WEDNESDAY, aPRIL 9, 2014

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Incitement charge over SL rioting

Sean Teehan and Mom Kunthear

DESPITE a December strike-ending agreement that saw lawsuits against labour leaders and workers dropped, union president Ath Thorn yesterday was charged with incitement by Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Leaving court yesterday morning, Thorn, who heads the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), said the charge encompassed three separate cases stemming from last years fourmonth strike at the SL Garment factory, which was punctuated by a deadly November riot. The prosecutor is charging that [C. CAWDU] ordered workers to commit violence, Thorn told reporters after the two-hour questioning session. If there is no more evidence, [I think] the judge will drop this case. The December 3 agreement between C.CAWDU and SL stipulated that the garment manufacturer drop lawsuits filed against striking union workers and remove shareholder Meas Sotha from managerial capacity. The deal also called for labour rights groups to coordinate with SL buyers which include Continues on page 2

Kremlin cohorts
Pro-Russian activists guard a barricade set up at the Donetsk regional council ofce building in the eastern city of Donetsk on Monday. NATO has warned Russia against stoking a aring secession crisis. AFP

sTORY > 12

Cyber bill raises concerns

Kevin Ponniah

AMBODIAS highly secretive draft law on cybercrime, which has never been released publicly, seeks to criminalise online content that slanders or undermines government agencies, ministries or officials or affects political cohesiveness, a copy obtained by the Post reveals. The law, which was first announced in May 2012 to the trepidation of many netizens, is supposed to be

Draft law falls well below intl standards

passed this mandate. But the government has thus far ignored calls from civil society groups to release a draft for consultation. Article 19, the London-based freedom of expression advocacy group that obtained an English-language version of the draft law, said that it falls well below international standards on freedom of expression, information and privacy, and if passed could see Cambodias currently free online space [backsliding] into the countrys deep-seated culture of secrecy and self-censorship. Article 28 of the 16-page draft law, labelled draft V.1 and developed by the Cybercrime Law Formulation Working Group of the Council of Ministers, stipulates offences related to online content and publications. It proposes criminalising content that is deemed to hinder the sovereignty and integrity of Cambodia; publications that incite or instigate the general population that could cause one or many to generate anarchism; publications that generate insecurity, instability, and [affect] political cohesiveness; and any publication deemed to be non-factual which slanders or [undermines] the integrity of any government agencies [or] ministries.

All these offences are punishable with one to three years in prison and a fine of between two and six million riel ($500 to $1,500), the draft law stipulates. More than four million Cambodians were using the internet, including on mobile telephones, as of December 2013, according to government data, an increase from 2.7 million in late 2012. The Draft Cybercrime Law has been formulated behind closed doors for far Continues on page 4

ISSUE NUMBER 1903

THE PHNOM PENH POST apRil 9, 2014

National

Incitement charge over SL rioting

Continued from page 1

H&M and Gap to pay workers half of their wages lost during the strike, plus bonuses. None of those conditions have been met, Thorn said yesterday. Spokespeople from H&M and Gap did not respond to emailed requests for comment. A representative of SL executive director Wong Hon Ming confirmed that company officials had dropped their lawsuits against C.CAWDU. Attorney Kim Socheat, who represents Thorn, yesterday said that charges against his client and union activist Pav Phanna resulted from a court complaint filed by Sath Sophai, a security guard who works at SL, not the factory itself. However, he said, it seems doubtful that Sophai filed the lawsuit of his own volition. We think that the company is behind this complaint, Socheat said yesterday. He added that he has received no paperwork indicating that SL dropped lawsuits filed against C.CAWDU members. Deputy prosecutor Ek Cheng Houth could not be reached for comment.

Schools take funding plan to the bank

Laignee Barron and Chhay Channyda Union president Ath Thorn speaks to the media in front of Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after being charged with incitement. HENG CHIVOAN

About 4,000 SL workers first walked off the job on August 12 last year, demanding Sothas dismissal after he commissioned military police to stand guard inside the factory. Unions alleged the action was meant to intimidate workers and suppress union activity, but Sotha said the security was brought in to maintain workers safety. In the course of the tumultuous strike, violence erupted during a September 20 rally. Workers were allegedly beaten, warning shots fired and strikers are claimed to have destroyed property inside the factory.

Strikers and supporters trying to march from the Meanchey district factory to Prime Minister Hun Sens house on November 12 were stopped by a police blockade near Stung Meanchey Bridge. The police action sparked a riot in which demonstrators burned police vehicles and trapped police officers in a building inside the grounds of a pagoda, before authorities opened fire with live ammunition on the crowd. The hail of bullets killed a food vendor and injured at least nine people. Outside the courthouse yes-

terday, Lach Sithorn, head of C.CAWDUs SL branch, decried legal action taken against union members. We already agreed that all court complaints would be dropped, Sithorn said. Why is the court still charging our leader? C.CAWDU will write letters to the Ministry of Labour which facilitated the agreement and other government officials to complain about SLs breach of the deal, Thorn said. The company has not respected the agreement, Thorn said. They want to destroy the union.

ike mob deals and black market trades, the Cambodian school budget is dealt in suitcases of cash. Four times a year, the school operating budget is dispersed in stacks of cash transferred from the central bank to the Ministry of Education, eventually ending up with the school principals who fetch the bills from district education ofces. But the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Ministry of Education are trying to change the system with bank accounts, one for every school. This is one way to minimise corruption when the money goes through the provinces and then the districts and then the schools in stacks of cash, the right amount isnt always coming through, said Kristina Khnel, head of development cooperation at the Swedish Embassy of Cambodia. Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron estimates that only 800 of the Kingdoms more than 11,000 public schools has a bank account, but by the 2014-15 school year, he wants every one to have an account with Acleda, which operates in every district in Cambodia. Initially, the accounts will be used only for the SIDA-funded School Improvement Grants, a three-year, $23.8 million project in which schools will receive allowances catering to each ones individual needs. But the long-term goal is to merge the grants and the schools operating budgets, channeling the funds into a single bank account to be used at each schools discretion.

It will be more efcient, keep the money safely and will allow better monitoring of how resources are being spent, Chuon Naron said, adding that a proposal has already been sent seeking government approval for the allocation of school budgets via bank accounts next year. Under the current system, school ofcials complain of having to drive long distances to collect the cash, which is also frequently delayed. The money always comes late, said Bot Pheakdey, director of Sok An Khvav High School in Takeo province. Pheakdey said his school has to pay for repairs, teaching materials and even utilities on credit, because the funds take so long to get to his remote district. In some cases the cash doesnt even come through in time for the schools to actually spend it before the end of the scal year, said Gordon Conochie, fundraising and advocacy adviser at the NGO Education Partnership. And money not spent before December 25 must be returned. While bank accounts could eliminate informal fees or other irregularities, education experts point out that they wont change the fact once the money is withdrawn from the bank and taken to the school, the safest place to store the yearly budget is often under the principals mattress. The school manager is still going to be withdrawing and keeping cash. There needs to also be proper accounting and recording procedures, said Kol Preap, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia. Bank accounts are step forward, but not the ultimate solution.

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

NEC reform or bust: Rainsy

Meas Sokchea

National City Hall to shepherd public bus operation

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

AMBODIA National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy laid out concrete demands for the composition of the National Election Committee yesterday while also holding out the threat of mass demonstrations, even as behind-the-scenes talks between the opposition and ruling party continued. Speaking to supporters in Kampot province, Rainsy said he planned to suggest in an upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen that the two parties and civil society have equal representation on the NEC, and that failing that, the opposition would return to the streets. Now, the NEC has nine members. [We] must give it three members of the Cambodian Peoples Party, three members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party and three neutral people, he said. They would check and balance each other to be responsible, not biased. If [we] are in accord, and talks go in a peaceful way, we would be happy to laud any agreement, he continued. If [we] talk without a good result, [we] will hold demonstrations. Despite the threats of renewed protests, a scheduled meeting between CNRP lawmaker-elect Son Chhay and CPP representative Prum Sokha took place yesterday morning, according to opposition lawmaker-elect Tioulong Saumura. However, Saumura said, she was not aware of what was discussed, and multiple attempts to reach members of both

Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy speaks to a crowd of supporters in Kampot province yesterday. CNRP/BEN WOODS

parties for comment on the meeting were unsuccessful. Chheang Vun, a regular member of the CPPs negotiating party, said yesterday that he had no knowledge of any meeting, but that Rainsys proposed NEC formula was untenable, and asserted that the CPPs majority should be reected in an extra seat at the committee. [We] cannot accept this. No one has ever let a minority party put conditions on a majority party, he said. When [a party] wins more seats, [that party] must occupy more seats. Vun declined to name a date for the planned meeting between Rainsy and

Hun Sen, but said that closed-door talks had gone smoothly so far and that he expected the two leaders to give Cambodians a gift before Khmer New Year, which begins next week. Koul Panha, executive director of the election watchdog Comfrel, said yesterday that Rainsys NEC proposal would foster debate and balance, and would prevent seemingly lopsided decisions like those seen in the past. We cannot allow anyone to dominate anyone in the NEC, otherwise, it will have the same problems as before, Panha said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STUART WHITE

CITY Hall has taken over the recently launched public bus route in Phnom Penh pending a review of the Chinese-owned firm that is contracted to run the fledgling service, a company official said yesterday. Lim Andre, Global (Cambodia) Trade Developments manager in Phnom Penh, said yesterday that City Hall had officially suspended the firms operations on Saturday and taken over running the buses. Now, the company is faced with some technical problems that require improvement, while our company is studying a bigger service plan as a next step in order to meet the demands of people in the capital, he said, without elaborating. The buses are still running, but City Hall is in charge for the next month. Phnom Penh municipality spokesman Long Dimanche said the service which runs along Monivong Boulevard had been suspended while the authorities decide whether to increase the number of routes and open the market for more companies to bid. He added that technical problems had contributed to

the bus services suspension. Phnom Penh Municipal Hall delayed the bus launching process of Global (Cambodia) Trade Development for a while after some technical problems, said Dimanche, who also declined to explain the problems. Chinese-run Global Trade Development (GTD) won the contract to run the capitals new public bus service last month amid corruption claims. Public buses do not only give comfort to people, but they also help to reduce negative impacts on the environment [and] traffic accidents ... this service will help government to reduce poverty, Andre said. City residents, meanwhile, have written to GTD and City Hall, calling for the company to expand its service to include another major bus route from Takhmao district in Kandal province to the city centre to ease their daily commutes. Chan Thear, 55, a fruit and vegetable vendor at Demkor Market, wrote to GTD on behalf of hundreds of commuters who would like to see the route in operation, she said. Some days, we get hardly any money from selling, and it is not enough for the transportation costs, she said.

THE PHNOM PENH POST april 9, 2014

National

Tuol Sleng bid denied

Cheang Sokha

Cintri workers shovel rubbish into a rubbish truck yesterday in Phnom Penhs Daun Penh district.

VIREAK MAI

HE Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has denied a request from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party to hold a memorial ceremony inside the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum on April 17, a letter obtained yesterday reveals. The document, signed by Chamroeun Vantha, the ministrys general director of administration and nance, states that the request was denied due to the opposition not having rst gained permission from City Hall. The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts does not allow this, because any ceremony constituting a public gather-

ing needs the permission of local authorities rst, the letter reads. The CNRP sent a letter to the ministry on April 3 asking permission to hold the ceremony at Tuol Sleng, the site of the Khmer Rouges former S-21 prison, where Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, oversaw the deaths of more than 12,000 people between 1975 and 1979. Opposition lawmaker-elect Mao Monivann said yesterday that the CNRP would not ask City Halls permission to hold a ceremony at Tuol Sleng, but would inform municipal ofcials of the partys plans to instead hold a ceremony at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. If we hold the ceremony at

Choeung Ek, we will just inform City Hall and we will do it, Monivann said. City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said his ofce received a letter from the opposition yesterday informing it of its plans for a ceremony at the Killing Fields. We will have to inspect this request rst and will ask advice [from our superiors], Dimanche said. In recent years, the opposition has held a Buddhist ceremony at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields each April 17 the anniversary of Phnom Penh falling to Khmer Rouge forces in 1975 to remember the roughly 1.7 million people who died under Pol Pots brutal regime.

Double pay for holiday cleaners

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

IN ORDER to avoid Phnom Penh residents coming home to a polluted city after Khmer New Year, waste removal contractor Cintri is encouraging workers to volunteer over the national holiday, and plans on hiring temporary help to prevent any work stoppages. According to the Labour Law, the workers do not work during the Khmer New Year, which is coming up soon, but our companys role is to collect garbage from the public sites to clean the city, so we need the workers to volunteer to work during this period, Cintri operations manager Ngoun Sypheng said. Workers who make the holi-

day sacrifice, as well as temporary workers who join up during the period, will receive about $10 a day and be supported with food three times a day, Sypheng said. Ten dollars is more than double the typical daily salary of a Cintri truck driver. We do not want to see that our city becomes polluted by the garbage, and to clean the city, we will hire workers from other sectors, he added. Cintri employee Meth Vithika said that he wouldnt be working as he had to attend his mothers funeral ceremony in Prey Veng, but that if I were not busy, I would volunteer to work, because I need some more money.

Prak Sokha, who served as a Cintri worker representative during a recent wage strike that left huge piles of refuse deposited around the city, estimated that about 30 per cent of workers will volunteer for Khmer New Year duty. I have already decided to volunteer to work for two days, from April 13 to 14, but on April 15 I will take my family to visit my relatives in my mothers native village in Prey Veng province, he told the Post yesterday. However, Sokha warned that if the company did not pay workers both double their typical salary and a $10 daily bonus, he would seek to strike again.

Cashew plantations destroyed

Phak Saengly

REPRESENTATIVES of 50 families in Ratanakkiris Andong Meas district filed a complaint with rights group Adhoc yesterday alleging that a Vietnamese concessionaire is responsible for destroying about 50 hectares of cashew plantations. Sorl Penh, 58, a representative for the villagers from Nhang commune, said yesterday that locals had been relying on the land for nearly 20 years but had been unable to stop Company 72 from clearing community land since March 14. About 20 to 30 of us tried to stop their vehicles. They stopped while we were there, and they continued clearing when we left. We do not know what to do since the authorities also could not find a solution for this [dispute], he said. Andong Meas district governor Norng Darith said district authorities had attempted to solve the issue three times already but had failed.

Some villagers stopped using the land eight or 10 years ago, but when the company tried to clear it, they stopped the company and said it was their own, Darith said. Company 72 has already been implicated in a land dispute involving the clearing of some 10 per cent of a 1,000-hectare forest in neighbouring OYadav district, said Chhay Thy, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc. This company did not obey the policy of economic land concessions, because it has cleared community forest and farmlands. But still there has been no legal measure set to punish them, Thy said, adding that the firm was overstepping its 6,000-hectare concession in OYadav. Contact information for Company 72 is not publicly available, but OYadav district governor Dak Sar confirmed with the Post in late March that the companys concession partly overlapped with the villagers forest.

Draft cyber law raises free-speech concerns

Continued from page 1

too long. With a version of the Draft Law released, the authorities can no longer deflect the legitimate concerns of the national and international human rights community, Thomas Hughes, Article 19s executive director, said in a statement. The provisions in Article 28 of the draft law, which also address publications deemed damaging to the moral and cultural values of society, need to be entirely removed, because they are extremely vague and open to abuse, the group said. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan yesterday said he would not comment on an unofficial document in order to avoid manipulating anything. Once they pass it, after its been reviewed in the Council of Ministers and passed by the cabinet and then sent down to the National Assembly, then we can talk, he said. You remember this is an illegal document. So [we] dont touch it until it comes up ... It is government property [and] its not official yet ... Its a problem if people leaked this to you. Its not supposed to be leaked to anyone. Siphan added, however, that

a number of offences listed in the draft cyber law were based on existing offences in the criminal code. When the law was announced in May 2012, Council of Ministers spokesman Ek Tha said it would be designed to prevent any ill-willed people or badmood people from spreading false information [and] groundless information. Minister for Information Khieu Kanharith has stated several times, including in February, that despite social media being complex for the government to deal with, there were no plans to restrict access. He did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. Chem Sangva, director of the inspection department at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, referred questions to Minister Prak Sokhon, who could not be reached. The provisions in the draft law were extremely worrying for freedom of expression, Cambodian Center for Human Rights executive director Chak Sopheap said yesterday. Its not hard to imagine how terms such as political cohesiveness may be used to silence anyone who disagrees with the government and ruling party, and stand directly against the

An internet user reads political commentary on a website in Chamkarmon district yesterday.

SCOTT HOWES

constitutional guarantees of free speech, she said. The draft law, if passed, would see the establishment of a National Anti-Cybercrime Committee, with senior officials from its general secretariat given judicial police powers to investigate and make arrests. Given that the committee will predominantly be made up of high-ranking government officials, the lack of adequate definitions and preciseness in the law is especially concerning, Sopheap said. Aside from online content, other offences listed in the draft law include child pornography, illegal access to systems which encompasses hacking,

data theft and espionage and computer-related fraud. The past year has seen a surge in cyberattacks in the Kingdom, with Anonymous Cambodia, the local chapter of the global hacktivist collective, taking several government websites offline following the July election. According to Article 19, some penalties under the draft cyber law are harsher than their criminal code equivalents. Offences conducted online should not carry heavier penalties than that of crimes conducted offline, the group said in its statement. It also notes that prosecutors are granted extremely broad

powers to order the preservation of computer data or traffic data from internet service providers under the draft law, which is very worrying given the intrusive nature of such measures and that prosecutors lack the independence necessary for the proper balancing of the various interests involved. Included in its provision for content deemed damaging to moral and cultural values, the draft cyber law states that any drawings, pictorials, or pixilation that [are] deemed to slander or defame human beings or commoners of the state performing activities unbecoming, with animals of any species are punishable with imprison-

ment and heavy fines. [Members of the government] are angry with [people who insult them online], lawyer Sok Sam Oeun, head of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said. In our society, they dont like mocking; you can see in the Press Law its also the same. We cannot use cartoons for example, so now, mostly people from outside [the country] do that. A number of overseas-based pro-opposition blogs and websites that often contain commentary ridiculing senior Cambodian Peoples Party figures and lambasting political influence from Vietnam in derogatory terms have been occasionally targeted by the government in recent years. Perhaps in line with this, the draft law stipulates clearly that its scope includes offences committed outside Cambodia that affect individuals within Cambodia and the interests of the Kingdom. Prominent blogger and social media consultant Kounila Keo yesterday said the sinister ambiguity of provisions in the draft law relating to online content would create a chilling effect for freedom of speech and expression if they remain when the law passes. If there is any truth to the provisions that [I have seen], we are clearly heading on the path towards increasing government control over thought and speech, she said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VONG SOKHENG

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

National

Costs dont top brands concerns

Sean Teehan Analysis

N THEIR latest bid for a $160 minimum monthly wage for the garment industry, independent unions will lead a stay at home strike late next week. While the chances of that gure being approved anytime soon seem slight the government has only just announced a date for a committee to begin wage reform talks industry and government ofcials have warned that another raise could drive factories and international brands out of Cambodia in search of cheaper markets. According to International Labour Organization gures released early this year, Cambodia paid the fth-lowest minimum wage of the worlds top 25 apparel-exporting countries and Myanmar. Only Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar paid less than the Kingdoms $100 per month. The idea that buyers would commit to paying more to facilitate higher wages for workers in the industry seems unlikely to Ken Loo, secretarygeneral of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC). Apparel rms

Garment workers rally for a $160 minimum wage in Phnom Penh in December.

