|  |  |  | | | | | kh-stars, khmer star, sexy japanese girl, sexy girl, beautiful girl | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- No trace has been found of a fishing boat that sent out a distress signal off Russia's Far East, but the SOS may have been a hoax, an official said Monday.
The Cambodian-flagged schooner Partner sent out the signal off the west coast of Sakhalin Friday, the Uglegorsk police chief, Sergei Bushuyev, told ITAR-Tass. The coastline was searched by sea and land, but nothing was found and the hunt was called off.
Andrei Krainiy, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery, told reporters in Moscow the ship was poaching, and "if the vessel did sink, it is impossible to find traces, but there is another version. The ship gave a false distress signal to escape to some port in the Asia-Pacific Region, most likely to Japan, be repainted and renamed, get a new package of documents and set off fishing as a new schooner."
He said the boat, then called The Glen Grant, was detained Aug. 7 for violating Russia's economic zone and was released to the owner on bail Oct 8.
He said neither the shipowners in Belize nor authorities in Cambodia have reported the ship missing, nor have relatives of the crew. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Seng Kunnaka (Photo: Ly Meng Huor, RFI) | 10 January 2011Source: Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders condemns the six-month jail sentence and fine of 1 million riels (250 dollars) that a Phnom Penh court imposed on World Food Programme employee Seng Kunnaka on a charge of criminal incitement for printing an article critical of the government and showing it to workmates.
Judge Keo Vandy convicted Seng under article 495 of the new criminal code in a summary trial on 19 December for sharing an article from the popular news blog KI-Media referring to Prime Minister Hun Sen and several other senior politicians as "traitors." KI-Media recently also posted articles criticizing Cambodia's territorial disputes with Vietnam, a very sensitive topic. Seng's lawyer, Chou Sokheng, said he would appeal.
"This conviction reflects the harder line being taken by the government on online free expression," Reporters Without Borders said. "While not commenting on the content of the article, we point out that Seng did not distribute it publicly, which is punishable under Cambodia law. He just printed it in order to read it with two colleagues. He should not be made to suffer because of recent friction between the World Food Programme and the Cambodian government."
Seng was tried just two days after being arrested in the Phnom Penh neighbourhood of Russei Keo, where he worked at a World Food Programme warehouse. His arrest came just days after the prime minister accused the WFP of wrongly claiming that Cambodia faced the possibility of a food shortage. WFP officials subsequently gave a public apology.
The new criminal code, which took effect on 10 December, reinforced the already existing restrictions on free expression. Article 495 is based on a vague definition of incitement as sharing or exposing the public to speech, writings, drawings or audiovisual telecommunication that could "directly result in a crime being committed" or in "serious social unrest." Defamation and "affecting the dignity" of others is also punishable under this article  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | General Samit Virak (C) (All Photos: CEN) |  | | Samit Virak (C) taken into custody | 10 January 2011By SopisithCambodia Express NewsTranslated from Khmer by SoyWhile Samit Virak is only a one-star general, a picture of him was found wearing 3-star. The suspect smugly said that he took the picture with three stars while he still look young and handsome and he will be a 3-star general one day anyway. Phnom Penh - General Samit Virak was arrested and sent to jail this afternoon. The Military Police raided the house of General Samit Virak, the deputy chief of the RCAF technical material department, who is suspected of involvement in land deals.
The raid took place at 11AM on 10 Jan 2011 at the general's house located on 131 Betong Street, Sunway city, Damnak Thom village, Stung Meanchey commune, Meanchey district. The raid was performed under a warrant issued by Mok Seiha, the deputy prosecutor of the military tribunal.
General Sier Sambat, the information commissioner of the military police, General Hong Vinol, the research commissioner of the military police, along with Phnom Penh city and local military police raided General Samit Virak's house. They found numerous proofs: 5 guns including an AK-47 rifle, 4 cars (2 1998 Landcruisers bearing army license plates; 1 black Lexus and 1 Honda CRV), and numerous documents involving thousands of hectares of land all over the country. Three of the general's bodyguards were also arrested.
While Samit Virak is only a one-star general, a picture of him was found wearing 3-star. The suspect smugly said that he took the picture with three stars while he still look young and handsome and he will be a 3-star general one day anyway  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHNOM PENH Jan 10 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that Bangladesh had offered to buy 200,000 tonnes of rice a year and that talks were resuming on exporting grain to Guinea.
Speaking at a university graduation ceremony in the capital, Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said talks were also continuing with the Philippines and Malaysia over rice exports.
"I agreed to sell rice and send experts to Guinea but it was stopped by the coup d'etat there," Hun Sen said. "Now we want to resume."
The West African state held elections in November after almost two years of military rule and a government is being put in place.
Cambodia has offered to sell 100,000 tonnes of rice a year to the Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, but no deal has been reached yet.
Thon Virak, director general of state-owned rice exporter Green Trade, told Reuters the government had asked him to prepare for further talks with Bangladesh.
"I've been told to prepare paperwork for further discussion," Thon Virak said, adding that Guinea was looking for about 20,000 tonnes a year from Cambodia.
Cambodia introduced a policy last year to boost rice exports, including the development of a credit guarantee scheme.
It is targeting annual exports of 1 million tonnes within five years, a dramatic increase from the current volume of about 20,000 tonnes of milled rice. Much of its output goes over the border to Vietnam to be milled and then re-exported.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Alan Raybould)  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday dismissed a possible political deal on the fate of a Thai ruling party lawmaker and six other Thai political activists who have been charged with illegally crossing into Cambodian territory late last month.
Speaking to a gathering of college students, Hun Sen said only the Cambodian courts have the right to decide the case.
"Intervention from any quarters will not be accepted at this moment," he said, adding that he does not expect the case to affect relations with Thailand.
Thai Democrat Party parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth and six activists of the People's Alliance for Democracy allegedly crossed the border between Thailand's Sa Kaeo Province and Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey Province on Dec. 29 and were detained by Cambodian soldiers.
They were charged by a Cambodian court on Dec. 30 with entering Cambodia illegally and trespassing in a Cambodian military zone.
Panich, a member of a parliamentary committee on boundary affairs and a former vice foreign minister, was quoted by Thai media as saying the seven visited a disputed border area after receiving a complaint from Thai villagers who claimed that Cambodian troops had intruded into their rice fields.
Thai media reports said Panich and his group were walking in a paddy field when they were detained.
On Monday, the prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court filed an additional charge against two Thai activists for attempting to collect information "that may cause harm to Cambodia's defense affairs."
The Cambodian court has not yet decided on the date of the trial.
Since Cambodia's ancient temple of Preah Vihear in a border area claimed by Thailand was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008, Thai and Cambodian troops have faced off in the area and deadly skirmishes have erupted on several occasions  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BANGKOK, Jan 10 (MCOT online news) – The Thai Patriots Network on Monday submitted a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN office in Bangkok seeking assistance for seven Thais detained in Cambodia.
Chaiwat Sinsuwong led activists from the Thai Patriots Network to the world body's Bangkok regional headquarters to present the letter to the UN Secretary-General.
Mr Chaiwat said that that matter was of concern to the UN because the area where the seven were arrested was used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to accommodate Cambodian refugees in 1975 after asking for permission from Thailand.
After the UNHCR moved out, some Cambodians have continued to live there. Accordingly, Thailand believes the arrest of the seven Thais is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Mr Chaiwat said, arguing that the Cambodian court has no authority to rule in the case but must send it to an international body for adjudication.
