Two Die in Truck Collapse
Two people died instantly and other five seriously injured when an ISUZU truck had a flat tire and collapsed as it was traveling along national road No5. The incident occurred at about 8:30 am in Tkoul Toch village, Ansa Chambok commune, Pursat province. The dead victims are Ms. Sles Srahleyhars, 43 and Mr. Rith Roy, 22. They both lived in Russei Krok commune, Banteaymeanchey province.
Cambodia Worker Association Members to Rally in Olympic Stadium
Head of Cambodia Worker Association Chear Mony sent a proposal to Phnom Penh Municipal hall to ask for permission of Olympic stadium to rally Association members on January 25. There will be around 100,000 factory workers from 180 factories to protest for increasing salary. The hall replied that the permission waits for the governor returning from mission in Mondolkiri.
Two Die in Mine Explosion
Two men died instantly in a mine explosion when they were driving oxen cart through a field. The blast occurred at about 10am in Sreahteok Thmei village, Kamreang district, Battambang province. The dead victims are Nut Vith, 42 and Nu Koy, 41 lived in Sreahteok Thmei village. Commune police recognized that the blasting scene is the area containing mines in ground.
Five People Sentenced Minimum 20 Years Imprison
Five smugglers of over 4 tons of raw drug material including three Chinese, a Cambodian and a Thai were sentenced from 20 to 25 years imprison and pay from 40-100 million riel by Phnom Penh municipal court. Other two Chinese suspects were also convicted in the same charge in absentia. This drug trafficking case happened in April 2007 in Kampong Speu province that a group of people tried to produce addict drug weighting over 4 tons.
PM Replies Raise of Goods Price Increasing
Prime Minister Hun Sen replied the raise of Cambodian Worker Association president Rong Chhun about the increasing price of goods. In an official letter, Prime Minister said that there are three factors that push the goods price high, 1- the price of global oil is going up, 2- Cambodia has prohibited import meat of birds and animal from neighboring countries, 3- the inflation of US dollar currency. He added that the government has increased the salary of public servants.
Woman Commits Suicide from Chroy Changvar Bridge
Phnom Penh: A 24-year-old woman attempted to commit suicide by jumping from Chrov Changvar Bridge at 10 am on 10 Jan 2007. She was saved on time by police. The woman known as Mith Pisey lives in Dangkor district’s Dangkor commune, police said. She attempted to commit suicide because she an argument with her 42-year-old husband, who is a Phnom Penh police officer. Her husband did not come home very often, nor did he talk to her, so she had decided to kill herself, police added.
Thai Police Send Khmer immigrant Workers back
Banteymeanchay Province: Khmer workers, who sought jobs illegally in Thailand, were arrested and transported to Cambodia by Thai authority, at least 300 workers a day. According to the report, at the Cambodia-Thai border_ Ou Chrov district, the workers were continually sent to immigrant office to question, educate and return their homes. Some of them went to work in Thailand legally. In Cambodia, there were not many jobs to do, so they had made decision to seek work in Thailand just to make some money, supporting their family, the workers said.
A sharp increase of tourists and based industry in Kampong Sorm
Kampong Sorm City: A high rank officer of tourism ministry has confirmed that during 2007, tourism industry in this city has dramatically increased. The number of tourists has reached to 370,000, including foreign tourists about 90,000. We can get 20% of tourists increase and around 30% raise of tour services, said Mr. Sorm Chenda, tour department director in Kampong Sorm. Until now, there are 42 hotels, 108 guest houses, and 67 restaurants. A long with its beautiful beaches, Kampong Sorm city also has 22 islands that only 8 are the tour sites especially for catching foreign tourists’ interests.
A Mini-truck Burned in Dei Kraham Dispute Area
A mini-truck was burned at night in Dei Kraham dispute area in Phnom Penh. People at the scene said that they stayed at a side about 30 to 40km from the truck and 7 NG Company and PM police were at nearby side to the truck. A Human Right’s representative was also at the scene. He said that the event seemed to be prepared because immediately before the fire, the electricity was not accessible
Retired King Stops Producing Film
His majesty king father Norodom Sihanouk wrote on his website on January 6, 08 that he stops producing film after his recent film got criticism from some media institutions and children. The film called MONATIO showed a group of people wearing like Khmer Rouge soldier who forced people to leave Phnom Penh on December 17, 1975. But they behaved differently from the Khmer Rouge. Retired King explained that those people were not Khmer Rouge; they were Lon Nol’s soldier.