VIREAK MAI

that buy from Cambodia are only willing to pay so much before pulling out in favour of cheaper countries, he said. If the price that were costing buyers increases ... then buyers will leave. Its not a question of them wanting to leave, its a question of economics, Loo said, adding a rising the minimum wage had already driven some brands out of the country though he did not name any when asked.

In a speech on February 25, Prime Minister Hun Sen echoed the sentiment, sounding the alarm that factories and buyers could leave the country if the government implemented a wage hike. We are waiting to see if there are any factories that close their doors because of strikes demanding higher wages, he said. But analysts, rights groups and buyers themselves say

government repression and acts of violence against unionists in the Kingdoms garment sector security forces shot dead at least four people in January are a greater threat than the prospect of paying higher wages. Sourcing from Cambodia is more expensive when compared to other Asian garment hubs such as Bangladesh and Myanmar. However, major apparel brands that buy from

factories in Cambodia do so more for public relations reasons than cheap labour, said Dave Welsh, country director for labour rights group Solidarity Center. In Welshs talks with buyers since the deadly strike in January, their apprehensions skewed more to news of violence than demands for higher wages. Based on our conversations, its the human rights and labour law violation and the very, very bad press ... thats causing concern, Welsh said. Brands primary reason for being in Cambodia, he added, was the perception that the Kingdom had a model industry, boosted by its stringent 1997 Labour Law. But the governments use of heavy-handed tactics against unions pushing for higher wages has damaged that reputation, he said. In the international community, in the last four months, that image has been eradicated. In emails to a Post reporter, spokespeople from H&M, Gap and Levi Strauss & Co listed human rights violations and resulting instability as their top concerns. The Levi spokesperson said the company supports the

governments current work on a wage-setting mechanism, but did not specically answer whether it would pay more in order for workers to earn a $160 minimum wage. Levis said the company is working with all parties to restore Cambodias standing as a country that distinguishes itself through support for labor rights. While the brands would not say under what circumstances they would consider leaving Cambodia, Sumana Rajarethnam, a senior analyst for The Economist Intelligence Unit, said in an email that looking to cheaper markets posed a risk to brands reputations. Producers may be looking at countries such as Bangladesh or Myanmar as alternative destinations, but political risk in those countries is ... high, Rajarethnam wrote. Working conditions and wages are perhaps not as good, so there is a reputational risk. Even if brands were to leave and factories shutter as a result, Solidarity Centers Welsh said, in an industry in which some 600 factories pull in about $5.5 billion annually, any factories that closed down would soon be replaced by more. ADDITIONAL
REPORTING BY MOM KUNTHEAR

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

National Return reps, upgrade paycheck, say strikers

Sen David

Cops on call for KNY

Vong Sokheng and Maria Wirth

pOLICE BLOttER
Never a borrower be, thief learns hard way
BORROWING things without asking is a common family matter, but stealing from your kins store becomes a legal one. Police in Phnom Penhs Por Sen Chey district arrested a 30-year-old man on Monday after he allegedly broke into his younger cousins store and stole 32 mobile phones, police said. He tried selling the illgotten goods, but was refused by all. He admitted to the theft to police, saying he is addicted to drugs. DEUm AmpiL

MORE than 200 workers at a company connected to Thai firm K Cement downed tools yesterday and protested in front of the factory in Kampot province, demanding major pay increases and for fired unionists to be reinstated. Ty Yann, secretary of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Confederation (BWTUC), said workers were protesting against Banjamat Construction Companys alleged discrimination against union members. Yann said that since employees and BWTUC leaders Chhun Pov and Tep Mao were red by K Cement subsidiary Banjamat in November 2010, just a month after forming a union, other unionists have feared similar treatment. In fact, the [provincial] court and Arbitration Council ordered K Cement factory to [reinstate] the workers ... but the company did not agree. It makes other workers fear that the company discriminates against the union, he said. Banjamats offers in 2012 to reinstate Pov and Mao on sixmonth contracts and with new roles, which included tending

to chickens ve kilometres away from the factory gates, were slammed by BWTUC. According to Yann, the workers on strike yesterday wanted the company to increase their meagre monthly wage of between $70 and $80 to $130. They also called for holiday pay, long-term contracts and for general working conditions to be improved, he said. One protesting employee, Chan Bopha, said workers are also forced to work in dangerous conditions. Some of the workers are women ... the company [should] stop ordering women to work at dangerous heights. Another enraged worker, Sin Bony, said union action is crucial for workers rights. We need the union to defend our rights in the work place, Bony said. Hon Sereyvuth, deputy police commander of Kampot town, said the demonstration passed without violence. The protest did not get violent and police were there to [make sure it stayed] safe, he said. Representatives of K Cement and Banjamat Construction Company could not be reached for comment.

S HUNDREDS of thousands participate in the annual mass migration from Phnom Penh to their home provinces for Khmer New Year next week, military police will remain at their posts. National Military Police in the capital and provincial outlets will be working at full capacity 24 hours a day during the April 14-16 holiday, National Military Police spokesman Kheng Tito said. One of the reasons, he said, was because some criminals use Khmer New Year as a time to steal from unguarded houses and businesses. No [military police are] allowed to leave the headquarters for New Year, Tito said yesterday. We are concerned about trafc accidents, because many people will travel ... We are also concerned about robberies and res. Despite the temporarily diminished population in the capital, police patrol cars, re engines and ambulances will remain fully operational during the holiday. Those who stay in Phnom Penh can enjoy celebrations planned at Wat Phnom, City

Soldier scrap ends with scarpering thief shot

Police rest during an exercise on Diamond Island in Phnom Penh last year. SRENG MENG SRUN

Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said. We will perform all types of traditional games, he said. But we will not allow any disruptions before or after Khmer New Year. In anticipation of the holiday, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party activists on Monday that police will be ready to squash any demonstrations they may plan. We, the authorities, are not stupid, the premier said at a graduation ceremony at Koh

Pich. If you come out to demonstrate, you will taste the progovernment demonstration; and there are no soldiers, police or armed forces to support the oppositions ght against the government. Hun Sens warning that police will be on guard in case the opposition party holds protests during the national celebration demonstrated paranoia in the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said after hearing of the rhetoric. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEAN TEEHAN

A SOLDIER found himself in an off-duty battle in Oddar Meanchey province on Monday. The 42-year-old caught a man breaking into his car and stealing a gun holster. He allegedly attacked the soldier with a wooden stick, but ran away when the soldier fired warning shots. The soldier shot the man in the leg as he ran. The alleged thief was hospitalised and authorities are looking into whether the suspect is a drug addict or mentally ill. NoKorwat

Tour guide out of the game after moto theft

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Political Specialist
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh is seeking an individual for the Political Specialist position for the Political and Economic Ofce. The Political Specialist will be primarily responsible for monitoring political parties, general political developmentsincluding elections, external affairs, and corruption. The incumbent will report to a Political/Economic (Pol/Econ) Ofcer and will have additional responsibility for maintaining biographies on key mission contacts, translating for the Pol/Econ Ofce, arranging schedules for visiting ofcials, accompanying Pol/Econ Ofcers in the eld, and performing other administrative duties as required. Salary: The annual salary range for this position is USD19,168 29,711. Required Qualications 1. Masters Degree in the eld of Political Science, Internal Relations, International Political-Economy, Journalism, or Law is required. 2. Five (5) years of experience working in government or non-government organizations with responsibilities related to political analysis and reporting. 3. Level IV (uent) Speaking/Reading/Writing English and Khmer are required. Language prociency will be tested. 4. Must have solid working knowledge of Cambodian government systems and structures and in-depth knowledge of current political and economic situation in Cambodia. 5. Must be able to produce accurate and well-organized accounts of breaking events in political issues. Ability to establish and maintain a broad range of contacts, and maintain a neutral and approachable style in dealing with all parties concerned. Application Procedure The application deadline is April 21, 2014. Interested candidates must submit applications by email to RecruitmentPHP@state. gov using the Universal Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member (DS-174) form. The application form and complete details on this position can be found at http://cambodia.usembassy.gov/employment_ opportunities.html. Note: All Ordinarily Resident (OR) applicants must have the required work and/or residency permits to be eligible for consideration.

Protocol Assistant
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh is seeking an individual for the Protocol Assistant position for the Executive Ofce. The Protocol Assistant serves as the Embassys main point of contact for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Protocol Department, the Royal Palace and assists to coordinate U.S. government ofcials VIP visits to Cambodia. The incumbent serves as the personal assistant to the Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and/or their spouses on complex and sensitive protocol matters. Develops and maintains a large network of contacts with ofce directors in all government ofces in the country. Prepares and maintains biographic data of key ofcial gures. Reviews and revises guest lists for embassy functions and provides visiting delegations with protocol guidance and advice. As required, accompanies the Ambassador and senior U.S. ofcials to meetings. Coordinates with the household staff of the Ambassador and the DCM and arranges Embassy ofcial functions, and performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor. Salary: The annual salary range for this position is USD12,142 18,824. Required Qualications 1. Bachelors degree in English, Political Science, Management, Business Administration, Public Relations, or Education is required. 2. Five (5) years of experience in public affairs or event management, or as an executive secretary/protocol assistant, is required. 3. Level IV (uent) Speaking/Reading/Writing English and Khmer are required. Language prociency will be tested. 4. Must have good knowledge of all sections and departments of the Royal Government of Cambodia. Knowledge of ofcials holding key positions within the Royal Government and thorough knowledge of Cambodian customs and practices are required. 5. Must be able to use effectively the full range of Microsoft Ofce applications.Must have good interpersonal and communication skills. Application Procedure

NGOs call for action on drunks

Khoun Leakhana

The application deadline is May 2, 2014. Interested candidates must submit applications by email to RecruitmentPHP@state.gov using the Universal Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member (DS-174) form. The application form and complete details on this position can be found at http://cambodia. usembassy.gov/employment_opportunities.html. Note: All Ordinarily Resident (OR) applicants must have the required work and/or residency permits to be eligible for consideration.

EIgHTY civil society organisations met in the capital yesterday to call on the government to strongly address the issue of drunk driving on the roads. Drunk driving is the secondhighest cause of traffic accidents in the Kingdom, according to Ear Chariya, road safety program manager at Handicap International and speaker at yesterdays conference on road safety and drunk driving. There is a lack of legal framework, no control on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, no age limit ... and very limited law enforcement. There are very few drunk driving checkpoints, he said. Road safety is not a priority for the government. The organisations plan to send a joint statement with enforcement recommendations to the government in September. May Kosal, representative of the People Center for Development and Peace (PCDP), suggested the government raise taxes, limit commercial advertisement, limit the availability of alcoholic drinks and raise the minimum age for alcohol consumption. Yesterday, Public Works and Transport Minister Tram Ivtek issued an appeal to drivers reading Today and tomorrow, no traffic accident, and the warning If drunk, do not drive, aimed at preventing the usual surge of traffic accidents during Khmer New Year. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MARIA WIRTH

A BOAT tour guide in Preah Sihanouk ran into trouble with ground transportation when his motorbike was stolen on Saturday night. After the 23-year-old parked his bike outside a food stall, three men broke its lock and took off with it, police said. The man filed a complaint, and the next day police saw a man driving the vehicle to a guesthouse. Coordinating with the guesthouse owner, police raided the room he shared with two other men and arrested two suspects. Both confessed and were sent to court. NoKorwat

Bad boyfriend leaves injured girl after crash

CHIVALRY was hard to come by for a 30-year-old woman in Phnom Penhs Chamkarmon district on Tuesday night. While catching a ride home on her boyfriends motorbike, a car crashed into them, leaving her unconscious with a broken leg, police said. The car sped away and her boyfriend fled on foot. Eventually a good Samaritan took the woman to a hospital and notified police. Police are looking for the womans boyfriend and the driver of the car. Koh SantEphEap

I now pronounce you banged to rights

POLICE snatched up a wedding crasher of the worst kind in Prey Veng province early Monday morning. The 41-yearold uninvited guest scoured the wedding party, until he found cash gifts totalling $2,000, police said. When the owner of the house at which the party was thrown spotted the suspect, he dropped the money and fled. Police later caught the man, who said hes committed the same crime several times and has altogether stolen about $9,000 from weddings. Koh SantEphEap
Translated by Phak Seangly

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Business
Indicative Exchange Rates as of 3/4/2014. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates.

USD / KHR

EUR / USD

AUD / USD

NZD / USD

GBP / USD

USD /CNY

USD / JPY

USD / HKD

USD / SGD

USD / THB

4,000

1.376

0.9227

0.8557

1.6647

6.209

103.88

7.7569

1.2616

32.44

Rethinking investment laws

Eddie Morton

AmbOdIAs 11-yearold investment law may be the most liberal in the region, according to the World Bank, but in practice, day-to-day business operations are far from simple, economists and business operators say. Mey Kalyan, senior adviser to the Supreme National Economic Council, said that despite a generation of economic growth resulting from Cambodias lenient laws governing foreign direct investment (FDI), unclear registration and tariff schemes remain hurdles for daily business operations and the laws are out of date. From a historical perspective, Cambodia started its economic development from an empty hand. So the only way to activate its economy was to adopt a liberal system, Kalyan said. We need to review our FDI laws in order to reect the new reality and the economic direction that we want to go because our laws were formulated a long time ago. He added that despite Cambodias easily accessed economy, daily business operations such as acquiring certicates and permits, registration and informal payments remain hurdles for foreign business. The call for a rethink on FDI laws comes after the World Bank on Monday released its East Asia and Pacic Economic Update. The report ranked Cambodia as the most liberal

An employee of newcomer Tata walks in front of a Farmtrac tractor at the companys showroom in Phnom Penh late last year. PHA LINA

nation in the region for foreign investment, with Singapore coming in second. Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia meanwhile, rank as the most restrictive nations for FDI, according to the Banks report. Regional experience indicates that where countries have relaxed foreign ownership restrictions, FDI has increased ... In Cambodia and Vietnam, foreign investment reforms led to signicant growth in FDI, the report says. Established in 1994, Cambodias investment laws were loosened in 2003 to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of any business, relaxing of cer-

tain import duties and allowing renewable land leases of up to 99 years. According to World Bank gures FDI has increased dramatically from less than $200 million in 2003 to $1.41 billion in 2012. There was a decline last year to $1.2 billion that the bank attributed to uncertainty brought on by postelection turmoil, but the bank estimates FDI to be on the rise again over the next three years reaching $1.52 billion in 2016. On average, the AsEAn region allows 72 per cent of a business entity to be foreign owned, according to the World Bank report, making it

the least liberal of nearly all regions across the globe for allowable foreign ownership. Associate principal at China Market Research, James Roy, said Cambodias foreign investment laws are crucial to keeping the country competitive with Thailand and Vietnam. However, it is important that FDI is used to generate domestic benets. Allowing 100 per cent foreign ownership, along with protections against nationalisation, helps lower the perceived risk for companies to invest in Cambodia, he said. There are dangers especially if most of the gains of

economic growth are retained by foreign-owned companies and do not translate to Cambodians themselves and improve their lives. In November last year, Sok Chenda, secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, announced that there would be changes to the Kingdoms investment laws. Chenda said at the time Cambodias investment climate needed to be cleaned up and adjusted to suit the new economic environment and to remain competitive with countries like Myanmar. A specic date for a law revision has yet to be announced. But attractive investment laws are just one part of the draw for FDI. More is needed to improve the regulatory environment for starting up a businesses and enabling cross-border trade if Cambodia is to improve on its current ranking of 137 out of 189 economies on the World Banks ease of doing business index. Despite 12 months of market research on Cambodia, Indiabased Tata International Ltd, incurred delays and struggled to nd enough qualied staff when they began operations in farm machinery sales in November. The cost of doing business on a daily basis was quite a bit higher than what we initially assumed, Jitendra Manghinani, country manager of Tata South East Asia (Cambodia), said. That all said, we have seen growth much better than our expectations,

Beeline to launch 4G network by years end

Chan Muyhong

MObILE network operator Beeline announced on Monday that it will launch a 4G service by the end of the year. Hout Vanthan, the chairman of parent company Sotelco, said the 4G network will be available in Phnom Penh by the fourth quarter of 2014. Vanthan, who is also the chairman and chief executive of the Cambodian First Investment Specialized Bank, purchased Beeline in April last year from Dutch firm, VimpelCom. We all know that the mobile network industry market is very narrowed now, he said, adding that the company is taking its time to launch the most reliable network possible, which in turn aims to increase Beelines market share. In January, Smart Mobile, launched its 4G network in selected locations around Phnom Penh including NagaWorld, Sovanna Shopping Centre, Ratana Plaza Shopping Mall, De Castle Tuol Kork and Phnom Penhs airport. Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Mobile, said he is sceptical about the Beeline chairmans fourth-quarter timeline. The deployment of 4G services is a complex and lengthy project, he said.

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Business

Now or never?