The network called on the UN to help the seven detainees, he said, adding that he believed the letter would reach the UN secretary-general on Tuesday and the group's overseas members will follow up on the reaction from the world body.
The seven Thais, including Democrat MP for Bangkok Panich Vikitsreth and Thai Patriots Network leader Veera Somkwamkid, were arrested by Cambodian soldiers Dec 29 as they inspected the border area in Sakaeo province.
The detainees face two charges -- one of illegal entry into the Cambodian kingdom, punishable by three to six months of imprisonment and deportation, while the other involved trespass into a Cambodian military area without permission, punishable by a three to six months jail term and Bt7,500-15,000 in fines. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10/01/2011
Bangkok Post
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says no one, including the United Nations, can intervene in the case of the seven Thai detainees, and insists only the Cambodian court will decide their fate, according to a report published by China's People's Daily News online.
"There are many comments these days, and also a publication said yesterday that Thaksin [Shinawatra] or the Puea Thai Party want to intervene into the case of the seven arrested Thais," Mr Hun Sen said during a graduation ceremony at the Vanda Institute in Phnom Penh on Monday, the daily's English service reported.
"I just confirm that no one can intervene in the judicial system, neither the government, nor foreigners, or Cambodians.
"I tell them that it is impossible, no matter which path you enter from, even from the United Nations, because the case is now under the full authority of the Cambodian court, which must be respected."
Mr Hun Sen's comments prompted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call an urgent meeting with Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security Suthep Thaugsuban, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to disucss the best way to expedite the release of the seven Thai border-crossers now being held at Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh.
Mr Abhisit said the first priority of the government is to help the detained Thais, who include Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth.
Mr Hun Sen's hard line could dash the Thai Patriots Network's plan to ask the UN to help secure the release of the detainees.
Network leader Chaiwat Sinsuwong said the group, which is allied with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, rejected the Cambodian court's authority in the matter. The case should be regarded as an international issue.
He claimed Cambodia "abducted" Thai people from Thai soil and the problem could be solved only by mediating agencies such as the UN.
He said the government wanted the case to be tried in the court so that it could ask for the release of the seven defendants on bail, or request the Cambodian monarch to grant them a royal pardon.
A leading member of the Thai Patriots Network, Veera Somkwamkid, is among those arrested. He has been previously convicted of illegal entry and there were unconfirmed reports from Phnom Penh today that he might also be charged with spying, which carries a 10 year jail sentence.
Foreign minister's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said the ministry hoped the seven Thais would not face extra charges.
The ministry would weigh up the situation before reporting to Prime Minister Abhisit on whether he should make a direct phone call to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The secretary said all seven detainees were allowed meetings this morning with relatives who travelled to Phnom Penh last night.
The seven were arrested by Cambodian soldiers on Dec 29 while on an "inspection trip" near a disputed border area in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district adjacent to Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province.
The Cambodian court charged them with illegal entry and illegal trespass on a military zone. The two charges carry a combined maximum penalty of 18 months in jail.
Meanwhile, Second Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon denied a report that Thai soldiers killed innocent Cambodians on Sunday, saying the troops were only protecting a wildlife refuge in Si Sa Ket which has been encroached upon by illegal loggers.
Lt-Gen Thawatchai said the soldiers retaliated after an unidentified group of trespassers ignored their warnings and fired shots at them.
The clash erupted when the soldiers spotted and challenged the strangers while patrolling Phanom Dongrak Wildlife Sanctuary in Khun Han district in Si Sa Ket, which borders Cambodia.
Lt-Gen Thawatchai was reacting to a report that Cambodian authorities intend to send a photo of Cambodians killed by Thai soldiers to the Thai government.
Thai soldiers returned to the scene of the clash in the forest this morning and found chainsaws and evidence of trees being cut. They did not see any injured or dead people, he said.
Immigration police at a border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo have arrested a woman reporter who is wanted on an arrest warrant for taking part in the yellow-shirts' occupation of two Bangkok airports in 2008.
Police said Tonfan Saeng-atit, 52, was apprehended late Sunday night as she went to cross the border to cover the prosecution of the seven detained Thais being held in Phnom Penh.
She was escorted to the Crime Suppression Division head office in Bangkok today.
Ms Tonfan denied involvement in any wrongdoing and was later released on 300,000 baht bail.
Ms Tonfan, a reporter for FM TV and 13 Siam Thai TV Online, is wanted under an arrest warrant. She is accused of taking part in the People's Alliance for Democracy's seizure of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports in 2008. The protesters were demanding the resignation of then Somchai Wongsawat government, which was viewed as being a nominee of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The PAD has also played an active role in protesting against Cambodia's claims of ownership of disputed areas along the border. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BANGKOK, Jan 10 (MCOT online news) – Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday called an urgent meeting with top security officials to find measures to help seven Thai detainees who continue in Cambodian custody.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya attended the meeting.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the prime minister said the meeting discussed measures to assist the seven men after the Cambodian court delivers its verdict with an aim to secure their release without any residual impact on the country.
"We will map out clear guidelines, but [that] cannot be elaborated now. The issue must be followed up and revised. So far, there has been no discussion on downgrading relations," Mr Abhisit said.
The Thai premier made the statement after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that only the Cambodian court would decide the fate of the seven Thai detainees.
"I simply confirm that no one can intervene in the judicial system, neither the government, nor foreigners, or Cambodians," Mr Hun Sen was quoted as saying during a graduation ceremony at the Vanda Institute in Phnom Penh on Monday.
"I tell them that it is impossible, no matter which path you enter from, even from the United Nations, because the case is now under the full authority of the Cambodian court, which must be respected," he said.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said a lawyer has already submitted a bail request for the seven Thais and it will take no more than five days for the court to consider it. If the court grants bail and sets bail conditions, the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh stands ready to provide assistance to them.
Mr Thani however said the Cambodian court has set no date for the ruling but progress is expected in the next few days.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Traditional Lao village life is threatened by proposed dams across the Mekong River. [Image Credit: Thomas Raynaud] |  | | A few of the 850-plus species of Mekong fish, many of them unique to the river [Image Credit: Thomas Raynaud] | Hydropower might help the region but risks loss of biodiversity and a way of life
January 10, 2011 By Rachel Nuwer ScienceLine.org
The sleepy Lao village of Ban Hat exists today much as it has for decades. Village children dart amongst their families' fishing boats, laughing as they splash one another with the muddy water of the Mekong River. Life is defined by the ebb and flow of the Mekong, which ushers in fish for families and nutrients for crops and pools in flooding cycles essential for rice production.
This source of subsistence could soon be threatened, however: The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) recently took steps to begin construction on the first of 12 proposed hydropower dams on the Mekong. While these projects could bring much-needed revenue to Laos and its neighboring Southeast Asian countries, they would irrevocably alter the characteristics of the river, impacting everything from fishes to flooding. And the dams' most significant costs would be shouldered by those who can least afford it, some experts say — especially poor villagers in small riverside communities like Ban Hat.
Laos' proposal to build a dam in Sayaburi Province, in the middle stretch of the Mekong, has provoked a lengthy debate. Viraphonh Viravong, director of the Lao Department of Electricity, believes the project will bring many benefits to his country, although he admits a serious risk is posed to fisheries. Researchers' concerns extend beyond fisheries, however. The dams "will have profound . . . negative consequences for people, agriculture, fisheries, and riverine ecology," said Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute research associate Tyson Roberts who has studied Mekong fishes for over 40 years. "For reasons I have not quite fathomed, engineers are often ignorant when it comes to ecological impacts of hydrodams," he said.
