell after President Vladimir
Putin called on May 7 for east
Ukraine separatists to delay
votes on independence, easing
concern the US and Europe will
impose tougher sanctions.
The long end of the sover-
ei gn debt cur ve has
approached the level of 9 per
cent, which serves as an
explicit indicator of the
Finance Ministrys readiness
to sell, OAO Rosbank analyst
Evgeny Koshelev said.
Russia has sold 45 billion
rubles of bonds since the start
of this year, compared with a
plan to raise 425 billion rubles.
The ministry cancelled eight
auctions in 2014 and declared
two of them void due to a lack
of bids. BLOOMBERG
Pfizer grilled on takeover bid
Rupert Neate
T
HE boss of US phar-
maceutical Pzer
has admitted that its
proposed 63 billion
($106 billion) takeover of UK ri-
val AstraZeneca will lead to job
cuts and a big reduction in the
combined companies research
and development spending.
During questioning from
members of parliament, Ian
Read said: There will be jobs
cuts somewhere, thats part
of being more efcient. Read
refused to rule out cuts to the
workforce.
Read would only commit to
basing 20 per cent of the com-
panys global R&D staff in the
UK, and only for the next ve
years. The Scottish-born ex-
ecutive repeatedly refused to
promise not to cut the overall
number of UK jobs.
But he told MPs on the busi-
ness select committee that he
could not make any promises
on the number of R&D jobs
the company would maintain
following a takeover.
I cant tell you today how
many people we are going to
have in R&D, he said. Once
we get in we will know how
many people we will need.
We will staff the R&D post the
transaction to the level that
we need.
The chair of the commit-
tee, Labour MP Adrian Bai-
ley, asked why Britons should
trust Pzer to maintain jobs
and research spending given
its track record of basically
slashing your workforce. He
added: Youve slashed the
workforce by over 60,000 and
nearly halved the amount
spent on R&D.
The Pzer boss was also
forced to admit that the
overall R&D spending of the
combined company would
fall following a takeover.
Globally we would probably
reduce the combined bud-
get, he said. I havent said
in which countries and where
we would reduce that.
He said the proposed take-
over which would be the
biggest ever foreign takeover
of a British company would
strengthen the size of the UK
science community.
But he said there was very
little evidence that the level
of productivity is related to
amount of spending.
Read said Britain should
welcome the opportunity to
have the worlds largest phar-
maceutical company register
in the UK for tax purposes and
said it would be very benecial
to the Exchequer.
But Pzer admitted that
moving to the UK would also
give it substantial tax ben-
ets at the expense of US
taxpayers. The company will
save millions by spending
cash it made overseas on buy-
ing AstraZeneca rather than
bringing the money back to
America, where it would be
taxed.
Pzer has offered to buy
AstraZeneca for 63 billion,
but the bid has been repeat-
edly rejected by the British
company. The US rm has
increased the pressure on As-
traZeneca by sidestepping the
companys board and making
a direct appeal to sharehold-
ers that it should be allowed
to buy the British rm.
Pzer said it believed there
was a compelling rationale
for a combination and that
AstraZeneca would face chal-
lenges if it remained indepen-
dent. THE GUARDIAN
Ian Read, chief executive ofcer of Pzer Inc, (centre), leaves Portcullis House after giving evidence to
Parliaments Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee in London yesterday. BLOOMBERG
Markets
11
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Business
International commodities
Energy
Agriculture
Markets
800
875
950
1025
1100
500
550
600
650
700
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
18000
19750
21500
23250
25000
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
14000
14500
15000
15500
16000
7000
7500
8000
8500
9000
Thailand Vietnam
Singapore Malaysia
Hong Kong China
Japan Taiwan
Thai Set 50 Index, May 12
FTSE Straits Times Index, May 12 FTSEBursaMalaysiaKLCI, May 12
Hang Seng Index, May 12 CSI 300 Index, May 12
Nikkei 225, May 12 Taiwan Taiex Index, May 12
Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, May 12
14,425.44
2,174.85 22,352.38
1,866.08 3,222.43
513.91 932.70
8,817.94
1600
1725
1850
1975
2100
5500
5875
6250
6625
7000
900
1050
1200
1350
1500
3500
3875
4250
4625
5000
20000
21000
22000
23000
24000
28000
28500
29000
29500
30000
4500
4750
5000
5250
5500
4500
4750
5000
5250
5500
South Korea Philippines
Laos Indonesia
India Pakistan
Australia New Zealand
KOSPI Index, May 12 PSEI- Philippine Se Idx, May 12
Laos Composite Index, May 12 Jakarta Composite Index, May 12
BSE Sensex 30 Index, May 12 Karachi 100 Index, May 12
S&P/ASX 200 Index, May 12 NZX 50 Index, May 12
5,498.19
28,411.49 23,871.23
4,921.39 1,308.22
6,852.81 1,982.93
5,199.34
Item Unit Base Average (%)
Gasoline R 5250 5450 3.81 %
Diesel R 5100 5200 1.96 %
Petroleum R 5500 5500 0.00 %
Gas Chi 86000 76000 -11.63 %
Charcoal Baht 1200 1300 8.33 %
Energy
Construction equipment
Item Unit Base Average (%)
Rice 1 R/Kg 2800 2780 -0.71 %
Rice 2 R/Kg 2200 2280 3.64 %
Paddy R/Kg 1800 1840 2.22 %
Peanuts R/Kg 8000 8100 1.25 %
Maize 2 R/Kg 2000 2080 4.00 %
Cashew nut R/Kg 4000 4220 5.50 %
Pepper R/Kg 40000 24000 -40.00 %
Beef R/Kg 33000 33600 1.82 %
Pork R/Kg 17000 18200 7.06 %
Mud Fish R/Kg 12000 12400 3.33 %
Chicken R/Kg 18000 20800 15.56 %
Duck R/Kg 13000 13100 0.77 %
Item Unit Base Average (%)
Steel 12 R/Kg 3000 3100 3.33 %
Cement R/Sac 19000 19500 2.63 %
Food -Cereals -Vegetables - Fruits
Cambodian commodities
(Base rate taken on January 1, 2012)
COMMODITY UNITS PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE TIME(ET)
Crude Oil (WTI) USD/bbl. 101.31 0.72 0.72% 8:38:20
Crude Oil (Brent) USD/bbl. 108.75 0.34 0.31% 8:38:29
NYMEX Natural Gas USD/MMBtu 4.45 0.02 0.38% 8:38:46
RBOBGasoline USd/gal. 292.97 1.51 0.52% 8:38:33
NYMEX Heating Oil USd/gal. 293.3 1.45 0.50% 8:38:50
ICEGasoil USD/MT 906.5 3.25 0.36% 8:38:18
COMMODITY UNITS PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE TIME(ET)
CBOT Rough Rice USD/cwt 15.32 -0.01 -0.03% 8:30:33
CME Lumber USD/tbf 342.7 -1 -0.29% 8:34:02
McDonalds employees in
Brazil prefer more local fare
L
OOKING for a traditional
Brazilian dish of rice and
beans while in town for the
World Cup? Try hitting up
your nearest McDonalds.
After employees who rejected its
regular menu of hamburgers and
french fries on work breaks led a
complaint to prosecutors, the local
operator of McDonalds restaurants
was required to provide dishes more
in keeping with the local cuisine.
While the meals dont appear on
menu displays at the 816 McDonalds
across the South American country,
theyre available to customers too.
Just ask to see the pratos executi-
vos, or businessmans specials.
With 35,429 restaurants in 119
countries, McDonalds has long of-
fered food tailored to local tastes,
from the McKafta in Egypt to the Filet
O Shrimp in Japan and the McVeggie
burger in India. While the Brazilian
options are kept under wraps, theyre
available for purchase to avoid criti-
cism the restaurant is serving em-
ployees special meals customers
cant buy.
These rice and beans meals bet-
ter satisfy the hunger, Tamires Hon-
orato, a 19-year-old cashier at a Mc-
Donalds restaurant in Barueri, near
Sao Paulo, said in an interview. And
its more like the meals we eat at
home. People dont have hamburg-
ers every day.
Its not just McDonalds where rice
and beans are the meal of choice. Sao
Paulo restaurant Mani, where chef
Helena Rizzo was named the worlds
best female chef this year by the
UK magazine Restaurant for dishes
including the 78-reais ($35.20) ox
cheek plate, also serves up rice and
beans to workers.
We always have to offer this
dish, Giovana Baggio, a managing
partner, said. Otherwise workers
complain.
The businessmans specials list at
McDonalds, which is stashed under
the counter until requested, looks
just like the regular menu, including
the companys logo on the top. In ad-
dition to rice and beans, each meal
comes with a choice of either chick-
en, sh or beef (the same patties as
those served on the regular menu), a
salad, water or juice, and an apple.
A 2012 agreement with prosecutors
to settle a six-year-old investigation
required the McDonalds operator,
Arcos Dorados Holdings, to pro-
vide traditional meals at no cost for
their employees in order to claim tax
breaks. The original complaint from
the union representing 30,000 Mc-
Donalds employees in the state of
Sao Paulo said Big Macs and the rest
of the food they were offered while
on break werent healthy.
McDonalds has run into trouble
before over Big Macs and fries. In
2010, a Brazilian court in the south-
ern state of Rio Grande do Sul or-
dered Arcos Dorados to pay $14,000
to a former manager who said he
gained about 30 kilograms in a de-
cade while working at a McDonalds
and eating its sandwiches, court
documents show.
Its important to understand that
the routine diet of a worker doesnt
come only from inside a McDonalds
restaurant, Arcos Doradoss press
ofce in Brazil said in an emailed
response to questions. All meals
should be balanced, and people
should engage in physical activities.
The government forecasts 600,000
foreign tourists will attend World
Cup matches scheduled to be played
in 12 Brazilian cities from June 12 to
July 13. As one of the eight ofcial
sponsors of the games, McDonalds
is creating sandwiches with ingredi-
ents to honour participating coun-
tries, including Italy and France, and
sponsors a contest for children to
run onto the eld with players at the
beginning of games. BLOOMBERG
A worker places a menu behind the counter at a McDonalds in Rio de Jaineiro. AFP
12 THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
World
Homs is
where the
heat is
A woman walks past a burning
shop in the Maskuf market in
the Old City of Homs, some 162
kilometres north of the capital
Damascus, on Monday. Syrians
are streaming back into the ruins
of the Old City of Homs, picking
through the remains of their
homes and trying to come to
terms with the destruction after
rebel forces in the Old City were
besieged for nearly two years
before the deal to evacuate, and
regime troops shelled the area
almost daily throughout. The
inux comes after the last rebel
holdouts left the area under an
evacuation deal that handed the
Old City back to the government,
granting it a symbolic victory. AFP
People have right to be forgotten, EU court rules
IN A surpise ruling yesterday, the EUs
top court said individuals do have the
right to ask US internet giant Google
to delete personal data produced by
its ubiquitous search engine.
Taking up a complaint concerning a
Spanish citizen, the European Court of
Justice said individuals have this right
to be forgotten under certain circum-
stances when their personal data
becomes outdated or inaccurate.
Specifically, this applies when such
data appear to be inadequate, irrel-
evant or no longer relevant, or exces-
sive in relation to the purpose for
which they were processed and in the
light of the time that has elapsed.
This was based on the finding that
under current data protection norms
in the European Union, an internet
search engine operator is responsible
for the processing that it carries out of
personal data.
Google said the ruling was a disap-
pointment and dramatically at odds
with an opinion last year delivered by
one of the ECJs top lawyers.
This is a disappointing ruling for
search engines and online publishers
in general, Google said in a statement.
We are very surprised that it differs so
dramatically from the Advocate Gen-
erals opinion and the warnings and
consequences that he spelled out.
We now need to take time to ana-
lyse the implications, it added.
Google, which dominates the inter-
net search industry, has previously
argued that it is responsible only for
finding the information.
As long as this is correct and legal,
and therefore properly part of the
public record, it believes it should not
be obliged to delete such data, which
it argues amounts to censorship.
Last year, ECJ Advocate General
Niilo Jaaskinen had argued that Goog-
le was not responsible for the data
carried by websites appearing on its
search engine and that EU citizens did
not have a right to be forgotten
under current law. That opinion had
suggested the ECJ would rule accord-
ingly in due course and was warmly
welcomed by Google.
We are glad to see it supports our
long-held view that requiring search
engines to suppress legitimate and
legal information would amount to
censorship, Google said at the time.
The case centres on Spanish nation-
al Mario Costeja Gonzalez, who went
to court because the personal details
of his involvement in a debt recovery
operation continued to appear on the
online version of a Spanish newspaper
long after the row had been resolved.
Spains data protection agency, the
AEPD, found that the newspaper was
not at fault because the information
was correct at the time it was published.
However, it upheld the complaint
against Google, asking it to delete the
material from its search results.
When Google appealed, Spain
sought guidance from the ECJ to
resolve the issue.
Personal data protection has
become an even more sensitive issue
with revelations of massive US and
other intelligence service snooping,
driving calls in the EU for much tight-
er oversight and redress against the
huge companies such Google which
dominate the Internet. AFP
Manned US craft flying in Nigeria
M
ANNED United States
aircraft were in the skies
above Nigeria yesterday
in the hunt for more
than 200 missing schoolgirls, almost
a month after they were kidnapped
by Islamist militants.
The US said manned ISR (intelli-
gence, surveillance and reconnais-
sance) craft were being own and it
had also shared commercial satellite
imagery as part of the rescue effort.
Boko Haram militants abducted
276 girls from the remote northeast-
ern town of Chibok in Borno state
on April 14. Some 223 are still miss-
ing and on Monday the militants
released a new video purporting to
show some of them.
With electricity supply intermittent
in Chibok, efforts were under way for
the missing girls parents to iden-
tify their daughters in the video, in
which Boko Haram leader Abubakar
Shekau claimed they had converted
to Islam.