Fears of car limits drive China sales

ASSENGER-VEHICLE sales in China gained 9 per cent last month, as deliveries rose and consumers brought forth purchases amid concern more cities will limit ownership. Retail deliveries of cars, multipurpose and sport utility vehicles climbed to 1.59 million units in March, the Passenger Car Association said yesterday in a statement. Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province, joined Beijing and Shanghai among Chinese cities to impose quotas on new vehicle purchases, as part of measures to alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution. Consumers are making purchases earlier in anticipation more cities will follow suit in a bid to reduce Chinas toxic smog levels. People dont want to risk their chances of owning a car and they would rather buy sooner than later given that it is unpredictable when purchase limits would be imposed, Han Weiqi, an analyst with Shanghai-based analyst at CSC International Holdings Ltd, said. BLOOMBERG

AMSUNG Electronics yesterday posted an estimated rst-quarter operating prot of 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion), marking a second straight year-on-year decline as global smartphone sales slow. The operating prots fell for two straight quarters yearon-year as prot margins in smartphones were falling and the growth rate in smartphone sales was decreasing due to growing competition, analyst Young Park of Hyundai Securities said. While the gure marks a 1.08 per cent increase on the previous quarter, it is 4.3 per cent lower than a year earlier, when the South Korean giant the worlds largest technology rm by sales recorded operating prots of 8.78 trillion won. It is the second quarter of year-on-year decline after Samsung posted fourthquarter operating prots that were 6 per cent lower than those a year earlier. The company said its rstquarter sales were estimated at 53 trillion won, up 0.24 per cent from a year earlier. Shares in Samsung fell 0.21 per cent to close at 1.39 mil-

Samsungs profits dip again S

lion won in a at market. Fixed rst-quarter earnings are set to be announced later this month. The gures come as growth in smartphone sales slow, with mature markets like North America and Europe near saturation. This, coupled with the rapid expansion of smaller rivals like Chinas Huawei, has pressured Samsung to roll out cheaper handsets to woo consumers in emerging markets, especially China. Nonetheless, estimated prot for Samsungs mobile division grew to 6.2 trillion won in the rst quarter, up from 5.5 trillion won in the three previous months, Park said. Samsungs loss came as struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC reported its own, posting a net loss of NT$1.88 billion (US$62.3 million) in the rst quarter, a gure far worse than the NT$1.59 billion analysts forecast. Sales in the three months to March fell to a ve-year low of NT$33.1 billion. HTC conrmed its unaudited rst quarter loss was NT$1.88 billion, compared with a net prot of Tw$85 million a year earlier.

Samsung Electronics earnings

Operating profits, trillion won
10.16 8.3 8.4
($7.96 b)

A woman uses a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone in Seoul. The rm has reported its second straight year-on-year loss. BLOOMBERG

8.78

9.53

Looking ahead, the company expected revenues to pick up from the second quarter due to the launch of the latest version of its agship HTC One (M8) device and the mid-tier Desirer 816 targeting the Chinese market. However analysts cautioned against optimism, saying it would be a long way

for HTC to regain ground in the market dominated by Samsung, Apple and lowcost Chinese rivals like Lenovo and Huawei. J.P . Morgan analyst Alvin Kwock said that it would be difcult for HTC to rebound because it cannot match the marketing budget of rms such as Samsung. AFP

Q1 2013

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 2014

Source: Samsung

Bank of Japan holds re on stimulus

THE Bank of Japan refrained from adding to unprecedented monetary stimulus yesterday as governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the blow to the economy from last weeks sales-tax increase will fade during the summer. The central bank will continue to expand the monetary base at a pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion ($682 billion) per year, it said in a statement in Tokyo. At a press brieng, Kuroda said the BOJ would always adjust policy without hesitation as needed, including easing or tightening. While the central bank highlighted a pickup in private investment and increasing industrial production, economists forecast the BOJ will boost stimulus by July, according to a Bloomberg News survey. A drop in a condence indicator, announced separately yesterday, to the lowest since 2011 highlighted risks to the recovery as the tax bump damps consumption. The BOJ seems condent in its economic assessment and outlook, said Masaaki Kanno, chief Japan economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. At the same time, there is an above 50 per cent chance of easing in July, he said. Kuroda said yesterday: Flexibility is one of the most important aspects of monetary policy. We are on track to the price stability target, so we are not considering any kind of additional easing now. The BOJ is gauging the extent of an anticipated setback to the economy and prospects for achieving its 2 per cent ination goal after last weeks 3-per centage-point increase in the sales tax, the rst since 1997. The price goal excludes the effects of changes in the sales tax. The central banks benchmark price gauge rose 1.3 per cent in February from a year earlier, and companies see price gains persisting for at least the next ve years, in what would mark an end to 15 years of deation. Japans economy is forecast to shrink an annualised 3.5 per cent in the three months from April, breaking a projected six straight quarters of growth, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The economy has continued to recover moderately, albeit with some uctuations due to the consumption tax hike, the BOJ said in its statement. Kuroda said he will adjust record easing that the BOJ began in April last year should prospects for achieving the price target be jeopardised. The challenge for Kuroda will be to avoid any perception of incremental policy steps, an approach he has vowed to avoid. Forty-four per cent of economists predict the BOJ will add to stimulus in July, when the strength of an economic rebound will become clearer, the Bloomberg News survey showed. The central bank will probably double the annual pace it accumulates exchange-traded funds to 2 trillion in months ahead, according to the poll. The bank could boost annual bond purchases by at least 10 trillion. Finance Minister Taro Aso said last week that the next few months will be key in a decision on whether to go ahead with a further increase in the sales tax to 10 per cent as the government tries to rein in the worlds largest public debt burden. Given it takes months for the effects of monetary policy to penetrate the economy, I predict easing later this month, said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co in Tokyo. Its hard for the BOJ to achieve the same impact with stimulus again so a surprise has to come from the timing. BLOOMBERG

Myanmar eyes broader access to credit

A NEW Financial Institutions Supervision Department will be formed under the auspices of Myanmars central bank this year to act as a credit bureau in a bid to increase credit access across the country, officials have said. The central bank finalised the draft Financial Institutions Law in early 2014 and sent it to the union attorney. When passed, the law will provide the regulatory apparatus to set up the countrys first credit bureau. A Singaporean credit corporation, select local banks and Myanma Insurance will support the bureau implementation, insiders said. The scheme will hopefully allow banks to offer more loans, which will extend coverage for set-up capital for local industry, an official from the central bank with knowledge of the plans told The Myanmar Times on condition of anonymity as they are unauthorised to speak to the media. Even though the central bank has planned to liberalise their restrictions, even on the high interest rates, they cannot remove some limitations such as commercial banks to have a single digit per cent of NPL [non-performing loans], the source said. The credit bureau will judge the credit worthiness of both companies and individuals and rate them accordingly, the source said. The restriction on NPLs makes a credit bureau critical for Myanmar to extend its loan coverage, bankers said. NPLs in 2013 were about 2 per cent, the source said. To keep this number so low without the benefit of a credit bureau, financial institutions have strict collateral-collecting practices. Currently, domestic banks can only offer short-term, oneyear loans to clients and banks must not lend without collecting collateral. In January 2012, collateral categories of land and property were liberalised to include agricultural products, treasury bonds, saving deposits and gold. Businesspeople in Myanmar have accused banks of often undervaluing collateral by as much as 20 per cent and of only issuing loans equivalent to 35 per cent of the undervalued collateral to protect against NPLs. THE MYANMAR TIMES

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Markets Business Ministry shake-up as AEC integration looms

Daniel de Carteret Chadamas Chinmaneevong

Battle for foreign film shoots

HAILANDS status as ASEANs leading movie shooting location is under threat as Malaysia ramps up special tax holidays and other incentive packages to lure foreign lm crews as well as opening integrated media production studio facilities. Malaysia is emerging as our strong rival. Apart from impressive rebates and other incentives, the presence of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios also boosts Malaysias competitiveness, Thailand Film Ofce (TFO) director Ubolwan Sucharitakul said. Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios intends to be a world-class lm and TV studio facility for Asia-Pacic. It is an alliance between Britains Pinewood Studios Group and the Malaysian governments investment holding arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd. Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios will be completed by mid-year and offer 9,300 square metres of lm stages, 2,200 square metres of TV studios, ofces, workshops and post-production facilities. Ubolwan said lm producers in Malaysia are eligible to

THE Ministry of Commerce is undergoing an internal shakeup to better position itself for the opening up of trade across the region. Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol told the Post yesterday that ahead of AseAN Economic Community (AEC) integration in 2015, new divisions were being established and others realigned within the ministry to cut red tape and make processes easier for businesses in Cambodia. The reshufe is the latest in a string of recent reforms announced by the ministry, including a move towards the online automation of a requirement that exporters must provide a certicate of origin for their products. [When] you are reforming the system and the software in order to make life easier for exporters, at the same time [you need to] have the people here to do that work. And without that alignment it is very difcult, Chanthol said. A new trade support services division will be established at the ministry to consolidate all services provided to

the private sector, including company registration and special economic zone management, while the former trade promotion department will be elevated to its own division and given more resources to seek new markets for Cambodian exports. The ministry is also establishing a trade training institute under the domestic trade division to help inform producers such as farmers of future market trends, Chanthol said. And in an effort to rein in red tape, the international trade division will be divided into departments dedicated to serving specic regions of the world for those looking to trade with just Asia Pacic. Chan Sophal, spokesperson for the Cambodia Economic Association, said the wave of reforms announced by the ministry was daunting yet encouraging. But it is just one aspect of doing business fundamentally Cambodia still has challenges in high energy costs and expensive and unpredictable legal procedures, he said. Some 17 positions are to be lled by the end of the month under the ministrys new-look structure.

Khao Khanap Nam cave in Thailands Krabi province is a popular tourist spot and location for lm shoots. Malaysia is threatening Thailands status as the regions top movie-shooting location. BANGKOK POST

claim a tax rebate of up to 30 per cent of production costs. Thailand only offers a personal income tax exemption for foreign actors, and that will expire in December 2015. Ubolwan said the government agreed to consider offering more incentives to promote international lm shoots here, but the move was shelved due to

the House dissolution. The TFO revealed several productions postponed planned shoots in Thailand in the rst quarter due to the prolonged political impasse. In January and February, the country earned 600 million baht ($18.6 million) from foreign lms shot here. This year, the department expects revenue from interna-

tional shoots to increase by 15 per cent to 2.5 billion baht. Authorities have attended international lm festivals in Cannes, Busan, Tokyo and Dubai to promote Thailands movie locations. The Thailand International Film Destination Festival 2014, to be held April 20-29, will screen movies shot on Thailand. BANGKOK POST

10

THE PHNOM PENH POST apriL 9, 2014

Business

WTO help sought to end Russia pork ban

THE European Union said yesterday that it had appealed to the World Trade Organization over Russias ban of pork exports from the 28-nation bloc. Russias blanket ban on European pork is clearly disproportionate and goes against WTO rules, EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht said in a statement. Europe will defend its pork producers and in this respect has no choice anymore but to pursue this case at the WTO, he added. Russia in late January slapped a ban all pork imports from the EU after cases of African swine fever were detected in wild boar in Lithuania. The disease, which is harmless to humans but lethal to pigs, has also been detected in wild boar in Poland. De Gucht stressed that Lithuania and Poland were hit with a very minor case of a few infected wild boars. The EU had urged Moscow to reopen its export market to pigs from the entire bloc besides the affected areas, to no avail, EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said. AFP

OUTH Korea and Australia signed a free trade deal yesterday that will scrap almost all tariffs within a decade while immediately lifting levies on some key exports, including South Korean cars and Australian wine. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there was huge untapped potential in trade between the countries as the deal was signed, wrapping up four years of talks. Im determined to build on this and I believe what we have signed today makes this a historic moment in the relationship between Australia and Korea, he said at a joint press conference with President Park Geun-hye. Park said the comprehensive, high-level free trade agreement would help expand trade and investment and create new jobs in two countries with complementary economies. The deal will see almost all tariffs on goods traded between the two countries scrapped within 10 years of the pact taking effect.

Aussie beef a winner as another FTA inked

Abbott had also sealed an FTA with Japan the day before as he seeks to boost exports of everything from beef to canned tomatoes and lower prices on cars and appliances for consumers. Abbott announced both trade pacts during his rst North Asian trip since coming to power seven months ago. He is seeking to deepen trade and security ties with Japan and South Korea while not damaging relations with China, Australias biggest trading partner. Japan, China and South Korea buy more of Australias iron ore, coal and other exports than the rest of its customers combined. The terms of the AustraliaJapan agreement will see tariffs on frozen Australian beef eventually cut to 19.5 per cent from 38.5 per cent and those on Japanese cars, household appliances and electronics abolished, according to a statement by Abbotts ofce. Twoway trade in the 12 months to June 30 reached A$69.2 billion (US$64.1 billion). Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, welcomed the trade deal after seven years of tough negotiations. The pact is a major windfall for Australian beef, the countrys biggest agricultural export to Japan, currently worth A$1.4 billion, Abbotts ofce said in a statement. Cheese exporters will gain signicant new duty-free access and tariffs on canned products such as tomatoes, peaches and pears, plus fruit and vegetable juices, will be removed, the statement said. Tariffs on frozen Australian beef will be reduced to 19.5 per cent 18 years after the deal is enacted, according to a statement from Japans agriculture ministry. The tariffs will be cut to 30.5 per cent in the rst year. Rice is excluded from the agreement, the ministry said in the statement. Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said the Australian deal could spur progress on the US-led Trans-Pacic Partnership to link the economies of 12 countries around the Pacic. The pact with Australia will probably proceed before the TPP , leaving a gap
A chef barbecues Australian beef in Tokyo on Monday.
AFP

Australian PM Tony Abbott and South Korean President Park Geun-hye speak after signing a free trade pact in Seoul yesterday. AFP

in tariffs between Australian beef and US beef, said Japans ambassador to the TPP talks, Hiroshi Oe. That will be very difcult for the US beef industry, he said. Abbott is looking to balance

longstanding diplomatic leanings toward Japan and South Korea against the need to safeguard economic ties with China, which has tripled trade with Australia in seven years.
BLOOMBERG/AFP

Banks paying out

Barclays reaches deal in first Libor lawsuit
BARCLAYS settled the first UK lawsuit filed over claims the bank manipulated Libor interbank lending rate, weeks before the trial was scheduled to start. Barclays agreed to restructure the debt of Graiseley Properties, which filed the lawsuit, as part of the settlement, Barclays said in a statement yesterday. The company, part of the Guardian elderly care homes group, was seeking to rescind interest-rate hedging contracts linked to Libor. The settlement spares the bank a trial that would have featured testimony from former Barclays officials. Banks including Barclays, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland Group have been fined a total of about $6 billion for manipulating the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, and related benchmarks that underpinned about $300 trillion worth of transactions worldwide. BLOOMBERG

Japan drugmaker to ght $6 bln payout order

JAPANS biggest drug manufactuer Takeda Pharmaceutical said yesterday it would ght a huge $6 billion damages order imposed by a US jury following a trial over the safety of its Actos diabetes medicine. The company said it respectfully disagrees with the judgement awarded in the southern state of Louisiana on Monday, which also ordered the rms co-defendant, US drugs rm Eli Lilly, to pay $3 billion in damages. Takedas Tokyo-listed shares slumped 5.16 per cent to 4,572 yen on Tuesday after the court decision. The issue at the trial was whether the drug could be blamed for bladder cancer in a plaintiff who was taking the medicine, and whether the rm knew about those risks. Other US cases over the drug are still pending. Takeda respectfully disagrees with the verdict and we intend to vigorously challenge this outcome through all available legal means, including possible post-trial motions and an appeal, Kenneth Greisman, senior vice president and general counsel for Takedas US unit, said in a statement. We believe the evidence did not support a nding that Actos caused [the plaintiffs] bladder cancer. We also believe we demonstrated that Takeda acted responsibly with regard to Actos. While Takeda rang up about half its $15 billion sales last scal year in Japan, North America and Europe are also major markets and the rm has operations around the world. Eli Lilly had partnered with Takeda to help market the drug in the US. Actos a prescription medication launched in 2010 to improve blood sugar control in adults with Type 2 diabetes had been a promising drug for Takeda, which was recently forced to cancel development of another diabetes treatment due to safety concerns. The US Food and Drug Administration in 2011 issued a safety alert, warning of the possibility of increased bladder cancer risk with long-term use. It is banned in France and Germany. Sales of the medicine also sold as Pioglitazone have plunged. They fell 73 per cent in the nine months to December from the same period a year earlier, according to Takedas latest nancial statements. However, Credit Suisse analyst Fumiyoshi Sakai described the sell-off in Takeda shares excessive, adding that it may still get the case overturned on appeal. Its not like the company is going under or that it must pay $6 billion tomorrow, he said. Takeda just needs to handle this as a legal matter, separate from day-to-day operations lawsuits and drug companies are inseparable these days. The US judgement comes about a week after former GlaxoSmithKline executive Christophe Weber was installed as Takedas chief operating ofcer, one of the few foreign-born managers to sit in the top ranks of a Japanese rm. He is expected to become president in June. On Monday, Takeda rival Daiichi Sankyo said it was pulling out of its costly ownership of scandal-hit India drugs maker Ranbaxy, which has been slapped with US import bans linked to its manufacturing practice. AFP

IMF cuts world growth outlook amid Ukraine concerns

THE International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the global economy yesterday, pointing to the threat posed by the Ukraine crisis and the slowdown in major emerging economies. The IMF said the worlds two largest economies, the United States and China, continue to anchor expected growth of 3.6 per cent this year and 3.9 per cent in 2015. But those figures were rolled back by 0.1 percentage points from Januarys forecast, when the Fund was more optimistic before Ukraine plunged into crisis with an anti-government revolt and Russias annexation of Crimea. That has exacerbated Russias sharp economic downturn, with the country facing economic sanctions from the West, and the Fund worries the impact could spread beyond the region. Even so, the worlds crisis lender said the global economy had improved since last year. The recovery which was starting to take hold in October is becoming not only stronger, but also broader, chief IMF economist Olivier Blanchard said. The various brakes that hampered growth are being slowly loosened. Fiscal consolidation is slowing, and investors are less worried about debt sustainability. But the fund said that sharp downturns in other leading emerging-market economies, including Brazil, South Africa and Turkey, were also drags on global output. It said this worrying development was rooted in domestic policy shortcomings, tighter financial conditions both domestically and internationally, and a pullback in investment. Those economies remain especially vulnerable from turbulence that started with the US Feds slow tightening of monetary conditions, which has driven a rise in interest rates for the world and has pulled capital away from riskier markets. The assessment came in the IMFs newest World Economic Outlook report, released ahead of the annual spring meetings in Washington of the Fund and the World Bank that begin tomorrow. It outlines key issues of concern to the worlds central bankers, finance ministers and economic planners as they try to weather conflicting global trends of tightening in the US and worries about too little growth and deflation in Europe and Japan. Without prescribing solutions, the report highlights the inability of the central banks in those key economies to do much more to stimulate investment and hiring. That raises the sensitive issue of whether strained governments should forego deficit-slashing austerity programs and spend more to boost economies. Compared with a year ago, the United States has now become a relative bright light for the world, with the IMF saying it will grow 2.8 per cent this year and 3 per cent next, unchanged from its January prediction despite the beating the US economy took from severe winter weather. One key advance is the end of the US political budget battle, which put the country on the edge of default on its debts and spread uncertainty throughout the world economy. The suspension of the countrys borrowing limit until next year necessary to keep funding the US deficit in the short term has restored confidence in Washingtons economic management, and now the Fund sees the US pushing ahead, though still fighting to get demand back to a more normal, self-sustaining level. China, too, continues to pull its weight, despite a sharp slowdown. The IMFs forecasts are unchanged, seeing growth at 7.5 per cent this year and 7.3 per cent next, on the belief that Beijing will keep a firm hand on the financial frailties coming to the surface now. AFP

Pandora declines after forecasting wider loss

CITIGROUP said on Monday it reached an agreement with a group of 18 institutional investors to pay $1.13 billion to settle claims on some mortgage-backed securities sold ahead of the financial crisis. Citi said the agreement releases it from an obligation to repurchase mortgages sold into mortgage trusts. The 68 trusts issued $59.4 billion in residential mortgage securities during 2005-2008. Leading banks have been settling a number of suits tied to the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the housing market tanked. BLOOMBERG

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Markets Business

11

Emotional investments cost investors

Lewis Braham

Markets
Thailand
Thai Set 50 Index, Apr 7 1100

Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, Apr 7 700

eFF Schwarte was in a quandary. The manager of the $3.5 billion Principal Large Cap Value Fund had held a big stake in Apple stock since 2004. Eight years later, in mid-2012, his analysts remained bullish on the stock. But since the start of the year, the algorithms in Schwartes quantitative valuation models had warned that Apples prot margins were shrinking. As Schwarte weighed the evidence, he got an email about his Apple stake from behavioural nance consulting rm Cabot Research. It was an automated alert about positions that Cabot which Principal Funds had hired to analyse manager portfolio holdings for behavioural aws sends about positions that might indicate a bias. Schwarte said his analysts fell victim to the endowment effect: Someone with a winning position is reluctant to let it go even if there are good reasons to do so. So he cut his stake. Since June 30, 2012, Apples stock price has dropped from $584 to $543, or seven per cent. Our models were quicker to identify the problem than our analysts were willing to accept, said Schwarte. Since the 2008 nancial crisis, the notion that investors behave irrationally has become axiomatic. Whats more controversial is whether they can avoid making the mistakes. Cabot has worked with managers running a total of some $600 billion to overcome their biases, detecting patterns of harmful behaviour from past trades and identifying stocks

A trader works on the oor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 3, 2013, in New York City. AFP

that might t the pattern. The vast majority of managers have one bias that is costing them at least one percentage point of return a year, said Michael Ervolini, Cabots chief executive ofcer. Becoming emotionally invested in your winners, that endowment effect, is the most common bias among investors, occurring in one in four portfolios, said Ervolini. The most common bias among individual investors, Cabot nds, is the rarest among the pros: loss aversion, or holding on to losers too long. The emotion behind loss aversion is pretty basic its the pain of accepting that youve made a mistake.

