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Meas Sokchea and Kevin Ponniah

PRIME Minister Hun Sen and opposi-tion leader Sam Rainsy spoke on the phone for nearly an hour yesterday and have reached a good agreement on National Election Committee reform, Rainsy said, paving the way for a deal that could soon see the Cam-bodia National Rescue Party end its more than six-month long parliamen-tary boycott.

According to Rainsy, only one point remains to be decided between the two leaders the date of an early national election but the CNRP leader is cautiously optimistic that the ruling party will respond posi-tively to his partys latest proposal, the date of which he declined to specify.

A senior Cambodian Peoples Party official said yesterday that his party was open to a deal that could see the election moved forward a few months for logistical purposes.

We have moved forward. We have

a man fires up a chainsaw in a village in preah Vihear province. Villagers in three districts have been clearing areas of forest at will for timber exports. MAY TITTHARA

May TittharaPreah Vihear province

THE scale of mass logging in once-dense woodlands in Cambodias north now more closely resembles the free-

for-all of a gold rush than the sustain-able forestry more often associated with these communities.

With the financial backing of power-ful businessmen, villagers in three districts of Preah Vihear are clear-felling at will, transporting the logs on

homemade tractors to their houses, ready for Try Pheaps MDS Import Export Co Ltd to carry them to the border with Vietnam.

Pheap has a licence to collect and transport timber impounded by For-estry officials in the province and logs cleared from economic land conces-sions. But the licence does not permit his company to pay villagers to log in community forests.

Nearly every household here has at least one chainsaw at the ready for the daily harvest. In two months, MDS will move its operations to another prov-ince Stung Treng as it becomes less profitable to continue the trade here.

The tractors, overladen with rare thnong wood, travel freely in Chey Sen districts Thmear commune, unhindered by security forces and officials.

The boss comes to buy timber at peoples homes, and they spray paint a notification of purchase, says Thong Kosal, a resident protesting against the logging in one village in the commune.

But I do not know what it [the paint] says, because it is written in French. At night, after they collect it, they will transport it from the village.

Kosal says a representative of MDS

came to the village, asking them to go into the forest and clear as much as possible. Traders from the company arrive in the evening to weigh and price the stacks of wood piled under each house.

Villagers say the authorities are tol-erating this great rush to log Preah Vihear because they have been bought off by the company.

Since before and after the election results, Try Pheap and his representative

A logging free-for-allP Vihear villagers levelling forest for MDS

Continues on page 6

Continues on page 2

NEC reform agreed on, Rainsy says

National2 THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Continued from page 1

come to an agreement on the composition and the indepen-dence of the electoral commis-sion, which was called the National Election Committee, but in future, lets [just] call it the electoral commission, rainsy said yesterday evening.

We have agreed that this electoral commission will be a constitutionally mandated body for the organisation of any future election, and we have also agreed that [its] composition will be jointly de-cided by the two parties and needs an agreement of the two parties. This is a good agree-ment, and we are all satisfied with that.

The CNrp had previously demanded that NEC mem-bers require the approval of two-thirds of parliament, but if you read between the lines, [yesterdays agreement] is even better than a two-thirds agree-ment, because it requires mu-tual consensus, rainsy said.

On the remaining issue of bringing forward the national election, which is currently scheduled for July 2018, the difference [between the par-ties] is not that far, according to the opposition leader, with the CNrp awaiting a response to a final counter-proposal of a date he wouldnt specify.

The Cpp has previously re-sisted an earlier election, say-ing it would be unconstitu-tional to dissolve the assembly before the end of its mandate.

The agreements being ham-mered out would require the parties to work together to

amend the constitution and the election law in parliament, which was opened by the King in September with only 68 Cpp lawmakers present.

Several senior Cpp officials could not be reached for com-ment yesterday to verify rain-sys claims.

Chheang Vun, spokesman for the National assembly and member of the Cpps ne-gotiating team, said the Cpp was against an early election but was amicable to a deal that would see the election brought forward slightly for logistical purposes.

it is difficult [for people to vote] in rainy months, so may-be the [election date] could be changed a little. This could happen, he said.

Vun declined to comment further about talks between Hun Sen and rainsy, includ-ing any agreement on NEC re-form, saying he was not privy to the top-level discussions.

NEC president im Suosdey said yesterday he had heard about the discussions but did not wish to comment. When asked about the NEC being scrapped in favour of a new elections body and its current members removed, he said, i dont have any interest in those issues. What i am doing is based on the legal procedure.

While the CNrp backed switching the poll date to the dry season, to make voting easier, it wants the election date moved further back than just a few months, rainsy said.

according to CNrp lawmak-er-elect Eng Chhay Eang, the two leaders spoke for more than 45 minutes yesterday af-ter a preliminary call between rainsy and interior Minister Sar Kheng to set up the talks.

The pair also discussed the CNrp obtaining a TV licence and an earlier date for the next commune council elections, he said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA

Hun Sen, rainsy close in on deal

atmospheric hole discoveredLaignee Barron

SCiENTiSTS have dis-covered a new phe-nomenon in the skies above Southeast asia:

a huge, invisible hole in the atmospheres lowest layer that may exacerbate the effects of Cambodias climate change.

The hole roughly twice the length of New Zealand and concentrated just east of the philippines is really an ab-sence of what scientists call the OH shield, the atmospheres filtering, detergent layer that breaks down pollutants before they wreak havoc farther up.

Under normal circumstanc-es, pollutants are reduced in the OH shield, absorbed by water vapour and washed out by rain. But with no OH shield, the polluting substances in the Western pacific travel to high-er altitudes where their ozone-depleting effect is amplified.

You can imagine this region as a giant elevator to the strato-sphere, said Markus rex, an atmospheric physicist who led the team of researchers from the alfred Wegener institute that discovered the hole.

Climatologists have known about the degradation of the ozone the stratospheric layer that deflects dangerous ultra-violet radiation from the sun

since the 1980s, but the rate of depletion theyre seeing is faster than models predicted.

rex and his research team set out to measure ozone levels in 2009, and years later, after hundreds of tests, confirmed the giant, natural OH hole.