The co-ordinator of the Bring
Back Our Girls campaign, which
has helped drive international pres-
sure for action through social media
and global street protests, said three
parents had seen their daughters
on screen.
Three parents have identied
their daughters in the video, Hadiza
Bala Usman said from the Nigerian
capital Abuja.
[Borno] Governor [Kashim]
Shettima has now organised a
screening in [the state capital]
Maiduguri with audio and is bring-
ing parents from Chibok to try to
identify more girls.
The latest video shows about 130
teenagers, all in Muslim dress and
reciting the rst chapter of the Quran
and praying in an undisclosed rural
location. It was not clear where or
when the footage was shot, although
Shekau does refer to suggestions
made in the last week by the UN that
Boko Haram may have committed a
crime against humanity by abduct-
ing the girls.
Nigerias government said on Mon-
day evening that it was studying the
video in which the militant leader
appears to indicate that he is pre-
pared to free the girls in exchange for
the release of Boko Haram ghters
held in prison.
Interior Minister Abba Moro said
that Boko Haram was not in a po-
sition to dictate terms, although a
later statement from the military
and the head of the National Orien-
tation Agency appeared to contra-
dict that.
The government will continue to
explore all options for the release and
safe return of our girls to the their
homes, they said in a statement.
British, French and Israeli special-
ists are also providing specialist help
to Nigeria, whose initial response to
the kidnapping was criticised as slow.
China has also offered help.
US intelligence experts were
combing through every detail of the
video for clues that might help ongo-
ing efforts to secure the release of the
girls, State Department spokeswom-
an Jen Psaki said in Washington.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jona-
than yesterday asked the countrys
parliament for a six-month extension
to the state of emergency in three
northeastern states riven by Islamist
militant violence.
I most respectfully request the dis-
tinguished senators to consider and
approve by resolution an extension
of the proclamation of the state of
emergency in Adamawa, Borno and
Yobe states by a further term of six
months from the date of expiration
of the current time, Jonathan wrote
in a letter. He previously said that he
believed the students were still in Ni-
geria and would be freed soon.
Nigerias military is combing the
Sambisa forest former nature reserve
in Borno state, where Boko Haram
camps and arms dumps have previ-
ously been found.
Fear has been expressed, though,
that the girls may have been split
into smaller groups and taken into
neighbouring Chad or Cameroon.
Nigers President Mahamadou Is-
soufou meanwhile described the
kidnapping as hideous and said
people in the Muslim-majority coun-
try were moved by the girls plight.
The kidnapping had nothing to
do with Islam, he added, saying that
Niger would step up military patrols
to ensure security after Boko Harams
previous incursions across the po-
rous border. AFP
World
13
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014

Bus crash in Myanmar
leaves at least 14 dead
AT LEAST 14 people were
killed and dozens injured
when an intercity bus crashed
in heavy rain on an accident-
prone highway in Myanmar,
police said yesterday. The
crash happened on Monday
evening on the main road
between the capital Naypyi-
daw and the commercial hub
of Yangon. It was pouring
with rain and the diver lost
control and the bus crashed
into a bridge and fell onto a
rail track, police lieutenant
colonel Min Aung of the
Myanmar Police Force
headquarters in Naypyidaw
said. He said three of the 29
injured were in a serious
condition. The bus was
travelling from Naypyidaw to
Yangon, a day after a major
Southeast Asian summit in
the showpiece capital. There
were no foreigners on board,
according to Min Aung. AFP
Former Israel PM gets
six years for bribery
AN ISRAELI court yesterday
sentenced ex-premier Ehud
Olmert to six years in prison
for bribery, making him the
most senior politician in the
countrys history to face jail for
corruption. Tel Aviv district
court judge David Rosen also
handed Olmert a fine of 1
million shekels ($290,000) for
his involvement in one of
Israels worst-ever corruption
scandals. His lawyer, Eli
Zohar, told reporters outside
the courtroom that his client
would appeal. The 68-year-old,
who was convicted six weeks
ago on two charges of taking
bribes, is the first former
prime minister of Israel
looking at a prison term for
corruption. Rosen said the
prison sentence would begin
on September 1. AFP
Sticky situation
Nurse gags
noisy baby
with tape
A
PHILIPPINE hospital has
launched an investigation
after photographs of a
newborn baby gagged with adhe-
sive tape went viral online, with
the father claiming a nurse told
him: Your baby was too noisy.
Pictures of the baby boy, his
eyes shut and his mouth covered
with clear tape as he lay on a
sheet, sparked a furore as they
spread on Facebook and Twitter.
The Cebu Puericulture Centre
and Maternity House in the central
city of Cebu said it was investigat-
ing a complaint by Ryan Noval and
Jasmine Badocdoc that they had
found their 5-day-old son at its
nursery with his mouth taped over.
Noval said the couple com-
plained to hospital authorities
after they were told by a nurse:
Your baby was too noisy so I put
that over his mouth.
Mar Tan, a registered nurse
and a health department ofcial,
said he was aware of the public
outrage but that there has been
no complaint led with the gov-
ernment ministry.
Crying is a babys way of
coping. If hes having problems
breathing through the nose and
you cover his mouth, he could suf-
focate, Tan said. AFP
Strong evidence of
chemical arms use
E
VIDENCE strongly
suggests Syrias gov-
ernment used chlo-
rine gas on three
towns in mid-April in violation
of the chemical weapons trea-
ty it joined last year, Human
Rights Watch said yesterday.
The New York-based watch-
dog cited interviews with wit-
nesses and medical person-
nel, video of the attacks and
photographs of the remnants
of barrel bombs.
Evidence strongly suggests
that Syrian government heli-
copters dropped barrel bombs
embedded with cylinders of
chlorine gas on three towns
in northern Syria in mid-April
2014, HRW said.
Doctors who treated vic-
tims said at least 11 people
were killed in the attacks and
symptoms consistent with
exposure to chlorine were
seen in nearly 500 people, said
the report.
It documented attacks on
the towns of Kafr Zita in cen-
tral Hama on April 11 and 18,
Al-Temana in Idlib on April
13 and 18 and Telmans also in
Idlib province on April 21.
All three are areas under
rebel control.
Opposition sources have
claimed several government
attacks using chlorine gas,
and Syrian state television ac-
knowledged one such attack
in Kafr Zita but blamed it on
the jihadist Al-Nusra Front.
However, opposition activ-
ists say the chlorine is deliv-
ered by barrel bombs dropped
from helicopters, which only
the government possesses.
HRW said video of barrel
bomb remnants at the site of
the attacks showed cannisters
with the code CL2 the sym-
bol for chlorine gas.
The group acknowledged
it could not independently
conrm that the chlorine gas
cylinders caught on lm were
packed in the barrel bombs
that were dropped from he-
licopters. But it said that it
was unlikely the footage was
staged or that the chlorine
gas was added to the bar-
rel bombs, citing symptoms
reported by doctors and wit-
nesses consistent with expo-
sure to chlorine.
Syrias apparent use of
chlorine gas as a weapon not
to mention targeting of civil-
ians is a plain violation of in-
ternational law, HRW deputy
Middle East and North Africa
director Nadim Houry said.
This is one more reason for
the UN Security Council to re-
fer the situation in Syria to the
International Criminal Court.
Syria joined the Chemical
Weapons Convention last year
as part of a deal to surrender
its chemical arms arsenal after
it was accused of a sarin attack
in the suburbs of Damascus.
Possessing chlorine is not a
violation of the convention,
but the treaty prevents the use
of the gas as a weapon.
The Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weap-
ons watchdog said last month
it would look into the attacks
and has dispatched a team to
carry out investigations on the
ground in Syria. AFP
A UN vehicle carrying chemical weapon inspectors leaves a hotel in
Damascus in October last year. AFP
THOUSANDS of Iranian
women are taking off their
veils and publishing pictures
of themselves online, igniting
a debate about the freedom to
wear or not wear the hijab.
A Facebook page set up by
London-based Iranian jour-
nalist Masih Alinejad 11 days
ago has attracted more than
140,000 likes, with women
across Iran sending unveiled
pictures taken in parks, at the
seaside and in the streets.
My stealthy freedom while
driving in the streets of Teh-
ran, wrote Maryam alongside
an image showing her behind
the wheel. I like to feel the
wind blowing on my face.
Another post showed a
mother with her daughter.
The beautiful seaside in Kish
[Island], the younger woman
wrote. We strolled on the
rocks and experienced the
cool breeze owing through
our hair. Is this a big request?
Alinejad told the Guardian
she had been bombarded with
messages and pictures since
launching the site. Ive hardly
slept in the past three days be-
cause of the number of pictures
and messages Ive received.
Alinejad said she did her
best to verify that the pictures
were sent from genuine ac-
counts and asked people for
permission before publishing
them, but did not reveal their
full names.
In the 40-degree heat of an
Iranian summer, many women
push the boundaries, wearing
loose hijabs or sporting cloth-
ing and haircuts the authorities
deem un-Islamic. At the same
time, the religious police are
often deployed on the streets,
cracking down on those with
bad hijab or arresting those
who defy the rules.
Irans president, Hassan
Rouhani, has spoken out
against the crackdown, but his
government has little control
over these forces, who operate
under other Iranian political
institutes such as the revolu-
tionary guards. Im certainly
against these actions, Rou-
hani said last year.
Hard-liners have warned
Rouhani against any compro-
mise. Last week, a group of
conservative men and women
staged a protest demanding a
tightening of Islamic rules on
hijab. THE GUARDIAN
Iran women celebrate
not wearing the hijab
Exit polls tip Modi victory
Climbers return to Mount Everest
US PRESIDENT Barack
Obama pledged to work
closely with the new Indian
government as Hindu nation-
alist Narendra Modi was fore-
cast yesterday to have pulled
off a crushing win in the
worlds biggest election.
Modi at Delhi Gate said a
headline in the Mail Today,
while the Hindustan Times read
simply Exit Polls: Enter Modi
after a flurry of surveys released
after voting ended on Monday
pointed to a decisive result.
All the polls showed Modis
right-wing opposition alliance
trounced the left-leaning Con-
gress Party which has been in
power for a decade, and most
indicated that it had scraped
enough votes to form a new
coalition without having to
seek fresh partners.
Modis top aide predicted
that the margin of victory
would be even wider when the
results are announced on Fri-
day, while emphasising that
the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader was open to forg-
ing new alliances.
Modi struck a conciliatory
tone by saying it was time for
healing after an often bitter
five-week contest which saw
551 million voters cast their
ballots, making it by far the
worlds biggest election.
While a BJP victory had
been expected, the apparent
scale of defeat for Congress
was still striking with exit polls
showing support for the party
which has ruled India for most
of the post-independence era
at a nadir.
Obama, leader of the worlds
second-biggest democracy,
said India had set an example
for the world as he hailed the
contest as a vibrant demon-
stration of our shared values of
diversity and freedom.
We look forward to the for-
mation of a new government
once election results are
announced and to working
closely with Indias next admin-
istration to make the coming
years equally transformative.
Modis election however
presents something of a head-
ache for the US, which refused
to deal with him for years in the
aftermath of religious riots in
the state of Gujarat in 2002
shortly after Modi became its
chief minister.
More than 1,000 people,
mostly Muslims, were killed in
the violence which critics say
Modi did little to stop, even
though he has been cleared of
involvement by the courts.
Washington only ended its
boycott of Modi in February.
European countries also
refused to deal with Modi for
years in the wake of the 2002
riots, for which Modi has
refused to apologise.
While some of his most
ardent supporters are drawn
from the ranks of hard-line
Hindu groups, Modi fought a
campaign based on pledges to
revive economic growth, which
is at its lowest rate in a decade,
and increase development. AFP
TWO foreign mountaineers
have returned to Everest after a
deadly avalanche effectively
ended the climbing season, fly-
ing by helicopter partway up the
peak before starting their ascent,
an official said yesterday.
The climbers, from the US
and China, took the rare step of
hiring a helicopter that flew
them above the Khumbu Ice-
fall, where the worst accident
in the mountains history last
month killed 16 sherpa guides,
the air charter company said.
The climbers, thought to be
the first back on the mountain
since expeditions left following
the April 18 disaster, flew from
Everest base camp to Camp 2,
skipping the section where the
avalanche hit.
Two climbers are heading
up from Camp 2, tourism min-
istry official Dipendra Poudel
said. There are also other
climbers who have shown
interest to continue their expe-
ditions this year.
The Chinese climber, accom-
panied by six sherpas, is
attempting to scale Everest
while the US mountaineer is
heading alone for the neigh-
bouring Lhotse peak.
This is the first time weve
taken climbers up to Camp 2.
Earlier we made such flights to
transport only equipment or in
cases of emergencies, said
Ramesh Shiwakoti from Fishtail
Air, which flew the climbers.
Shiwakoti said they had
decided to fly to Camp 2 because
the route below, normally set up
by sherpas beforehand with
ropes and ladders, has not been
completed this season.
Most climbers abandoned
plans to ascend Everest from
the Nepalese side the easiest
and most popular route up the
worlds highest peak after the
avalanche. AFP
The Facebook page Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women was set up 11
days ago and has since attracted thousands of photos. FACEBOOK
A toxic chemical with thousands of commercial and domestic uses
Colour
Chlorine gas (CI
2
) used
as a chemical weapon
Chlorine used
in industry
Smell
Exposure symptoms
Chest pains
Burning in throat
Destroys respiratory organs,
causes cancer and slow death
by asphyxiation
Effects
Textiles
Paper
Food processing
Vinyl (PVC
windows, etc)
Water
treatment
Health
(pharmaceuticals,
disinfectants)
Prohibited under the Chemical
Weapons Convention
Yellow-green
Pineapple or pepper
Chlorine
Source: World Chlorine Council, Stanford University, Dow Chemical Company
World
14
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014

Kidnapped envoy freed
JORDANS ambassador to
Libya was freed and returned
home yesterday, a month after
being kidnapped, in an
exchange for a jihadist jailed
for plotting bomb attacks. A
government minister said
Ambassador Fawaz Aitan had
been released, with the
announcement coming just
days after Libya said it had
ratified an extradition
agreement with Jordan.