As one of the world's last remaining large rivers free from mainstream dams for most of its 2700-mile length, the Mekong continues to harbor a rich diversity of animal species such as the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish and Irrawaddy dolphin. Although the Mekong ranks as the 10th longest river in the world, its biodiversity of species is trumped only by the Amazon River. With an estimated annual harvest of approximately 2.2 million tons of fish, the Mekong, which flows through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, also ranks as the world's largest inland fishery and impacts the livelihoods of the nearly 30 million people who live within 10 miles of its lower stretches.
Dams usually bring economic benefits but often result in environmental and social losses, explained Eric Baran, senior scientist at the international research organization WorldFish Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In the case of the Mekong dams, Baran said the potential losses in fish resources would be "massive," dramatically impacting both the environment and food security of local people. In addition, he believes the Mekong countries are not fully aware of these consequences and are ill prepared to handle the magnitude of changes that will be brought on by dam development. And Roberts said that the dams will benefit only a select few people, while those depending upon the river "are all going to be the immediate losers, with no benefits."
Initial assessments suggest that Vietnam could actually face substantial losses if upstream countries like Laos decide to dam the river, said socio-economist John Sawdon of the independent public interest organization the International Center for Environmental Management based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Although economic benefits are attractive for "cash-strapped" governments, he said, profits and energy benefits would be unevenly distributed, both between and within countries and particularly to the poor.
Baran states that there is "absolutely no hope" for the survival of already vanishing long-distance migrant species such as the Mekong giant catfish if dam construction proceeds. Up to 70 percent of fish species in the Mekong migrate long distances to feed and spawn, and dams would both physically block their upstream journey as well as change the environmental signals that trigger migration, Baran explained in a paper published in the environmental journal AMBIO last June.
Fisheries in the Mekong have already been declining over the past decade, according to Philippe Cacot, a fish propagation researcher at the Center for International Research in Agricultural Development in Montpellier, France. This decline — a result of overfishing and environmental degradation — will only get worse if the dams are built, he said.
The river's flow will also be impacted, said Cacot, which is especially problematic for communities in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Altering the Mekong's flow could have a disastrous effect on agriculture. Any change in sediments and nutrients transported by the river — no matter how small — can change rice yields, Cacot explained. Manipulating the river's flow could also allow for salt-water intrusion in the Delta, another major threat to agriculture.
Some organizations are working with the Lao government to assess the risks and offer scientific advice. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), created in 1995, researches sustainable development options for its national members — Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
"It's multifaceted," said MRC communications officer Tiffany Hacker regarding the ultimate decision to build. "You have to look at it holistically." While there are definitely serious risks, Hacker said, there are also significant potential economic gains. "How you approach the project will determine the extent of the damage."
An independent Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), commissioned by the MRC and published in October 2010, pointed out that one dam across the Lower Mekong mainstream would cause irrevocable change. Even with mitigation measures, according to the SEA report, dam projects would "fundamentally undermine" the Mekong's resources, represent a "global loss" in biodiversity through extinction of endangered species, and worsen poverty in already poor communities such as Ban Hat. By 2030, if all 12 proposed dams are built, between 550,000 to 880,000 tons of annual fish catch will be lost, said Baran and a team of 25 international scientists involved in SEA. The assessment concludes by calling for a 10-year construction deferral to allow for further study.
Despite this recommendation, Lao Department of Electricity's Viravong said that consent of the other member countries now stands as the only obstacle to construction. "We believe it has been studied properly," he stated, adding that Laos will make "good use" of the SEA report but cannot agree to the 10-year deferral plan "for studies and more studies and then more studies." Viravong believes sustainable dam development can be attained without the deferral, although with "different degrees of certainties."
According to Hacker, the next six months will determine the future of the river as member country representatives meet to weigh the pros and cons of the dam project, although at this point it's too early to tell what that decision will be. The MRC provides advice, Hacker said, but the member countries will come to their own final building decision together.
The Smithsonian's Roberts is skeptical, doubting that the SEA's recommendations will have an impact if they run contrary to the Lao government's intentions. Viravong said that Laos is following the MRC's procedures of prior consultation with the other member countries, but that "we are confident that by April 2011 the other member countries, with the support of the MRC Secretariat, will endorse our proposal . . . to develop the Sayaburi [dam] project."
Reports of scientific censorship could also threaten the integrity of the project. An anonymous fisheries scientist who worked in Laos for several years reported being pulled aside by a colleague and warned that nothing should be said against the dams, else the scientist's stay in the country would be threatened. "I'm not in Laos," the source said, "so I can speak freely now." But the source fears that future work in Laos could be jeopardized by such a comment. Similarly, Roberts said that scientists working at the MRC — what he calls the "handmaiden of the member countries" — must tailor their views to fit the official line and therefore cannot provide the most honest advice. Hacker denies this claim, however, stating that "the fisheries program [of the MRC] is providing research to the government, not the other way around" and that "the MRC doesn't have some kind of censor board."
If damming proceeds, the unmitigated risks described in the SEA assessment would result in "a permanent and irreversible loss of environmental, social, and economic assets." The true extent of these hidden costs will only be revealed if building proceeds, at which point the damage would have already been done. And while others reap the benefits, communities such as Ban Hat would primarily shoulder this burden  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Monday, January 10, 2011By Jenara NerenbergFastCompany.comThe country's current supply of fresh milk is entirely imported, but that is about to change with the introduction of New Zealand's Holstein cows.
Cambodia is set to get its first commercial cow farm this year with construction on a 247-acre farm breaking ground this month.
Cambodia's current supply of fresh milk is 100% imported and the cow farm is meant to change that--and as Cambodia is still largely agricultural, it's surprising that commercial cow farms don't already exist.
There was talk of an earlier joint cow farm venture between Cambodia's Mong Reththy Group (MRG) and the British farming company, Lordswood Farms, last year, but it's not clear if that panned out.
Either way, Cambodia is taking a leap in agricultural innovations this year and the farm that's set to open is a joint venture between the Cambodian 7NG Group and Sweden's HPT Dairy Company. They entered into a $250 million deal whereby the highly productive Holstein cow breed will be imported from New Zealand with a goal of producing about 317,000 gallons of milk in the first year of operation. The farm is set to begin operating in November of 2011.
"This is the first time in history that our country will produce fresh cows' milk," said Srey Chanthou, managing director of 7NG Group. "We hope it will be successful, and that we can expand our business further."
Cambodia is looking to expand its agricultural productivity in other ways--late last year the firm Angkor Kasekam Roongroeung announced plans to operate its first rice-husk-powered generator to, you guessed it, mill rice.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Hun Hean, the former Banteay Meanchey police commissioner who was removed from his position on 07 January and arrested on 09 January (All photos: CEN) |
 | | Drug seized in Hun Hean's case |  | | Drug and drug traffickers involved in Hun Hean's case |
10 January 2011By MongkolCambodia Express NewsTranslated from Khmer by SoyBanteay Meanchey – Hun Hean, the former Banteay Meanchey police commissioner who was removed from his position on 07 January, was arrested and taken in handcuff by cops from the ministry of Interior on 09 January.
Another deputy police commissioner, Chheang Son who was in charge of means – and of justice prior to that position, was also arrested but he was not handcuffed.
The arrest of the two Banteay Meanchey top cops is due to their involvements in drug trafficking in a major raid that took place recently. The case of these two cops are now in the hand of the Anti-Corruption Unit and the justice department of Banteay Meanchey.