There are no indications that this is a recent develop-ment or has been caused by human activities. We believe this is a natural phenomenon that has been there for a long time, rex said.

While the hole in the atmo-spheres filtering system may not be human-caused, it is expected to exacerbate the an-

thropogenic forces of climate change, including rising air pollution levels in the region.

its obvious that these chemicals have an effect on climate change and there will be impacts to Southeast asia, we just dont know exactly what those changes will be yet, rex said.

Experts say its too early to take mitigation measures.

it normally takes a few years from scientific discovery, to understanding the causes, to identifying solutions, said Napoleon Navarro, deputy country director at the UNDp Cambodia.

To start piecing together how the OH hole will fit into the climate-change puzzle, the EU is funding a $12.5 mil-lion Strato-Clim monitoring centre. Meanwhile, scientists are predicting worldwide re-percussions.

if the emissions are trans-ported up to the stratosphere . . . they have the potential to not only have impacts in Southeast asia and Cambo-dia, but globally as well, said Erika von Schneidemesser, an atmospheric research scientist at the German-based institute for advanced Sustainability Studies.

A rice farmer plants crops in a dried-up paddy in Kampong Speus Kong Pisei district in 2012. Scientists have discovered a large hole in the atmospheres lowest layer above Southeast Asia. HENG CHIVOAN

Chemicals for drugs seized in KandalCheang Sokha

THirTY tonnes of chemicals that can be used in the production of illegal drugs were seized yesterday in Kandal province by interior Ministry officials.

Brigadier General long Sreng, deputy director of the anti-economic crimes department, said yesterday that a Chinese national had been detained in the raid.

These chemical precursors were imported from China without a licence, he said. We closed the warehouse tempo-rarily for further inspection.

He added that while the chemicals were also used to make a number of household

products, they could be used as precursors to manufacture drugs.

Since a number of raids in 2006 uncov-ered vast methamphetamine production facilities, Cambodia is thought to have begun to transition from a role as a drug trafficking route to a centre of production.

Further raids on drugs labs in recent years have uncovered evidence that Cam-bodia is moving into drug production and experimentation, with some narcotics des-tined for foreign markets, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the US State Department.

The drugs are often transported over land or smuggled in ship containers,

according to the UNODC.Kandal provincial police commissioner

Eav Chamroeun said the suspect had rent-ed property in Saang districts Svay rolum commune to be used as a delivery hub.

He added that the precursors could be used to make a number of household items, such as shampoo and vinegar, but in this case, the arrest had been made because the importer was operating without a licence.

This is the first case in our province [this year], he said. police forces and the pros-ecutor have cooperated for the raid and the suspect was sent to [the] interior Ministry.

Kandal provincial Court is due to file offi-cial charges against the suspect today.

CORRECTIONThe Tuesday article Palace says Kings name still intact should have identified Oum Daravuth as adviser to the secretariat of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath and not as the Kings cabinet chief.

National3THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Kevin Ponniah and Vong Sokheng

GOVErNMENT officials yes-terday continued to decline to comment on a leaked draft law on cybercrime that con-tains provisions rights groups say are very concerning to freedom of expression online.

article 19, the london-based group that obtained an English-language leaked draft, said in a statement that with a draft in the publics hands au-thorities could no longer de-flect the legitimate concerns of civil society organisations.

But phay Siphan, spokesman from the Council of Ministers, reiterated yesterday that only once an official document was released would the gov-ernment engage in dialogue.

He added, however, that in the meantime the government would consider NGO ideas and suggestions on how the law could be improved.

We welcome to any input from the NGOs, but we reserve our right to make any decision according to the interests of the nation, he said.

information Minister Khieu Kanharith, when asked wheth-er the government wished to control social media, sim-ply responded: i told you

nearly [a] million times. No.He added that the law stipu-

lates that any offences com-mitted through the media must be dealt with [through] the press law, but wasnt sure if this included social media.

The draft law would crimi-nalise online publications that defame the government or af-fect political cohesiveness.

preap Kol, executive director of Transparency international Cambodia, said the lack of transparency validates con-cerns about its motivation.

i think the few millions of people, especially the youth, who are active internet us-ers need to have their say on this law, and the government should consider listening to them or risk losing their sup-port, he said.

Naly pilorge, director of rights group licadho, said the internet, effectively the fre-est media space, should be protected not attacked, and called on officials to release a copy of the draft in Khmer.

if the government is inter-ested in an open, participato-ry approach . . . there is noth-ing that prevents them from sharing drafts and receiving comments at each stage in the process.

Government silent on cybercrimes draft law

Unions drum up strike supportMom Kunthear and Sean Teehan

aT THE site where security forces shot dead at least four people during a na-

tionwide strike on January 3, union leaders yesterday passed out fliers encouraging workers to join a stay-at-home strike after Khmer New Year.

When workers filed out of Canadia industrial parks gates for their 11am lunch break, Seam Sambath, president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation, made his case to passing garment workers ac-tion similar to that which re-sulted in a unionist being de-tained in Svay rieng province on Sunday.

We must work together in order to help workers earn higher wages and enjoy better living conditions, he said.

authorities did not interfere with the group, from at least three unions, as it handed out fliers about the strike, sched-uled for april 17 to april 22, to workers at several factories along Veng Sreng Boulevard.

The 18 unions that signed the flier demand the Minis-try of labour raise the $100 minimum monthly garment wage to $160 and drop charg-es against 23 people arrested

during demonstrations on January 2 and 3.

in a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Garment Manufacturers association in Cambodia say the labour Ministry already set the 2014 minimum wage, and that cas-es against the 23 defendants 21 of whom are still detained are a court matter.

Yesterdays flier distribution came amid a week of mul-tiple measures taken against unionists in Cambodia.