Masked gunmen kidnapped
the ambassador in mid-April
as he was being driven to work
in the Libyan capital. AFP
Italy shares boat blame
ITALY lashed out at the EU
yesterday after 17 bodies were
recovered and 206 people were
saved from a migrant
shipwreck, as rescuers
described scenes of panic in
the latest tragedy in the
Mediterranean Sea. Interior
Minister Angelino Alfano urged
more assistance from Europe
for border patrols, threatening
that otherwise Italy would defy
EU asylum rules and allow
migrants to travel on to other
countries in Europe. Well just
let them go, he said. AFP
Somalia attack toll rises
AFRICAN Union forces in
Somalia yesterday said a
cowardly bomb attack the
previous day had killed 19
people, nearly double the
number initially reported. The
car bomb exploded on
Monday outside a bank on a
busy street in the southern
Somali town of Baidoa. The
blast killed 19 innocent
victims and destroyed
valuable property, the AU
force said in a statement,
updating an earlier toll from
the police of 10. AFP
Ice sheet melt unstoppable
Terrence McCoy

T
HE collapse of the gi-
ant West Antarctica
ice sheet is under way,
two groups of scien-
tists said on Monday. They de-
scribed the melting as an un-
stoppable event that will cause
global sea levels to rise higher
than earlier projected.
Scientists said the rise in sea
level, up to 12 feet, will take
centuries to reach its peak and
cannot be reversed. But they
said a decrease in greenhouse
gas emissions could slow the
melt, while an increase could
speed it slightly.
Warm, naturally occurring
ocean water owing under the
glaciers is causing the melt.
We feel it is at the point that
it is . . . a chain reaction thats
unstoppable, regardless of
any future cooling or warming
of the global climate, said Eric
Rignot, a professor of Earth
science at the University of
California at Irvine. He was the
lead author of a NASA-funded
study that was one of the two
studies released on Monday.
The only thing that might
have stopped the ice from
escaping into the ocean and
lling it with more water is
a large hill or mountains, Ri-
gnot said. But there are no
such hills that can slow down
this retreat.
The NASA announcement
coincided with the release of
a University of Washington
study that contained similar
ndings. Both studies ob-
served ice retreating from four
massive glaciers in West Ant-
arctica Pine Island, Thwaites,
Smith and Kohler.
The Thwaites glacier alone
holds enough water to increase
sea levels by 2 feet, the Univer-
sity of Washington study said.
Together, the glaciers hold
enough water to raise it by sev-
eral feet.
Sea levels will not rise sud-
denly, in spite of what the
word collapse implies, said
a statement by the university
announcing its report. The
fastest scenario is 200 years,
and the longest is more than
1,000 years.
The statement said univer-
sity scientists used detailed
maps and computer models
to reach their conclusion that
a collapse appears to have al-
ready begun.
Scientists have been warn-
ing of its collapse, based on
theories, but with few rm
predictions or timelines, the
statement said.
The new projections of sea-
level rise by both studies are
higher and potentially more
devastating than earlier pro-
jections by international sci-
entists who wrote an Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate
Change report last year and
US scientists who wrote the
federal governments National
Climate Assessment, which
was issued this month.
The ndings probably will
force the IPCC to increase its
current estimate of up to 3
feet of sea-level rise by 2100,
said Sridhar Anandakrishnan,
a professor of geosciences at
Pennsylvania State University.
The IPCC bases its results on
reviews of earlier studies, and
the recent observations on po-
lar ice are only now starting
to come together, said Anan-
dakrishnan, who was not in-
volved in the NASA study.
Tom Wagner, cryosphere pro-
gram scientist at NASAs Earth
Science Division in Washington,
said this is not the rst time sci-
entists have said West Antarctica
ice will collapse. Weve nally
hit this point where we have
enough observation to put this
together and say it is happen-
ing. THEWASHINGTONPOST
The Thwaites glacier in Western Antarctica is melting, and nothing can be done to stop it, scientists say. AFP
LAWYERS for the first US pris-
oner scheduled to be put to
death since the bungled execu-
tion of Clayton Lockett have
launched a last-minute appeal
that seeks to stay the procedure
and lift the shroud of secrecy
over Texas drug supplies.
Robert Campbell was set to
be given a lethal injection in the
Texas death chamber on Tues-
day evening, but officials have
refused to reveal the source of
the sedative that would kill
him, adopting a stance mir-
rored in several other states as
it becomes increasingly diffi-
cult for prisons to find suitable
drugs and willing suppliers.
On Monday, Campbells legal
team filed an appeal with the
federal fifth circuit court in
which they argue that Locketts
messy death marks a dramat-
ic change in the relevant land-
scape and that Oklahomas
lack of transparency was a
major factor in the problems.
The common denominator
between Oklahoma and Texass
lethal injection procedures
secrecy was the primary and
substantial risk facing Mr Lock-
ett. All his attempts to gain
information about the drugs
with which Oklahoma intend-
ed to carry out his execution
were for naught and he was
subjected to a torturous execu-
tion that undoubtedly violated
the Eighth Amendment, the
lawyers claim.
Mr Campbell seeks to pro-
tect his right not to suffer the
death experienced by Mr Lock-
ett, they added. THE GUARDIAN
US condemned appeal
after botched execution
Europe in fresh push for Ukraine crisis talks
UN faces down killer robots
EUROPE stepped up diplomatic efforts
to resolve the crisis in Ukraine yester-
day, with the German foreign minister
in Kiev pushing authorities and pro-
Moscow rebels to come together at the
negotiating table.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Wal-
ter Steinmeiers efforts came amid
guarded optimism after the OSCE East-
West security body said Moscow sup-
ported its road map to resolving the
crisis through talks, disarmament
and elections.
Russias lukewarm endorsement on
Monday of weekend independence
votes in the eastern provinces of Donet-
sk and Lugansk also allayed fears Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin would move
quickly to annex the territories, as he
did with Crimea earlier this year.
But Moscow kept the pressure on
Kiev, insisting that talks on regional
rights must take place before a presi-
dential vote on May 25 and accusing
the pro-Western interim government
of refusing real dialogue.
Later in the day the European Com-
mission will host Ukraines Prime Min-
ister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Brussels to
offer support and discuss the next move
in attempts to defuse the crisis.
After talks with Yatsenyuk, Steinmei-
er said the situation in Ukraine
remained very threatening but that
he hoped progress was being made on
resolving the crisis peacefully.
Calling for a national dialogue under
Ukrainian leadership, Steinmeier said:
I hope this will create the conditions
to take a step to bring back occupied
territory, disarm armed groups step-by-
step and reinstall the authority of
the state.
He also said presidential elections
will play a crucial role in bringing the
country out of crisis.
In Moscow, the foreign ministry said
Kievs refusal to engage in real dialogue
. . . was a serious impediment to a de-
escalation of the crisis.
The ministry said Deputy Foreign
Minister Grigory Karasin had met the
European Unions Moscow representa-
tive Vygaudas Usackas and told him
that negotiations must be held in the
near future, and in any case before the
May 25 elections.
The fresh diplomatic flurry comes
after rebels in eastern Ukraine appealed
on Monday to join Russia after what
they claimed were resounding victories
in independence referendums.
Both European and US officials
denounced the votes as illegal, but
Moscow said it respects the results
and called for talks with rebels in the
industrial regions of Donetsk and
Lugansk, home to seven million of
Ukraines 46 million people.
Canada late on Monday joined the
EU in slapping fresh sanctions on Rus-
sia, targeting a dozen Russians and
Ukrainian separatists.
Today, we are announcing sanctions
against an additional six Russian and
six Ukrainian individuals who have
facilitated Russias violation of Ukrain-
ian sovereignty and territorial integri-
ty, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said. AFP
ARMIES of Terminator-like
warriors fan out across the bat-
tlefield, destroying everything
in their path as swarms of fellow
robots rain fire from the skies.
That dark vision could all too
easily shift from science fiction
to fact, with disastrous conse-
quences for the human race,
unless such weapons are
banned before they leap from
the drawing board to the arse-
nal, campaigners warn.
Governments yesterday
began the first-ever talks exclu-
sively on so-called lethal
autonomous weapons sys-
tems though opponents pre-
fer the label killer robots.
I urge delegates to take bold
action, Michael Moeller, head
of the UNs Conference on Dis-
armament, said.
All too often international
law only responds to atrocities
and suffering once it has hap-
pened. You have the opportu-
nity to take pre-emptive action
and ensure that the ultimate
decision to end life remains
firmly under human control.
That was echoed by the Inter-
national Committee of the Red
Cross, guardian of the Geneva
Conventions on warfare.
The central issue is the
potential absence of human
control over the critical func-
tions of identifying and attack-
ing targets, including human
targets, Kathleen Lawand, head
of the ICRCs arms unit, said.
There is a sense of deep dis-
comfort with the idea of allow-
ing machines to make life-and-
death decisions on the
battlefield with little or no
human involvement.
Killer robots would threaten
the most fundamental of rights
and principles in international
law, Steve Goose, arms divi-
sion director at Human Rights
Watch, said. The only answer
is a pre-emptive ban.
UN-brokered talks have
yielded such bans before:
blinding laser weapons were
forbidden by international law
in 1998. AFP
Mother and
daughter in
politician
death probe
SPANISH police yesterday
questioned a struggling, laid-
off council worker and her
mother over the public gun-
ning down of a ruling party
politician, a murder that halted
campaigning for European
elections in the country.
Isabel Carrasco, renowned as
a strong character who led the
ruling Popular Party in Leon
province, was shot repeatedly
on Monday in what appeared
to be an act of personal venge-
ance as she crossed a foot-
bridge in the university city,
police and witnesses said.
Newspapers splashed on their
front pages images of her body
lying under a white sheet on the
bridge, some highlighting con-
cern over growing public hatred
of Spanish politicians.
Police arrested the two a
35-year-old woman who lost
her temporary job at the Leon
council three years ago and her
55-year-old mother shortly
after the afternoon shooting.
The daughters temporary job
with the council had expired
when someone else was chosen
for the position in 2011, a Leon
City Hall source said. AFP
Judgement day is near. BLOOMBERG
15
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
World
Happy bday, Buddha
A devotee wears a traditional costume symbolising a mythical bird at the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon
yesterday, the full moon day of Kasone Festival, held to mark Buddhas birthday. The festival commemorates
the anniversary of the birth, enlightenment and death of the historical Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha. AFP
Water, water, maybe
not quite everywhere
Richard Ingham
and Anthony Lucas

T
HE next time your
throat is as dry as a
bone and the Sun is
beating down, take a
glass of clean, cool water.
Savour it. Sip by sip.
Vital and appreciated as
that water is, it will be even
more precious to those who
will follow you. By the end of
this century, billions are likely
to gripped by water stress and
the stuff of life could be an un-
seen driver of conict.
So say hydrologists who fore-
cast that on present trends,
freshwater faces a double
crunch from a population ex-
plosion, which will drive up de-
mand for food and energy, and
the impact of climate change.
Approximately 80 per cent
of the worlds population al-
ready suffers serious threats to
its water security, as measured
by indicators including water
availability, water demand and
pollution, the Nobel-winning
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) warned
in a landmark report in March.
Climate change can alter the
availability of water and there-
fore threaten water security.
Already today, around 768
million people do not have ac-
cess to a safe, reliable source
of water and 2.5 billion do
not have decent sanitation.
Around a fth of the worlds
aquifers are depleted.
Jump forward in your imagi-
nation to the middle of this
century, when the worlds
population of about 7.2 billion
is expected to have swelled to
around 9.6 billion.
By then, global demand for
water is likely to increase by a
whopping 55 per cent, accord-
ing to the UNs new World Wa-
ter Development Report.
More than 40 per cent of the
planets population will be liv-
ing in areas of severe water
stress, many of them in the
broad swathe of land that runs
along north Africa, the Middle
East and western South Asia.
Yet these scenarios do not take
into account changes in rain-
fall, snowfall or glacier shrink-
age caused by global warming.
As a very general rule, wet
countries will get wetter and
dry countries will get drier,
accentuating risk of ood or
drought, climate scientists
warn. But whether people
will heed their alarm call is a
good question.
When seismologists talk
about an area at risk from an
earthquake, people gener-
ally accept what they say and
refrain from building their
home there, French climatol-
ogist Herve Le Treut says. But
when it comes to drought or
ood, people tend to pay less
attention when the warning
comes from meteorologists.
Building desalination plants
on coasts in dry regions may
sound tempting, but their
water can cost up to 30 times
more than ordinary water,
notes Blanca Jimenez-Cisner-
os, who headed the chapter on
water for the big IPCC report.
Efciency options include
smarter irrigation, crops that
are drought-resilient or less
thirsty, power stations that
do not extract vast amounts
of water for cooling and con-
sumer participation, such as
ushing toilets with used bath
or shower water.
Above all, the message will
be: dont waste even a single
drop. AFP
Opinion
16
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
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T
HE kidnapping of more than
200 schoolgirls in northern
Nigeria by the Islamist ter-
rorist group Boko Haram is
beyond outrageous. Sadly, it is just
the latest battle in a savage war being
waged against the fundamental right
of all children to an education. That
war is global, as similarly horrifying
incidents in Pakistan, Afghanistan
and Somalia attest.
Around the world, there have been
10,000 violent attacks on schools
and universities in the past four
years, according to a report by the
Global Coalition to Protect Educa-
tion from Attack. The evidence is as
ample as it is harrowing, from the 22
schoolboys killed by suspected Boko
Haram militants in the Nigerian
state of Yobe earlier this year and
Somali schoolchildren forced to
become soldiers to Muslim boys
attacked by ethnic Burmese/Bud-
dhist nationalists in Myanmar and
schoolgirls in Afghanistan and Paki-
stan who have been firebombed,
shot or poisoned by the Taliban for
daring to seek an education.