Instead of acknowledging that to yourself, you hold on to the asset in the hope that it will rebound. Investors too often fall victim to judgment shortcuts, said Dennis Ruhl, JP Morgans chief investment ofcer of US Equity Behavioral Finance. They believe a good company must also be a good stock, or a mediocre company a bad stock. In behavioural nance, thats called representativeness. The reality is, a good company is a good stock if you pay the right price for it, he said. But we nd good companies are often overpriced, and sometimes youre better off buying a slightly less good company at a much cheaper price.

However, his team isnt immune to biases. To avoid them, analysts have peer reviews of their ideas by objective team members. Also, while analysts and Ruhl weigh in on individual aspects of a company, perhaps tweaking what they think earnings prospects might be, quantitative models often make the nal decision. This takes the emotion out of difcult buy and sell decisions. Quants claim to have a distinct advantage when it comes to behavioural nance. Our portfolios are more about math, science and technology, said Gregg S Fisher, chief investment ofcer of Gerstein Fisher, a New York money manager with $1 billion in assets. Theres very little subjectivity to what we do. But what about the humans who designed the quantitative models? Could there be some emotional biases built into their design? Harin de Silva, president of Analytic Investors said: You can probably convince yourself theres some economic or behavioural theory that makes them work. But in reality someone found them and we sort of backed into the explanation. Its not like a law of physics. If quant models arent immune to bias, what about Nobel Prize winners in behavioural nance? Harold Evensky of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management likes to tell a story about one of his clients, Nobel winner Daniel Kahneman. When Evenskys partner gave Kahneman a standard test to see if he was objective about his investments, he failed. Kahneman wasnt surprised. Of course, he said. Im human. BLOOMBERG

1025 950 875 800

650 600 550 500

943.29

602.65

South Korea

KOSPI Index, Apr 7 2100 1975 1850 1725 1600

Philippines

PSEI - Philippine Se Idx, Apr 7 7000 6625 6250 5875 5500

1,993.03

6,587.49

Singapore
FTSE Straits Times Index, Apr 7 4000

Malaysia
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, Apr 7 1900

3500 3000 2500 2000

1800 1700 1600 1500

3,208.45

1,854.28

Hong Kong
Hang Seng Index, Apr 7 25000

China
CSI 300 Index, Apr 7 3000

23250 21500 19750 18000

2750 2500 2250 2000

22,586.27

2,237.32

Japan

Nikkei 225, Apr 7 16000

Taiwan

Taiwan Taiex Index, Apr 7 9000

15500 15000 14500 14000

8500 8000 7500 7000

14,606.88

8,888.25

Laos

Laos Composite Index, Apr 7 1500 1350 1200 1050 900

Indonesia

Jakarta Composite Index, Apr 7 5000 4625 4250 3875 3500

1,271.46

4,911.60

International commodities
Energy
COMMODiTY UNiTS PRice CHaNGe % CHaNGe TiMe(ET)

Cambodian commodities
(Base rate taken on January 1, 2012) (%) -0.71 % 3.64 % 2.22 % 1.25 % 4.00 % 5.50 % -40.00 % 1.82 % 7.06 % 3.33 % 15.56 % 0.77 %

India
BSE Sensex 30 Index, Apr 7 23000 22000

Pakistan
Karachi 100 Index, Apr 7 29000 28500 28000 27500 27000

Food -Cereals -Vegetables - Fruits

Item Rice 1 Rice 2 Paddy Peanuts Maize 2 Cashew nut Pepper Beef Pork Mud Fish Chicken Duck Unit
R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg R/Kg

Construction equipment
Average 2780 2280 1840 8100 2080 4220 24000 33600 18200 12400 20800 13100 Item Steel 12 Cement Unit R/Kg R/Sac Base 3000 19000 Average 3100 19500 (%) 3.33 % 2.63 %

Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) RBOB Gasoline NYMEX Heating Oil ICE Gasoil

USD/bbl. USD/bbl. USd/gal. USd/gal. USD/MT

101.26 106.4 4.51 294.09 290.71 892

0.82 0.58 0.03 0.96 1.64 5.75

0.82% 0.55% 0.71% 0.33% 0.57% 0.65%

3:31:23 3:31:36 3:31:03 3:32:14 3:31:55 3:30:38

Base
2800 2200 1800 8000 2000 4000 40000 33000 17000 12000 18000 13000

21000 20000 19000

NYMEX Natural Gas USD/MMBtu

22,343.45

28,757.78

Energy
Item Gasoline Diesel Petroleum Gas Charcoal Unit
R R R Chi Baht

Base
5250 5100 5500 86000 1200

Average
5450 5200 5500 76000 1300

(%)
3.81 % 1.96 % 0.00 % -11.63 % 8.33 %

Australia
S&P/ASX 200 Index, Apr 7 5500 5250 5000 4750 4500

New Zealand
NZX 50 Index, Apr 7 5500 5250 5000 4750 4500

Agriculture
COMMODiTY UNiTS PRice CHaNGe % CHaNGe TiMe(ET)

CBOT Rough Rice CME Lumber

USD/cwt USD/tbf

15.6 333.5

0.01 5.1

0.03% 1.55%

23:53:57 3:03:52

5,410.63

5,031.56

12

THE PHNOM PENH POST april 9, 2014

World
Russia warned of historic mistake

ATO warned Russia yesterday against making a historic mistake by stoking a aring secession crisis in eastern Ukraine that Moscow itself conceded could spill into a civil war. Ukraines embattled interim leaders have been waging an uphill battle to keep their culturally splintered nation of 46 million people together after last months ousting of a pro-Kremlin president and the subsequent loss of Crimea to Russia. An eery echo of the Black Sea peninsulas crisis sounded on Sunday when militants stormed a series of strategic government buildings across a swathe of heavily Russied eastern regions and demanded that Moscow send its troops for support. Ukraine mounted a counter-offensive yesterday by vowing to treat the separatists as terrorists and making 70 arrests in a nighttime security sweep aimed at proving the Kremlins involvement in the secessionist movement. An urgent deployment of security forces saw Kiev also regain control of an administration building in Kharkiv and the security service headquarters of Donetsk the stronghold of Viktor Yanukovych prior to his ousting as president and ight to Russia. But the separatists still held on to the security service building in the city of Lugansk after breaking into its massive weapons cache and

Members of Parliament of the Svoboda party ght with those of the Communist party in the Ukrainian parliament yesterday after the countrys communist leader accused nationalists of playing into Russias hands by using extreme tactics early on in the Ukrainian crisis. AFP

releasing several activists who had been accused of plotting to stage a coup. And hundreds of militants remained holed up inside the Donetsk administration building a day after proclaiming the creation of a sovereign peoples republic and demanding that an independence referendum be held before May 11. The heart of Donetsk itself was a mesh of razor wire and hastily assembled barricades of old tyres that could be set

on re in case riot police decided to mount an assault on the regional government seat. But calm had returned to the city of Kharkiv after a night of violence that saw retreating militants throw molotov cocktails at the administration building as hundreds of police regained control of it. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said upon his return from Ukraines second-largest city that the Kharkiv police its chiefs promoted under Yanukovych had in many cases

worked with the militants. Instead of serving the motherland, a substantial part of the police force sabotaged the process, Avakov revealed. I think many of them about 30 per cent will be let go. The months-long crisis threatens not only to splinter the vast nation on the EUs eastern frontier along its ethnic divisions but also plunge Moscows relations with the West to a low that may take decades to repair. NATO chief

Anders Fogh Rasmussen reafrmed on a visit to Paris that Moscow its forces now massed along Ukraines eastern frontier would be making a historic mistake if it were to intervene in Ukraine any further. It would have grave consequences for our relationship with Russia and it would further isolate Russia internationally, said the Western military alliance leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to use all means necessary to protect his compatriots in Ukraine and is now demanding a decentralisation of power that could push the east further out of Kievs reach. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told a rowdy session of parliament that included stghts between nationalists and Kremlin supporters that he intended to treat the pro-Russian militants as terrorists who will face the full brunt of the law. Our security forces did not use arms against peaceful civilians, said Turchynov. The authorities will treat separatists and terrorists who have picked up automatic weapons, who are seizing buildings, in accordance with the constitution and the law as terrorists and criminals. Parliament then unanimously approved a bill doubling the jail sentence for acts of separatism committed by a group of people to 10 from ve years. AFP

Elusive 370 pings keep the search in limbo

SHips listening for undersea signals from Flight MH370 have failed to detect any more pings and will spend several more days trying to pinpoint a crash site before a mini-sub is launched to scour the seabed, searchers said yesterday. Exactly one month since the Boeing 777 vanished with 239 people on board, optimism over the earlier signals in the Indian Ocean dimmed, with time running out to detect further signals as the batteries in the beacon on the jets black box data recorders reach their expiry date. We need to continue [listening] for several days to the point at which there is absolutely no doubt that the pinger batteries will have expired, said search chief Angus Houston. A day earlier, Houston had labelled the signals picked up by a specialised US Navy device towed deep underwater by the Australian vessel Ocean Shield as very encouraging. If the transmissions can be recaptured and confirmed as emanating from the Malaysia Airlines planes data recorders, technicians are poised to deploy a submersible drone, the Bluefin-21, far off western Australia. The US-made device uses sonar to scan the seafloor for possible crash debris. The plane mysteriously vanished March 8, diverting en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing for reasons unknown. The search is focused on a 600kilometre arc of the remote southern Indian Ocean. The Ocean Shield is crisscrossing an area where satellite data indicates the plane may have gone down, trying to home in on the signals. If we go down there now and do the visual search it will take many, many, many days because its very slow, very painstaking work to scour the ocean floor, Houston said. If the Bluefin-21 detects something, it can resurface and be sent back down with a video camera to seek visual evidence of a crash. Families of MH370 passengers in Beijing marked the one-month anniversary with a tearful candlelit vigil yesterday, still in agonising suspense as they await evidence of the fate of their loved ones. Weve been waiting and holding on here for already 31 days, said Steve Wang, one of the relatives. About two thirds of the 239 people on board were Chinese. Selamat Omar, a Malaysian whose 29-year-old son Khairul was on board, held on to improbable hopes that he might still be alive. Until they can find the black box or the wreckage I will hold onto the belief the passengers are safe, he said. AFP

US, Chinese defence chiefs trade warnings

VisitinG US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese military chiefs traded warnings and rebukes yesterday as they clashed over Beijings territorial disputes with its neighbours, North Koreas missile program and cyber espionage. Both sides were clearly at odds over a litany of issues, despite Hagel and his counterpart General Chang Wanquan calling for more dialogue between the worlds strongest and largest militaries, with the American coming under hostile questioning from a roomful of Peoples Liberation Army officers. One member of the audience told Hagel the US feared Chinas rise and was sowing trouble among its Pacific neighbours to hamper Beijing because one day China will be too big a challenge for the United States to cope with. The Pentagon chief denied the US was trying to hold China back but the tough questioning contrasted with the deferential reception given to his predecessor Leon Panetta at a similar event two years ago. Hagel faced a blunt reprimand in an earlier meeting with a senior officer, General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission, according to an account from the official state news agency Xinhua. Referring to critical comments by Hagel earlier in his Asia trip, Fan said the Chinese people, including myself, are dissatisfied with such remarks. Hagels press secretary acknowledged the two shared a very frank exchange of views. In his speech at the PLA National Defence University, Hagel confronted several disagreements head on, scolding China for its support of North Korea while warning against coercion in territorial disputes with its smaller neighbours in the South China Sea and East China Sea. Amid rising tensions between China and Japan as well as the Philippines, Hagel emphasised Washingtons military alliance with Japan and other Asian partners, saying: Our commitment to allies in the region is unwavering. China and Japan are embroiled in a bitter row over disputed islands administered by Tokyo in the East China Sea, raising concerns of a potential armed clash between the Asian powers. And in the South China Sea, the Philippines is at odds with China over a disputed reef, where Beijing recently tried to block a boat ferrying supplies to Filipino troops in the area. China also has disputes with Vietnam and others in the area. Chinas defence minister, General Chang Wanquan, blamed Americas allies Japan and the Philippines for the tensions, suggesting Washington needed to restrain its partners. Beijing hoped the US would keep Tokyo within bounds and not be permissive Chang told a joint press conference in the Chinese capital. China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in dispute with Japan, Chang said, calling territorial sovereignty a core issue on which we will make no compromise. But he suggested China would not take pre-emptive action: We will not take the initiative to stir up troubles. Last November Beijing unilaterally declared an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, including the disputed islands, prompting condemnation by Washington. Beijing requires aircraft flying through its ADIZ to identify themselves and maintain communication with Chinese authorities, but the zone is not a claim of sovereignty. Hagel said countries have a right to ADIZs but said setting them up without consulting other governments was risky as it could lead to misunderstandings and eventually get to a dangerous conflict. Hagel also called on China to play a more constructive role on North Korea, saying Beijing risked damaging its image in the world by failing to rein in the regime, which has recently testfired medium range missiles. Continuing to support a regime that engages in these provocative and dangerous actions, and oppresses its people, will only hurt Chinas international standing, he said. The discord yesterday came after an intially positive tone on Monday, when Chinese naval officers gave Hagel a tour of the countrys new aircraft carrier at a base in Qingdao, a rare move for the normally secretive PLA. Hagel thanked the Chinese for the ship tour and called it a promising step forward, but another sore point emerged yesterday as Hagel prodded Beijing to pursue a more open dialogue on cyber espionage. Hagel said the Pentagon had for the first time ever recently shared its cyber warfare doctrine with Chinese government officials. We have urged China to do the same. The US has made no secret of its concerns about Chinese use of networks to perpetrate commercial espionage and intellectual property theft, Hagel said. The US, investing heavily in its own cyber warfare command, suspects PLA units are behind an increasing number of digital attacks on government and US corporate networks. But China accuses the US of hypocrisy, pointing to revelations of farreaching electronic espionage by the USs NSA, including media reports the spy service hacked into telecoms giant Huaweis network. AFP

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

World
Maduro agrees to talks in protest-hit Venezuela
PRESIDENT Nicolas Maduro agreed to meet with a Venezuelan opposition delegation yesterday after a fresh push from diplomats from across South America. But a leading opposition coalition had not said if it was to take part. In just over two months, 39 people have died in clashes between security forces and protesters angered by soaring crime, high ination and shortages that the demonstrators blame on Maduros elected government. One problem is that only a small part of those opposing Maduros government and policies have so far agreed to talk. University students have led protests, and organised political foes include both moderate and radical wings. We had quite a long conversation, Maduro said on Monday after the meeting with eight South American foreign ministers. They proposed a meeting tomorrow with the opposition, and I agreed. In this round, the more moderate Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition had said it will join Maduro for talks. MUD seeks change without unseating Maduro. But after meeting with the visiting South American ministers on Monday night, MUD was evasive about whether it would in fact meet with Maduro. They were to confer with the ministers again yesterday morning. MUD said the talks have to have a clear agenda and be broadcast on national radio and television. MUD wants the agenda to include amnesty for people arrested in the protests, an independent probe of the violence and the disarming under international supervision of so-called collectives, which are armed civilians the opposition says are linked to the government. Some other, more radical opposition members who sought to use street protests to topple Maduro have been jailed. Maduro has lashed out at the demonstrations, branding them a fascist US-backed plot to overthrow his government. Yet Venezuelas attorney general admitted last month that demonstrators have been abused during weeks of protests and dozens of complaints, including allegations of murder levelled at police, are being investigated. AFP FGHANISTAN has begun tallying votes from the weekends historic presidential elections, a process that will take weeks to complete, but rough early counts suggest the country is heading for a second-round showdown between two former ministers. Voters deed Taliban intimidation, turning out in unexpectedly high numbers on Saturday to choose a successor to Hamid Karzai, who has ruled for 12 years and is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term. The Taliban mounted nearly 700 attacks nationwide, said General Zahir Azimy, spokesman for the defence ministry, but fears of a bloody, dramatic attack in the capital or another major city during the election proved unfounded. The day ended with an outpouring of support for the 350,000 police ofcers and soldiers on duty around the country, who for the rst time secured an election without foreign support. Now diplomats and observers are calling for candidates to respect Afghans display of trust in their young democracy by allowing election organisers to sort through