On Sunday, police in Svay rieng temporarily detained a Collective Union of Move-ment of Workers member who was delivering about 5,000 fliers to other union activists. police released him after three hours, but kept the fliers.

a phnom penh Municipal Court prosecutor charged Coalition of Cambodian ap-parel Workers Democratic Union (C.CaWDU) president ath Thorn and union member pav phanna with incitement

on Tuesday, stemming from a four-month C.CaWDU-led strike at Sl Garment.

Thorn will be charged $25,000 bail, to be paid with-in 15 days of receipt of the judges official letter, which Kim Socheat, Thorns attor-ney, expects to receive by the end of the week.

phanna is required to report to police once a month, while neither are allowed to leave Cambodia during the course of the investigation.

Union members head out information leaflets about scheduled workers strikes in front of the Canadia Indus-trial Park on Veng Sreng Boulevard yesterday in Phnom Penh. HENG CHIVOAN

National4 THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Wife gets 30 years for gory killingKhouth Sophak Chakrya

SVaY rieng provincial Court on Tuesday convicted Kuo Chan-dany, 21, of premeditated mur-der for first electrocuting, then cleaving and slitting the throat of her husband last august, court vice prosecutor Sam Sarun said yesterday.

after questioning her for more than three hours, Khy Chhay, the presiding judge, sentenced the aforementioned woman to 30 years in jail, and ordered her to pay 40 million riel [about $10,000] to the par-ents or family of her husband on the charge of premeditated murder, Sarun said.

according to Sarun, on august 10, 2013, Chandany electrocut-ed her husband, then struck him three times in the head with a cleaver before dragging him out of the house and slitting his throat. Chandany then began crying, and told police that she had found her husband mur-dered and robbed.

police, however, found blood-stains inside the house and she reportedly confessed to the act, saying she was angry about her husbands philandering and neglect of their daughter.

Khouth Sophak Chakyra

THE governor of ratanakkiri provinces lumphat district will face arrest if he fails to ap-pear for a second summons to ratanakkiri provincial Court to answer questions about his alleged involvement in the il-legal logging of protected land around the OuSinlair waterfall, the court said yesterday.

The OuSinlair logging scan-dal has already seen a district land management chief and a local businessman detained and charged with illegal log-ging, and yesterday, provincial court director Sous lar said that lumphat governor Kong Srun could also find himself locked up if he fails to make his scheduled april 23 appearance for questioning.

The court will release an ar-rest warrant and initiate what-ever the courts procedures are in the event that he will not come and shed light on the case as [ordered] in the second letter, lar said.

lar said Srun had already failed to appear for a March 28 appearance to clarify his alleged role in ordering the clearing of forest in the OuSinlair Sanctuary.

Deputy provincial Forestry

administration director phan phoeun said yesterday that he suspected Kong Srun might be the person behind this crime.

Thats why he was asked to shed light on the case at the court after the court had ar-rested two suspects accused of being accomplices in clear-ing the forest in the protected area, he said.

last Wednesday, Srun said that he had come to phnom penh for a meeting, and had taken time off from work be-cause he was ill.

But according to Chhay Thy, provincial coordinator for the rights group adhoc, villagers in lumphat district said that Srun had actually come to phnom penh to seek the pro-tection of a high-ranking Min-istry of interior official.

Srun could not be reached for comment yesterday, how-ever a woman who answered the phone and identified her-self as his wife said that Srun is in hospital in phnom penh for treatment of a serious heart condition.

However, lar, the provincial court director said yesterday that, the court needs evidence that is confirmed by the doc-tor, or else the court will not believe or accept this claim.

Jail time for governor if summons ignored

acid services reducedAmelia Woodside

WiTH acid attacks in steep decline not a single attack has been

recorded so far this year the only organisation working di-rectly with acid survivors on the ground is scaling back its services by 75 per cent.

Cambodian acid Survivors Charity (CaSC) is no longer providing educational support for the children of survivors, transportation to the organi-sations monthly survivor sup-port meetings and has reduced its staff by one employee.

as a whole, we have scaled down, but were still provid-ing services, just on a limited scale, said Erin Bourgois, a program manager at CaSC, adding that the organisation intended to make sure that no one was left behind.

The Kingdoms reported number of acid attacks has fallen significantly. after peak-ing at 27 in 2010, only three were recorded last year.

Funding has been rolled back as a result, said Bourgois, but remains available if needed.

Were hoping the govern-ment will take the lead in providing medical support to survivors through the Ministry

of Health, and psychosocial services through the Minis-try of Social affairs, which is outlined under the acid law, Bourgois said.

But at least one government ministry spokesman charged with providing aid to acid survivors said no program tailored to victims of an acid attack or accident existed.

This ministry has no such program for helping acid vic-tims, said Ngoun Sokkry, a communications officer for the Ministry of Social affairs.

Health Minister Man Bun

Heng and Social affairs Min-ister Vong Sauth could not be reached for comment.

Ou Virak, Cambodian Center for Human rights chairman, urged caution when it comes to relying on the government to provide the support servic-es necessary to rehabilitate acid survivors.

The government has a tra-dition of exporting basic rights like medical services to NGOs instead of stepping up and solving the problem them-selves, he said. ADDITIONAL RE-PORTING BY MOM KUNTHEAR

Tes Pha, the victim of a severe acid attack in Battambang, sits on a bed at the Childrens Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh last year. HONG MENEA

National5THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Continued from page 1

Sreang Meng have come to the commune to encourage people in the village to go log the forest to sell, Kosal says.

About $10 is paid to the po-lice and forestry officials per tractor load, villagers say. The money flowing into this com-munity has turned previously ardent conservationists into lumberjacks. In one village in Thmear commune, locals es-timate that on any given day 3 million riel ($750) worth of protected thnong wood sits ready for its long journey to the carpenters workshops of Vietnam and China. By the time it reaches Vietnam,, the same haul can fetch about $9,000 for MDS.

Currently, doing forest business is easier, Kosal says. Previously, police and sol-diers did the business, but now it is the peoples turn.

Try Pheap declined to com-ment on the allegations this week, initially saying a re-porter called the wrong num-ber before adding I am in France. Pheaps represen-tative in Preah Vihear, Ouk Kimsan, who is also a former director of Pursat provinces Forestry Administration, and Meng could not be reached.