These are not isolated examples of
children caught in the crossfire; this
is what happens when classrooms
become the actual targets of terror-
ists who see education as a threat.
(Indeed, Boko Haram is literally
translated to mean that false or
Western education is forbidden.)
In at least 30 countries, there is a
concerted pattern of attacks by
armed groups, with Afghanistan,
Colombia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan
and Syria the worst affected.
Such attacks reveal with stark clari-
ty that providing education is not
only about blackboards, books and
curricula. Schools around the world,
from North America to northern
Nigeria, now need security plans to
ensure the safety of their pupils and
provide confidence to parents and
their communities.
At the World Economic Forum in
Abuja, Nigerias capital, this week,
together with partners from business
and civil society, I launched a pro-
gram to ensure the personal safety of
children in areas where the threats to
them are real and immediate. The
Safe Schools Initiative will com-
bine school and community-based
plans with special measures to pro-
tect children attending some 5,000
primary and secondary schools in
the most vulnerable areas.
For individual schools, the meas-
ures will include reinforcing security
infrastructure, planning and
response, training for staff, and
counselling for students and com-
munity members. At the community
level, education committees com-
prising parents, teachers, and volun-
teers will be formed, along with spe-
cially developed teacher-student-
parent defence units for rapid
response to threats.
Other countries experience grap-
pling with similar threats has shown
that it is crucial to engage religious
leaders formally in promoting and
safeguarding education. In Afghani-
stan, in collaboration with commu-
nity shuras and protection commit-
tees, respected imams sometimes
use their Friday sermons to raise
awareness about the importance of
education in Islam.
In Peshawar, Pakistan, in a pro-
gram supported by UNICEF, promi-
nent Muslims leaders have spoken
out about the importance of educa-
tion and of sending students back to
school. In Somalia, religious leaders
have gone on public radio in govern-
ment-controlled areas and visited
schools to advocate against the
recruitment of child soldiers.
In countries such as Nepal and the
Philippines, community-led negotia-
tions have helped to improve securi-
ty and take politics out of the class-
room. In some communities, diverse
political and ethnic groups have
come together and agreed to develop
Safe School Zones. They have writ-
ten and signed codes of conduct
stipulating what is and is not allowed
on school grounds, in order to pre-
vent violence, school closures and
the politicisation of education. In
general, the signatory parties have
kept their commitments, helping
communities to keep schools open,
improve the safety of children and
strengthen school administration.
Millions of children remain locked
out of school around the world. This
is not just a moral crisis, it is also a
wasted economic opportunity. In
Africa, for example, education is par-
ticularly crucial as the continents
economies increasingly shift from
resource extraction to knowledge-
driven industry. Providing a safe
environment for learning is the most
fundamental and urgent first step in
solving the global education crisis.
PROJECT SYNDICATE
Comment
Gordon Brown
The war on education
Afghan schoolgirls study at an outside classroom on the outskirts of Jalalabad in September 2013. In at least 30 countries, including Afghanistan, there are concerted efforts by armed
groups to attack schools. AFP
Gordon Brown, former prime minister and
chancellor of the Exchequer of the UK, is United
Nations special envoy for global education.
In at least 30 countries, there is a concerted
pattern of attacks by armed groups, with
Afghanistan, Colombia, Pakistan, Somalia,
Sundan and Syria the worst affected
17
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Lifestyle Lifestyle
In brief
Suit filed over death of
Fast and Furious actor
THE widow of the man who
was driving a sports car when it
crashed, killing him and Fast
and Furious star Paul Walker
last year, is suing Porsche. The
suit filed on Monday alleges the
2005 Porsche Carrera GT the
two men were in did not have a
proper crash cage or safety
features in the gas tank. The
suit said these would have
saved both men. Walker had
completed much of his part in
filming Fast and Furious 7
before he died in November
aged 40, in a high-speed car
crash in California. The suit
was filed by Kristine Rodas,
wife of the late driver Roger
Rodas, in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. AFP
Tokyo to ban sales of
incest comic to minors
THE Tokyo government is to
ban sales to children of a
manga comic that depicts
incestuous relationships, an
official said yesterday, the first
time expanded rules on sexual
content have been invoked.
Little Sisters Paradise! 2,
which was published last
month, will be classified as an
unhealthy publication that
must be kept out of childrens
reach. The comic, a spinoff
from an adult-orientated
computer game with the same
title, says on its cover: More
naughty days of a brother and
five sisters. AFP
GoldieBlox, Beastie Boys
reach $1M settlement
IN MARCH, the Beastie Boys
reached a settlement with US
toy company GoldieBlox over
the latters parody of their
song Girls in a viral advert.
Now the details of that
settlement have been
published. GoldieBlox agreed
to pay $1 million to a charity of
the bands choice supporting
science, technology,
engineering and/or maths
(STEM) education for girls, in
return for a backdated licence
to use the track in the ad,
which was a YouTube hit in
November 2013. THE GUARDIAN
Michael Jackson wows
critics posthumously
SELF-STYLED King of Pop
Michael Jackson returns from
the grave again this week with
a second posthumous album
of songs recorded before his
death in 2009. Xscape went on
sale in the United States
yesterday, after being released
in various European countries
at the weekend and on
Monday. Critics have already
hailed Xscape a clear
improvement on 2010s
Michael, the first album
released after Jackson died of
a drug overdose at age 50, as
part of a multi-record deal
with label giant Sony. From
the first, there was the voice . . .
Nearly five years after his
death, that voice remains, and
is at its most powerful on the
new album, wrote the LA
Times reviewer. AFP
When artists go to war: inside
the PLOs propaganda wing
I
WAS 24 years old. We
were in danger. The
Israeli planes were
ying raids overhead.
And I was designing posters.
Hosni Radwan wont eas-
ily forget the conditions in
the Beirut ofces of the PLO
Information Department, as
an exhibition of the work it
produced that is opening in
London testies.
The World Is With Us: Global
Film and Poster Art from the
Palestinian Revolution, 1968-
1980, covers a tumultuous
and violent time, but one that
saw an extraordinary ower-
ing of creativity.
Radwan remembers see-
ing gures like the poet Mah-
moud Darwish, who edited
the journal Palestinian Affairs,
and the novelist Elias Khoury,
who, despite being Lebanese,
had fought with a PLO unit
and was almost blinded on
the battleeld before he took a
job in Radwans ofces.
There were Arabs from ev-
erywhere, Radwan says. Vol-
unteers just kept coming.
Many are now famous. The
Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda
Choucair, who enjoyed a one-
woman retrospective at Tate
Modern in 2013, designed cov-
ers for PLO publications. The
Jordanian sculptor Mona Sau-
di has two posters in the show,
as well as a lm she made in
collaboration with Iraqi-born
director Kais al-Zubaidi, Testi-
mony of Palestinian Children
in Wartime (1972), an affect-
ing, abstract production that
uses childrens drawings to
tell the story of an air raid on
a refugee camp.
The PLO operated as a no-
madic state. Its power was
rooted in the camps, rst
in Jordan and later in Leba-
non, where the Palestinians
won the formal right to self-
government. The PLO ran
schools, trained ghters and
ran cultural and research pro-
grams that funded lmmakers
and distributed posters.
By the time Radwan began
work in Beirut, the PLO had
fought a series of major mili-
tary battles, including Kara-
meh (1968), Black Septem-
ber (1970-71) and Operation
Litani (1978), none of which
remotely resembled victories.
One of Radwans earliest post-
ers, from 1979, celebrates the
solidarity between Palestinian
and Vietnamese students, with
lettering in perfect Arabic and
poorly spelled English.
The posters cover a wide
range of styles and imagery.
Ghassan Kanafani, the spokes-
man for the Marxist-Leninist
group the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),
designed one that shows a
death-like gure wearing a
bicorn hat and epaulettes of
blood, decorated with Western
ags and swastikas to illus-
trate the equivalence of capi-
talism and fascism. Kanafani
was assassinated by Mossad
in 1972 after a PFLP attack on
tourists at Lod airport, car-
ried out by young Japanese
recruits. Muaid al-Rawi uses
more contemporary imagery,
the gunman as rock star in
psychedelic colours.
A more subtle form of my-
thologising is evident in the
work of Rac Charaf, a Leba-
nese artist from Baalbeck, as
well as the works of Palestin-
ian refugees Ismail Shammout
and Mustafa al-Hallaj, two of
the most loved and celebrated
Palestinian artists. Here, im-
agery is borrowed from Phoe-
nician, Hellenic and other
classical periods to create a
new visual language for the
Palestinians that is sometimes
called Canaanism. (Ironically,
at the same time, revolution-
ary Zionists in Israel were at-
tempting to create their own
neo-Canaanist style.)
Al-Hallaj lost his personal
collection of his work in one of
the Israeli air raids on Beirut, so
when an electrical re threat-
ened his work anew in 2002,
he ran into his studio and died
trying to save it. He is buried in
the Yarmouk camp in Syria.
Mona Saudis poster for May
15, know as Nakba (Catastro-
phe) Day in the Palestinian
calendar, illustrates the strat-
egy known as the olive branch
and the gun a combination
of armed struggle and nego-
tiations.
At the centre of her image
is a scimitar-shaped dove
modelled with all the weight
and solidity associated with
her large-scale marble works.
The offer to negotiate, deliv-
ered by Yasser Arafat at the
UN in 1974, was rejected by
the PFLP and led to a split in
the PLO. Until then, lms and
posters had been produced by
individual party machines. Af-
terwards, they were produced
by a new Unied Information
Department, the ofce where
Radwan worked. Al-Zubaidi
became the lm supervisor.
The Fifth War (1980), featur-
ing a pale and intense Vanessa
Redgrave as a narrator, is a war
documentary of such unre-
mitting violence, the produc-
tion lost two of its members
during lming.
Al-Zubaidi will introduce
three of his shorts at the Bar-
bican during a three-day lm
program that kicks off the
monthlong exhibition.
The Visit (1970) is especially
haunting. In the lm, soldiers
appear from nowhere in the
pool of a cars headlamps.
They are not identied as Is-
raelis; indeed, they could rep-
resent the security force of any
anonymous regime.
As one of the shows cura-
tors, Nick Denes of the Pales-
tine Film Foundation, says,
The Palestinian Revolution
had an allegorical power. It
represented liberation for all
Arabs. It all ended in 1982,
when Israel invaded Beirut.
We left by ship to Tunisia, and
other places, Radwan recalls.
The revolution marked an in-
tensely fertile period of pan-
Arab cross-pollination, but it
was over. THE GUARDIAN
Revolutionaries of Fatah, 1979, by Hosni Radwan. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Handsome actors dont t the bill for Doctor Who
DOCTOR Who boss Steven Moffat has
said the casting of 50-something Peter
Capaldi in the shows lead role will be no
barrier to the character being terribly
boyish and young.
Moffat said handsome actors did not
fit the bill for the Time Lord, preferring
people who were utterly compelling,
attractive in a very odd way.
After the BBC1 show cast three succes-
sive younger doctors, Moffat turned to
56-year-old Capaldi, best known as Mal-
colm Tucker in The Thick of It, to succeed
Matt Smith, the youngest doctor, who
was 26 when he was cast.
I always thought Matt, while a very
young man, had something of the
demeanour of a much older man, where-
as Peter is a man in his 50s but is terribly
boyish and young at times, Moffat said.
I like the doctors to have mixed mes-
sages about what age they are you cant
really pin them down, he said.
The doctors are all the same doctor
really, at the end of the day. And to empha-
sise the senior consultant over the medi-
cal student for once reminds people that
hes actually a terrible old beast. Matts
method would do that . . . youd think,
Youre not really a puppy are you? Just
like Peter Capaldis doctor will sometimes
remind me hes a big kid at heart.
Cold Feet star Hermione Norris, Ben
Miller, Tom Riley and Keeley Hawes will
appear in the new series of Doctor Who,
with the show heading off on location to
Lanzarote. Moffat said he chose Capaldi
because there was something about
Peters demeanour, his eyes, his attitude
hes tremendously bright and that
comes out on screen.
When you choose a doctor you want
somebody who is utterly compelling,
attractive in a very odd way. None of the
doctors are conventionally attractive, but
theyre all arresting. Handsome men
dont quite suit.
Matt Smiths a young, good-looking
bloke from one angle but is actually the
strangest looking man from another. You
need that oddity; you need somebody who
is carved out of solid star. THE GUARDIAN
The selection of Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor Who ended a run of three successively
younger Time Lords. AFP
Health
18
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Nina Larson

A
LCOHOL kills 3.3 million
people worldwide each year,
more than AIDS, tuberculo-
sis and violence combined,
the World Health Organization said
on Monday, warning that booze con-
sumption was on the rise.
Including drink driving, alcohol-
induced violence and abuse, and a
multitude of diseases and disorders,
alcohol causes one in 20 deaths glob-
ally, the UN health agency said.
This actually translates into one
death every 10 seconds, Shekhar
Saxena, who heads the WHOs Mental
Health and Substance Abuse depart-
ment, told reporters in Geneva.
Alcohol caused some 3.3 million
deaths in 2012, WHO said, equivalent
to 5.9 per cent of global deaths (7.6
per cent for men and 4 per cent for
women). In comparison, HIV/AIDS is
responsible for 2.8 per cent, tubercu-
losis causes 1.7 per cent of deaths and
violence is responsible for just 0.9 per
cent, the study showed.
More people in countries where
alcohol consumption has tradition-
ally been low, like China and In-
dia, are also increasingly taking up
the habit as their wealth increases,
it said.
More needs to be done to protect
populations from the negative health
consequences of alcohol consump-
tion, Oleg Chestnov of the WHOs
Noncommunicable Diseases and
Mental Health unit said in a state-
ment launching a massive report on
global alcohol consumption and its
impact on public health.
Drinking is linked to more than 200
health conditions, including liver cir-
rhosis and some cancers. Alcohol
abuse also makes people more sus-
ceptible to infectious diseases like tu-
berculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the
report found.