13

Early signs point to Afghan run-off

An Afghan policeman guards an election commission counting centre in a warehouse in Kabul on Sunday. AFP

results and complaints, after all three front-runners said they were condent of success and warned of fraud by other camps. Premature announcements will only undermine this historic political transition process and its democratic, peaceful character, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, warned the groups competing for power. Eight men are competing to replace Karzai, but none are expected to have scrambled over the 50 per cent threshold

that would mean immediate victory, despite their own optimism, so the top two will probably compete in a runoff scheduled for next month. Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who was Karzais main rival in a 2009 election marred by widespread cheating, had promised his followers a knockout victory if the government contained fraud. He is condent that he was doing well despite ballot paper shortages in his strongholds. Our performance has been

very good, he said. [The fraud] is not like anything we saw in the earlier election, although there are still worrying signs. Former nance minister and World Bank technocrat Ashraf Ghani posted on his website preliminary results, collated by observers, claiming 57 per cent of the vote. The main loser appears to be another former foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, a softly spoken moderate who was believed to be Karzais preferred successor. Although the president has stayed strictly neutral in public, he cajoled his brother into abandoning a separate bid for the top ofce to join a man who has royal blood but only a limited support base. The ofcial result is not due for over two weeks. Voting papers have to be collected from around the country, including polling stations so remote that they were transported in on donkeys and must be brought out the same way. In warehouses in Kabul, tallying of votes by duplicate teams to limit room for fraud began on Monday, but the earliest results from the painstaking process are not due for several days. THE GUaRDIaN

14

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

World

Court ruling

Philippines says yes to birth control

BJP nukes rethink raises alarm

Jason Burke

ILLIONS of poor people in the Philippines will have access to free contraceptives for the rst time after the nations highest court yesterday approved a deeply controversial birth control law. The Supreme Courts ruling was hailed by supporters as a triumph in the battle to ease crippling poverty, empower women and curtail a population explosion in the Southeast Asian nation of 100 million people. But the Catholic Church, which had led a bitter campaign for 15 years against efforts to introduce any form of family planning laws, expressed anger and vowed to continue ghting what it terms evil reforms. The RH law is not unconstitutional, Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te told reporters as he announced the ruling, striking down more than a dozen petitions against the reproductive health law from church-backed groups. The legislation requires government health centres to supply free condoms and birth control pills, as well as mandating that sex education be taught in schools. It also requires that public health workers receive family planning training, while medical care after an abortion will also be legalised. AFP

hE Hindu nationalist opposition party tipped to win Indias election has sparked concern with a manifesto which, though largely devoted to economic development, sets out uncompromising hardline positions on contentious issues and raises the prospect of a revision of the countrys policy on use of its nuclear weapons. The election, a six-week process expected to see more than 600 million people vote, started on Monday with millions in the countrys remote northeast going to the polls Surveys predict a big win for the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) whose prime ministerial candidate is the controversial Narendra Modi though not an absolute majority in the 545-seat lower house of the national assembly. The long-awaited BJP manifesto includes hundreds of policy initiatives including bullet trains, investment in job creation, water connections for every household, increased local defence production and funds to boost the practice of yoga. But it was commitments to draft a uniform civil code legislation that would withdraw the rights of Indias 150

Oppostion prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi attends a BJP workers gathering in Gandhinagar on Saturday. AFP

million Muslims to follow their religion-based law and to explore all possibilities to build a Hindu temple at the bitterly contested site in the northern town of Ayodhya, which drew most attention internationally. The BJP also says it would move to end the special autonomous status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan former princedom. The manifesto includes a controversial promise to work for the return of Hindus who left Kashmir when a separatist and then increasingly Islamist in-

surgency took hold in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, it is the prospect of a revision of Indias nuclear doctrine, whose central principle is that New Delhi would not be rst to use atomic weapons in a conict, that has worried many in the region and beyond. Party sources involved in drafting the document said the no rst use policy introduced would be reconsidered. The policy was introduced after India, then under a BJP government, conducted a series of nuclear tests in 1998. Pakistan, Indias neighbour

responded within weeks with nuclear tests of its own. For a long time there has been an assumption India would not use nuclear weapons rst. Given the tensions with Pakistan and the fact those tensions are likely to rise as US troops leave Afghanistan [at the end of this year], this could well cause stress in Pakistans security establishment, which is really not something anyone [in Washington] desires, said Michael Kugelman, of the Woodrow Wilson International Center. In an interview last month, Rajnath Singh, the BJP president, said the party wanted cordial relations with all countries in the world. Though Indian elections are unpredictable, most analysts and all polls indicate a signicant BJP win. Economic growth faltered three years ago and the Congress party, in power since 2004, has been hit by a series of graft scandals. Along with its many pledges to improve the living standards of all Indians, the manifesto unequivocally sets out a nationalist agenda. In a democracy, everyone is not only free, but also encouraged to voice his or her concerns . . . However, all this should happen within the framework of our constitu-

tion and with the spirit of India First. We have to keep the nation at the forefront of our thoughts and actions. Any activity, which disrupts the integrity of the nation, cannot be in the interest of any segment of the society or any region of the country, it says. One passage refers to the power which lies in the people of India, in the inner sanctum sanctorum of Mother India and explains that what is needed is to ignite the spark and Mother India would rise in her full glory. The manifesto also says the BJP recognises the importance of diversity in Indian society, and the strength and vibrancy it adds to the nation. India constitutes of all its people, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sex. Singh, the partys president, said the manifestos release was not simply a formality but a pledge. Prof Sumantra Bose of the London School of Economics downplayed any split and said that issues such as Ayodhya, the status of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian civil code were at the core of the beliefs of Hindu nationalist leaders of both the generations. One question, however, is the extent to which nationalist views would dene policy when in power. THE GUARDIAN

Quebecs voters oust separatist government

CaNaDaS Quebec province voted out a separatist government on Monday, choosing the federalist Liberal party to lead a promised economic rally. Television networks predicted a Liberal victory soon after the polls closed. Preliminary results at 10pm (0200 GMT yesterday) showed Philippe Couillards Liberals in the lead with 34 per cent of votes cast, followed by the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) with 22 per cent. The conservative Coalition Avenir Quebec and the leftist Quebec Solidaire rounded up 21 per cent and six per cent support. Quebecs first female premier, PQ leader Pauline Marois, also lost her seat in the contest, and resigned. Marois had called the snap elections 18 months into her first mandate, hoping to gain seats to form a majority government. AFP

Hood soldier fired 35 times over leave

A tRoubLEd US soldier shot his semi-automatic pistol at least 35 times during an eight-minute killing spree at the Fort Hood military base, investigators said on Monday. Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey said Specialist Ivan Lopez killed three people and wounded 16 after an argument over his request for leave. Grey did not, however, indicate whether or not ofcials had granted Lopezs request. The shooting took place in an area equivalent to two city blocks, as Lopez proceeded to shoot from his slowly moving vehicle after the argument. Since Wednesdays killings, investigators have managed to retrace the path followed by Lopez, 34. They found 235 clues on the ground and interviewed more than 1,100 witnesses. Everything started with a verbal altercation concerning his request for leave and the processing of that request at his unit administrative ofce at Building 39001 of the sprawling Texas military base, Grey said. Within minutes of the altercation, the subject brandished a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun and red multiple rounds, shooting one soldier who later died of his wounds and wounding 10 additional soldiers. The soldier who was killed and at least one of the wounded soldiers had been involved in the argument. Lopez then got into his own vehicle and drove very slowly northbound in the southbound lane, shooting at two soldiers and wounding one of them as he headed toward his units Building 40027. He entered the building, opening re and killing one soldier before wounding two others in the adjacent parking area. He then returned to his vehicle, ring into the front windshield of a vehicle and wounding one of two soldiers inside before wounding another soldier walking outside the medical brigade building. At one point, he exited his vehicle again and entered the medical building, killing a soldier on duty at the main entrance and wounding another. At this point, we do not know why he entered that building and we may never know why, Grey said. Lopez then got back into his vehicle one last time, turning into parking lot. During a verbal exchange, a military police ofcer responding to the shootings drew her weapon and red one round when Lopez reportedly brandished his weapon, according to Grey, noting that an autopsy revealed that was not the shot that killed the soldier. The subject then allegedly placed his .45 calibre handgun to his head and took his own life. Grey said investigators, who have yet to establish a motive, estimate that Lopez red more than 35 rounds of .45 calibre ammunition. Three were collected in his car. Another 32 shell casings were picked up at various locations. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are due to visit Fort Hood today for a ceremony to pay respects to the victims. AFP

Spain set to reject vote on Catalonia self-rule

SpaNISH lawmakers were yesterday expected to shoot down Catalonias bid to hold a referendum on independence from Spain, despite huge support in the wealthy region for the poll. Catalonias president Artur Mas has vowed to go ahead with the referendum on November 9 even if Madrid rejects his request to hold the ballot. If they say no, they will say no to a law. But they cant stop the will of the people of Catalonia, he said. The Catalan governments motion is fiercely opposed by Spains ruling conservative Popular Party, which holds a majority in the parliament, as well as by the main opposition Socialist Party. AFP

Gunfights see 24 dead in Mexico Priest who saw Syria as

ThE death toll from two days of gunfights in Mexicos northern state of Tamaulipas rose to 24 on Monday after authorities reported six more slayings in the drug violenceplagued region. Authorities said 15 men and two women were killed on Sunday in a series of shootings between criminal groups in the towns of Tampico and Ciudad Madero, on the Gulf of Mexico coast. A mans body was found on a bench and two others on a street in Tampico on Monday, according to the Tamaulipas Coordination Group of federal and state security forces. The first shootout was reported in Ciudad Madero, where two gunmen killed two men and a woman on Sunday afternoon, the security group said in a statement. Ten minutes later, authorities in neighbouring Tampico found the body of a man with a bullet wound to the head. Later, a carload of gunmen fired at a man whose body was found in a Ciudad Madero street. Ten minutes later, another body was found in a street corner of the town. After nightfall, five men and one woman were killed in front of a fuel station in Tampico. Moments later, another man was gunned down in an ice cream shop. Another body was recovered that evening in Madero. The statement did not say what gangs were involved in the killings. But Tampico Mayor Gustavo Torres told Milenio television that the shootings in his town were linked to scoresettling between members of the Gulf Cartel. Tamaulipas has been the scene of turf wars between the Zetas and Gulf drug cartels, former allies that have battled for control of lucrative drug trafficking routes to the United States since they parted ways in 2010. Some 80,000 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico since 2006. AFP Dutch priest Frans van der Lugt, who gained renown for his insistence on staying in Syrias besieged city of Homs, was shot dead there on Monday by a masked gunman. The motive for his murder was unclear, although Syrias main opposition bloc and President Bashar al-Assads regime have traded blame for the killing. Van der Lugt, 75, had become a well-known gure in the Old City of Homs, respected by many for his solidarity with residents of the rebel-held area under a

home is killed in Homs

government siege that has lasted nearly two years. He refused to leave despite constant shelling and dwindling supplies, insisting Syria was his home and he wanted to be with the countrys citizens in their time of need. I can conrm that hes been killed, Jan Stuyt, secretary of the Dutch Jesuit Order, said. A man came into his house, took him outside and shot him twice in the head. In the street in front of his house, he said, adding that the priest would be buried in Syria according to his wishes. AFP

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

World Message in beer bottle arrives after 101 years

A MESSAGE in a bottle tossed in the sea in Germany 101 years ago and believed to be the worlds oldest has been presented to the senders granddaughter, a museum said on Monday. A sherman pulled the beer bottle with the scribbled message out of the Baltic last month, said Holger von Neuhoff Hamburgs International Maritime Museum. This is the rst time such an old message in a bottle was found, particularly with the bottle intact, he said. Researchers then set to work identifying the author and managed to track down his 62-year-old granddaughter Angela Erdmann, who lives in Berlin. It was almost unbelievable, Erdmann said. She was rst able to hold the brown bottle last week at the Hamburg museum. Inside was a message on a postcard requesting the nder return it to the writers home in Berlin. Von Neuhoff said researchers were able to determine

15

Clean sweep
A Nepalese Hindu priest sweeps around the head of Sweat Bhairab, the god of destruction, during the Seto Machindranath chariot festival in Kathmandu on Monday. Hindu and Buddhist devotees from the ethnic Newar community of Kathmandu Valley celebrate the Seto Machindranath festival by pulling wooden chariots across the city. AFP

based on the address that it was 20-year-old bakers son Richard Platz who threw the bottle in the Baltic while on a hike with a nature appreciation group in 1913. A Berlin-based genealogical researcher then located Erdmann, who never knew Platz, her mothers father who died in 1946 at the age of 54. Von Neuhoff said a handwriting comparison with letters penned by Platz later in life conrmed that he was without a doubt the author. Erdmann said the surprise discovery had inspired her to look through family scrapbooks to learn more about her grandfather, a Social Democrat who liked to read. Much of the ink on the postcard had been rendered illegible with time and dampness, Von Neuhoff said. Guinness World Records previously identied the oldest message in a bottle as dating from 1914. It spent nearly 98 years at sea before being shed from the water. AFP

Vote-buying rife ahead of Indonesian poll

Angela Dewan

ndOnESIAnS on the remote island of Sumba happily accept chickens and pork from legislative candidates hunting for votes. But, just six months ago, voterigging allegations triggered bloody riots on the island. Fifteen people were killed, most hacked to death with machetes, and 75 homes burnt to the ground after accusations emerged that the winner of an election in Southwest Sumba had bribed the Constitutional Court to declare him the district chief. A string of surveys ahead of todays nationwide legislative polls show that honesty and freedom from corruption are the top qualities sought in political candidates by Indonesians weary of the countrys endemic graft. But, paradoxically, the polls also reveal that millions of Indonesians see vote-buying as acceptable. There is this disconnect. People dont see this practice as corruption. They dont see that by accepting the

money theyre contributing to corruption, the Asia Foundations Indonesia country representative, Sandra Hamid, said. A recent Asia Foundation survey found that more than 40 per cent of Indonesian voters would accept cash or a gift from legislative candidates, while other surveys put the gure above 50 per cent. At a recent rally in the capital Jakarta, thousands of supporters of the Golkar party the countrys second-biggest wearing bright yellow T-shirts emblazoned with portraits of candidates were bussed in from all over the city. They ate free lunches, ranging from rice and chicken to McDonalds, and mimicked the pelvic thrusts of singers on stage performing dangdut, an Indonesian fusion of Arabic, Malay, Indian and Western pop notorious for its lewd lyrics. Most admitted they were promised 50,000 rupiah on the bus ride back home, but said they saw nothing wrong with it. Its not vote-buying. Its just for

fuel and drinks, insisted 56-yearold Djamiat Ibrahim, even though transport and drinks were provided. The handouts may seem tiny, but they mean a great deal to many in Indonesia, where half the population of 250 million people live below or hover around the poverty line of $2 a day. Many who attend rallies are young or from poorer sectors of society, and some are transported in from slums with no clean water or electricity. However, giving out money does not guarantee a candidate support at the legislative elections, which will set the stage for presidential polls in July. More than 55 per cent of those quizzed in a survey by pollster Indikator in December said they would accept cash from a candidate, but not necessarily vote for them. Many take the money and dont vote at all, disillusioned with a parliament that consistently ranks as one of the countrys most graftridden institutions in corruption perception surveys. A slew of legislators have been

jailed for rigging tenders and misusing state funds in recent years, and chronic absenteeism and photographs of MPs asleep in session feature prominently in the media. Father Michael Keraf is waging a campaign to counter what he calls the evil act of vote-buying on Sumba, a predominantly Christian and deeply poor island in the centre of the Muslim-majority Indonesian archipelago. We try to teach the people, dont just look at money. To give a very simple illustration a chicken at the market is $5 to $10 these days. If you accept a chicken from a candidate, youre saying your integrity is worth nothing more than a chicken, said the pastor. Explaining it this way has got people thinking. In southwest Sumba, the election commission nally admitted it made an error and that the incumbent, Kornelius Kodi Mete, had won. But there is a stalemate as the Constitutional Court ruled the opposite, and the district remains without a chief.