Logging has intensified in Cambodia over the past five years, according to several recent studies. Satellite data from NASA analysed by Open Development Cambodia in December last year estimated that about a third of the coun-trys total forest cover has been lost since 1973. The figure is likely higher, as it includes

cash crop plantations such as rubber.

Chheang Vuthy, a forest activist in Preah Vihear, says the last scraps of forest in the province will be gone if Pheaps company continues to provide incentives for the villagers to log.

We are allowed to do busi-ness at our will without fear-ing arrest, because the com-pany pays the authorities. This has taken place since the company arrived. They do not make arrests and they allow us to do whatever we want. They do business like theyre har-vesting cassava, he says.

Vuthy says that while lo-cal communities have always logged and made use of the forest resources, without the companies presence, there would be no danger of the for-est disappearing altogether.

Without Try Pheap and Sreang Meng here, the forest would be sustained, he says.

The loggers say that since the clear-felling business in

Preah Vihear mushroomed in mid-2013, it has become less profitable for MDS to contin-ue to operate there. The next target, they say, is neighbour-ing Stung Treng province.

The forest there [in Preah Vihear] is gone. The govern-ment cannot deny that the forest is logged. It is logged out, says Pha Doung, a lum-

berjack in the Sre Veal area of Thmear commune, adding that he has recently been on MDS-sponsored logging trips to Stung Treng.

A logger in Sangkum Thmey district, who claims to work for Pheap, says the logs piled on his truck were owned by Meng and a former senior in-telligence official.

We transport it for Try Pheap. I just transport it for

them. I cannot say how much I am paid. But if we commit forest crimes, we will make much money, he says.

Since the fatal shooting of forest activist Chut Wutty in 2012, Chhim Savuth has spearheaded the struggle to end industrial-scale logging. He describes how Pheaps company MDS has driven vil-

lagers to carry out work that would normally be reserved for company employees.

Savuth blames the former intelligence official, along with local businessmen and his deputy, Kimsan, for the deluge of illegal logging.

He estimates 190 cubic me-tres of timber has been ex-ported daily to Vietnam since MDS started collecting from locals in Sangkum Thmey, Chreb and Chey Sen districts In May.

Try Pheaps company is re-sponsible for transporting all the timber to Vietnam via the Dong 7 checkpoint in Memot district, Kampong Cham prov-ince, he says. They charge $1,800 per cubic metre.

If the figures are accurate, this means MDS is raking in $360,000 each day from this provincial business alone.

Cambodia is often praised by the UN for having strong conservation laws, however Savuth says that what is done in law and in practice are worlds apart.

Without hope for illegal logging prevention, people cut down trees to sell for compa-nies, because they think that if they do not cut it, timber trad-ers will, he says.

Chheng Kimsun, director general of the Forestry Admin-istration, could not be reached for comment.

Sen Chey districts forestry chief, Chhim Sok Sivutha, said Pheaps MDS firm was not li-censed to collect and transport wood in the area, but declined to comment as to the inaction of the authorities.

According to a report by the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force, Pheaps companies are licensed to buy wood from 27 economic land concessions in 12 provinces, as well as from its own concessions, which cover about 70,000 hectares in 10 provinces.

Sat Yorn, chief of police in Chey Sen district, said the au-thorities had banned the log-gers from blanket-felling the forests. But we cannot stop them completely.

National6 THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 10, 2014

poliCeblotterFoolish robber commitscrime in front of policeONE mans ambitions to be the next criminal genius went dis-astrously awry in Kratie on Tuesday when he tried to com-mit a robbery in the full sight of the police. The clumsy criminal spotted his potential victim, a female student driving home from school, and pulled out a knife, ready to make a speedy getaway on her moto. But his plans were foiled when police, who had been watching the entire thing, put him in cuffs. DEum Ampil

Mob turns bruised thief over to the authoritiesRESiDENTS in Banteay meancheys poipet district taught the police a thing or two about solving crimes on Tues-day when they nabbed a local thief. A 22-year-old thought it was his lucky day when he stumbled across an unlocked car with more than $100 and a laptop inside. But he wasnt counting on the victim rallying the local community, who quickly chased him down and sent him straight to the police station. KOh SANTEphEAp

Aggrieved casts first stone at his neighbourWhilE most people try to talk through their differences with nuisance neighbours, one man in Kandals Saang district went for the less common approach throwing rocks. The 27-year-old suspect was getting fed up with seeing another mans car parked in front of his house when, in a fit of rage, he decided that instead of talking to the driver, the best approach was to throw rocks at the car. unfortu-nately for him, the rocks didnt move the vehicle and he was soon arrested. KAmpuchEA ThmEy

More bark than purr as cat burglars fall flatA GANG of wannabe cat bur-glars sounded more like a pack of dogs when they tried to rob a house in Banteay meancheys poipet district on monday night, accidentally attracting neigh-bours attention. According to police, the four suspects made off with five computers as well as money and other belongings during their night-time robbery. But disgruntled neighbours called in the police who promptly returned the property to the victim, leaving the bur-glars with nothing but a court date. KAmpuchEA ThmEy

Savage beating leavesvictim seriously injured A BRuTAl gang attack in pur-sat town on Tuesday has left a 20-year-old man in serious condition. police said the victim was leaving his home when he was attacked by a group of three men. While no weapons were used, the man was left in critical condition after the brawl. police are still searching for the attackers. KOh SANTEphEAp

translated by Sen David

Flood repair bill under estimateSen David

THE National Com-mittee for Disaster Management (NCDM) released a report yes-

terday showing that only $356 million was spent on the res-toration of infrastructure de-stroyed by last years floods far below the $500 million in dam-age estimated beforehand.

Nhim Vanda, vice chair-man of the NCDM, said that after the floods receded, the committee anticipated $500 million in damage, but that reports showed a much lower repairs bill across the coun-try once local authorities had completed the restorations.

We saw that we lost so much in the flood damage in 2013, [but] we found that only $356 million was spent [after we re-stored the infrastructure].