Most deaths attributed to alcohol
around one-third are caused by
associated cardiovascular diseases
and diabetes.
Alcohol-related accidents, such as
car crashes, were the second-highest
killer, accounting for around 17.1 per-
cent of all alcohol-related deaths.
Binge drinking is especially damag-
ing to health, the WHO pointed out,
estimating that 16 per cent of the
drinkers abuse alcohol to excess.
While people in the worlds wealthi-
est nations, in Europe and the Ameri-
cas especially, are boozier than peo-
ple in poorer countries, rising wealth
in emerging economies is also driv-
ing up alcohol consumption.
Drinking in populous China and
India is rising particularly fast as
people earn more money, the WHO
said, warning that the average annual
intake in China was likely to swell by
1.5 litres of pure alcohol by 2025.
Still, Eastern Europe and Russia are
home to the worlds biggest drinkers.
Russian men who drink con-
sumed an average of 32 litres of pure
alcohol a year, according to 2010
statistics, followed by other Western
countries including Europe, Cana-
da, the United States, Australia and
South Africa.
On average, every person above the
age of 15 worldwide drinks 6.2 litres
of pure alcohol in a year, according to
the report.
Counting only those who drink
though, that rises to 17 litres of pure
alcohol each year.
But far from everyone indulges.
Nearly half of all adults worldwide
have never touched alcohol, and
nearly 62 per cent say they have not
touched a drink in the past year, the
report showed.
Abstinence, especially among
women, is most common in low-
income countries, while religious
belief and social norms mean many
Muslim countries are virtually alco-
hol-free. AFP
Alcohol kills one person every 10
seconds worldwide, WHO says
Cambodians and foreigners dance and drink beer during an Oktoberfest event in Phnom Penh. Every year, alcohol kills 3.3 million people worldwide. AFP
Fun, easy ways to beat the heat while drinking to your health
AS OUR days begin to warm up,
smoothies can be a great way
to pack in important nutrients.
But there are many types out
there, and not all of them are
good for you.
When we think of smoothies,
we often think of fruit and ice.
But pay attention to ingredients;
the term smoothie doesnt
mean healthful. Some restau-
rants concoctions are really
glorified desserts, more similar
to milkshakes. And on the other
end of the spectrum, some
store-bought protein shakes
advertise their healthfulness
but can be heavily processed
with mystery ingredients.
According to the Academy for
Nutrition and Dietetics, using
protein supplements is no
more or less effective than get-
ting your protein from food,
but they are typically more
expensive and can lack nutri-
ents found in whole foods. So
how do you to make a nutri-
tious, balanced smoothie? Start
with your protein source.
Nutrient profile: Almonds
In any form milk, butter or
whole almonds provide a
combination of fibre, protein
and fat that provides satiety,
making them ideal for weight
management. Just remember
to pay attention to portion size,
because theyre calorie-dense.
Almonds are an excellent
source of Vitamin E and man-
ganese and a good source of
magnesium, copper, phospho-
rus and fibre. They also contain
calcium, folate and potassi-
um.
According to the academy,
nuts such as almonds are not
only cholesterol-free but have
cholesterol-lowering proper-
ties and are rich in heart-
healthy monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats. In fact,
the Food and Drug Administra-
tion has approved a health
claim for food labels that states:
Eating 1.5 ounces per day of
most nuts as part of a diet low
in saturated fat and cholesterol
may reduce the risk of heart
disease. These nuts include
almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts,
pecans, some pine nuts, pista-
chios and walnuts.
But nuts arent the only way
to get protein, fibre and health-
ful fats in a smoothie. Some
other smart options:
Greek yogurt
Raw buckwheat groats
(soaked overnight and rinsed)
Chia or flax seeds
Hemp seeds
Avocado
Berry almond smoothie
We all know that eating a
healthful breakfast sets the
tone for the entire day. This
gluten-free, vegan smoothie is
sweet, thick, satisfying and
creamy without that chalky
aftertaste that often accompa-
ni es protei n-powdered
smoothies.
With only natural ingredi-
ents, it offers seven grams of
protein and six grams of fibre
per serving.
The base is frozen berries.
Because theyre frozen, the
smoothie can be enjoyed any
time of year. Berries are known
for being packed with antioxi-
dants, fibre, Vitamin C, potas-
sium and folate. (Just be sure
to find berries that arent artifi-
cially sweetened.) And one last
benefit for busy mornings: This
nutritious breakfast takes less
than five minutes to make.
This smoothie offers a com-
plete breakfast in under three
minutes, without using expen-
sive protein powders.
Ingredients
1 cup frozen unsweetened
strawberries
1 cup plain unsweetened
almond milk
1 cup frozen unsweetened
mixed berries, such as raspber-
ries, blueberries and blackber-
ries, or more as needed
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons raw almond
butter
2 tablespoons hemp hearts
(raw shelled hemp seed;
optional)
1 tablespoon chia seed
(optional)
Steps
Combine the frozen straw-
berries and the cup of almond
milk in a blender; puree for 1
minute or until smooth.
Working in two or three
batches, add the frozen mixed
berries, pureeing for 1 minute
between each addition. Add
splashes of almond milk if the
mixture becomes too thick
to blend.
Add the almonds, almond
butter and hemp hearts, if using;
puree for 15 seconds. Add the
chia seed, if using; blend at low
speed for 5 seconds.
Taste for texture; the consist-
ency should be smooth and
thick. If the smoothie seems
thin, add frozen berries. Serve
right away.
Nutrition per serving: 270
calories, 7 g protein, 26 g car-
bohydrates, 18 g fat, 2 g satu-
rated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg
sodium, 6 g dietary fiber, 10 g
sugar. THE WASHINGTON POST
The Berry Almond Smoothie offers
a complete breakfast in under
three minutes. THEWASHINGTONPOST
Travel
19
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE
FROM PHNOM PENH TO PHNOM PENH
Flighs Days Dep Arrival Flighs Days Dep Arrival
PHNOMPENH- BANGKOK BANGKOK- PHNOMPENH
K6 720 Daily 12:05 01:10 K6 721 Daily 02:25 03:30
PG 938 Daily 06:40 08:15 PG 931 Daily 07:55 09:05
PG 932 Daily 09:55 11:10 TG 580 Daily 07:55 09:05
TG 581 Daily 10:05 11:10 PG 933 Daily 13:30 14:40
PG 934 Daily 15:30 16:40 FD 3616 Daily 15:15 16:20
FD 3617 Daily 17:05 18:15 PG 935 Daily 17:30 18:40
PG 936 Daily 19:30 20:40 TG 584 Daily 18:25 19:40
TG 585 Daily 20:40 21:45 PG 937 Daily 20:15 21:50
PHNOMPENH- BEIJING BEIJING- PHNOMPENH
CZ 324 Daily 08:00 16:05 CZ 323 Daily 14:30 20:50
PHNOMPENH- DOHA( ViaHCMC) DOHA- PHNOMPENH( ViaHCMC)
QR 965 Daily 16:30 23:05 QR 964 Daily 01:00 15:05
PHNOMPENH- GUANGZHOU GUANGZHOU- PHNOMPENH
CZ 324 Daily 08:00 11:40 CZ 6059 2.4.7 12:00 13:45
CZ 6060 2.4.7 14:45 18:10 CZ 323 Daily 19:05 20:50
PHNOMPENH- HANOI HANOI - PHNOMPENH
VN 840 Daily 17:30 20:35 VN 841 Daily 09:40 13:00
PHNOMPENH- HOCHI MINHCITY HOCHI MINHCITY- PHNOMPENH
QR 965 Daily 16:30 17:30 QR 964 Daily 14:05 15:05
VN 841 Daily 14:00 14:45 VN 920 Daily 15:50 16:30
VN 3856 Daily 19:20 20:05 VN 3857 Daily 18:00 18:45
PHNOMPENH- HONGKONG HONGKONG- PHNOMPENH
KA 207 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 - - - -
PHNOMPENH- INCHEON INCHEON- PHNOMPENH
KE 690 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
PHNOMPENH- KUALALUMPUR KUALALUMPUR- PHNOMPENH
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
PHNOMPENH- PARIS PHNOMPENH- PARIS
AF 273 2 20:05 06:05 AF 273 2 20:05 06:05
PHNOMPENH- SHANGHAI SHANGHAI - PHNOMPENH
FM 833 2.3.4.5.7 19:50 23:05 FM 833 2.3.4.5.7 19:30 22:40
PHNOMPENH- SINGAPORE SINGAPORE-PHNOMPENH
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 1234..7 15:25 18:20 3K 593 Daily 13:30 14:40
3K 594 ....56. 15:25 18:10 - - - -
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
2817 6 14:50 17:50 2816 6 13:00 14:00
2817 7 13:20 16:10 2816 7 11:30 12:30
PHNOMPENH-TAIPEI TAIPEI - PHNOMPENH
BR 266 Daily 12:45 17:05 BR 265 Daily 09:10 11:35
PHNOMPENH- VIENTIANE VIENTIANE- PHNOMPENH
VN 840 Daily 17:30 18:50 VN 841 Daily 11:30 13:00
QV 920 Daily 17:50 19:10 QV 921 Daily 11:45 13:15
PHNOMPENH- YANGON YANGON- SIEMREAP
8M 402 1.3.6 13:30 14:55 8M 401 1.3.6 08:20 10:45
SIEMREAP- PHNOMPENH
8M 401 1.3.6 11:45 12:30
SIEMREAP- BANGKOK BANGKOK- SIEMREAP
Flighs Days Dep Arrival Flighs Days Dep Arrival
K6 700 Daily 12:50 2:00 K6 701 Daily 02:55 04:05
PG 924 Daily 09:45 11:10 PG 903 Daily 08:00 09:00
PG 906 Daily 13:15 14:40 PG 905 Daily 11:35 12:45
PG 914 Daily 15:20 16:45 PG 913 Daily 13:35 14:35
PG 908 Daily 18:50 20:15 PG 907 Daily 17:00 18:10
PG 910 Daily 20:30 21:55 PG 909 Daily 18:45 19:55
SIEMREAP- GUANGZHOU GUANGZHOU- SIEMREAP
CZ 3054 2.4.6 11:25 15:35 CZ 3053 2.4.6 08:45 10:30
CZ 3054 1.3.5.7 19:25 23:20 CZ 3053 1.3.5.7 16:35 18:30
SIEMREAP-HANOI HANOI - SIEMREAP
K6 850 Daily 06:50 08:30 K6 851 Daily 19:30 21:15
VN 868 1.2.3.5.6 12:40 15:35 VN 843 Daily 15:25 17:10
VN 842 Daily 18:05 19:45 VN 845 Daily 17:05 18:50
VN 844 Daily 19:45 21:25 VN 845 Daily 17:45 19:30
VN 800 Daily 21:00 22:40 VN 801 Daily 18:20 20:00
SIEMREAP-HOCHI MINHCITY HOCHI MINHCITY-SIEMREAP
VN 3818 Daily 11:10 12:30 VN 3809 Daily 09:15 10:35
VN 826 Daily 13:30 14:40 VN 827 Daily 11:35 12:35
VN 3820 Daily 17:45 18:45 VN 3821 Daily 15:55 16:55
VN 828 Daily 18:20 19:20 VN 829 Daily 16:20 17:40
VN 3822 Daily 21:35 22:35 VN 3823 Daily 19:45 20:45
SIEMREAP- INCHEON INCHEON- SIEMREAP
KE 688 Daily 23:15 06:10 KE 687 Daily 18:30 22:15
OZ 738 Daily 23:40 07:10 OZ 737 Daily 19:20 22:40
SIEMREAP- KUALALUMPUR KUALALUMPUR- SIEMREAP
AK 281 Daily 08:35 11:35 AK 280 Daily 06:50 07:50
MH 765 3.5.7 14:15 17:25 MH 764 3.5.7 12:10 13:15
SIEMREAP- MANILA MANILA- SIEMREAP
FLY DIRECT TOMYANMARMONDAY, WEDNESDAY &SATURDAY
YANGON- PHNOMPENH PHNOMPENH- YANGON
FLY DIRECT TOSIEMREAPMONDAY, WEDNESDAY &SATURDAY
SIEMREAP- YANGON YANGON- SIEMREAP
#90+92+94Eo, St. 217, Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Tel 023 881 178 | Fax 023 886 677 | www.maiair.com
REGULAR SHIPPING LINES SCHEDULES
CALLING PORT ROTATION
LINE CALLING SCHEDULES FREEQUENCY ROTATIONPORTS
RCL
(12calls/moth)
1 Wed, 08:00 - Thu 16:00 1 Call/week SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN
2 Thu, 14:00 - Fri 22:00 1 Call/week
HKG-SHV-SGZ-HKG
(HPH-TXGKEL)
3 Fri, 20:00 - Sat 23:59 1 Call/week SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN
MEARSK (MCC)
(4 calls/moth)
1 Th, 08:00 - 20:00 1 Call/week
SGN-SHV-LZP-SGN
- HKG-OSA-TYO-KOB
- BUS-SGH-YAT-SGN
- SIN-SHV-TPP-SIN
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-HCM-
NBO-SGH-OSA-KOB-
BUS-SGH-HGK-CHM
ITL (ACL)
(4 calls/month)
Sat 06:00 - Sun 08:00 1 Call/week SGZ-SHV-SIN-SGZ
APL
(4 calls/month)
Fri, 08:00 - Sun, 06:00 1 call/week SIN-SHV-SIN
COTS
(2 calls/month)
Irregula 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
AIRLINES
Air Asia (AK)
Room T6, PP International
Airport. Tel: 023 6666 555
Fax: 023 890 071
www.airasia.com
Cambodia Angkor Air (K6)
PP Ofce, #90+92+94Eo,
St.217, Sk.Orussey4, Kh.
7Makara, 023 881 178 /77-
718-333. Fax:+855 23-886-677
www.cambodiaangkorair.com
E: mai@royalaviationexpert.com
Qatar Airways (Newaddress)
VattanacCapital Tower, Level7,
No.66, PreahMonivongBlvd,
Sangkat what Phnom, Khan
DaunPenh. PP, P: (023) 963800.