The courts chief judge, Akil Mochtar, was arrested shortly after the deadly riots, accused of accepting bribes of more than $5 million to x 11 elections, although he has not been charged over Southwest Sumbas poll. While small offerings are made to everyday Indonesians, those with inuence over communities are worth a little more. Leaders of a religious minority and their partners were recently invited to the home of a legislative candidate near Jakarta. The wife of one leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were given clothing and envelopes stuffed with cash, and the candidate promised to push through a law to help the minority. I would say he was trying to buy our votes and my husbands inuence. I think its wrong, she said. However, she admitted that accepted the money and would likely vote for the candidate. But I was going to vote for him anyway. Its nothing to do with the money. AFP

Search for Inca lost city may endanger indigenous people

A FREnch writer and adventurer plans to explore one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon in search of a lost or secret city that may have been built by the Incas, but there are fears the expedition could endanger the health of isolated tribes that have never been exposed to common human diseases. Thierry Jamin believes that the city, which he calls Paititi, could lie somewhere in a 215,000hectare protected area called the Megantoni National Sanctuary in the Cuzco region of southeast Peru. The magnicent discoveries realised by my group in the valleys of Lacco, Chunchusmayo and Cusirini in the north of the department of Cuzco lead towards a precise zone situated in the national sanctuary of Megantoni, Jamin said. Several natives of the forest Matsiguengas assert that monumental ruins exist at the top of a strange square mountain. I think that we are very close to ofcialise the existence of this big archaeological site. According to his website, Jamin is planning a six-week expedition starting in July. His website describes Paititi, or Paititi-Eldorado, as the Incas secret city one of the most fascinating stories of the Inca mythology, the biggest archaeological enigma of South America and the place where the Incas hid all the treasures of [their] empire when Europeans invaded. The search for Paititi or an Inca lost city has attracted scores of people and considerable controversy ever since the 16th century, with conicting theories and ideas about where it might be and whether it really exists. But some experts fear that such an expedition would pose a threat to isolated indigenous Nanti people sometimes called Kugapakoris within the sanctuary. One of the main reasons for the sanctuarys creation 10 years ago was to protect groups of indigenous people who have had little or no contact with outsiders and are extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases because of their lack of resistance. According to the sanctuarys master plan for 2007-2011 a 160-page government document outlining strategies and programs to manage the area the 215,000 hectares are divided into a number of zones where different activities are permitted. The biggest, most remote zone is in the sanctuarys far east and is called the Strict Protection Zone (ZPA). Its rst stated aim is to protect voluntarily isolated indigenous people, with scientic investigation only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Lelis Rivera, who works for the NGO Cedia and played a key role in the sanctuarys creation, pointed out that the presence of any outsiders in the sanctuary could cause danger to the people living there and that entering the ZPA in particular is completely prohibited by Peruvian law. Any people currently living in the upper Timpia or Ticumpinia regions are extremely vulnerable to germ transmission thats the nature of living in relative social and immunological isolation, said anthropologist Christine Beier from the NGO Cabeceras Aid Project and one of the worlds leading experts on Nanti society and history. Some experts doubt that Paititi is where Jamin thinks it is. The Incas conquered territories of the Machiguenga and Piro and built roads, bridges and some fortied settlements, meaning its possible that in Megantoni some Inca-type buildings and objects will be found, said Martti Parssinen, a Finnish archaeologist and historian who has researched Peru and the Incas for decades. Nevertheless, Paititi is not there ... At rst, it was located from the conuence of the Madre de Dios and the Beni rivers toward the east or south, but during the colonial period some Inca refugees probably re-established it near the present Brazilian Pacaas Novos mountains. Asked why he thinks archaeological remains in Megantoni might be related to the Incas, Jamin said: We dont know if theyre Inca or pre-Inca. One of the objectives of the campaign will be to establish that. THE GUARDIAN

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THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Opinion
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EDITORIAL PERSONNEL Publisher Chris Dawe Editor-in-Chief Chad Williams Editor-in-Chief Weekend Post Alan Parkhouse Editor-in-Chief Post Khmer Kay Kimsong Managing Editor Post Khmer Sam Rith Chief of Staff Cheang Sokha Deputy Chief of Staff Chhay Channyda National News Editor Shane Worrell National Assignment Editor Joe Freeman Digital Media Director David Boyle Deputy News Editor Vong Sokheng Business Editor Post Khmer May Kunmakara Property Editor Pisei Hin Foreign News Editor Joe Curtin Sports Editor Dan Riley Picture Editor Scott Howes Lifestyle and 7Days Editor Poppy McPherson Deputy Head of Lifestyle Desk Pan Simala Chief Sub-editor Michael Philips Sub-editors Laignee Barron, Daniel de Carteret, Alice Cutty, Will Jackson, Eddie Morton, Bennett Murray, Kevin Ponniah, Daniel Pye, Shane Rothery, Sean Teehan, Sam Wheeler, Stuart White, Emily Wight, Amelia Woodside Reporters Khouth Sophak Chakrya, Sen David, Hor Kimsay, Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Mom Kunthear, Khoun Leakhana, Lieng Sarith, Kim Sarom, Phak Seangly, Meas Sokchea, Chhim Sreyneang, May Titthara Photographers Heng Chivoan, Pha Lina, Hong Menea, Sreng Meng Srun, Vireak Mai Web Editor Leang Phannara Webmasters Uong Ratana, Horng Pengly SIEM REAP BUREAU

Employees from the Philippines Department of Health perform a mosquito dance with mascots to create public awareness of vector-borne diseases in observance of World Health Day in Manila on Monday. According to the World Health Organization 40 per cent of the worlds population is at risk from dengue fever. afp

Bureau Chief Peter Olszewski Ofce Manager Thik Skaline Distribution Manager Seng Sech Reporters Thik Kaliyann, Miranda Glasser Marketing Executive Sophearith Blondeel
PRODUCTION & PRINTING

The mosquito menace

relies on radiation to sterilise males, which are then released into infested areas to mate. But this approach, used since the middle of the last century, has not been effective with mosquitoes, owing to their fragility. Advances in molecular biology offer more sophisticated solutions. Using molecular genetic-engineering, the British company Oxitec has created a new way to control the mosquito species that transmits dengue fever. Male mosquitoes are bred in the laboratory with a specific mutation. As a result, their offspring produce high levels of a protein that prevents their cells from functioning normally, causing them to die before reaching maturity. Male mosquitoes do not bite, so their release presents no health risk, and, because their progeny die, no genetically engineered mosquitoes persist in the environment. If the males are released over a period of several months, this would, in theory, result in a marked reduction in the mosquito population. All that is needed is to determine whether it works in practice. Scientific research to develop products like irradiated sterile insects or the Oxitec mosquitoes proceeds progressively from more to less contained conditions from the laboratory to confined trials to limited field trials. Now that Oxitec has conducted promising field trials in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia, and Brazil, it is preparing to conduct trials in other countries, including the US. Such trials are always appropriately controlled and monitored to ensure that they are safe and effective, with government regulation providing an extra safeguard. In order to determine the appropriate level of oversight, government bodies would presumably conduct a risk analysis. When it comes to genetic engineering, however, science seems to matter less than politics. The fact is that molecular genetic engineering is more precise and predictable than older, cruder techniques like irradiation. But, while SIT remains unregulated in most places, the regulatory reviews of genetically engineered living organisms have tended to be drawn out and excessive worldwide, with politics delaying and sometimes even preventing approvals. As a result, research and development in genetic engineering is more expensive, discouraging investment and hampering innovation. This is all the more problematic in

John J Cohrssen and Henry I Miller

Comment

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OSQUITO-BORNE diseases kill millions of people annually, and cause suffering for many more. In 2012, there were an estimated 207 million cases of malaria, leading to some 627,000 deaths. Dengue fever is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics, with as many as 100 million people infected each year. And there are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever annually, leading to 30,000 deaths worldwide. It takes only one bite from a disease-carrying mosquito to transmit a debilitating or deadly infection. Given that there are no vaccines or drug treatments for illnesses like dengue fever and West Nile virus, and that treatments for diseases like malaria are difficult to access in many at-risk areas, more effective mechanisms for controlling mosquito populations are desperately needed. The good news is that a promising new technology is ready for field-testing. Today, the dominant method for reducing insect populations the socalled sterile insect technique (SIT)

the case of mosquito control, given the urgency of the problem. The World Health Organizations Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases has called upon regulatory agencies to emphasise science-based, case-by-case targeted requirements with a degree of practical parsimony, instead of relying on a precautionary approach that can require data to address all theoretical risks. In other words, regulators should consider these innovations public-health costs and benefits, and expedite their review. Given the degree of suffering caused by mosquito-borne diseases, government leaders must not subject genetic-engineering solutions for controlling them to the same kinds of political and populist headwinds that have impeded the approval of genetically engineered agricultural products. Only with pragmatic, fact-based regulation can the world realise genetic engineerings full diseasefighting potential. project syndIcate
John J Cohrssen is an American attorney who has served in senior staff positions in the White House and the US Congress. Henry I Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, is Fellow in Scientic Philosophy and Public Policy at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution.

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THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

17

Lifestyle
N EXHIBITION of unprecedented scale opens in New York next week exploring the ancient kingdoms of Southeast Asia and introducing to the outside world the rst treasures from Myanmar seen abroad. The Metropolitan Museum of Art spent ve years preparing the exhibition of Hindu-Buddhist sculptures from a region and ancient culture little known in the United States. It features 160 stone, terracotta and bronze sculptures of which 22 are from Myanmar, the rst pieces of art loaned by Yangon after emerging from decades of international isolation. The rest from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Britain, France and elsewhere in the United States complete an exhibition that only the vast resources of the Metropolitan could pull off. Most of these powerful works of art have rarely if ever been on view outside their home countries, the Mets British director Thomas Campbell said. We are especially honoured that the government of Myanmar has signed its rst-ever international loan agreement in order to lend their national treasures to this exhibition. The beautifully presented and painstakingly curated Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia 5th to 8th Century, opens on Monday and runs until July 27. The museum hopes that it will attract culture vultures keen to bone up on a little-known eld, and backpackers who have enjoyed the beaches of Thailand and Vietnam. Around 6.2 million people visited the Met in each of the last two years, a new audience for these ancient

Southeast Asia takes stage in landmark NY exhibition A

Jennie Matthew

In brief
Artists in Pakistan fight back against US drone strikes

The Metropolitan Museum of Art spent ve years preparing the exhibition of Hindu-Buddhist sculptures.

aFp

treasures and for Myanmar, which only emerged from international sanctions in 2012. Curator John Guy said Southeast Asia was dismissed by ancient geographers as that place beyond India and before China, but produced some of the greatest Hindu and Buddhist art to survive. The exhibition tracks the period when both faiths took root in the region from India, absorbed into local belief systems and giving rise to the nation states of today. It took about two years a long and rigorous process to negoti-

ate the loans from all the countries, Guy told AFP . Before coming to New York, some objects had travelled only once: by cart from the ancient city of Sri Ksetra where they were excavated in 1924-26 to the local museum. As in the case of several other countries, cabinet-level approval was required. Its appropriate, Guy said. Were asking to borrow their national treasures and bring them half way around the world. This is an enormous act of faith on their part. Southeast Asian countries are

emerging economies and Myanmar has embarked upon wide-ranging reforms since turning the page on ve decades of junta rule that kept the country impoverished. Guy said the region could expect spin-off benets such as enhanced tourism and cultural cooperation. When the exhibits return to Myanmar in August, for example, two conservators will go to work on objects that in the end were deemed too fragile to travel to New York. As important as the exhibition is, we would never put a single object at risk, Guy said. aFp

A GROUP of Pakistani artists are hoping to generate empathy among US drone operators by placing giant posters of children meant to be seen from the air in the countrys troubled tribal regions. The project, titled #NotABugSplat, has released a photograph itself taken from the air with the use of a mini-helicopter drone of a poster laid out in a field that shows the face of a girl who lost both her parents in one of the controversial strikes in the northwestern KhyberPakhtunkhwa province. Bug splat is said to be a term used by drone pilots based in the US to refer to how victims look when seen through video cameras. We tried to replicate as much as we could what a camera from above will see looking down, said one of the artists of the collective, who did not wish to be named individually. You will see how tiny people are and they look like little bugs, we wanted to highlight the distance between what a human being looks like when they are just a little dot versus a big face. One hope is that it will create some empathy and introspection. aFp

Pele launches diamonds that contain his own hair

PELE has unveiled an unusual line of diamonds using strands of the football legends own hair, local media reported on Monday. The man many regard as the sports best player of all time presented the ultimate superfan souvenir in Sao Paulo ahead of the World Cup that Brazil will host in two months. AFP

Celebrities take over Indonesias elections

Arlina Ashad

Pop music star Rhoma Irama is part of a star-studded push for votes in Indonesias upcoming legislative elections. aFp

A WHITE jumpsuit stretched over his bulging belly, an ageing crooner known as Indonesias Elvis launches into song ahead of elections Wednesday, one of a parade of celebrities standing as candidates. Rhoma Irama, seeking support for his own presidential bid and the Islamic party backing him, is part of a star-studded push for votes in the legislative polls, which set the stage for the presidential elections in July. The tactic seems to be working among some supporters Bro Rhoma I love you, bro Rhoma for Indonesian president, screamed one woman at his Jakarta concert as she danced vigorously. But analysts say the trend highlights the woeful state of political life in Indonesia 16 years after dictator Suharto left power. Parliament is regarded as one of the countrys most corrupt institutions, with several lawmakers having been jailed for graft in recent years and pic-

tures of MPs asleep in session regularly splashed across the press. Political observers say celebrities are filling a void left by more serious contenders who are disillusioned with the system. Activists from civil society with the capacity to lead are not interested in taking part in the elections, Syamsuddin Haris, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said. A former Miss Indonesia beauty pageant finalist, Soraya Hapsari, swimsuit model Destiara Talita and dangdut singer Camel Petir are all hoping their high profile and good looks can propel them to office. Irama is unlikely even to be able to run at the presidential polls, observers say, as his party wont win the required support at the legislative elections to put forward a candidate. Nevertheless, the colourful singer insists he can win. People underestimate me because they dont know who Rhoma really is, he said. aFp

BREAKING BAD and House of Cards, programs only available in the UK via the online service Netflix, have been nominated for Bafta television awards in a further sign of the growing significance of on-demand viewing. The US dramas have both been nominated for best international program following a rule change to allow shows that are not broadcast on traditional UK TV channels to compete for a Bafta in this category for the first time. the guardian

Breaking Bad and House of Cards nominated for awards

Peaches, daughter of Bob Geldof, found dead at 25

LIVE AID founder Bob Geldof said his family was beyond pain at the death of his socialite daughter Peaches at the age of 25 on Monday. Police were called to her secluded home outside Wrotham in Kent, southeast England, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was being treated as unexplained and sudden but non-suspicious, police said. Peaches, a mother of two young sons, was just 11 when her mother, television presenter Paula Yates, died of a heroin overdose aged 41 in 2000. aFp

18

THE PHNOM PENH POST apRiL 9, 2014

Health

Its hoped that a new drug designed to prevent excessive bleeding in women after childbirth could save thousands of lives every year.

HE trial of a new drug to prevent excessive bleeding in women after childbirth, which could potentially save thousands of lives annually, is to begin in 12 countries in June. The clinical study, which will be conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), will include about 29,000 women in Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and Uganda. The trial, which is expected to last 18 months, will test the effectiveness of a new medicine developed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, which can be stored at room temper-

Trial drug could save new mums T

Liz Ford

BLOOMBeRg

ature in hot and tropical locations. Oxytocin, the drug most commonly used to prevent bleeding after childbirth, requires refrigeration, which is a major obstacle for health centres in countries with unreliable energy supplies. The problem is particularly acute in poorer countries, which may lack not only cold storage facilities but also decent roads, making journeys to more remote areas signicantly slower, particularly during rainy seasons. According to the WHO, postpartum haemorrhage is the leading cause of death during childbirth, killing about 130,000 women worldwide each year. The millennium development goal of a 75 per cent reduction in

maternal deaths by 2015 is among the most off-track of the eight global targets, and is unlikely to be met in the majority of poorer countries. However, all regions have made gains in cutting rates. According to the UN, the ratio of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births fell from 400 to 210 between 1990 and 2010. If the WHO trial is successful, the agency will collaborate with Ferring and the pharmaceutical company Merck to explore how to make the medicine cheaply available to poorer countries. Michel Pettigrew, president of Ferrings executive board, said he wanted the drug to be as cheap as possible. A vial of oxytocin costs about $1.66; Pettigrew hoped the new for-

mula would not cost much more. For many years, one of the concerns expressed to us by our medical committee was how we dont have a climate-sensitive product, which would be easier to keep. So we started looking into this two and a half years ago, and were able to develop a formulation which would be acceptable for these temperatures, he said. We thought, lets make sure we try to make a product at a very low cost to make it available at a very low price to low-resource countries. That way, at least weve done our part to help women get through pregnancy and live a normal life afterwards with their children. We believe we have developed

a drug which can save lives. We are not a big pharmaceutical company, were privately owned, so the nancial motivation [for us] is very different. The commitment from shareholders is [that] we should help people around the world. Kenneth Frazier, chairman and chief executive at Merck, said: Working with our partners, we can help make a better solution a reality. It would be a real breakthrough to prevent the number one cause of women dying in childbirth in the most vulnerable parts of the globe. Through its Merck for Mothers initiative, the company has committed $500 million over 10 years to nd ways to reduce maternal mortality.
THE GUARDIAN

No respite in childhood obesity epidemic: research

CONTRARY to recent reports, US children are still struggling with obesity and there has been no decline in the epidemic among young people, US researchers said on Monday. In fact, the problem is getting worse in a small subset of the heaviest children, among whom the trend has about doubled, said the findings in JAMA Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association. Childhood obesity is of particular concern because it can lead to lifelong health problems, including high cholesterol, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, experts say. The total number of kids that are overweight or obese hasnt changed, said co-author Joseph Skelton, a pedietrician at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. It does seem overall, though, that some kids are getting heavier, he said. The latest study was based on the same data set as that released in February, in which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hailed a 43 per cent drop in obesity among the countrys preschoolers in the past decade. However, the new study spanned a longer period of time, a wider age range and used 1999 as its starting point, rather than 2003 when an unusual spike in obesity was observed for reasons that are unclear, Skelton said. It examined records from at 26,690 children, aged between two and 19. Just over 17 per cent were obese in 2011-2012, meaning their body mass index was greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for their age and sex. That was slightly higher than the figure in 1999-2000, when 14.5 were obese, but the margin of error could make the difference as small as one percent. When researchers looked more closely at severe obesity, they found this trend was becoming more common, and had about doubled from 1999 to 2012. Severe obesity was defined as having a BMI that was 20 to 40 per cent higher than the 95th percentile of their peers. So a 10-year old boy weighing 43 kg at a height of 1.37 metres would be considered obese. If he added 4.5 kg to his already obese frame, he would reach Class 2 obesity. If he added 11 kg, he would be considered Class 3. Nearly 6 per cent of youths now meet the definition for Class 2 obesity, and about 2 per cent are Class 3, said the study. AFP

New research suggests childhood obesity in the US is still on the rise.

BLOOMBeRg

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Travel
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE
FROM PHNOM PENH
Flighs K6 720 PG 938 PG 932 TG 581 PG 934 FD 3617 PG 936 TG 585 CZ 324 QR 965 QR 967 CZ 324 CZ 6060 VN 840 QR 965 QR 967 VN 841 VN 3856 KA 207 KA 207 KA 209 KA 209 KA 205 KE 690 OZ 740 AK 1473 MH 755 MH 763 AF 273 FM 833 MI 601 MI 622 3K 594 3K 594 MI 607 2817 2817 2817 2817 BR 266 VN 840 QV 920
8M 402 8M 401

19

SIEM REAP - MANILA 5J 258

Arrival 03:30 09:05 09:05 14:40 16:20 18:40 19:40 21:50 20:50 14:30 20:50 13:45 20:50 13:00 14:30 20:50 16:30 18:45 10:25 16:05 17:00 17:25 22:20 22:50 16:00 10:20 4:10 06:05 22:40 08:40 11:25 14:40 17:15 15:50 08:10 14:00 12:30 11:35 13:00 13:15 10:45
Qatar Airways No. 296 Blvd. Mao Tse Toung (St. 245), Ground oor, Intercontinental Hotel PP Tel: +23 42 40 12/13/14 www.qatarairways.com Cambodia Angkor Air (K6) PP Ofce, #90+92+94Eo, St.217, Sk.Orussey4, Kh. 7Makara, 023 881 178 /77718-333. Fax:+855 23-886-677 www.cambodiaangkorair.com E: mai@royalaviationexpert.com

MANILA - SIEM REAP 22:30 16:35 10:40 12:25 12:45 18:30 18:35
15:35 15:35

TO PHNOM PENH
Arrival 01:10 08:15 11:10 11:10 16:40 18:15 20:40 21:45 16:05 22:45
05:20+1

2.4.7 1, 6, 7 2.4 5 7 3, 2 5
.2....7 ...4...

02:11 22:15 15:20 15:40 16:05 21:35 21:55

18:40 18:30

5J 257 MI 633 MI 622 MI 616 MI 636 MI 630 MI 618

3K 597 3K 597

2.4.7 1, 6, 7 2.4 7 3, 2 5 5
.2....7 ...4...