Hun Hean was removed from his position on 07 January, following a visit by Sar Kheng, the vice-PM and minister of Interior, and by Ker Kim Yan, the chairman of the anti-drug trafficking unit, to Banteay Meanchey.
There were 3 persons already arrested in this case. [In addition to the two above,] Lim Mab, the former chairman of the provincial anti-drug trafficking unit, was arrested and jailed since 6 months ago. According to report, Hun Xen ordered the arrest of those involved in this drug trafficking.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Tan skin Japanese model Kana Tsugihara take a hot bath in this set.Lets see.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Saya Hikita sexy in that dress I just name it's yellow lace-decoration dress (indeed I dont known it's call in English) so cute!
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Kotona Sakai alone in this class room she pose some sexy poses in school uniform.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kana Moriyama will give the most valuable gift of her it's herself.Good night all :)
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BANGKOK, Monday 10 January 2011 (Bernama) -- A legal team met seven Thai detainees in Phnom Penh Monday morning to find out more information -- as part of Thailand's attempts to seek for their freedom, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.
The Thai legal team, who arrived in the Cambodian capital on Sunday, earlier met Cambodian defence lawyers and the Thai ambassador in Phnom Penh for the same purpose.
A Cambodian court spent almost 12 hours last Thursday to question each of the seven Thai detainees, including a Bangkok MP of the ruling Democrat Party, Panich Vikitsreth, and a leading activist aligned with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD, Veera Somkwamkid, who were arrested by Cambodian soldiers in a border area on December 29 and have been all detained since then on charges of illegally entering into the Cambodian territory.
The Phnom Penh court has not yet set the date for its next hearing on the case and Thailand's attempts to seek for the release on bail of the seven Thai nationals have not yet been fulfilled. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10/01/2011
Bangkok Post
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called an urgent meeting late Monday afternoon to discuss ways to expedite the release of the seven Thai border-crossers now being held at Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh.
Mr Abhisit said he will meet with Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security Suthep Thaugsuban, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
Foreign minister's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said the ministry hoped the seven Thais would not face extra charges.
The ministry would weigh up the situation before reporting to Prime Minister Abhisit about whether he should to make a direct phone call to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The secretary said all seven detainees were allowed meetings this morning with relatives who travelled to Phnom Penh last night.
The seven were arrested by Cambodian soldiers on Dec 29 while on an "inspection trip" near a disputed border area in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district adjacent to Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province.
The Cambodian court charged them with illegal entry and illegal trespass on a military zone. The two charges carry a combined maximum penalty of 18 months in jail | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Veera Somkwamkid (L) | January 10, 2011XinhuaTwo of the seven Thai nationals arrested in Cambodia late last month have faced additional charge, court officials said Monday.
Veera Somkwamkid, who led a People's Alliance of Democrats group called the Thailand Patriot Network, and Ratree Taiputana Taiboon, known as Veera's secretary, face additional charge, Phnom Penh Municipal Court officials, who preferred not to be named, said on Monday.
The charge was mentioned as their attempt in "collecting information which might damage Cambodia's national security," according to the court.
According to Cambodia's laws, they may face five to ten years imprisonment if found guilty.
The two, along with five other Thai nationals, including Thai Democratic Party lawmaker Panich Vikitsreth, were charged on Dec. 30 last year for illegal entry into Cambodia and unlawful entry into military zone. They may face up to 18 months in prison if found guilty.
Cambodian troops detained them following their entry into Cambodian territory in Banteay Meanchey Province on Dec. 29 last year.
Panich claimed that he had traveled to the area to investigate residents' complaints that Cambodian troops were intruding into Thailand.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the seven Thais had no intention to cause any harm to Cambodia and is seeking their release on bail.
However, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that no one deserved to make any intervention into the case which is now under the full authority of the Cambodian court  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10/01/2011
Bangkok Post
Second Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon denied a report that Thai soldiers killed innocent Cambodians on Sunday, saying the troops were only protecting a wildlife refuge in Si Sa Ket which has been encroached upon by illegal loggers.
He said on Monday the soldiers retaliated after an unidentified group of trespassers ignored their warnings and fired shots at them.
The clash erupted when the soldiers spotted and challenged the strangers while patrolling Phanom Dongrak Wildlife Sanctuary in Khun Han district in Si Sa Ket, which borders Cambodia.
Lt-Gen Thawatchai was reacting to a report that Cambodian authorities intend to send a photo of Cambodians killed by Thai soldiers to the Thai government.
Thai soldiers returned to the scene of the clash in the forest this morning and found chainsaws and evidence of trees being cut. They did not see any injured or dead people, the lieutenant-general said. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | January 10, 2011
Xinhua
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that no one can intervene in the case of the seven Thais arrested on Dec. 29 last year for illegal entry.
Hun Sen made the remarks following a rumour that ousted Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra or Puea Thai Party wanted to mediate to release the seven detained Thais, including a Democrat Member of Parliament for Bangkok, Panich Wikitsate and Veera Somkwamkid, secretary general of People Network Against Corruption and Thailand Patriot Network core member.
"There are many comments these days, and also a publication said yesterday that Thaksin or Puea Thai Party want to intervene into the case of the seven arrested Thais, I just confirm that no one can intervene into judicial system, neither the government, nor foreigners, or Cambodians," said Hun Sen during a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education on Monday.
"I tell them that it is impossible, no matter which path you enter from, even from the United Nations because the case is now under the full authority of the Cambodian court, which must be respected."
After the trial, they can sue to appeal and then to the Supreme Court if they do not agree with the verdict, the premier said.
The seven detained Thais, including a Democrat Member of Parliament for Bangkok Panich Wikitsate and Veera Somkwamkid, secretary general of People Network Against Corruption and Thailand Patriot Network core member, were arrested on Dec. 29, 2010 by Cambodian border protection army for illegal entry into Cambodian territory in Banteay Meanchey province and are now being detained in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison.
On Dec. 30, the deputy prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Sok Roeun, charged them for illegal entry and illegally entering a military base along the border, crimes which in Cambodia carry penalties of up to six months and one year, respectively and fine from 1 million to 2 million Cambodian riels (250 U.S. dollars to 500 U.S. dollars).
On Jan. 6, the investigating judge of Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Chaing Sinat had conducted a nearly 12-hour additional inquest on them, but the final decision has not been disclosed so far.
The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated. And the two sides have had border conflict just one week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple was registered as World Heritage Site in July 2008.
Since the conflict started, military standoff has been on and off along the two countries' border and several military clashes have already happened with recorded small causalities from both sides.
However, the border issue has been eased as the top leaders of Cambodia and Thailand have held four meetings since September last year. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that China and India have played major roles in global economy.
Delivering a speech to students in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said while the global economic crisis has occurred since 2008 and continued to date, China and India have helped in recovery.
"At this present, Euro currency is in trouble, however, it is fortunate that the economic growth in China and India have helped the world economy," he said.
The premier added that the two giant populated countries which combine about 2.5 billion populations are working hard on their economic growth.
China, he said, was not only playing important role in the current crisis, but also during the 1997 economic crisis.
And while in the past, Asian economy was relying on the United States and Europe, the situation is now changed, he said.
"In the past, there were much dependence, but now the world is inter-complimentary" Hun Sen said, citing the three world's blocs as Asia, the United States, and Europe.
While admiring China and India on their economic growth and their contribution to the global economic recovery, Hun Sen told his government members to step up efforts in reform to catch the world markets.
"Cambodia is also needed to reform in marketing. We were in the past targeting the outside world by eying the United States and Europe, but now we have to maintain and widen these old markets while at the same time to seek new markets in Asia or even to Africa," he said.