E: pnhres@kh.qatarairway.com
MyanmarAirwaysInternational
#90+92+94Eo, St. 217,
Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara,
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
Tiger airways
G. oor, 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


Koreanair (KE)
Room.F3-R03, Intelligent Ofce
Center, Monivong Blvd,PP
Tel: (855) 23 224 047-9
www.koreanair.com
Cebu Pacic (5J)
Phnom Penh: No. 333B
Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 219161
SiemReap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.
Tel: 063 965487
E-mail: cebuair@ptm-travel.com
www.cebupacicair.com
SilkAir (MI)
Regency C,Unit 2-4, Tumnorb
Teuk, Chamkarmorn
Phnom Penh
Tel:023 988 629
www.silkair.com
AIRLINES CODE COLOUR CODE
2817 - 16 Tigerairways KA - Dragon Air 1 Monday
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 ight schedule information is updated about once a month. Further information,
please contact direct to airline or a travel agent for ight schedule information.
5J 258 2.4.7 22:30 02:11 5J 257 2.4.7 19:45 21:30
SIEMREAP- SINGAPORE SINGAPORE- SIEMREAP
MI 633 1, 6, 7 16:35 22:15 MI 633 1, 6, 7 14:35 15:45
MI 622 2.4 10:40 15:20 MI 622 2.4 08:40 09:50
MI 630 5 12:25 15:40 MI 616 7 10:40 11:50
MI 615 7 12:45 16:05 MI 636 3, 2 13:55 17:40
MI 636 3, 2 18:30 21:35 MI 630 5 07:55 11:35
MI 617 5 18:35 21:55 MI 618 5 16:35 17:45
3K 598 .2....7 15:35 18:40 3K 597 .2....7 13:45 14:50
3K 598 ...4... 15:35 18:30 3K 597 ...4... 13:45 14:50
SIEMREAP- VIENTIANE VIENTIANE- SIEMREAP
QV 522 2.4.5.7 10:05 13:00 QV 512 2.4.5.7 06:30 09:25
SIEMREAP- YANGON YANGON- SIEMREAP
8M 402 1. 5 20:15 21:25 8M 401 1. 5 17:05 19:15
PREAHSIHANOUK- SIEMREAP SIEMREAP- PREAHSIHANOUK
Flighs Days Dep Arrival Flighs Days Dep Arrival
K6 130 1-3-5 12:55 13:55 K6 131 1-3-5 11:20 12:20
Conchita Wurst
another boon
for gay Vienna
A woman passes by the Rosa-Lila Villa, a meeting point of the Vienna
gay community at the historic centre on May 6, 2014. AFP
E
VEN before Conch-
ita Wursts Eurovi-
sion triumph helped
burnish Austrias
tolerant image, Vienna was
already popular with gay
tourists, attracted by the mix
of high-brow culture and his-
tory and also fun.
You wont see bare bot-
toms or smutty word plays
like you do for other cities.
Vienna is sticking to its brand
classical and elegant, the
citys tourism chief, Norbert
Kettner, said.
If you just want to party 24
hours a day, there are better
cities. But if you are interested
in quality cuisine and culture
and also partying then you
should come to Vienna.
Viennas baroque imperial
splendour, UNESCO-protect-
ed cafe culture, world-class
classical music and over 100
museums have long made it
a hit with tourists straight
or gay.
In the last decade the num-
ber of overnight stays by visi-
tors sampling Schoenbrunn
palace, Sachertorte cake or
Klimts The Kiss has rocketed
60 per cent to almost 13 mil-
lion in 2013.
The tourist board has made
a point of trying to attract gay
tourists, with a special guide
and a Facebook page called
Gayfriendly Vienna cur-
rently fronted with a photo of
Conchita Wurst.
And it has paid off. In Janu-
ary, 80,000 people voted Vi-
enna their favourite cultural
destination on website GayCi-
ties.com, which calls it one of
Europes great gay cities.
And as the website high-
lights, there is also fun to be
had after dark, with plenty of
fetish parties, saunas and gay
clubs to keep even the most
energetic boy or girl happy.
Vienna has a pretty for-
mal image but it also has a
good gay scene. It offers ev-
erything from simple bars to
sex clubs, Irish visitor Brian
Melaugh, 47, told AFP on his
second trip to the city.
Sitting off the famous Na-
schmarkt market at the Cafe
Savoy, a venerable gay insti-
tution in Vienna, he concedes
however that the average age
is perhaps higher than other,
racier destinations.
Lots of older gays come to
Vienna. Younger ones go to
places like Ibiza, he says.
Conchita Wursts victory
at Eurovision was as much
about tolerance as it was
about music, and gay visitors
certainly nd the Austrian
capital of 1.7 million people
an accepting place.
In particular, people from
nearby eastern Europe nd it
a safe haven, says Boyan Der-
vishev, the manager of Cafe
Savoy who arrived in Vienna
from his native Bulgaria 26
years ago.
Gay visitors from eastern
Europe appreciate the nor-
mality, he said. If they em-
barrass themselves, its not
a scandal.
The city also has several gay
events including the ve-day
Vienna Pride, which this year
culminates on June 14 with
a march of around 100,000
loud and proud members of
the LGBT community.
In addition, Vienna city hall
hosts the Life Ball, an annual
event that over the past 20 or
so years has become one of
the worlds best-known AIDS
charity events.
This years extravaganza
on May 31 with the theme
Love is a Bloom Growing
Anywhere is due to be at-
tended by former US presi-
dent Bill Clinton and singer
Ricky Martin, among others.
Conchita Wurst is a very
Viennese gure, Kettner
said. THE GUARDIAN
Entertainment
20
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
LEGEND CINEMA
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
In this 2014 American superhero film, Steve Rogers
struggles to embrace his role in the modern world
and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet
agent known as the Winter Soldier. Starring Chris
Evans, Samuel L Jackson and Scarlett Johansson.
Tuol Kork: 9:25pm
RIO 2
An animated adventure. Its a jungle out there for
Blu, Jewel and their three kids after theyre hurtled
from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon.
As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the
vengeful Nigel. With the voices of Jesse Eisenberg
and Anne Hathaway.
City Mall: 9:10am
Tuol Kork: 11:25am
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2
Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious
company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains
against him, impacting on his life.
City Mall: 9:20am, 11:10am, 1:50pm, 4:15pm,
6:55pm, 9:20pm
Toul Kork: 9:20am, 1:55pm, 4:10pm, 6:50pm,
9:20pm
PLATINUM CINEPLEX
BAD NEIGHBOURS
A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected
difficulties after they are forced to live next to a
fraternity house.
9:20am, 1:10pm
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2
(See above.)
9:20am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8:15pm
WALK OF SHAME
A reporters dream of becoming a news anchor is
compromised after a one-night stand leaves her
stranded in downtown LA without a phone, car, ID or
money and only eight hours to make it to the most
important job interview of her life.
6:30pm
NOW SHOWING
Salsa @ The Groove
New to salsa? The Groove is oering
a class for beginners. This is the
ideal time to start if youve ever been
curious about getting involved.
Followed by a salsa party.
The Groove, #1C Street 282. 9:30pm
Trivia @ The Willow
Try your luck at The Willows trivia
night. Its probably the citys biggest
quiz (they regularly pay out over $100
in prize money to the winning table)
but they dont take themselves too
seriously.
The Willow, #1 Street 21. 7:30pm
TV PICKS
A Kampong Chhnang villager moulds clay into pottery. Find out more at Cambodian Living Arts exhibition. PHOTOSUPPLIED
Beautiful Creatures is airing on Fox Movies. BLOOMBERG
Movie @ SoulTEAse
Every Wednesday, Street 240 cafe
SoulTEAse oers a midweek movie
night complete with dinner while you
watch. The $5 cover charge for the
evening includes curry and a cold
beer.
SoulTEAse, #55eo Street 240. 6:30pm
Chhnang! @ Cambodian
Living Arts
Through photos, videos and pottery,
Chhnang! features the ancient
Angkorian practice of shaping clay
that families still use in Kampong
Chhnang province.
Cambodian Living Arts, 128-G9
Sothearos Boulevard. All day
2:20pm - PERFECT STRANGER: A journalist goes
undercover to ferret out businessman Harrison Hill as
her childhood friends killer. Posing as one of his temps,
she enters into a game of online cat-and-mouse. FOX
MOVIES
4:10pm - BEAUTIFUL CREATURES: Ethan longs to escape
his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new
girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about
their respective families, their history and their town.
FOX MOVIES
9:35pm - THE INTERNSHIP: Two salesmen whose
careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find
their way into a coveted internship at Google, where
they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy
geniuses for a shot at employment. Starring Vince
Vaughn and Owen Wilson. FOX MOVIES
Thinking caps
ACROSS
1 Oversized
6 Long drink
10 Harvest
14 In no time ___ (instantly)
15 King James you
16 Edible corm
17 What a prom king must be
20 Send out
21 Sleuth, in slang
22 Twist facts
23 Uses a throne
24 Taunt
28 Screen-writers output
30 Early textbook
32 Nuclear energy producer
35 It comes in a bag, often
36 Music genre
40 ___-Magnon
41 Surpass in auctioneering
42 Rat film
45 Dual-purpose couch
49 Old Western Union service
50 Having similar qualities
52 Request to Sajak
53 Parting word
56 With the bow, to violinists
57 What a sudden idea may do
61 Program of variety acts
62 Quiz or exam
63 Riders after rustlers
64 Adam and Eves first home
65 Roughly
66 Legends
DOWN
1 Where flag pins can be affixed
2 Like some clocks
3 Long, slender sword
4 Oversupply
5 Right-angle bend
6 Roosters do it
7 Fancies
8 Theyre never free of charge
9 Pour out copiously
10 Repair a shoe
11 Tokyo, once
12 Bustle
13 Smoke-filled room habitue
18 Troublemaker
19 Animal shelter
23 Freelancers detail
25 Treble clef singer
26 Slowly permeate
27 Baseball stat
29 Umbrage
30 Common deliveries?
31 Prayer bench
33 Gunk
34 Storytime listener
36 A Great Lake
37 Take it really easy
38 Ones sharing a tartan
39 Tissue box word
40 100 lbs. in the U.S.
43 Roman army division
44 Impulse carrier
46 Having the least coverage
47 Turn into bills and/or coins
48 Digital watch components
50 Immeasurably vast pit
51 Central Honshu city
54 Sarges pooch
55 Lazyboness opposite
56 Shout at sea
57 The Raven author
58 Outdated
59 Slapstick missile
60 Tachometers meas.
GOETH THE WEASEL II
Tuesdays solution Tuesdays solution
Sport
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
21
Finals berths booked for
volleyball competition
THE first edition of the Sponsor
High School Volleyball Cup,
which got under way on April 21,
concluded its provincial
preliminary phase yesterday in
Sihanoukville, with eight teams
set for battle in the final round at
Phnom Penhs Beeline Arena
from May 23 to 24. The winners
of each of the eight qualifiers
include Hun Sen Phnom Penh
Thmey High School (Phnom
Penh), Preah Sihanouk
(Kampong Cham), Samdech
Decho Hun Sen Soung (Tbong
Khmom), Angkor (Siem Reap),
Hun Sen Monkol Borey (Banteay
Meanchey), Mony Vong
(Battambang) and Hun Sen
Smach Deng (Sihanoukville).
The overall tournament
champion will collect 12 million
riel ($ 2,980), runners-up will
get 8 million riel, third place 4
million riel and each of the other
finalists 2 million riel. CHHORN
NORN, TRANSLATEDBY CHENGSERYRITH
Wiggins storms time
trial for California lead
FORMER Tour de France
champion Bradley Wiggins
clocked a storming 23min 18sec
to win the time trial second
stage on Monday and take the
Tour of California overall lead.
The British Team Sky rider
knocked Garmin Sharps early
pace-setter Rohan Dennis of
Australia into second place in
the stage, 44 seconds adrift,
with American Taylor Phinney
third, 52 seconds back. Wiggins,
who followed up his 2012 Tour
de France triumph with a gold
medal at the London Olympics
that year, seized the overall lead
in the eight-stage race. AFP
NFL fines Dolphins
Jones for Sam tweets
THE NFL has fined and
disciplined Miami Dolphins
player Don Jones, after he
tweeted his disapproval of St
Louis Rams draftee Michael
Sams emotional post-draft
kiss with his boyfriend. Jones
tweeted omg and then
horrible after ESPN aired a
kiss between the leagues first
openly gay player and his
partner. Sam was the 249th
overall draft pick in the
seventh round on Saturday.
Joness tweets have since
been deleted. We were
disappointed to read Dons
tweets during the NFL draft.
They were inappropriate and
unacceptable, and we regret
the negative impact these
comments had on such an
important weekend for the
NFL, Dolphins head coach
Joe Philbin said in a
statement. THE GUARDIAN
Mo Farah confirms his
run at Glasgow Games
MO Farah has ended months of
speculation about his intentions
for this summer by confirming
that he will compete for England
in the Commonwealth Games.
The decision is a substantial
fillip for the organisers,
especially with the world 100m
record holder, Usain Bolt, still
dithering over whether to
compete in Glasgow. Farah, the
double Olympic and world
5,000m and 10,000m champion,
confirmed the news with a
matter-of-fact tweet Hi guys!
I will be running in the
Commonwealth Games this
year..!! See you in Glasgow..!!
Shabba....!!. THEGUARDIAN
All Blacks face loss of talent
A
YEAR from the World Cup,
defending champions the
All Blacks face a depleted
talent pool to select from, as
a wealth of players opt for lucrative
overseas contracts.
Although there is an overow of
quality among the loose forwards and
outside backs, in other areas there
are looming shortages particularly
at hooker, where there is a struggle to
nd three of international standard
for next months tour by England.