19:45 14:35 08:40 10:40 13:55 07:55 16:35

13:45 13:45

21:30 15:45 09:50 11:50 17:40 11:35 17:45

14:50 14:50

SIEM REAP - SINGAPORE MI 633 MI 622 MI 630 MI 615 MI 636 MI 617

3K 598 3K 598

SINGAPORE - SIEM REAP

Days Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily ..34..7 12...6. Daily 2.4.7 Daily ..34..7 12...6. Daily Daily 1.2.4.7 6 1 3.5.7 2 Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 2 2.3.4.5.7 1.3.5.6.7 2.4 1234..7 ....56. Daily 1.3 2.4.5 6 7 Daily Daily Daily 1.3.6 1.3.6

Dep 12:05 06:40 09:55 10:05 15:30 17:05 19:30 20:40 08:00 16:10 22:40 08:00 14:45 17:30 16:10 22:40 14:00 19:20 11:25 11:45 18:30 17:25 19:00 23:40 23:50 08:35 11:10 17:10 20:05 19:50

Flighs K6 721 PG 931 TG 580 PG 933 FD 3616 PG 935 TG 584 PG 937 CZ 323 QR 964 QR 966 CZ 6059 CZ 323 VN 841 QR 604 QR 966 VN 920 VN 3857 KA 208 KA 206 KA 206 KA 206 KE 689 OZ 739 AK 1474 MH 754 MH 762 AF 273 FM 833 MI 602 MI 622 3K 593 MI 608 2816 2816 2816 2816 BR 265 VN 841 QV 921 8M 401

Days Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily ..34..7 12...6. 2.4.7 Daily Daily ..34..7 12...6. Daily Daily

Dep 02:25 07:55 07:55 13:30 15:15 17:30 18:25 20:15 14:30 01:05 07:25 12:00 19:05 09:40 13:30 19:50 15:50 18:00

PHNOM PENH - BANGKOK

BANGKOK - PHNOM PENH

SIEM REAP - VIENTIANE QV 522

8M 402

VIENTIANE - SIEM REAP 10:05

20:15
Dep 12:55

PHNOM PENH - BEIJING PHNOM PENH - DOHA ( Via HCMC)

BEIJING - PHNOM PENH DOHA - PHNOM PENH ( Via HCMC)

2.4.5.7
1. 5
Days 1-3-5

13:00
21:25
Arrival 13:55

QV 512
8M 401
Flighs K6 131

2.4.5.7
1. 5
Days 1-3-5

06:30
17:05
Dep 11:20

09:25
19:15
Arrival 12:20

SIEM REAP - YANGON

PREAH SIHANOUK - SIEM REAP Flighs K6 130

YANGON - SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP - PREAH SIHANOUK

PHNOM PENH - GUANGZHOU 11:40 18:10 20:35 17:10 23:40 14:45 20:05 15:05 22:25 22:05 21:00 22:35 06:40 06:50 11:20 14:00 20:00 06:05 23:05

GUANGZHOU - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - HANOI PHNOM PENH - HO CHI MINH CITY

HANOI - PHNOM PENH HO CHI MINH CITY - PHNOM PENH

A building damaged by the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 that left 185 people dead. BLOOMBERG

NZ city on the mend and has plenty to offer

Rachel Dixon

PHNOM PENH - HONG KONG

HONG KONG - PHNOM PENH 1.2.4.6.7 08:50 3.5.7 1 2 Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 2 14:30 15:25 15:50 18:30 19:10 15:15 09:30 3:20 20:05

AIRLINES CODE
2817 - 16 Tigerairways 5J - CEBU Airways. AK - Air Asia BR - EVA Airways CI - China Airlines CZ - China Southern FD - Thai Air Asia FM - Shanghai Air K6- Cambodia Angkor Air KA - Dragon Air MH - Malaysia Airlines MI - SilkAir OZ - Asiana Airlines PG - Bangkok Airways QR - Qatar Airways QV - Lao Airlines SQ - Singapore Airlines

COLOUR CODE
1 Monday 2 Tuesday 3 Wednesday 4 Thursday 5 Friday 6 Saturday 7 Sunday

PHNOM PENH - INCHEON

INCHEON - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - KUALA LUMPUR

KUALA LUMPUR - PHNOM PENH

TG - Thai Airways | VN - Vietnam Airlines

HREE years on from the earthquake that killed 185 people, Christchurch, New Zealand, is well on the road to recovery. In February 2011, the magnitude 6.3 tremor caused widespread damage to the countrys second-largest city, whose buildings were already weakened from a previous earthquake that shook the city in September 2010. The total cost of rebuilding was originally estimated at NZ$15 billion; but, that has since ballooned out to more than $NZ40 billion. However, the reconstruction effort has continued at an amazing pace. There are now at least 20 hotels up and running in the city centre, including Hotel 115 (hotel115.co.nz, doubles from $103), a 30-room boutique hotel that opened in December. A new ve-star hotel, the citys second, Hotel Montreal on Cranmer Square, is set to open in July. The Victoria Street bar scene is thriving, with newcomers such as Revival (revivalbar.co.nz), made from old shipping containers and including a hair salon. New Regent Street is bustling again, and the much-loved Vespa bar (vespabar.co.nz) has reopened on High Street in the rebuilt Stranges building. Gourmet burgers are a big trend in New Zealand, and Velvet Burger (velvetburger. co.nz), which has branches in Auckland and Dunedin, opened recently in the western Christchurch suburb of Riccarton. South of the city centre, the Tannery (thetannery.co.nz) is a new development of independent shops, restaurants and bars.

Although galleries closed in after the earthquake, the citys art scene continued: people put on exhibitions in their homes, garages and purposebuilt temporary galleries called Art Boxes (artboxgallery.info) around the city. Now a new hub, Art Central, is the centrepiece of a trail of public artworks (scapebiennial. org.nz). Art can still be seen in temporary spaces all over Christchurch, such as the 10-metre suspended Spires sculpture in Latimer Square (futurechristchurch.co.nz). Gap Filler (gapller.org. nz) is a regeneration project that puts on creative events in the citys vacant sites, from pedal-powered cinemas to gap golf. Projects this year include Dance-O-Mat a coinoperated public dance space, where you plug your MP3 player into a converted washing machine and dance in the street and free audio tours of Christchurch in transition. The citys heritage trams (tram.co.nz) started running again last November, across Cathedral Square and on to the Canterbury museum (canterburymuseum.com). The route will be extended throughout 2014. One-, twoand three-hour city bus tours are also running daily (hasslefreetours.co.nz). The temporary Cardboard Cathedral (cardboardcathedral.org.nz), which opened to great fanfare last August, is now hosting concerts and art exhibitions. A new park along the Otakaro/Avon river (ccdu. govt.nz) will wind through the city, with footpaths and cycle routes, open-air theatre spaces and restaurants. Two sections, in the south-west, are already open. More info: christchurchnz. com THE GUARDIAN/PHNOM PENH
POST

PHNOM PENH- PARIS PHNOM PENH - SHANGHAI PHNOM PENH - SINGAPORE 09:30 12:30 12:20 15:25 15:25 18:10 16:40 09:10 14:50 13:20 12:45 17:30 17:50 13:30 11:45 15:20 18:20 18:10 21:10 19:40 12:00 17:50 16:10 17:05 18:50 19:10 14:55 12:30

PHNOM PENH - PARIS SHANGHAI - PHNOM PENH 2.3.4.5.7 19:30 1.3.5.6.7 07:40 2.4 Daily Daily 1.3 2.4.5 6 7 Daily Daily Daily 1.3.6 08:40 13:30 16:20 15:00 07:20 13:00 11:30 09:10 11:30 11:45 08:20 SINGAPORE - PHNOM PENH

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.

AIRLINES
Koreanair (KE) Room.F3-R03, Intelligent Ofce Myanmar Airways International Center, Monivong Blvd,PP Tel: (855) 23 224 047-9 #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, www.koreanair.com Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. T:023 881 178 | F:023 886 677 www.maiair.com Cebu Pacic (5J) Phnom Penh: No. 333B Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 219161 Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd. Tel: 063 965487 E-mail: cebuair@ptm-travel.com www.cebupacicair.com

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

PHNOM PENH -TAIPEI PHNOM PENH - VIENTIANE

TAIPEI - PHNOM PENH VIENTIANE - PHNOM PENH

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

PHNOM PENH - YANGON SIEM REAP - PHNOM PENH

YANGON - SIEM REAP

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

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

SIEM REAP - BANGKOK Flighs

K6 700

BANGKOK - SIEM REAP Dep

12:50

REGULAR SHIPPING LINES SCHEDULES CALLING PORT ROTATION

Arrival
04:05
LINE RCL (12calls/moth) CALLING SCHEDULES 1 Wed, 08:00 - Thu 16:00 2 Thu, 14:00 - Fri 22:00 3 Fri, 20:00 - Sat 23:59 MEARSK (MCC) (4 calls/moth) SITC (BEN LINE (4 calls/onth) ITL (ACL) (4 calls/month) APL (4 calls/month) COTS (2 calls/month) 1 Th, 08:00 - 20:00 2 Fri, 22:00- Sun 00:01 Sun 09:00-23:00 Sat 06:00 - Sun 08:00 Fri, 08:00 - Sun, 06:00 Irregula FREEQUENCY ROTATION PORTS 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 Call/week 1 call/week SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN HKG-SHV-SGZ-HKG (HPH-TXGKEL) SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN SGN-SHV-LZP-SGN - HKG-OSA-TYO-KOB - BUS-SGH-YAT-SGN - SIN-SHV-TPP-SIN HCM-SHV-LZP-HCMNBO-SGH-OSA-KOBBUS-SGH-HGK-CHM SGZ-SHV-SIN-SGZ SIN-SHV-SIN

Days
Daily

Arrival
2:00

Flighs
K6 701

Days
Daily

Dep
02:55

PG 924 PG 906 PG 914 PG 908 PG 910 CZ 3054 CZ 3054

K6 850

Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 2.4.6 1.3.5.7

Daily

09:45 13:15 15:20 18:50 20:30 11:25 19:25

06:50

11:10 14:40 16:45 20:15 21:55 15:35 23:20

08:30

PG 903 PG 905 PG 913 PG 907 PG 909 CZ 3053 CZ 3053

K6 851

Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 2.4.6 1.3.5.7

Daily

08:00 11:35 13:35 17:00 18:45 08:45 16:35

19:30

09:00 12:45 14:35 18:10 19:55 10:30 18:30

21:15

SIEM REAP - GUANGZHOU

GUANGZHOU - SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP -HANOI VN 868 VN 842 VN 844 VN 800 VN 3818 VN 826 VN 3820 VN 828 VN 3822 KE 688 OZ 738 AK 281 MH 765 1.2.3.5.6 Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 3.5.7 12:40 18:05 19:45 21:00 11:10 13:30 17:45 18:20 21:35 23:15 23:40 08:35 14:15 15:35 19:45 21:25 22:40 12:30 14:40 18:45 19:20 22:35 06:10 07:10 11:35 17:25

HANOI - SIEM REAP VN 843 VN 845 VN 845 VN 801 VN 3809 VN 827 VN 3821 VN 829 VN 3823 KE 687 OZ 737 AK 280 MH 764 Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily 3.5.7 15:25 17:05 17:45 18:20 09:15 11:35 15:55 16:20 19:45 18:30 19:20 06:50 12:10 17:10 18:50 19:30 20:00 10:35 12:35 16:55 17:40 20:45 22:15 22:40 07:50 13:15

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

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

SIEM REAP - HO CHI MINH CITY

HO CHI MINH CITY - SIEM REAP

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

SIEM REAP - INCHEON

INCHEON - SIEM REAP

FLY DIRECT TO MYANMAR MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY YANGON - PHNOM PENH SIEM REAP - YANGON

PHNOM PENH - YANGON YANGON - SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP - KUALA LUMPUR

KUALA LUMPUR - SIEM REAP

FLY DIRECT TO SIEM REAP MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tel 023 881 178 | Fax 023 886 677 | www.maiair.com

20

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Entertainment
NOW SHOWING
LEGEND CINEMA

Galerie des Arts @ Sotel

Bo Rithys second solo art exhibition at Romeet explores Longveak, the 16th century capital of post-Angkor Cambodia just north of Oudong in Kampong Chhnang province.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against a horde of invading Persian forces led by mortalturned-god Xerxes and Persian navy commander Artemisia. City Mall: 7:55pm DIVERGENT In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns shes Divergent and wont fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before its too late. City Mall: 9:20am Toul Kork: 9:20pm MR PEABODY AND SHERMAN The time-travelling adventures of an advanced canine and his adopted son, as they endeavour to fix a time rift they created. City Mall: 5:55pm NEED FOR SPEED Fresh from prison, a street racer who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins. City Mall: 9:35pm Toul Kork: 9:15am, 2:20pm NOAH The Biblical Noah suffers visions of an apocalyptic deluge and takes measures to protect his family from the coming flood. City Mall: 1:30pm, 9:15pm Toul Kork: 4:50pm, 7:25pm RIO 2 Its a jungle out there for the blue macaw parrots Blu, Jewel and their three kids after theyre hurtled Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law. City Mall: 7pm
George Clooney stars in Oceans 13. BLOOMBERG

Romeet Gallery, #34E Street 178. Runs until April 21

Gangs @ Meta House

Young Cambodian director Chiev Soth from Aziza lm school focuses on Phnom Penhs violent gangster subculture for Story of a Gangster. Soth will provide a Q&A session.

Meta House, #37 Sothearos Boulevard. 7pm

Bo Rithys exhibition makes extensive use of bamboo. CHARLOTTE PERT

Live music @ Memphis

Live rock and blues tunes performed live each night except Sundays. Preceded by happy hour from 4-10pm, where cocktails and beer are all served half price.

TV PICKS
10:50am - FRANKENWEENIE: Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences. FOX MOVIES 12:05pm - TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: An ailing baseball scout in his twilight years takes his daughter along for one last recruiting trip. Starring Clint Eastwood. HBO 5:50pm - THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK: A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda. FOX MOVIES 7pm - OCEANS 13: Danny rounds up the boys for a third heist, after casino owner Willy Bank doublecrosses one of the original eleven. HBO

Memphis Pub, #3 Street 18. 10pm

Salsa @ The Groove

Latin music and dance moves until late. Preceded by beginners classes at 8pm for $5. This basic class is designed to lay down a strong foundation, for students who are new to Salsa.

The Groove, #1C Street 282. 9pm

Thinking caps
T SERVING
ACROSS
1 6 10 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 24 26 29 30 31 33 35 38 39 41 42 44 45 46 48 50 51 53 55 56 58 62 63 65 66 67 68 69 70 Daisylike fall flower Antony of antiquity Cookbook amt. ___ on you! Musical medley Guitar bar Northern carnivore Muslim leader Slow the progress of Christmas toymaker Big brother of 10-Across Floppy, compact and others Figures of speech Used a rocker Place-kickers prop Military mix-up Swamp thing? Aquarium organism Feathered friends Bullets, briefly Bluish greens Corks country Mea culpa, in slang Yawn-inducing Fishline hangup Accident mementos Classic TVs The ___ Squad Psych 101 subject Wheezing cause Like some wars Period of economic growth An ideal, in Chinese philosophy Gradually develop Sicilian gusher It may be blowin in the wind What happened next Showstopper for a diva Pool table material Ship emergency letters Diplomatic necessity Big name in chicken

DOWN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 17 23 25 26 27 28 30 32 34 36 37 40 43 47 49 51 52 53 54 57 59 60 61 64 Piedmont wine city It just fills up space Use the flat part of the shovel Fix firmly in place Make additional revisions Cut the grass Succulents for lotions Brooklet Draculas bed Percussion instrument Involuntary muscle contraction Splendid displays Urbanizes Usher elsewhere Famous peeps Brylcreem amount Cheat out of money Their mascot is a mule Cemetery fixtures Deli meat Carriage driver Guys hoedown counterpart Wind resistance Showy lily Diggers tool Certain water blocker Snare drum sounds Sell off stocks Assists in a bad way Bantu language group One with gags In a humble manner Indefinable surrounding Meadowlands Governors nix Biblical paradise Flying mammal

Tuesdays solution

Tuesdays solution

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Sport

21

Toshihide set to train in Cambodia after APF deal

H S Manjunath

Ian Thorpe in intensive care, say reports

ORMER Japanese professional tennis player turned business magnate Mitsuji Konoshita is all set to deliver a sponsorship package that will have a marked impact on Cambodian tennis. The charismatic president of Cambodia-based GL Finance, who is vigorously pursuing his pet multi-million dollar tennis academy project in the Kingdom, announced on Monday that he will sponsor Japanese Davis Cupper and seasoned circuit player Matsui Toshihide. The 35-year-old Toshihide, who is currently ranked 251st in doubles and 463rd in singles, will make Cambodia his home away from his Osaka home. He joins two of his compatriots on the circuit, mens player Katsushi Fukuda and womens player Yummi Miyakazi, under the sponsorship umbrella of the tennis-savvy Asia Partnership Fund, the GL Finance being its agship company in Cambodia. Many wondered why Matsui Toshihide and why now, Konoshita said in an exclusive chat with the Post with Toshihide by his side. In fact, Toshihide was a fresh faced starter on the pro circuit when I was getting out of it, and we know each other quite well for a long time. But this has nothing to do with that friendship. He is an attractive player still quite a lot of good tennis in him. From an investors eye, I think he is an ideal choice and carrying APFs insignia literally on his sleeves I am sure he will make us proud. It is a bit strange that I made up my mind to make this offer to Toshihide after I saw him lose his rst round match against a Thai teenager in the Phnom Penh ITF Futures late last year. To me that defeat didnt dene him at all. I saw something different and something positive in the attractive way he played. I am very condent that a player of his proven class making Cambodia his base for training will make an impact on the wider tennis community here. What I aspire this year is for Toshihide to break into the top 100 in the doubles ranking. He is tying up with Robert Davis, who lives in Cambodia and is a world renowned coach having worked with so many high-prole players. I am certain this combination will bring great results, added Konoshita.