Log still continues to traffic everyday
Siem Reap Province: Recently, log is still illegally transported everyday by traffickers from Svay Ler district. A news report has also expressed that traffickers have busily done their actions through a whole day since they get a green light from the authority from Svay Ler district. Whether day or night it is not important; the log is continuously transported through Siem Reap without any banning from the authority.
In 2007, about 407 children died and 39,851 were sick of dengue fever
Phnom Penh: During 2007, about 407 children died because of dengue fever and 39,851 were suffered from this sickness. However, the exact number of the dead and the sick is not eventually found, for most of private clinics and hospitals have not sent their reports to National program against dengue fever yet. Mostly their reports are not acceptable since they are not true. So far there are about 100 cases of dengue fever per month, while in 2006 it reached to 800 cases per month around Cambodia. Though it is quite lower than the previous year, National program never ignores this concern. However, what causes the problem is fund which has to be supported more by local organizations.
Among 1,000 people, only 2 donate blood
Phnom Penh: Every year about 30,000 blood stocks are necessarily needed to save human life in any hospital around Cambodia. Blood donation is a precious humanitarian activity for saving the life, said Morm Bunheng, Health ministry secretary of state. According to a report from National Blood Donor Center, there are only 30% of volunteer in blood donation; in average only 2 among 1000 residents have donated their blood. The same report has showed that unless two among 100 volunteer, it can not sufficiently response to the requirement.
Skyscrapers coming soon in Cambodia
Kandal Province: In the next four year, an International Finance Center that has 53 floors will appear in Sangkat Tonle Basak, Phnom Penh. During the meeting with PM Hun Sen, Mr. Kevin Kab Royal Kim, GS company executive, has said that his company plans to invest on three main projects in Cambodia that the first one will start in half of 2008 and it will spend four years to completely construct. About 1,100 million dollars will effort with this project. Mr. Kim added that inside the International Finance Center, it includes supermarket, shopping center, office, school, apartment that can support about 10,000 residents and about 3000 workers for providing services. PM Hun Sen considers this main project as the proud of not only Cambodians but also the government that our country can have skyscrapers like others.
A New Place of Young Precious Stones
A group of people are digging for precious stones on a mountain where locate in Kirivong district Takeo province. On the mountain some of the gem hunters carry pitch-axe and the others handed other tools with expecting that they will find stones today. They speak without stopping their digging.
We were not able to have the stones assessed by a professional. But the gem diggers say people sometimes pay them 800.000 Riel ($200) per kilogram of the stones. And some rich people come to watch them dig and sometimes pushing the door open to try to buy them.
The gems were first discovered here in a year ago at three mountains namely Morhasey, Tambang Samlor, and Phnom Toteng. Ms. Phath Sam is an old woman who lives nearby says she had a dream.“There was an old man wearing with white told me that this is a mountain that has a lot of precious stones please did not move to other place.” said Phath Sam, an old woman lives nearby those mountains.
Her dream now come truth. Ms. Chum Yun and her term is a lucky group that found three Koyun of the stones in one hole at Phnom Toteng. And now her family’s living is better. Chum Yun siad, “most of the stones that my group found is light black, strong white and the side of the stones some are small and some are big like our arm and our thigh. And the merchants came to my whole and bought the stones. Our group gain nine thousands dollars for the three Koyun (small truck) of the stones, so we got fives million Rile for each.”
Mr. Reach On gets up at 4:00 in the morning with the food that his five has packed with a scarf. It’s now 9 o’clock his group has not discovered a place to find stones yet. He goes to hunt the gem everyday. And Reach On says that to find stones is very dangerous. Sometimes we can die immediately. “When I was digging I felt so afraid about landslide. I did not collect my stones all so that other people picked the stones up from my whole a lot, too. The whole villagers found the stones from my whole after me”, said Reach On.
However, an old people had gone in the mine hole because of landslide. But many people still want to take the risk. The chief of Prey Ampok commune, Mr. Ney Neang says about half of the people in the commune are looking for gems. Neang is happy the commune has stones. But he also has some worries. Ney Neang said, “if we based on the law it is illegal because the stones are in the public land. And if the top powers order me to do, I have no excuse. But until now the district authority have not taken action yet. They maybe thought that the villagers are so poor and for me I stand with the villagers.”
In Ratanakiri and Pieline, where there are gems things haven’t always gone so well. Some analysts say the people there are still poor and the money gems hasn’t made it into the national budget. The Excellencies of Takeo province was not available to comment for this story.
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Top officials from Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal travelled for the first time to the regime's former stronghold Monday to allay fears of mass arrests of former rebels.