The report studied the so-cial, economic and infrastruc-ture sectors in order to assess the costs of the clean-up.

About 1.8 million people in 20 provinces were affected by the waters last year, 168 of whom were killed, Vanda said.

More than 1,000 schools, 78 hospitals and health centres,

as well as other buildings and roads were destroyed. More than 120,000 hectares of rice fields and other crops were also damaged, he added.

Farmer Chan Veasna re-counted the devastation the floods inflicted on his house and crops in Battambangs Bavel district.

After my farm was dam-aged, I started to grow anew, but [Im still awaiting] the re-sult. That is why now I must find a job as a labourer in an-other country to support my family and build a new house in my homeland.

NCDM also called on local authorities to prepare for the floods looming this year, and to educate the population on precautions to avoid similar damage as past seasons.

Kong Sok, a commune chief in Poipet, said that Banteay Meanchey was the province most severely affected by last years floods, but that its infra-structure was now restored.

Now, we will face the dam-age ahead in 2014, Sok said.

Local authorities have come to meet the residents to prepare them for the com-ing floods.

Three face life for heroin buth reaksmey Kongkea

THREE foreign nationals living in Cambodia are facing life sentences on heroin-traffick-ing charges.

The three suspects a Nige-rian man, an Australian wom-an and a French teenager were tried yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court for attempting to smuggle more than two kilograms of heroin from Cambodia to Australia.

Nigerian national Precious Chneme Nwoko, 23; Austral-ian national Ann Yoshe Taylor, 41, and French citizen Char-lene Savarino, 19, were charged yesterday with drug traffick-ing, according to presiding judge Kor Vandy.

Lieutenant Colonel Kong Narin, deputy chief of the Anti-Terrorism Department, said the foreigners are suspected members of an international drug-trafficking ring and were investigated for three months last year before being arrested on September 18.

Taylor and Savarino were arrested together at Phnom Penh International Airport, according to Narin.

They were arrested while they were preparing to depart for Australia, he said, adding that police seized 2.2 kilograms of heroin from their luggage.

Nwoko, Savarinos boy-friend, was arrested at his rental house in Chamkarmon districts Phsar Deum Thkov Commune later the same night after Taylor and Savarino were questioned.

All three suspects yesterday denied any involvement in a drug-trafficking ring, and asked that the court drop the charges and release them.

Taylor and Savarino both said that the luggage did not belong to them, but to Nwoko, who was sending them to an unidentified man living in Australia.

I did not know that there were drugs hiding inside [the

luggage]. If I had known, I would not have been involved with it, Savarino said.

Nwoko also denied owning the luggage and claimed that it belonged to another Nigerian man named Anto who escaped.

Two Thai women were sen-tenced to life in prison last month for smuggling cocaine from Brazil to Cambodia, and in February this year, two Vietnamese methampheta-mine dealers were also hand-ed life sentences.

A verdict in the case of the three foreigners tried yester-day will be handed down on May 7.

French national Charlene Savarino leaves Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after being tried on drug-trafficking charges. ViREAK mAi

A logging free-for-all in Preah Vihear forest

A man in Preah Vihear province heads back to a drop-off point with a truck carrying timber that was felled by local villagers. mAy TiTThARA

Currently, doing forest business is easier. Previously, police and soldiers did [it],

but now it is the peoples turn

7THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Business

Emaxx announces $148m telecom infrastructure planEddie Morton

iNTErNET service provider (iSp) Emaxx yesterday said it would scrap its retail operations and invest $148 mil-lion in telecommunications infrastruc-ture with work beginning in October.

representatives from Emaxx hosted a news conference at the Sofitel phnom penh touting the move, which they say will elevate the company to become Cambodias largest wholesale optic fibre and 4G network supplier.

Emaxx CEO ai Min said the com-pany had finalised the purchase of 3000 kilometres of existing optic fibre network from Cambodia Fibre Optic

Communication Network a Chinese-owned telecommunications infra-structure supplier.

The optic fibre network will support the construction of a nationwide 4G long-Term Evolution (4GlTE) network with up to 600 base stations scattered around the country, the CEO said.

Two $24 million data storage hubs one in Vietnam-border town Bavet and another in phnom penh will also be built, Min said. The data centres are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.

When completed, the network will be leased to retail telecommunications firms such as mobile service operators

and other iSps. Min said construction on the 4GlTE network will commence in phnom penh on October 30.

We are aiming to have 100 4GlTE base stations built around phnom penh by December this year, he said, without confirming a final completion date for the remainder of the project.

The announcement comes after Chi-nese firm Shenzhen Keybridge Com-munications (SKC) purchased a 65 per cent stake in Emaxx in January.

prior to SKCs buy-in, Emaxx pro-vided retail consumer fixed-line and wireless internet services.

SKC president Ye Qiong said the decision to focus on providing infra-

structure rather than consumer prod-ucts was simple.

We have budgeted $148 million for the new infrastructure projects . . . Now, instead of being competitors with other iSps, we will become coopera-tors, he said.

Qiong added that the new network will place Emaxx above all other whole-sale infrastructure providers in Cam-bodia, including market leaders Ezecom.

in 2011, Ezecom purchased whole-sale optic fibre company Telcotech ltd. Telcotech currently has 12,000 kilome-tres of optic fibre network, according to the companys website.

Ezecom CEO paul Blanche Horgen declined to address the SKC presidents remarks.

Deployment of more 4G networks helps the need for more broadband access by users and we welcome every one investing in this area, he said.

Earlier this week, mobile operator Beeline announced plans to launch a 4G network by the end of the year.

in January, Smart Mobile launched its 4GlTE network. Smarts network cur-rently operates from six 4GlTE base stations around phnom penh.

Smart CEO Thomas Hundt said he was unaware of Emaxxs plan and was not concerned about competition.

relocated still waiting to input on aDB planDaniel de Carteret

FaMiliES relocated to make way for Cambodias railway rehabilitation project has said the asia Development Bank has left them in the dark yet again.

in February, the banks own internal watchdog, the compli-ance review panel, released a scathing report detailing how the aDB had failed in its own safeguards to protect those affected by the $143 million project. Families forced to vacate their properties were not prop-erly consulted and had been left worse off, the Crp found.