History has shown opportunities
can always arise for fringe players
especially in the last World Cup when
the All Blacks hero was an out-of-con-
dition, and initially out-of-conten-
tion, Stephen Donald.
Donald was recalled from holiday
and thrust into the nal after the three
frontline y-halves were injured.
In a fairy-tale ending, he saved rug-
by-obsessed New Zealand from deep
despair when he kicked the winning
penalty in the 8-7 victory over France.
But rather than hoping for injuries
to again open a pathway to Test selec-
tion, a growing number of players are
heading offshore, much to the annoy-
ance of head coach Steve Hansen.
Players who put money ahead of
an All Blacks jersey lack mental
fortitude, he said ahead of naming
a 35-man All Blacks training squad
this week.
It is frustrating and it is disap-
pointing. Players here have a dream
of playing for the All Blacks and then
they suddenly give it up when an eas-
ier option comes along, he said.
Its not their dream but they decide
to go for it, and I think we need play-
ers with a bit more mental fortitude.
Former All Blacks Mils Muliaina,
Zac Guildford, Jarrad Hoeata and
Corey Flynn, along with leading Super
Rugby players Andre Taylor, Bundee
Aki, Jackson Willison, Alipati Leuia,
Tyler Bleyendaal, Chris Noakes, Jack
Lam and Tom McCartney have con-
rmed they are heading overseas this
year. There has also been speculation
that other former All Blacks Tanerau
Latimer, Andy Ellis and Ben Tameifu-
na will join them.
Generally, New Zealanders are only
picked for the All Blacks if plying their
club trade in their homeland.
Hansen tempered the naming of
his squad by saying there were play-
ers missing whom the All Blacks
management were well aware of, in
an apparent nod to World Cup veter-
ans Flynn and Ellis.
If rst-choice scrum-half Aaron
Smith was injured, We might have to
bring someone senior back in, Han-
sen said yesterday, noting the lack of
experience with the other two train-
ing squad members, Tawera Kerr-Bar-
low and TJ Perenara.
The dearth of experienced hook-
ers also means the 15-Test Flynn re-
mains on the All Blacks short-term
radar despite signing with French
club Toulouse.
Rising hookers Nathan Harris and
Liam Coltman are in the training
squad alongside established rakes
Dane Coles and the increasingly
injury-prone 35-year-old Keven
Mealamu.
But selector and former All Black
Grant Fox said the selection panel
was not absolutely convinced
Harris and Coltman were ready for
Test rugby, which meant Flynn re-
mained an option if required to play
against England.
Weve got a Test series to win in
June as well, he told Radio Sport,
indicating there was plenty of rugby
ahead for the All Blacks before the
2015 World Cup in England.
Its not all about the future. Weve
got to keep an eye on that but weve
also got to succeed in the mean-
time. AFP
Aaron Smith of New Zealand (centre) and teammates perform the Haka before their Rugby Championship Test against the South Africa
Springboks at Eden Park in Auckland on September 14, 2013. AFP
Old Boys set for battle
H S Manjunath
A UNIQUE veterans reunion
with a truly international a-
vour will ruck and roll at the
Old Stadium this Saturday in
what has been passionately
branded the Battle of the
Old Boys.
It is rugby with a difference,
as players past their prime
but with great memories and
a love for the game are out to
recreate exciting moments
on the pitch all in the name
of what local charitable or-
ganisation and event hosts
Kampuchea Balopp is doing
for the development of youth
through rugby.
It is a mini tournament
more like a social event but
not without competitive can-
dor as two visiting teams, the
HKCC Aberdeen Angels and
the Saigon Geckos, join the
Kampuchea Barbarians for
nearly three hours of rugby
action from 3pm.
According to Kampuchea
Balopp communications
manager Steve Noble, the
Hong Kong team will be
bringing some kit and equip-
ment to be distributed with-
in the KB program and share
it with partner NGOs.
The local Barbarians are a
team formed in the spirit of
diversity and having fun. The
squad for Saturdays triangu-
lar event, apart from the lo-
cals, includes players based
in Cambodia originating
from Fiji, Australia, Argen-
tina, France, South Africa,
New Zealand and the US.
Food and drinks will
be available at the venue
through ShowBox and Kati
Perris Pizza.
A player from the Undesireables tackles a Box Hill Unquenchables player
during their game in the 2013 Angkor 10s tournament. JOE GARRISON
MIKE Browns second spell as
coach of the Cleveland Cava-
liers ended after one season
on Monday as he was sacked
by the NBA club.
The move came on the same
day the Cavaliers announced
David Grifn was to be their
new general manager.
Grifn had been Clevelands
acting general manager since
owner Dan Gilbert red Chris
Grant on February 6.
Brown had coached the
Cavaliers for ve seasons
from 2005-2010 when the
lineup included superstar
playmaker LeBron James
prior to Jamess departure for
current club Miami.
Upon his return this year
the team amassed a record of
just 33-49.
Trail Blazers stay alive
Damian Lillard scored 25
points as the Portland Trail
Blazers stayed alive in the NBA
playoffs with a 103-92 victory
over San Antonio on Monday.
LaMarcus Aldridge added
19 points for the Trail Blazers,
whose victory in game four
of the Western Conference
second-round playoff series
prevented a Spurs sweep.
Theyll head back to San
Antonio for game ve to-
night, with the Spurs still
up 3-1 and looking to wrap
up the series and reach the
conference nals for a third
straight season.
James lifts Heat over Nets
LeBron James scored 49
points to carry the Miami Heat
to a 102-96 victory over Brook-
lyn on Monday and within
one win of advancing in the
NBA playoffs.
James, a four-time NBA Most
Valuable Player, matched his
career playoff high as two-time
defending champions Miami
took a commanding three-
games-to-one lead in the best-
of-seven Eastern Conference
second-round series.
The Heat will try to wrap
up the series when they host
game ve tonight.
Jamess mammoth effort
kept the Heat on pace with the
tenacious Nets throughout,
but it was teammate Chris
Bosh who hit a crucial three-
pointer from the right cor-
ner with 57.3 seconds left to
play that gave Miami the lead
for good.
[James] biggest play of the
game after scoring that many
points was getting off the ball,
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said
of the play. AFP
Cavaliers sack head coach
Brown; Blazers, Heat win
R
IO Ferdinand is leaving
Manchester United after
12 years, with the club
having decided against of-
fering him a new contract. The de-
fenders departure was conrmed
on the day United had a 27 million
($45.6 million) bid for Southamp-
tons Luke Shaw rejected, signalling
that a summer of rebuilding has be-
gun in earnest.
Ferdinand said recently that he
hoped to stay at United and he is
determined to continue his career.
The former England captain and
centre-half, at 35, is keen to play on
in the Premier League if he receives
an offer that suits.
He will weigh his options care-
fully and is sure to eld offers from
abroad, including from Dubai, Chi-
na and Major League Soccer.
There is the strong possibility that
Ferdinand will move into coaching
at some point, so a player-coach
role may be considered. Ferdinand,
who is from Peckham in south Lon-
don, had been away from his home
town since being transferred from
West Ham United to Leeds United
in 2000.
Harry Redknapp, who gave him
his rst-team debut at West Ham,
is now in charge of Queens Park
Rangers. The pair continue to enjoy
good relations and Redknapp may
try to tempt him to join the club
as a player and as part of his back-
room staff.
Ferdinands departure ends a
highly successful spell at United
where, having being signed from
Leeds United in July 2002 for 30
million, a record for a defender, he
won six Premier League titles, the
Champions League and two League
Cups.
In a statement on his website
Ferdinand implied that the deci-
sion to leave Old Trafford was his,
although it is understood this was
not the case. He has not been a
regular rst-choice this season and
has been troubled by injury.
I have thought long and hard
over the last few months about
my future and after 12 fantastic
years playing for what I regard as
the best club in the world I have
decided the time is right for me to
move on, he said.
I joined Manchester United in
the hope of winning trophies and
never in my wildest dreams could
I have imagined how successful we
would be during my time here.
There have been so many high-
lights, playing alongside some great
players who have become good
friends, winning my rst Premier
League title and also that fantastic
night in Moscow are memories that
I will cherish forever.
He added: Circumstances didnt
allow for me to say goodbye the way
I would have liked, but Id like to
take this opportunity to thank my
teammates, staff, the club and the
fans for an unbelievable 12 years
that Ill never forget.
Winning trophies I dreamed
about as a kid came true at this
great club. I am feeling t and
healthy, ready for a new challenge
and looking forward to whatever
the future holds for me.
United tweeted: #mufc would
like to thank Rio Ferdinand for his
long and distinguished service, and
wish him well for the future.
As the club plan for their own fu-
ture, they have been told by South-
ampton that Shaw is not for sale
but United are still condent of se-
curing the left-backs transfer, with
Southamptons stance viewed as a
bargaining position.
United value Shaw in the region
of 30 million, with the 18-year-old,
who was named by Roy Hodgson
in Englands World Cup squad on
Monday, keen on the move.
His preference is that the deal
should be completed before the
tournament begins in Brazil next
month. United believe they can
conclude the transfer that would
make Shaw the most expensive
teenager in domestic football his-
tory and the best rewarded.
As reported by the Guardian,
United will make Shaw the highest-
paid player ever under 20 by offer-
ing him a 100,000-a-week salary
over ve years and are set to beat
off interest from Chelsea and Man-
chester City for his signature.
These terms would quadruple
his earnings and would see Shaw
placed well above the bracket of
Adnan Januzaj, who when agreeing
to a fresh ve-year contract at Old
Trafford last autumn accepted a
salary of around 60,000 a week.
United nished seventh in the
Premier League following a dis-
mal title defence and are expected
to appoint Louis van Gaal as their
manager this week.
Although the club do not plan to
have a formal unveiling of the Hol-
land coach until after the World
Cup, Van Gaal will have been con-
sulted over Shaw to ensure the
Dutchman would want him.
There are doubts over whether
two of the coaching staff, Phil Nev-
ille and the goalkeeping specialist
Chris Woods, will be kept on.
Shaw would represent the rst
signing of what United hope will
be a major overhaul of the squad
in the summer transfer window. Yet
despite the club being in a state of
ux until a new manager arrives
Ryan Giggss interim tenure ended
on Sunday Darren Fletcher has
claimed this should not concern
players too much.
I think you can sometimes wor-
ry too much about that, the mid-
fielder said.
Its important to focus on your-
self and make sure you come back
for the new season in the right con-
dition and whoever is the manager
you have to try to impress him in
pre-season and training. Its never
been any different here and thats
always been my mindset. Its a big
squad with competition for places
and you have to impress when you
get an opportunity. THE GUARDIAN
22 THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Football
Ferdinand leaves
Man United after
glittering 12 years
Defender Rio Ferdinand has won six Premier League titles and the Champions League
with Manchester United during his 12 years at the club. AFP
Sabina shares secrets to success in Fantasy League
With the dust settling on
another engrossing Cellcard
Fantasy League season, the
Post sports editor Dan Riley
grabbed an email interview
with its triumphant winner,
28-year-old Sabina Law-
reniuk of Bradford, England,
who clinched the title on
Sunday with her team Why
always me?
Congratulations. How does it
feel to finish top of just over
700 teams in the Cellcard Fan-
tasy League?
I feel relieved after the stress
of watching the results come
in [on Sunday] afternoon. I
wasnt very confident heading
into the final week and thought
that Matt [Culiss] PPFC might
pip me to the post.
Hes been such an outstand-
ing rival that I actually feel a
bit bad for winning he
deserved it as much as me.
You are the second female to
scoop the top prize of a 3.5G
iPad and T-shirt after Brenda
Wade. What do think makes a
good fantasy manager?
Dedication I have spent far
too much of my time this sea-
son scouting players and plot-
ting transfer strategies.
What is your connection to
Cambodia?
I have a long association with
Cambodia. I first visited back
in 2005 and havent been able
to keep away, returning every
year since.
I moved over in 2008 to do
some research with the Royal
University of Phnom Penh,
looking at the work and life of
labour migrants garment fac-
tory workers, motodops, street
sellers, and garbage pickers,
etc. That has turned into a PhD,
so I now split my time between
London, where my university
is based, and Phnom Penh,
where I do my research.
What football team do you sup-
port and which player do you
currently admire the most?
Ill always be loyal to my
hometown team, Bradford
City. But of the Premier League
clubs, I have an affection for
Arsenal.
Top player has to be Aaron
Ramsey what a season. And
its not over yet. Hopefully, hell
continue his fine form into
[this Saturdays] FA Cup Final
at Wembley.
Who were most treasured
squad picks of the season?
Ramsey, Suarez, Yaya. The
latter particularly after Matt
(briefly) binned him in the
January wildcard.
Who did you gamble on to most
affect and who did you regret
fielding?
Taking the armband off Sua-
rez in gameweek 27 felt genu-
inely frightening. Captain Stur-
ridge repaid the decision that
week but burned me the next.
I cant say I regret fielding
him, because his goal on final
day won me the league, but it
was difficult being a de facto
Nasri fan over the last few
gameweeks, given the Arsenal
connection and the manner of
his departure.
What advice would you give
fantasy managers for next
season?
Dont take hits [gambles on
players]. I havent taken many
but Ive regretted almost every
one. They have rarely paid off.
What will you be doing with
your winners prize of an
iPad?
Preparing to mount my title
challenge for next [Cellcard
Fantasy League] season.
Who do you think will win the
FIFA World Cup this year?
I wish I could say England, but
I dont want to destroy my cred-
ibility. Id like it to be hipster tip
Belgium but I think one of the
South American teams, proba-
bly hosts Brazil, is a safer bet.
Meanwhile, fellow English-
man Matt Culis expressed his
thoughts at losing to Law-
reniuk.
Congratulations from me,
it was an exciting battle, he
told the Post by email. Like
Liverpool, Ill be back next year
and trying to go one better.
Im really happy to get a top
[1,000] finish my first time.
I sneaked number 1 in Cam-
bodia on the final day too.