Hun Sen has repeatedly admired China for helping Cambodia in both soft and hard assistance, especially, in infrastructure that includes roads, bridges and power supplies as well as in mass investments. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 Jan 2011Everyday.com.khTranslated from Khmer by SochRong Chhun, representative of the Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC), led a group of 25 people to visit border stakes between Cambodia and Vietnam on Sunday. The visit took place in Prey Veng and Kampong Cham provinces. He claimed that information he received from villagers who lost their lands to Vietnam from the border planting was true because when he went to visit border post no. 125 in Ponhea Krek district, Kampong Cham province, he saw that this border was planted inside Cambodian territories by about 4 km, and it also placed a Cambodian pagoda inside Vietnam territories. Rong Chhun indicated also that the CWC group also visited the border stakes for border post no. 131 in Krobao commune, Komchay Mea district, Prey Veng province, and these stakes are planted inside Cambodian territories by about 500-600 meters also.
sVar Kim Hong refused to comment
On Sunday, when sVar Kim Hong, the senior minister in charge of border, was asked to clarify on the accusations made by Rong Chhun, he refused to provide detailed comment on this issue. He said that he is waiting to see Rong Chhun's report first. sVar Kim Hong told The Phnom Penh Post: "Look at the report first to see how much was lost, then I will speak later. Now, I am not commenting."  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Jan 10, 2011 (IPS) - A steady rise of new dams in Cambodia is becoming a platform for the country's prime minister to showcase where the Southeast Asian kingdom's ties with China - a late arrival among Cambodia's foreign aid and development partners - is headed.
"The hydropower dam is just one of the numerous achievements under the cooperation between Cambodia and China," Premier Hun Sen said in December at a ceremony in a remote South-western province of the country where the 338 megawatt Russei Chrum Krom hydropower dam is being built.
This 500-million-U.S.-dollar dam - being built by the Huadian Corp., one of China's biggest state-owned power companies - is the largest of five Chinese dams under construction in energy-poor Cambodia, where only a fifth of the population of nearly 14.5 million have access to electricity.
Chinese companies are already carrying out feasibility studies for four more dams to be built, say environmentalists and grassroots activists worried about what such future hydropower projects portend.
"China plays a very important role in investment and development in Cambodia. But it should take account of the importance of EIAs [environmental impact assessments] and SIAs [social impact assessments]," Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said during a telephone interview from Phnom Penh, where his grassroots network for local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is based. "At times the EIA process is not open to the public and there is little time to comment," Ath told IPS.
Global environmental lobbies, such as the U.S.-based International Rivers (IR), confirmed to IPS that a full EIA for the Kamchay Dam has still not been completed four years after construction began. "Within the EIA process, the Chinese companies have not pursued best practices," says Ame Trandem, a Southeast Asia campaigner for IR. "Public participation is limited or there is no participation. And the developer has not looked at alternatives."
The Kamchay Dam is located "within Bokor National Park and will flood two thousand hectares of protected forest," notes IR in a study, titled 'Cambodia's hydropower development and China's involvement'.
But Hun Sen leaves little room for such criticism levelled by environmentalists toward China. "Is there any development that happens without an impact on the environment and natural resources? Please give us a proper answer," the region's longest-serving leader said in a broadside fired at green groups during the December ceremony for the Russei Chrum Krom Dam.
For their part, some Chinese funders of development projects in Cambodia have begun to engage with local activists - worried at the price a country still recovering from two decades of civil war and the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime has to pay now that China's footprint is expanding.
"I told a delegation of Chinese at a meeting last month that there were few EIA being done for Chinese projects," Meas Nee, a Cambodian social development researcher, told IPS in a telephone interview. "And even when done and it looks good on paper, there are flaws because they have not been done properly."
"The prime minister always praises Chinese support and the government prefers economic assistance from China because it comes with no conditions, unlike aid from the western donors," Nee says.
In fact, Hun Sen's ability to play his newfound economic support from China against the country's long-standing development partners from the west has highlighted their contrasting aid and development practices.
Till 2006, when China stepped in to help Cambodia, the aid and development agenda had been dominated by the countries that were part of a pro-free market, pro-western Washington Consensus. They entered a war-ravaged country after the 1991 peace accord to help rebuild the country.
In mid-2010, western donors assured Cambodia 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in aid - up from the previous year's 950 million dollars.
Such largess has come despite the Cambodian government falling short of standards the western governments were pushing for - ranging from "good governance", better laws and reducing corruption to strengthening fundamental rights.
But China - which has gone from having only 45 million U.S. dollars in investments in Cambodia in 2003 to signing 14 deals worth 850 million dollars in Dec. 2009 - challenged the western donors' monopoly in the country by "dealing directly with the political decision makers only," says Shalmali Guttal, senior researcher at Focus on the Global South, a Bangkok- based regional think tank.
China is enjoy an edge over the west through its 'no-policy-conditions' approach, said Guttal, noting also that China did not follow the western donors route of pushing for Cambodian NGOs to monitor the aid process. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BANGKOK, Jan 10 (MCOT online news) -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Monday denied a report that Thai soldiers killed 20 Cambodians at the border in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket, awaiting a Cambodian court's verdict on seven Thais detained in Phnom Penh since last month.
Mr Suthep said the government was trying its best to help the seven Thai nationals detained on Dec 29 as they inspected the Thai-Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo province adjacent to Cambodian province of Banteay Meanchey.
The deputy premier said Thailand is pulling out all the stops through all legal means to secure the release of all those seven.
He said he would not comment on the issue as it might not help the case.
As far as he knew, Mr Suthep said, no bail request has been submitted as it depends on the team of lawyers and the Cambodian Court's procedures.
The seven, including Democrat MP for Bangkok Panich Vikitsreth and Thai Patriots Network leader Veera Somkwamkid, were arrested by Cambodian soldiers as they inspected the border area.
The Cambodian court finished the first hearing on Thursday. The detainees face two charges -- one of illegal entry into the Cambodian kingdom, with assigned punishment of three to six months of imprisonment and deportation, and a second charge involving trespass into a Cambodian military area without permission, punishable by a three to six months jail term and Bt7,500-15,000 in fines.
Mr Suthep denied the report that Thai troops killed 20 Cambodians at the border in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province, saying it was groundless. He questioned the motives of those who spread the unfounded rumour.
He said that in the past, Thai military had clashed with armed illegal logging groups which were later identified as Cambodians, but it was long ago and took place long before the seven Thais were detained by the Cambodian troops.
The deputy prime minister also denied using a prisoner swap as a measure to help the seven. He said Thailand and Cambodia had discussed the matter in the past and Cambodian authorities handed over prisoners to Thailand, but Thailand has yet sent any prisoner to Cambodia due to legal technicalities.
Meanwhile, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai Foreign Minister, said families of the seven detained Thais arrived in Cambodia on Sunday and have visited their relatives at Phnom Penh's Prey Sor Prison this morning.
The Thai Patriots Network lawyers have been waiting to meet Cambodian lawyers for detained Thais but have already talked to the families and Thai embassy officials at Phnom Penh, he said.
Mr Chavanond said the lawyer team and the embassy officials were waiting for the court action before submitting the bail bids to temporary free the Thais.
The Cambodian lawyer for the seven was at court this morning and abruptly left without giving interview to reporters waiting in front of the court. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | January 10, 2011
AAP
An Australian man has been shot dead after visiting his Cambodian fiancee at a guesthouse in the capital of Phnom Penh, consular officials say.