The watchdog made recom-mendations to be implemented by a remedial action plan. The plan was to be completed within 60 days from January 31.

in a letter dated april 9 addressed to the president of the aDB in Cambodia, Eric Sidg-wick, representatives of commu-nities affected by the railway project said they were not con-sulted on the development of the action plan after given assur-ances by the aDB that they would be prior to it being sub-mitted to the banks board.

We are doubtful as to wheth-er aDB Management intends to implement the recommenda-tions as approved by the aDB Board, the letter reads.

acknowledging receipt of the letter, the aDBs Sidgwick said via email yesterday that the Bank intended to honour its agree-ment to consult those affected as soon as possible.

at this stage, as we have already stated, aDB and the Government have engaged in intensive discussions and reached agreement on key remedial actions, which will form the basis of consultations to be conducted with affected households, he said.

New bridge nears completionChan Muyhong

THE second bridge linking phnom penh to the Chroy Chang-var peninsula will be

open for traffic in December, a senior government official an-nounced yesterday.

Tram iev Teck, the minister of public works and trans-port said the construction of the 719-metre-long bridge crossing the Tonle Sap river, running parallel to the Cam-bodian-Japanese Friendship Bridge will be completed by September and be open to traffic the three months later.

Traffic has been very tight on this bridge during holidays like Khmer New Year, Water Festival and pchum Ben when people travel into and out of the city, he said, referring to congestion on the existing bridge. it is time to address the issue.

a new roundabout will also be built on the east side of river to smoothen the flow of trafffic and the existing roundabout will be removed, according to iev Teck.

Construction on the $27.5 million project began in late 2011, with funding from a loan from the Export-import Bank

of China.it is more than just major

infrastructure projects under-way in Chroy Changvar.

The commune in russey Keo district is fast developing as new businesses and hous-ing developers stream in.

Teng rithy, the general man-ager of river Town Housing project, a property developer operating in Chroy Changvar says the housing market is moving quickly.

More and more people are interested in housing here, he said.

almost 80 per cent of the houses built in the river Town

Housing project have sold since the company started construction in early 2013, rithy added.

Chrek Soknim, deputy direc-tor at VTrUST property said land prices in Chroy Chorng-var had seen a 10 per cent rise compared with last years and the new bridge would do more to complement that growth.

So now we have bridge, we see economic growth happen-ing in the area, with existence of satellite city projects and smaller house building project along National road 6, it make the demand and price of land in the region higher, he said.

But the new bridge's com-pletion has not come without sacrifice. The Post reported in august 2011 that 230 surroud-ing families were affected by the bridge and road expan-sion. Chroy Changvar com-mune Chief pich Sareoun told the Post yesterday that the is-sue has been long solved.

Those families who were af-fected by the bridge and those who were affected by road ex-pansion along with the project have agreed to the compensa-tion evaluated by the interior Ministry.

it was solved, and there is no more problem.

Cranes loom over the Chroy Changva Bridge on Sunday in Phnom Penh as construction continues with the goal of having the bridge operational by the years end. hoNG MENEA

USD / JPY

103.88

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1.2616

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6.209

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7.7569

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32.44

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

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Business8 THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Fraud fallout

Banks suing Olympus for $273 million

OLYMPUS Corp is being sued by six banks for a total of 27.9 billion ($273 million) in damages, the largest amount among civil lawsuits filed against the Japanese camera and endo-scope maker over a 13-year accounting fraud.

The banks seek compensa-tion for damages resulting from false financial state-ments filed by Olympus between fiscal 2000 and the first quarter of fiscal 2011, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement yesterday. Olym-pus said it received a notice from the plaintiffs attorneys that the lawsuit was filed April 7 and hasnt yet been served with the suit.

Olympus in November low-ered its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March, cit-ing cash set aside for lawsuits.

Former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and two other former executives pleaded guilty in September 2012 for covering up losses at Olympus for 13 years starting in the 1990s. The $1.7 billion fraud was revealed by the compa-nys former president Michael Woodford in 2011. BLOOMBERG

Slowdown dampens SongkranPhusadee Arunmas

SpENDiNG during Thailands forthcom-ing Songkran festival is forecast to see the

lowest growth since 2011 as a domestic economic slowdown prompts local holidaymakers to count on loans and their savings to party during the water-splashing season.

Spending was forecast at 117 billion baht ($3.6 billion), up by only 2.36 per cent from last year, according to a sur-vey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC). The figures were based on a survey of 1,233 respondents conducted be-tween March 27 and april 4.

Normally, spending should grow by seven per cent to 10 per cent during this festive season, Thanavath phonvi-chai, the UTCCs vice presi-dent for research, said.

But the prolonged protests and unfavourable economy have weakened peoples pur-chasing sentiment.

Songkran this year will in-clude an extra day, running from april 13-16.

The survey also found the number of travellers heading abroad has dropped, to 5.9

per cent this year down from 18.9 per cent last year.

according to the survey, 40 per cent of respondents said their spending plan is un-changed, with 32 per cent in-tending to spend less.

Whats worrying is most respondents said they would rely on savings and loans to spend during the season, Thanavath said.

That reflects the sluggish economy and higher house-hold debt, as people lack suffi-cient funds to spend, particu-larly low-income earners.

However, Thanavath said people are in a festive mood and want to take a break from political problems.

in a related development, another UTCC survey con-ducted this past Sunday and

Monday among 1,200 respon-dents found most of them were increasingly concerned about the political impasse.

Up to 36 per cent of respon-dents said they feared escalat-ing violence was anticipated after Songkran, which would affect peoples spending.

Yesterday also saw the re-lease of disappointing travel industry news for Thailand,

with the countrys Tourism Department reporting that the number of international tourist arrivals in March fell by 9.39 per cent year-on-year to 2.1 million, due mainly to the political unrest.