In FPL geekiness (I spend
WAY too much time on it), it
was actually pretty exciting.
I enlisted my main rival
from home for transfer advice
over the last few weeks as Id
sewn up our money league
about three months ago.
I didnt take any of his
advice, but it was good to have
someone to bounce ideas off.
In the final week, I picked
the right captain and made
the right transfer to make up
15 points, but the rest of [Law-
reniuks] team was too
strong.
I didnt fancy it going in,
but it was close in the end.
Jason Puncheon . . . Ill never
forget or forgive him.
Sabina Lawreniuk shows off her
winning Cellcard Fantasy League
team as she celebrates in an
English pub on Sunday night.
PHOTO SUPPLIED
Football
THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
23
Miura unveiled as the
new coach of Vietnam
THE Vietnam Football
Federation (VFF) made the
bold move on Saturday of
appointing a relative unknown
as their national team head
coach. According to a report
on the ASEAN Football
Federations official website
(www.aseanfootball.org) on
Monday, 50-year-old Japanese
tactician Toshiya Miura signed
a two-year contract to manage
the Golden Stars that includes
a monthly salary of $12,000.
The VFF did not choose Miura
due to his CV. We trusted him,
as he was introduced by the
Japan Football Association. He
was not well-known, but it was
not a problem, VFF president
Hung Dung was quoted as
saying. DAN RILEY
Austin double fires QPR
into the play-off final
QPR STAGED a stirring
fightback to reach the
Championship playoff final as
Charlie Austins double
clinched a 2-1 win over Wigan
in the semifinals on Monday.
Harry Redknapps team, who
had ground out a goalless draw
in the first leg on Friday, fell
behind early in the second leg
at Loftus Road when James
Perch struck for Wigan. But
Austin, a 4 million ($6.7
million) signing from Burnley in
August, kept his nerve to
convert a penalty with 17
minutes left and then bagged
the winner in extra time. The
Hoops will face Derby County in
the final at Wembley on May 24
as they look to secure an
immediate return to the
Premier League after last
seasons relegation. The side
finishing fourth in the second
tier has not won promotion to
the Premier League since
Charlton in 1997-98, but QPR
are still in with a chance of
ending that sequence. AFP
Chelsea aim to conclude
transfer of Diego Costa
CHELSEA hope to conclude the
signing of Diego Costa from
Atltico Madrid immediately
after the Spanish clubs
participation in the Champions
League final on May 24 after
agreeing to meet the 31.8
million ($53.6 million) release
clause in the strikers contract.
The Brazilian-born Costa has
been a key member of the
Atltico side who can secure the
Spanish title by avoiding defeat
to Barcelona at Camp Nou in
their final league game this
weekend. THEGUARDIAN
Clamour grows for
action against FA chief
PRESSURE was building on
footballs authorities to launch
a full investigation into sexist
remarks by the Premier
League chief executive,
Richard Scudamore, after
senior figures from FIFA, Kick
It Out and the Football
Associations inclusion board
called for action. In exchanges
with a lawyer friend who
referred to females as gash,
Scudamore jokily warned him
to keep a female colleague
they nicknamed Edna off
your shaft and told sexist
jokes that mocked female
irrationality. The emails were
seen by a former temporary
personal assistant who leaked
them to the Sunday Mirror.
THE GUARDIAN
Benfica hungry for more
success in Europa League
Justin Davis

B
ENFICA coach Jorge Jesus
claims that the Portuguese
champions appetite for suc-
cess this season has yet to be
sated as they begin the countdown to
the Europa League nal against Sevil-
la tonight.
Lisbon-based Benca have already
won the Portuguese league and
League Cup and will meet Rio Ave in
the Portuguese Cup nal on Sunday.
Jesus is hoping those successes will
feed Bencas appetite for more of the
same, and a possible, historic haul of
four trophies.
In tonights nal in Turin, which
kicks off at 1:45am Cambodian time,
the Iberian giants clash in the hope of
making up for near misses and reliv-
ing past glories in Europes second-
tier competition.
Two-time European champions
Benca are still looking for their rst
Europa title having come runner-up
twice, including last year when Chel-
sea triumphed in Amsterdam, while
Sevilla could claim their third trophy
having won consecutive titles in 2006
and 2007.
We are motivated by the tri-
umphs and titles we have already
achieved, Jesus was quoted as saying
on goal.com.
We are making history, but we still
have two titles to get and hopefully
well get them. The players and I want
to have titles on our CV.
We work at it every day and the Eu-
ropa League is a goal that we would
like to achieve.
Benca can feel at home in Turin
as only two weeks ago they held on
for a scoreless draw against Juventus
to end the Serie A sides hopes of a
dream home nal.
Sevilla secured their ticket for Tu-
rin in dramatic fashion when on-loan
Cameroonian midelder Stephane
Mbia headed a decisive away goal in
the fourth minute of added time in a
3-1 second leg defeat away to Valencia.
It was not the first time in the
competition the Spaniards had
made the difference in the dying
minutes, but captain Ivan Rakitic
said that simply underlines Sevillas
never-say-die attitude.
It wasnt easy to come back against
Betis and then again against Porto, and
then once again against Valencia in the
last minute, Rakitic told UEFA.com.
That shows the spirit we have and
that we always give our all. We also
know that we have to learn and im-
prove some things, but I think the
whole team has done an impressive
job in general. I think we deserve to be
in this nal.
While Benca are desperate to make
up for last years 2-1 nal defeat to
Chelsea, their seventh nal reverse in
a European nal since 1962, Sevilla
could make it three from three having
triumphed on their two previous Eu-
ropa League nals.
Jesus prefers to consider Bencas
tendency to choke on the big stage
in a positive light, adding: Benca
have been in nine nals and won two
and this is what makes the history
of Benca.
Now comes the 10th. The players
and coaches play for moments like
this.
Rakitic, meanwhile, says Sevillas
path to Turin will count for nothing if
they dont make it all worthwhile.
You have to play a nal and win it,
thats what makes the difference be-
cause, at the end of the day, I dont
know if many people are going to re-
member the games against Porto or
Betis, he added.
The nal will be remembered so
you have to do your best and give this
club another trophy and make history
thats the best thing there is. AFP
Sevilla coach Unai Emery (right) and Benca coach Jorge Jesus (left) clash in tonights UEFA Europe League nal in Turin. AFP
Japan boosted in Cup run
A PERIOD of upheaval for hold-
ers Australia has boosted
Japans prospects as the world
champions go in search of their
first Womens Asian Cup title in
Vietnam this month.
After winning the 2011 World
Cup and silver at the 2012
Olympics, the Nadeshiko were
already favourites and their
position has firmed following
recent events in Australia.
With less than two months
before their title defence, the
Matildas parted ways with
Dutch coach Hesterine de
Reus, following reports of a
player revolt over her strict
methods.
Sydney FC W-League head
coach Alen Stajcic has been
named interim coach in charge
of a squad featuring 11 of the
players who won the Asian title
four years ago in China.
We have only been able to
work together for a short time
since I came in, but we imple-
mented some new things at the
camp, which they responded
well to, he said, following a
training camp in Australias
Gold Coast.
Im confident that this squad
has the potential to be success-
ful in Vietnam and give the
tournament a good shake, Sta-
jcic told the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) website.
W-League player of the year
Tameka Butt and US-based
foursome Lisa De Vanna, Cait-
lin Foord, Samantha Kerr and
Lydia Williams headline a
group which Stajcic hopes can
produce the goods.
And Australia will be encour-
aged by their 2-1 victory over
Brazil in their final warm-up in
Brisbane before boarding the
plane to Southeast Asia.
They will face an immediate
test when they take on Japan in
Group A on the first evening in
Ho Chi Minh City, after hosts
Vietnam open the tournament
against Jordan earlier today.
In Group B, starting on Thurs-
day, eight-time champions
China will face the challenge of
South Korea, Thailand and
Myanmar as they try to regain
the title they last won in 2006.
The Asian Cup has added sig-
nificance because the top five
teams will earn qualification
for next years World Cup in
Canada.
Nadeshiko coach Norio Sas-
aki said he expected tough
conditions in Vietnam for a
team that boasts former world
player of the year Homare
Sawa and influential captain
Aya Miyama.
This is going to be a battle,
taking all the things into con-
sideration pitch, weather and
living different from everyday
life, Sasaki said, according to
the Japan Football Association
website. AFP
MOVE over vuvuzela. A com-
pact, Belgian-made trumpet
dubbed the diabolica is gear-
ing up to replace the South Af-
rican horn as the noisemaker
of choice at the next World
Cup games in Brazil .
Its young designers said they
are overwhelmed by the ood
of orders coming from all over
the world, and predict that a
million models will be sold by
the time the monthlong tour-
nament starts on June 12.
Unlike the long, plastic
vuvuzela whose love-it-or-
hate-it drone went global at
the last World Cup in South
Africa in 2010 the diabolica
is easier to carry, collapsing to
12 centimetres, and easier on
the ear, its creators contend.
The sound is nothing like
the buzz of the South African
vuvuzela, which made life a
nightmare for television pro-
ducers, said David dos San-
tos, 31.
But he and partner Fabio
Lavalle, 26, wont reveal the
secret they say makes the
difference.
The trumpet is already a big
hit in Belgium, where stadi-
ums ban both vuvuzelas and,
for safety reasons, canister
fog horns, an extremely loud,
pressurised device more at
home as part of a safety kit
on boats.
We never expected such a
success, said Dos Santos.
Nearly 300,000 diabolicas
named after Belgiums Red
Devils football team have
been sold since the end of last
year and to keep up with de-
mand, some 15,000 make their
way daily from a Madrid fac-
tory to the plant in the south-
western Belgium city of Mons
where they are assembled and
packed for shipment.
It was actually a Spanish
friend, a Real Madrid fan, who
came up with the idea after a
friend was blocked from the
stadium with a canister fog
horn, said Dos Santos.
He thought about how
birds make sounds, ma-
nipulating vibrations against
membranes, and he tested
thousands of membranes be-
fore nding the right one.
This membrane is the se-
cret, said Dos Santos, who
owns the patent.
The Belgian instrument
has a higher pitch, more like
a horn, and can make a trill-
ing sound when the stem is
pumped. At 98 decibels, it is
nearly as loud as a vuvuzela
but requires less lung power,
its makers say. AFP
Belgian diabolica aims
to be World Cup sound
Australia defender Lauren Colthorpe (in gold) vies with Japan players
during their 2008 AFC Womens Asian Cup nal in Ho Chi Minh City. AFP
24 THE PHNOM PENH POST MAY 14, 2014
Sport
Netizens
Belarus players gather around
their net before their preliminary-
round group B game against Swit-
zerland of the IIHF International
Ice Hockey World Championship
at the Minsk-Arena on Monday.
Hosts Belarus took a 4-3 vic-
tory over the Swiss, who were
runners-up in the tournament
last year, to move to third in the
group. Play-off rounds begin on
May 22 with the nal to be played
on May 25. Sweden are the reign-
ing champions. AFP
China star Sun back from ban
C
HINESE swimming star Sun
Yang returned to the pool in
style by winning a national
title after a six-month ban
for his latest run-in with authorities,
sparking online debate yesterday.
Sports ofcials suspended the
double Olympic champion from
competition, national team train-
ing and commercial activities last
November after he was given seven
days detention for driving a Porsche
without a licence.
He won the 200m freestyle title on
his comeback at the Chinese Na-
tional Swimming Championships
on Monday, clocking an impressive
1:46.04.
Sun became a huge star in China
after winning the 400m and 1,500m
freestyle golds at London 2012, and
took three titles at the world cham-
pionships last year.
But the 22-year-old sparked con-
troversy when he was found not to
have a licence after a white Porsche
Cayenne he was driving was rear-
ended by a bus in Hangzhou, his
hometown in eastern China.
Sports authorities said he violated
the basic principles of morality and
went against the spirit of sport, state
media previously reported.
His latest victory was greeted
with mixed feelings from Chinese
sport fans.
This is someone without mor-
als, one netizen posted yesterday
on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent
of Twitter.
It is not his nature that is bad, but
he just has the heart of a child, an-
other user responded.
Congratulations on your return,
one more positive poster said.
Sun was previously embroiled in
controversy after his longtime coach
Zhu Zhigen told him to end his rela-
tionship with a ight attendant.
The two fell out over the issue, and
Sun was accused of lacking respect
for his mentor.
Amid the row, the Zhejiang College
of Sports issued a stern statement ac-
cusing Sun of breaking a series of
team rules, which domestic media
said included breaking nighttime
curfews and refusing to train.
Emova gets lengthy doping ban
Russian swimmer Yulia Emova
was banned for 16 months yester-
day for failing a drugs test, Russian
media reported.
The International Swimming Fed-
eration (FINA) doping panel provi-
sionally suspended Emova in Janu-
ary after samples she provided in an
out-of-competition control last Oc-
tober showed the presence of a pro-
hibited anabolic steroid.
The FINA ban runs until February
28, 2015, and all of Emovas results
from October 31, 2013 onwards,
including the 200m breaststroke
world record she set at the Euro-
pean short course championships
at Herning, Denmark, in December,
have been cancelled.
Emova was reported to have ac-
cepted that she was in breach of
the doping code violation but pre-
sented a detailed defence and insist-
ed she had not intended to enhance
her performance.
Anatoly Zhuravlev, head coach of
Russias national swimming team,
said he was satised with the verdict
and had expected a harsher penalty.
Its the good news as we expected
a two-year ban for Yulia [Emova],
he said.
The verdict allows her to com-
pete at the world championships
at Kazan in 2015. She will continue
practising in the United States as be-
fore and we [the Russian swimming
federation] will provide her with all
possible support.
Emova, 22, won the 200m breast-
stroke bronze medal at the 2012
London Olympics and also won
50m and 200m breaststroke world
titles in 2013. AFP
Scandal-plagued Chinese swimming star Sun Yang has returned to the pool after a six-month ban for a driving offence. AFP