The victim was named by local police as Eric Liu, the Phnom Penh Post reported on its website on Sunday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Monday confirmed the 43-year-old Victorian died in hospital as a result of gunshot wounds to the chest.
Cambodian police said he arrived in Cambodia on Saturday and was gunned down about 9.30pm local time in the guesthouse's reception area. He died at Calmette hospital later that night.
"He has a Cambodian fiancee. After he landed, he met with his fiancee and they went to a guesthouse where he was shot by two suspects," national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told AFP.
The Post reported that a police officer from Phnom Penh's Meanchey district said Mr Liu was shot twice, in the chest and right hand, by two unknown men on a motorbike.
Australian officials based at the embassy are working closely with the local authorities, while employees in Australia are providing assistance to the man's family  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Rustic ballfield (Terry McCoy | For the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) |  | | Shoeless batter (Terry McCoy | For the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) | Monday, January 10, 2011By Terry McCoyFOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWKAMPONG THOM, Cambodia -- Out in the flat plains of central Cambodia, an unmistakable sound rises above a din of screaming motorcycles and grunting water buffaloes.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
To Chun Heng, 16, the sound carries something exotic and addicting. It's hard to explain, he says underneath his stilted wooden hut, firing another fastball at a brick retaining wall and gloving the ricochet. Thwack! That's what makes baseball, at its purest, beautiful to Chun. No thinking required: throw, catch, hit, run. In these moments he can forget that he's bad at school, that he sleeps on a wooden floor, that he has no real prospects for success.
Baseball is baseball, even in rural Cambodia -- where despite little American influence, crushing heat and a cultural apathy toward most things new or foreign, America's pastime has forged into the countryside. Since 2005, four baseball fields have sprouted in places that once were rice paddies, sparking a smattering of grassroots baseball programs across the provinces.
Indeed, if you build it, they will come.
So it went on a recent Saturday at a rural high school in Kampong Thom province miles from Cambodia's newest professional-sized park. More than 30 seventh-grade students gathered to make sense of this strange game of bats, balls, rubber plate things and ... batter's helmets? About 10 Khmer die each day in motorcycle accidents -- frequently without helmets -- but the danger posed by rubber balls at this practice had every black-haired head under a helmet.
The students played until dusk, spilling English baseball vernacular into strings of Khmer.
Far removed from the simple joy at this practice, however, complications abound.
With the exception of some Latin American countries, baseball doesn't fit the developing world. That's because the game necessitates loads of stuff -- "So much equipment! So much equipment!" gasped one Khmer coach -- and baseball's American vibe doesn't exactly groove with places such as Cambodia. Hot dogs would be an unusual side to a bowl of rice.
The best gauge of a grassroots baseball program is whether it produces professional talent, said Jim Small, vice president of Major League Baseball Asia. Results, in that case, aren't great. The league invested in 31 developing countries since 2005, but of them only Panama and Colombia sent a player to a recent big league roster, MLB records show.
"What's the end game? Are we going to get a Major League player from Cambodia? No, probably not," Small said, adding that $100,000 in resources went to Cambodia. "But I've seen the difference this game makes for these kids, and we're going to keep doing it. I don't know if baseball's going to catch on or be wildly popular ... but it's the right thing to do."
There's one more hitch. Few care or know about the sport here, according to interviews with players, coaches, villagers and baseball park developers.
Televisions broadcast soccer or boxing, but baseball? "Oh," one man said, "you must mean cricket."
"In Cambodia, no one pays attention to baseball," said So Pisot, who teaches Khmer literature at a high school near Kampong Thom's baseball field. "People don't give any value to it here. We don't have the resources for baseball."
Judging from the scoreboard, the Cambodia national baseball effort needs more than just additional resources. At its first international showing in the Southeast Asian Games three years ago in Thailand, teams from Burma and Indonesia drubbed the Khmer squad in five games by a combined score of 88-8. Results have improved little since.
So if Cambodia is too poor for baseball, there's little interest, and the entire concept of winning at the sport is as foreign as New York City, how is it that baseball is growing in such a country?
Reports of the traction might be inflated, said Elaine Negroponte, who initiated a grassroots baseball program in 2005 in a remote northern province. The game was imported: returned refugees brought it in, or Negroponte and other Americans bolstered interest in rural areas.
Baseball succeeded in other Asian countries, notably Japan and Taiwan, because the sport grew organically, later "reflecting" the national identity, according to research published by the United States Sports Academy. The sport achieved this through global exposure, government support and private-sector financing.
Although Cambodia isn't in the same ballpark, the sport has opportunity here, some baseball activists maintain.They say only one thing needs to happen.
"The Dominican Republic has all these people who've made a fortune at baseball, and if there was just one Khmer who got on a team and made a fortune, everyone would want to do it," Negroponte said. "They'd be ripping them out of school and sending them to baseball camp."
So every night at 5 o'clock, Chun Heng rockets pitch after pitch at a crumbling brick wall amid chickens, dreaming of what boys in the United States dream of: a chance at the bigs  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mon, 10 Jan 2011
DPA
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian man allegedly murdered three children and his brother in the country's remote north-east before police shot and killed him, local media reported Monday.
The incident began early Sunday when Kheng Kry, 32, allegedly stabbed his brother to death at a village in Ratanakkiri province, which borders Laos.
He then fled to a nearby village where he was accused of murdering the three children, ages 3 to 8, and stabbing three other people who tried to prevent the attacks.
District Governor Sak Srun said that after the first murder, police had requested permission to use force against the suspect but the request was refused.
"They tried to arrest the murderer, but they couldn't because it was too dark, which allowed him to run away and kill three more people," Sak Srun told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
The authorities later gave permission for lethal force.
The motive for the rampage was not known, but a human rights investigator in the province said one theory was that Kheng Kry had suffered an adverse reaction to malaria medication | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | The Restaurant Pyongyang in Siem Reap, Cambodia |
January 10, 2011
The Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)
Siem Reap, Cambodia's second largest city near the sprawling ruins of the Angkor Wat, has two North Korean restaurants, down from three since North Korea recalled all their expat staff after Kim Jong-il's stroke in 2008 and returned only the employees of two of them. The restaurants rely on South Korean tourists for business since the town is a popular destination for them.
One of them, called Restaurant Pyongyang, sells the famous cold noodles or naengmyeon for US$7 a dish, while North Korean dancers perform and pour drinks for customers. It used to be a regular stopover for South Korean tourists, with tour agencies charging $30 for a visit and a meal. One tour guide said, "In Cambodia $7 a dish is already pretty expensive, but many tourists go to the restaurant because of its attractions."
After North Korea's sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan in March last year, the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia asked tour agencies and South Korean residents' association there to avoid sending visitors from the South there, but local sources say the plea fell largely on deaf ears. But the North's artillery attack on Yeonpyong Island in November last year finally did the trick. The South Korean residents' association in Siem Reap voluntarily boycotted the North Korean restaurants, and tour agencies also voluntarily took them off their itinerary.
The restaurants are apparently suffering. A member of the South Korean residents' association said, "Almost all of the customers were South Korean tourists, but it seems that even the performances have stopped now there are no customers."
Around 120,000 South Koreans a year reportedly visited the two restaurants, contributing to an estimated W200-300 million (US$1=W1,126) in monthly sales. North Korea runs over 100 restaurants in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Russia, which serve as a source of much-needed hard currency for the regime by sending home $100,000-300,000 a year.