The six markets with the biggest declines were africa (-17.8 per cent), South asia (-17.7 per cent), the Middle East (-14.8 per cent), East asia (-14.67 per cent) Oceania (-10.7 per cent) and the amer-icas (-5.06 per cent).

But Europe saw a 2.25 per cent increase to 680,728 visi-tors on the back of an improv-ing economy.

in the first quarter, interna-tional tourist arrivals fell 5.85 per cent year-on-year to 6.6 million, while tourism rev-enue declined by 4.02 per cent to 311 billion baht.

The department said 50 countries still maintain trav-el advisories even though the state of emergency was lifted last month.

ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice-president for fi-nance and administration at Central plaza Hotel, said the political problems caused its hotel revenue to drop five per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. BANGKOK POST

Children have a water fight with elephants in Ayutthaya province yesterday ahead of the Songkran festival for the Thai New Year. This years celebrations may take a hit from the countrys sluggish economy. AfP

Markets9THE PHNOM PENH POST april 10, 2014

Business

Mass recall fuels Toyota image woesT

OYOTa yesterday re-called 6.39 million vehicles worldwide for five different

problems, dealing another blow to the worlds largest au-tomaker whose reputation for quality and safety has been dented in recent years.

Despite record sales and bumper profits, Toyota has been fighting to protect its brand after millions of earlier recalls and in the wake of a $1.2 billion deal last month to settle US criminal charges.

in October 2012, Toyota an-nounced a global recall of 7.43 million vehicles, including its popular Camry and Corolla models, over a possible fire risk, while in February it re-called 1.9 million of its signa-ture prius hybrid cars.

The firms Tokyo-listed shares took a hit yesterday, falling 3.07 per cent to 5,450 yen ($53) by the close.

Toyota announced five sepa-rate recalls involving 26 Toyota models, as well as the pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia.

Since a few models are involved in more than one recall, the total number of ve-hicles that will be remedied is 6.39 million, Toyota said in an email.

among the problems are a drivers seat defect, steering column problems and an en-gine-starter glitch that poses a fire risk, the company said.

The vehicles affected in-clude the Corolla sedan, the raV4 sport utility vehicle and Yaris subcompact.

Toyota said it had received two reports of fires owing to the starter defect, but that none of the issues had caused any ac-cidents to its knowledge.

The vehicles, made over the

past decade, include 1.08 mil-lion in Japan, 2.3 million in North america, about 770,000 in Europe and 62,000 in China, Toyota said.

Criminal charges settledin March, the Japanese au-

tomaker agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle US criminal charges that it lied to safety regulators and the public as it tried to cover up deadly ac-celerator defects.

Dozens of deaths were

blamed on the problems, which caused vehicles to speed out of control and fail to respond to the brake.

Toyota eventually recalled 12 million vehicles worldwide in 2009 and 2010 at a cost of $2.4 billion as the scandal over sudden, unintended accelera-tion spread and tarnished its once-stellar reputation.

in reaching the settlement, Toyota admitted that it lied when it insisted in 2009 that it had addressed the root

cause of the problem by fix-ing floor mats that could trap the accelerator.

as part of the cover-up, Toyota scrapped plans to fix the sticky pedal defect in the United States and instructed employees and its parts sup-plier not to put anything about the design changes in writing.

president akio Toyoda pledged to improve Toyotas re-call process after the scandal. General Motors is now facing similar scrutiny for its handling of flawed ignition switches that the company knew of as early as 2001 and has linked to at least 13 deaths.

Toyoda has instituted a

three-year freeze on new car plants to tilt the companys priorities to quality and ef-ficiency after the 2009-2010 recalls for problems tied to unintended acceleration.

The latest recall came as Ja-pans Jiji press said yesterday that Toyotas global sales in the fiscal year to March topped 10 million units for the first time.

The firm, which declined to comment on the report, kept the title of worlds biggest au-tomaker last year with sales of 9.98 million vehicles and said it expects 2014 to become the first to break the 10 million ve-hicle sales barrier in a calen-dar year. afp/bloomberg

Models of Toyotas best-selling Corolla are among those in a massive new recall by the automaker. afp

Toyota recall

Source: Toyota

6.39 million vehicles recalled globally

Japan

North America

Europe

China

1,089,000

62,0002,340,000

770,000

2,130,400Others

The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has received a loan from the Asian 1. Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of the CAMBODIA NORTHWEST PROVINCIAL ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, and it intends to apply part of this loan to payments under the Contract for titled above.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) now invites sealed bids from eligible and 2. qualied bidders for the construction and completion of SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF ROAD SAFETY BILLBOARDS ON NATIONAL ROADS. The Road Safety Billboards comprising the Works are sited at 22 numbers of strategic locations along the national roads. The civil works comprise construction of 22 numbers of reinforced concrete footings and fabrication and erection of 22 numbers of steel mono-pole columns and steel support frames for dual faced signs approximately 7.5 m height. The Signage Works consist of the fabrication and installation of 44 numbers of metal backing panels and vinyl sheet facing of 6.0m x 4.0m sign panels including safety messages and artwork / graphics. The work also includes compliance with the Projects Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP), which is included in the Section 5, Performance Requirements. The construction period is 4 months.

Procurement will be conducted through National Competitive Bidding (NCB) Procedures outlined 3. in the Procurement Manual for Externally Financed Projects/Programs, and under the laws and regulations governing public procurement within the Kingdom of Cambodia.

This invitation is open to all eligible bidders from eligible source countries as described in the 4. bidding document.

Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information and inspect the bidding documents at the 5. address given below:

H.E. PHENG Sovicheano Under Secretary of States

Project Director, Project Management Unit 3 Ministry of Public Works and Transport 4th Floor, Eastern Building, Corner Norodom Blvd. and St. 106, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Telephone: (855) 23 724 565, Facsimile: (855) 23 724 595 E-mail: psovicheano@online.com.kh

Interested bidders attention is drawn to Sub Clause 6.3 of the Instructions to Bidders and 6. Qualications requirements include:

minimum average annual construction turnover of US$ 1.0 million calculated as total - certied payments received for contracts in progress or completed, within the last three (3) years commitments;Participation in at least two (2) contracts within the last ve (5) years that have been - successfully or substantially completed and that are similar to the proposed works;The minimum amount of liquid assets and /or credit facilities net of other contractual - commitments of successful Bidder shall be more than bid price;all pending litigation shall be treated as resolved against the Bidder and so shall in total not - represent more than seventy ve (75) percent of the Bidders net worth;bidders net worth calculated as the difference between total assets and total liabilities for - each year should be positive for the last three (3) years.