SWIMMING great Ian Thorpe is in intensive care after receiving treatment for a serious infection, according to reports. Network Seven reported yesterday evening that the 31-year-old five-time Olympic gold medallist contracted the bug after surgery at a hospital near his home in the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona. He is now under intensive care in Sydney, and Seven said Thorpes close associates fear he could lose the use of his left arm. However, ABC quoted Thorpes manager, James Erskine, as saying the swimmer was not in intensive care but was being treated with large doses of antibiotics. He added that Thorpe had contracted the infection after surgery at a hospital in Sydney. Thorpes father revealed in February that the swimmer was battling depression. THE GUARDIAN

Pistorius testifies about relationship with victim

GL nance president Mitsuji Konoshita (left) and Japanese professional tennis player Matsui Toshihide shake hands during a press conference on Mondat at the GLF ofce. SRENG MENG SRUN

Star Paralympian Oscar Pistorius returned to the witness box to testify in his murder trial yesterday, after an emotional first day that saw him issue a tearful apology to the victims family. Pistorius sat before a packed courtroom in Pretoria wearing a dark grey suit as he described how his relationship with Reeva Steenkamp developed, and with faltering voice, how the couple began to think of the future. The athlete described how he met the model at a track day car event. The first six days we knew each other we called each other every day, he said. We both had things that kept us back. We both came out of difficult relationships before, he said. I was very keen on Reeva. I think if anything I was more into her, than she was at times with me. AFP

Toshihide, who last played Davis Cup for Japan in 2010, expressed his surprise at the offer, especially with it coming after a disappointing loss for him. Generally sponsors pick winners, he said. It is a great honour to be part of this passionate APF tennis fold. I am going to Kep for a weeks training with Robert Davis and both of us will be heading to a Challengers event in China. Though Toshihide is regarded as more of a doubles specialist, he is determined to work on his singles and improve his rankings to the lev-

els where he could make the Grand Slam qualiers. Singles and doubles are complimentary to each other, so I will work on both, he said. In the coming Chinese Challenger, Toshihide is likely to team up with Thailands Danai Udomchoke, but down the line he is looking for a partner who can commit himself to a long-term union. After the next weeks event, I will discuss with Robert Davis the road map that he has prepared and nalise circuit plans, he said. Realistically I need to work hard in the next seven to eight months and improve my doubles ranking so that

I can make it to the Grand Slams next year. It is a tough challenge but the one I am keen on taking up. Toshihide is also condent that he can win the singles title this year at the Japanese National Championships, set for November. Tennis Cambodia secretary-general Tep Rithivit welcomed the move to bring another Japanese star to Cambodian shores. Fukuda has been such a great inspiration for our youngsters. I am sure having a player of Matsui Toshihides calibre training in Cambodia will benet our tennis and players on many fronts, he told the Post.

Porte to miss Giro for Tour de France race

RIchIe Porte will skip the Giro dItalia in favour of helping his team-mate Chris Froome successfully defend his Tour de France title, Team Sky announced on Monday. Team Sky head of performance support Tim Kerrison said: Richie was always going to ride the Tour de France this year. But this now means that he can fully focus on being in the best possible shape without having the added challenge of having to ride the Giro as well. AFP

Todt dismisses proposed F1 rule changes

FIA PREsIdEnt Jean Todt has promised to look into improving the sound of Formula Ones new engines but dismissed a change in the rules demanded by some stables. Todt, the head of the world sports governing body, said that those who were complaining about the lack of noise from the engines were more vocal than those in favour. But he said he was ready to meet with reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who bluntly swore when asked about the sound of the new engine. Vettel made a negative comment about the engine noise, but not on the engines, said Todt. Hes an icon of our sport, four-time world champion ... if he came to me about the noise problem I would listen because he is qualified to talk about it. Were examining this problem with three engine manufacturers involved in F1. Were seeing if we can make it noisier. The Frenchman said however that for the rules to be changed mid-season it would require the unanimous approval of all teams. We need the unanimous agreement of stables, otherwise we cant change anything. We are in a competitive world, those in front dont complain and others complain, making more noise than those who are happy. Its in the nature of things, the history of F1 is filled with periods of domination. Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Red Bull and now, after only three GP, Mercedes. I dont have the power to slow them down and its a challenge for the other teams to catch up. It would not be fair to penalise a team that did a better job than others. Meanwhile Todt admitted that his bid for a cost cap in Formula One has met with some resistance. My feeling is that F1 is too expensive. It has been proved to me that budgets could be limited, so I put this on the table, most of the teams agreed. Now I am told that the six members of the Strategy Group stables are against. I am disappointed because it will be more difficult to achieve this limitation, which seems necessary to me. But Im told you can get there by the technical and sporting regulations. That is why we have a detailed plan, spread over three years, from 2015 to 2017. The six teams in the strategy group are Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Lotus. Todt revealed that some new stables are set to join F1. Some teams have filed their dossiers, they were examined by people other than me, and well make an announcement in the coming days, he added. AFP

Pakistan was offered Big Four role: chairman

PakIstaNs cricket chief Najam Sethi has said his predecessor spurned an offer by India to join the so-called big three during a major reorganisation of the games administration. The Pakistan Cricket Board was initially one of three countries which opposed the revamp of the International Cricket Council approved by members in February. The move handed the majority of the powers and revenues to the big three of the game India, Australia and England. Pakistan and Sri Lanka abstained from voting on the reforms, but since then Sri Lanka have hinted they will sign the draft. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

MMA

sIAs leading mixed martial arts organisation ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC), has conrmed its return to Singapore on May 30 for a blockbuster ghtcard titled ONE FC: Honor & Glory. In the main event at the Singapore Indoor Arena, undefeated welterweight and US collegiate wrestling legend Ben Askren will make his highly anticipated ONE FC debut against Azerbaijans Bakhtiyar Abbasov, who is currently riding a nine-ght winning streak. Meanwhile, veteran lightweight Caros Fodor of the US takes on top Dutch prospect Willy Ni while American Jake Butler returns to action against New Zealands Pane Haraki. After months of anticipation, ONE FC will return to Singapore with another explosive night of world-class mixed martial arts action, ONE FC CEO Victor Cui was quoting as saying in a press release. Fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting the ONE FC debut of top welterweight Ben Askren. He faces the toughest test of his career when he goes up against another top welterweight, Bakhtiyar Abbasov. ONE FC is redening the mixed martial arts landscape and close to 12,000 fans will pack out the arena

ONE FC set for Singapore return A

Dan Riley

Undefeated mixed martial arts welterweight Ben Askren of the US will make his highly anticipated ONE FC debut in Singapore on May 30. AFP

to witness history at ONE FC: Honor & Glory. Ben Funky Askren is a legend in collegiate wrestling with four AllAmerican awards. He nished his

wrestling career at the University of Missouri with a record of 153-8, winning 91 of those bouts with pins, third most in NCAA Division I history. He also wrestled in the

US Olympics team in 2008 before transitioning to mixed martial arts in 2009. The 29-year-old has since won 12 bouts in a row in dominating fashion, winning multiple championships and earning recognition as one of the best welterweights in the world. Abbasov, meanwhile is Azerbaijans best mixed martial artist, having defeated the best in Europe before deciding to come to Asia in search of new challenges. The balanced knockouts and submission victories on his 11-2 record is a testament to his versatility and predatory instincts, which will come in handy as he tries to become the rst man in history to defeat Askren in an MMA bout. The 28-year-old has traditionally competed as a middleweight but has set his sights on the welterweight division at ONE FC. Fodor (8-4) was one of the top lightweights in the Californiabased Strikeforce promotion, where he ran up an impressive record and was on course for a title shot. A Muay Thai champion and submission grappling champion, he has gone to battle with some of the best in the business and wants to introduce himself to ght fans in Singapore with a spectacular performance. Ni (15-8) is a Shooto veteran from

the Netherlands and has faced some of the best lightweights in Europe including British slugger Dan Hardy. He is especially procient with his grappling skills, having nished nine of his opponents by submission. He gets an opportunity to add another big name to his resume when he takes on the versatile and exciting Fodor. Butler (3-1) has firmly established himself as one of the top light heavyweights in the division, having earned all of his victories by finishes. He possesses some of the best wrestling acumen in the sport having honed his skills as the captain of the Princeton wrestling team. Butler has been unstoppable when he utilizes his signature wrestling techniques, but he has also improved his striking skills while training with Muay Thai world champions at Evolve MMA in Singapore. Haraki is the best light heavyweight in New Zealand a Muay Thai champion who has an arsenal of devastating kicks and elbows. He now gets an opportunity to shine on Asias largest stage and has a stiff test in front of him. This is a classic match-up of striker against grappler and Haraki will be determined to ensure that the striker reigns supreme.

THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Football
Honda breaks Serie A duck with vital winner

23

KEISUkE Honda answered his critics by scoring the winner for AC Milan, his maiden Serie A goal, in a precious 2-1 win at Genoa on Monday which maintained the Rossoneris hopes of European football next season. Honda has failed to live up to expectations for Clarence Seedorfs ailing side since joining the club from CSKA Moscow in October. But after Adel Taarabt had given the visitors a 20th-minute lead with a wonderful strike at a packed Luigi Ferraris Stadium his third goal in eight league games Honda latched on to the Moroccans pass in the 56th minute to ride a challenge from onrushing goalkeeper Mattia Perin and watch the ball roll into the net. AFP

Spurs give under-fire coach Sherwood a boost

TottENham manager Tim Sherwood received a muchneeded boost as Harry Kanes first Premier League goal inspired a 5-1 rout of struggling Sunderland on Monday. Sherwood had declined to comment on his future in the hours before kick-off at White Hart Lane after a report claimed he would be dismissed at the end of the season. The former Tottenham midfielder was only appointed to replace the sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December, but his position has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks following a disappointing run of results. AFP

Spanish press trying to affect Neymar: Scolari

Heading for trouble

Benca defender Luis da Silva Luisao (right) vies with Rio Ave goalkeeper Ederson Moraes during their Portuguese league football match at Luz stadium in Lisbon on Monday. Benca won the game 4-0, their ninth straight league victory, to move seven points clear at the top of the table with only four games left to play. AFP

Minburi Eagles shoot up highest in week 33

Dan Riley

United wait on Rooney for Bayern second leg

MANcHesteR UnitedsWayne Rooney faces a race against time to be t for tonights Champions League quarternal, second-leg at Bayern Munich with the hosts winless in their last three matches. European champions Bayern suffered their rst Bundesliga defeat for 18 months when they were beaten 1-0 at Augsburg on Saturday following last Tuesdays 1-1 rst-leg draw with United at Old Trafford. Centre-back Nemanja Vidics header put United ahead in the rst-leg at Old Trafford only for Bayerns Bastian Schweinsteiger equaliser before being sent off for a second yellow card on the stroke of 90 minutes. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola has described tonights second-leg at the Allianz Arena as a matter of life or death for holders Munich, who have made no secret of their desire to become the rst team to defend the Champions League title. Uniteds hopes hinge on Rooney, who missed Saturdays 4-0 league win at Newcastle United with a badly bruised toe and the 28-year-olds absence would be a big blow to Uniteds chances of progressing to the next stage.

He Premier League delivered yet another barnstorming round blessed with a bounty of goals and assists to boost points tallies in the Cellcard Fantasy League over the long weekend. Only two xtures managed to produce less than two goals each, although both were vital 1-0 wins for relegation struck sides.Routs for Tottenham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Man United, Everton and Man City, meanwhile, were welcomed by many a manager. The most prolic individual of Gameweek 33s was Man United midelder Juan Mata, who has quickly refound his form with his new club after his embittered exit from title chasers Chelsea during the January transfer window.

The Spaniard scored twice and set up another, with a clean sheet and bonus pushing his weekly total to an impressive 19 points. Crystal Palaces Jason Puncheon grabbed his own brace and clean sheet to take home 16 points, while fellow midelders Christian Eriksen of Tottenham and Steven Gerrard of Liverpool amassed 15 points a piece. The weekly contest was comfortably won by James Hutchinson with his team Minburi Eagles FC collecting 91 points. Hutchinson clinched the Cellcard goodies of a US$20 phone voucher and T-shirt through a familiar captaining of Liverpools Luis Suarez for 10 points, while the squad was also bolstered by the inclusions of Mata, Gerrard and Evertons Romelu Lukaku (12 points). As we enter the nal ve rounds of the season, things are staying interesting in the overall standings. Matt Culis PPFC (2,171 points) maintains his slender six-

point advantage over Sabina Lawreniuks Why always me?, with Dominic Fields 2BelgesJusquenMai a relatively distant third on 2,116. The concurrently running facebook fanpage competition (Cellcard Fantasy) posed the question: What will be the total amount of goals scored in gameweek 32? Apparently the clue was in the question as the answer was 32, with the tie-breaker of which game would have the most goals turning out to be Tottenhams 5-1 romp over bottom club Sunderland. Only one user, Rena Cool, managed to guess both answers correctly and deservedly gets the $10 phone voucher prize. Gameweek 34 extends out into the middle of next week, with the Man City v Liverpool clash on Sunday capturing the lions share of attention. Its worth noting that Man City, Sunderland, Everton and Crystal Palace all have double headers in the round, while Man United and Hull are not featuring.

Simeone counting on crowd

Diego Simeone has called on the Atletico Madrid fans to contribute to a memorable night as they host Barcelona in the second leg of their quarternal tonight. The tie is level at 1-1 as Neymars equaliser cancelled out Diegos incredible strike for Atletico to ensure there has still not been a winner in four meetings between the sides so far this season. Simeone was seen imploring the crowd at the Vicente Calderon to raise the noise levels as Atletico held on for a 1-0 win at home to Villarreal on Saturday to maintain their place at the top of La Liga. And the Argentine wants more of the same to help his side get over the line against four-time European champions Barca. When people ask why do we support Atleti, it is for this, he said. We are passionate, humble, work hard and if we have to suffer, we suffer. Both games kick off tonight at 1:45am Cambodian time.
AFP

ThE Spanish press are orchestrating a campaign to try and destabilise Barcelonas Brazilian star Neymar ahead of this years World Cup finals Brazil coach Felipe Scolari claimed on Monday. Scolari told a press conference in Lisbon that stories about 22-year-old Neymars diving to obtain penalties and controversy over his transfer last summer from Santos were all aimed at putting him off his game as Brazil prepared to host the global football showpiece in June. Neymars case is really simple, only those who close their eyes cant see it clearly for what it is, said Scolari, who guided Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title. Neymar is often criticised by the Spanish press because it has a vested interest that he is not at his best at the World Cup. AFP

Pakistan street children return to huge welcome

PakIStaNS street children footballers returned home yesterday to jubilant scenes after clinching the bronze medal in Brazil, with captain Sameer Ahmed hailing the once in a lifetime experience. Around 4,000 people gathered at Karachi airport to welcome the children back home in an overwhelming display normally reserved for the countrys cricketers, Pakistans main representatives in international sports. afp

MONdaYs REsUlTs
Spanish La Liga Italian Serie A
Levante 1 Athletic Bilbao 2 Juventus 2 Livorno 0

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THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 9, 2014

Sport
He University of Connecticut kept their perfect championship game record intact by claiming their fourth NCAA national title on Monday with a 60-54 victory over the University of Kentucky. Shabazz Napier scored 22 points for the Huskies, who have won all four national championship games they have competed in. Their four titles have all come in the last 15 years, comprising 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014. The Huskies never trailed and survived a 19-5 Kentucky Wildcats run spanning the rst and second half at the AT&T Center. We did it together. They won as a group and this was great, said Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie. Mondays win capped an improbable run through the US college basketball tournament by Connecticut, who are the rst number seven seed to play in the nal. The Huskies opened the tournament by surviving a second-round clash with Saint Josephs, 89-81 in overtime. That was followed by a third-round upset of second-

Huskies claim fourth NCAA crown T

Shabazz Napier of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Mens Championship game. AFP

seeded Villanova, 77-65. They next beat Iowa State, 81-76, and then the East Regional division nal pitted the Huskies against Michigan State. Connecticut pulled off another surprise with a 60-54 victory. Next

up was a nal four bout with number one overall seed Florida which UConn won 63-53. UConn now owns a 58-29 overall record in the NCAA tournament, spanning 31 appearances.

This is what happens when you bend us, but we dont break, said Napier. The 2014 national championship game comprised the two lowest seeded teams in NCAA tournament

history. Kentucky was seeking its ninth national title and second in three years. They beat Kansas 67-59 for the 2012 title. The loss also snapped their 11-game NCAA tournament win streak. We had our chances to win, said Kentucky coach John Calipari. We hung in there. These kids never gave up. We just didnt have enough. We missed the shots and free throws we needed to make. James Young had 20 points to lead Kentucky and regular-season leading scorer Julius Randle tallied 10 points. The Wildcats, who came out of the Midwest Region as a number eight seed, trailed 30-15 with six minutes left in the rst half. The way we started the game probably cost us the game, said Calipari. Someone asked why we started that way. Duh, theyre freshmen. They were terried. Ryan Boatright added 14 points for the Huskies and Niels Giffey scored 10. Boatright stayed in the game despite twisting his right ankle in the second half. AFP

Thongchai aims for major milestone at US Masters

THAI veteran star Thongchai Jaidee intends to complete a personal Major milestone when he makes his third appearance at the Masters Tournament starting on Thursday in Georgia. The three-time Asian Tour number one did not make it through to the weekend rounds in his previous visits to Augusta National Golf Club in 2006 and 2010 but will be hoping to be third-time lucky in the years opening Major. I have played in all four rounds of the other three Major championships but not at the Masters Tournament. It would be my goal to make the halfway cut this time so that I get to complete my own Grand Slam of made cuts in the Majors, said the 44-year-old. His confidence was given a massive boost after he masterminded Team Asias stunning fightback to share the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM with Europe two weeks ago in the Ryder Cupstyle match in Malaysia. Thongchai, the Asian captain, contributed one and half points that included a convincing 3-and-2 win over Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland in the singles. His leadership sparked an amazing Asian comeback as Europe had entered the last day with a 7-3 lead before the match ended in a thrilling 10-10 tie. We had an amazing week at the EurAsia Cup, which prepared me well for the Masters Tournament, said Thongchai, who is currently ranked 51st in the world. It will be great to return to Augusta National after missing it for several years. It is a very special tournament and it is good to be amongst the top players in the world. The venue is also one of the best on Tour and I will be hoping to play well. Thongchai said his emphasis for the week would be to master the treacherous and slick greens at Augusta National. We all know that the greens at Augusta National are very tricky, very putt hard to putt on. I have been working hard on my putting and hope to spend as much time as possible on the greens at Augusta National to know them better, said the Thai. If I can putt well, then I know I will have a chance to compete well during the week. When I played at Augusta National twice previously, I found it a real challenge to putt well on the greens. Thongchai will be joined by Koreas YE Yang and KJ Choi, Ernie Els of South Africa and Vijay Singh of Fiji, who are all Asian Tour honorary members, at Augusta National. Former Asian Tour winner Bae Sangmoon of Korea and Korean amateur Lee Chang-woo, the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, will also tee up this week at the Masters Tournament along with Japans Hideki Matsuyama. THE ASIAN TOUR

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand will look to make the halfway cut at this weeks US Masters at Augusta National in Georgia. AFP