The mood in Siem Reap is now desperate. Last month, a placard outside a South Korean restaurant criticizing North Korea's attacks were torn down by seven people who appeared to be North Korean agents, in what expats there believe was another small-scale North Korean provocation. Tour agencies are also losing revenues after taking the restaurants off their itineraries. "We used to charge $30 per visit and took 30 percent of the profits, but not any more," a tour guide said.
South Korean residents' associations abroad rarely voluntarily boycott North Korean restaurants. The Okryugwan chain of North Korean restaurants in Beijing's Wangjing district is still accessible to South Koreans. A South Korean Embassy official there said, "We asked residents to avoid the restaurant in November but did not force them."
Meanwhile, a North Korean restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal closed down in November after its North Korean manager defected to South Korea. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Padaz Katie LariZa the girl in your dream 
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INTERVIEW WITH RIEM EM, CAMBODIAN ARTIST AND OWNER OF AN ART GALLERY
09.01.2011
Von Luc Citrinot,
eTN
As Phnom Penh will play host to the ASEAN Travel Forum, Southeast Asia's largest international tourism event, eTurboNews Asia Senior Editor Luc Citrinot takes a look at the latest changes in the Cambodian capital in a series of articles.
PHNOM PENH (eTN) - Phnom Penh is a rapidly-changing city. Ten years ago, the Cambodian capital was seen as a laid-back destination where gardens, the Mekong River, and derelict colonial villas gave a distinctive atmosphere to the city. Less than a decade later, skyscrapers started to invade the city skyline, while the surviving colonial buildings were turned into luxurious hotels, trendy restaurants, or chic design shops. With Phnom Penh enjoying a new sense of wealth, a Cambodian art scene is slowly emerging with artists and gallery owners exhibiting promising young artists. Riem Em, a well-established designer and painter talks exclusively to eTurboNews about Phnom Penh's new art scene.
eTN: Do you think that Phnom Penh is a city giving a chance to young artists? Are there structures in place to showcase new talents?
RIEM EM: I do believe that Phnom Penh is a city offering a chance to young artists to create as the art scene is far [from] being saturated. We have little tradition in innovative contemporary art. This new spirit is a good source of creativity. However, we have a far too small number of venues to expose our works. I opened a gallery a few years ago [La Galerie, n°13, Street 178], which is probably the only "true" art gallery to date in Phnom Penh. It is opened everyday, and it is fully dedicated to exhibiting art. People can come and go as they want... Otherwise, some NGOs or some foreign cultural centers, such as the Alliance Française or the Meta House, offer spaces for art, or also Java Café and Gallery, which combines a coffee place with three exhibition rooms.
eTN: Do tourist institutions look at promoting art?
RIEM EM: They are some hotels such as Villa Langka in Phnom Penh or Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap which regularly organize exhibitions of young Khmer artists within their premises. In Phnom Penh, Isabelle Drouillard has been very active to expose very young artists in hotels. She organizes events within Phare Ponleu Selpak NGO, which support art schools. Hotel de la Paix has its own curator, Sasha Constable, who organizes five to six exhibitions per year.
eTN: Does the government contribute to promote the country's artists?
RIEM EM: Unfortunately no. The government does not care that much. I wanted for example to teach art to young generations at the School of Fine Arts. Unfortunately, I am already considered as too old by public authorities as I am over 30 years. It motivated my decision to have my own space.
eTN: Is the emerging Cambodian middle class interested in contemporary art?
RIEM EM: Upper middle-class Cambodians are not very interested in contemporary art. They prefer diamonds, large cars, karaoke, anything related to the "bling-bling" culture... Mostly expatriates or foreign travelers are looking to discover the new Cambodian art scene.
eTN: What are your sources of inspiration? Does Cambodia's tragic past still strongly influence art?
RIEM EM: I have known the Khmer Rouge regime, and the tragic history of Cambodia is certainly a source of inspiration for some of my portraits, not only for me but probably for many other artists. All the problems faced by Cambodia today such as the "new rich" phenomenon, the widening gap between rich and poor, violence in the society can be expressed through arts. There is, for example, now an exhibition on "new rich" organized at the Alliance Française until the end of January. As we cannot always talk freely about all the problems within our society, art can speak for us. This is where it probably takes its strength. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Economic community is the key, Surin says
10/01/2011
Achara Ashayagachat
Bangkok Post
Thailand should not politicise boundary disputes but allow them to be handled in a "neighbourly" spirit, the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations says.
Surin Pitsuwan, former foreign minister, told a seminar yesterday that this approach would bring about economic growth and other mutual benefits.
Boundary disputes were a colonial legacy as border demarcation and delineation efforts remain "works in progress", Mr Surin said.
He pointed out how a functioning agreement has yet to be established between Thailand and the once colonial neighbours Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Malaysia.
"We should address the border issues not as fixed [geographical] boundaries but areas of joint culture, neighbourliness and fraternity," he said. "Traditionally, there is no such absolute and definite boundary." [KI-Media Note: In that case, the entire Thailand should be inside Cambodia, is it not?]
Another way to address it is to wait until the advent of the Asean Economic Community, which will integrate the economies and other aspects of Asean member nations in 2015, he said.
By then, the spirit of shared economic and political prosperity will be imperative to all members, Mr Surin said at the seminar entitled "Our Boundaries and Our Asean Neighbours", organised through the Foreign Ministry.
His remarks come as the Thai Patriots Network, a splinter group of the People's Alliance for Democracy, has been stirring nationalist feelings against Cambodia in the wake of the Dec 29 arrest of seven Thais - including Bangkok MP Panich Vikitsreth and PAD member Veera Somkwamkid - for trespassing on Cambodian territory.
Mr Surin warned patriotic emotions and politics could either delay or derail efforts to resolve border issues in a constructive and amicable manner.
"We need to be flexible and pragmatic if we want to move forward or resolve some disputes," he said.
"Border demarcations need not be hurried. Surely they take time and, politically speaking, the counterparts need to look at the potential benefits or exchanged benefits of overlapping borders."
Jiranan Pitpreecha, SEA Write-award winning author and political activist, cautioned against colour-coded politics and emotions influencing diplomacy, as this could hurt Thailand's regional relations.
"Knowledge and information is key. Isolating information or distorting historical interpretations for specific political purposes should not prevail," Ms Jiranan said.
Thanom Charoenlarp, adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on boundary issues, said disputes should be dealt with by experts and not be dictated by political emotions.
As the PAD looks set to oppose Thai-Cambodian talks on maritime territorial issues next month, Adm Thanom said no one should link land and water territorial talks.
The maritime talks can proceed without having to wait for the land boundaries to be resolved, he said.
"Thailand has set aside some differences with Malaysia and Vietnam and we should hope for a similar deal if Thais are not fighting among themselves," the veteran maritime negotiator said. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | January 10, 2011
Catholic News Asia
Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia), Ltd. is a microfinance institution that provides the rural poor with the economic opportunities to transform the quality of their lives through the provision of effective and sustainable, client-empowering financial services, according to its website.
Its goal is to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living and quality of life for the poor. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  My asian girl at her room with open mind to show a little bit...
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  SExiest Asian girl sellers gang in the market choosing the dress style.
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Honesty a requirement for auditions: Nagasawa
Wednesday 23rd June, 03:19 AM JST
TOKYO — Actresses Yasuko Sawaguchi, 45, Maki Mizuno, 40, Masami Nagasawa, 23, and others attended a press conference in Tokyo this week for the "Toho Cinderella" audition. Mizuno and Nagasawa—who are the "scouting chief" and "scouting manager"—recounted interesting tales from their own past auditions while a series of photographs from the time played on a large screen behind them.
Mizuno said she took her first audition after being spurned by a guy, as a type of "revenge." Nagasawa said that on her CV under "special skills," her mother had written "jazz dance," but at one final audition when she was told to give a quick performance, she refused. "I thought, 'I'm not confident, and this isn't really a special skill at all,'" explained the actress, "Sometimes, it's necessary to have that kind of honesty."
Auditions will begin July 1, with a grand prix held in January of next year.
Reunion festival celebrates release of new Tetsuya Nakashima film
Saturday 29th May, 06:00 AM JST
TOKYO — To celebrate the upcoming release of the Tetsuya Nakashima film "Kokuhaku," starring Takako Matsu, a movie festival was held this week to screen Nakashima's other works. On hand were actresses Kyoko Fukada, 27, and Anna Tsuchiya, 26, who appeared in the film "Kamikaze Girls," and Miki Nakatani, 34, of "Memories of Matsuko."
Fukada joked about the filming of "Kamikaze," saying, "The director was always getting angry, Anna would suddenly get pissed off. It was really rough." Tsuchiya commented critically about "Kokuhaku," a film about juvenile delinquency, saying, "The film is really dark and completely different from Nakashima's past works."
"Kokuhaku" opens June 5.
Uno Kanda releases fashion and business book 'Mrs Uno'
Thursday 05th November, 06:17 AM JST
TOKYO — Celebrity and fashion designer Uno Kanda, 34, wore a lovely brown ensemble to the Ginza branch of the Fukuya book store chain this week to shake hands with her fans and sign copies of her new collection of short essays – "Mrs Uno."
The new book is her first attempt at writing since she got married to pachinko mogul Takuro Nishimura, 40, in late 2007. The 128-page piece features chapters titled "Uno's Fashion Conversation," "Uno's Business Conversation," and "Uno's Private Conversation," among others.
About 50 show biz reporters and photographers were also issued tickets for the special event, and reporters asked Kanda about her good friend and actress Misaki Ito's upcoming wedding in Hawaii. Kanda said she hopes Ito wears the dress she designed for her, but added: "Isn't it strange I won't be the one getting married?" – a reference to her six wedding ceremonies with Nishimura.
"Mrs Uno" is on sale now for 1,449 yen (including tax.)
Toyota's Corolla an inspiration for Ami Suzuki's new song 'Kiss Kiss Kiss'
Thursday 08th October, 04:00 AM JST
TOKYO — Singer Ami Suzuki, 27, saddled up to Toyota's new Corolla Fielder X 202 at the Shibuya-Ax live house this week to promote "House Nation," a club tour which starts on Saturday and at which Suzuki will be a DJ.
Suzuki said her new song "Kiss Kiss Kiss," which will be used as the theme song for the upcoming tour, was inspired by the Corolla. She said: "The song is about going for a drive at night to enjoy the evening view, with a cool guy in a suit, and wondering what might happen." When asked if it was based on her personal experience, Suzuki got shy and said it wasn't.
Suzuki also commented on the battering the music scene has taken recently following singer and actress Noriko Sakai's indictment for possessing and using stimulants, and the images broadcast of her DJ performance. "Since then, people have become concerned and asked me if I'm OK, just because I'm a DJ. I want to show that clubbing is not about all those scandals."
Masuwaka looking the goods with mobile hair iron
Monday 21st September, 06:40 AM JST
TOKYO — "Charisma Model" Tsubasa Masuwaka, 23, was in Harajuku this week to show off what your hair could look like if you use professional hair styling tool TSUYAGLA Perfect. Masuwaka stars in the TV commercial for the new mobile hair iron, currently on air and in which she sports three other gorgeous hairstyles made possible by the latest version.
Its predecessor proved quite the hit with the ladies, selling more than a quarter of a million units. The new iron comes in Virgin White, Candy Pink and Midnight Navy, and boasts a maximum power of 200 degrees Celsius. A two-hour charge ensures up to 40 minutes of mobile hair care.
Masuwaka said that her husband, model Naoki Umeda, 26, loves her curls and added: "Women always want to be cute, regardless of time or place."
TSUYAGLA Perfec is available through Prime Shopping Japan for 12,800 yen plus 945 yen for shipping.
    Media Files
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Tokyo motor show 2007 The Tokyo Motor Show (東京モーターショー, Tokyo Motor Show?) is a biennial auto show held in October-November at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and normally sees more concept cars than actual production car introductions which is the reason why the auto press see the show as one of the motorshow's big five (along with Detroit, Geneva, Frankfurt and Paris). The show, then called All Japan Motor Show was first held in an outdoor venue called Hibiya Park, the show was considered a success with 547,000 visitors over ten days and 254 exhibitors displaying 267 vehicles, but of the amount of vehicles only 17 of them were passenger cars as the show was dominated by commercial vehicles. In 1958, due to construction of a subway and underground parking lot near Hibiya Park, the show was shifted to the Korakuen Bicycle Racing Track. The show, as the previous year was marred by heavy rain, in 1959 the event moved indoor to its newly opened Harumi Showplace venue which was three times the size of its previous venue. Onward from 1973, as the organisers decided not to host a show for the following year due to the international energy crisis, the show became a biennial event after the organisers decided that the event should be held every two years. The show relocated to its current venue, the Makuhari Messe in 1989 and due to high public demand for vehicles in everyday use and the fact concept cars dominate the show, the show returned to being an annual event from 2001 to 2005 with a show for passenger cars and motorcycle and another for commercial vehicles for the following year. However from 2007 onwards the event will (once again) return to a biennial schedule which combines both passenger and commercial vehicles, including motorcycles and auto parts. Article by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Motor_Show Media Files
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  I never post Japanese girl take a bath for a long time so today lets see Saki Yamaguchi take a bath
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  I do not have any profit to advertise LEE jean LOL so this set is not too much sexy but I think Nao Utahara look cool in LEE jean.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sunday, January 09, 2011
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says China's rapidly developing defense capabilities are worrisome to the United States.
China has made strides in building a new stealth fighter jet and Washington is also concerned about a new ballistic missile that could theoretically explode a U.S. aircraft carrier nearly 2,000 miles out to sea. China has also apparently beaten U.S. estimates to develop that weapon.
Gates arrived Sunday in Beijing for talks about these weapons and other military issues with Chinese leaders.
"They clearly have potential to put some of our capabilities at risk," Gates told reporters traveling with him to Asia. "We have to pay attention to them, we have to respond appropriately with our own programs."
The United States has long known that China wanted to field a stealth jet, but development outpaced U.S. intelligence estimates, Gates said.
China is still years behind U.S. capabilities in radar-evading aircraft, and even by 2015 the United States would still have far more such aircraft flying than any other nation in the world, Gates said.
China says it does not pose a threat and its military forces are purely for defense — which in its definition includes deterring Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory, from declaring formal independence.
In an apparent nod to U.S. calls for more openness, China allowed video and pictures of last week's runway tests of its prototype stealth fighter to be taken and posted online.
Gates is trying to coax Chinese military leaders into more regular discussions with the U.S.
The Pentagon is focusing scarcer defense dollars on ways to counter the kinds of weapons China is now building. For example, Gates said recently he wants to spend more on a new long-range nuclear bomber and updated electronics gear for the Navy that could throw an incoming missile off course.
Gates will also visit South Korea for talks about averting war with the North, as well as Japan, which is alarmed by Chinese military moves.
The invitation to visit Beijing was a coup for Gates, who invited a Chinese counterpart for similar talks and a visit to the U.S. nuclear weapons headquarters in 2009.  | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
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