A complete set of bidding documents may be purchased by interested eligible bidders on the 7. submission of a written application to the address above and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of US$ 100. The method of payment will be made by cashiers check to the following account. The bidding documents may be collected in person at the above address. Other than payment of non-refundable fee, there are no other conditions for the purchase of the bidding documents.

Bank: National Bank of CambodiaAccount Name: MEF Current AccountAccount No.:000000013535

Bids must be delivered to the address above at or before 3:00 p.m. 2 May 2014. Late bids will be 8. rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders representatives who choose to attend in person at 3:30 p.m. on the same day thereafter.

All bids shall be accompanied by a Bid Security in the amount of US$ 5,000.9.

The RGC and the ADB will respectively declare a rm ineligible either indenitely or for a stated 10. period of time, to be awarded a contract funded by the RGC and/or ADB, if they at any time determines that the rm has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent, coercive, collusive or obstructive practices in completing or in executing a contract.

MPWT will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by the Bidders in connection with 11. the preparation of Bid.

Invitation for BidKINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTPROJECT MANGEMENT UNIT 3

Loan No. / Title: ADB Loan No. 2539-CAM (SF): Cambodia Northwest Provincial Road Improvement ProjectContract No / Title: NPRIP-CW4-NCB-2014-01, Supply and Installation of Road Safety Billboards on National RoadsDeadline for Bids submission: 2 May 2014, before or on 3:00 p.m.

Re-advertisement

GREEK unions held a 24-hour anti-aus-terity strike yester-day, shutting down

ferry services to the countrys world-famous islands, dis-rupting rail travel and closing pharmacies and several gov-ernment offices.

Called by the countrys main private and public unions, the first general strike of the year is to protest new labour reforms demanded by the countrys EU-IMF creditors.

Ships remained anchored in the main port Piraeus near Athens, with the countrys main shipping union observ-ing the strike call.

The national railway, includ-ing Athens commuter trains, were also disrupted, though the countrys airports were seeing normal service.

Protesters close to the Com-munist Party marched in cen-tral Athens, with a separate

march expected by the main ADEDY and GSEE unions.

Athens is currently in talks with the creditors over the next instalment of funding as part of its multibillion-euro bailout plan.

Loan payments to Greece worth some 8.5 billion ($11.8 billion) are pending.

The creditors are reportedly pushing for additional civil-service layoffs and changes to a 1982 law on strikes to reduce their frequency.

Hard-hit by the economic crisis, Greece is experiencing a sixth straight year of recession and has a staggering 28 per cent unemployment rate.

Pharmacists have also staged walkouts over plans to allow medicine sales in retail outlets other than pharmacies.

The troika of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund first bailed out

Greece in 2010 with a program worth 110 billion.

When that failed to stabilise the economy, they agreed a much tougher second rescue in 2012 worth 130 billion, plus a private-sector debt write-off of more than 100 billion.

Five general strikes were staged last year.

The new strike comes as Greece plans to announce a sale of five-year notes via banks on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the country that sparked Europes sover-eign debt crisis returns from a bond-market exile.

Greece plans to raise 2 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified be-cause the arrangements are supposed to be private. The country may increase the size of the sale, depending on de-mand, one of the people said. afp/bloomberg

Business10 THE PHNOM PENH POST APRIL 10, 2014

US BANKING regulators on Tuesday ordered the eight largest too big to fail banks to raise capital levels in a bid to address weaknesses seen in the 2008 financial crisis.

Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, said the robust capital standards the banks will need to raise a reported $68 billion in additional capital were essential to reduce systemic risk and mitigate the distor-tions imposed by institutions deemed too big to fail.

Fed governor Daniel Tarullo said the bigger capital cushion would serve as a critical back-stop to the banking system.

The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Treasury Departments Office of the Comptroller of the Cur-rency adopted the rule requir-ing the systemically important banks to hold significantly in-creased levels of high-quality capital in relation to their risk exposure, their so-called sup-plementary leverage ratio.

The banks affected are Bank of America, The Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Gold-man Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street and Wells Fargo.

The Fed said its aim was to reduce the effect of a firms failure or material weakness on the financial system and the broader economy the latest step taken by regulators to reduce the probability that a large, interconnected bank would fail, and in doing so would damage the US finan-cial system.

The move is designed to help ensure banks can remain on their feet when the fund-ing market for banks suddenly dries up in a crisis, as happened in 2008, when governments were forced to step in and prop up financial institutions.

Under the action, the banks will have to meet an addition-al 2 per cent of capital on top of the 3 per cent level required under the Basel III regulatory reforms, which US regulators

have criticised as too lax. By meeting the 5 per cent ratio, the banks will avoid Fed limi-tations on dividends and dis-cretionary bonus payments.

The eight banks subsidiaries will be required to have loss-absorbing capital worth more than 6 per cent of their assets, double the Basel III level.

The supplemental level, like the 3 per cent Basel level, will take effect on January 1, 2018.

Tarullo, who is in charge of Fed regulation, suggested that the new surcharge could help pave the way for an additional capital charge to address risks posed by short-term whole-sale funding that contributed to the 2008-2009 global finan-cial crisis.

FDIC director Jeremiah Nor-ton said the new rule would help offset weaknesses in the Basel III reforms, which failed to address key problems high-lighted in the financial crisis, like the appropriate risk-weighting for mortgages and foreign sovereign debt. afp

Demonstrators shout slogans in Athens yesterday during a 24-hour general strike to protest new labour reforms demanded by the countrys EU-IMF creditors. afp

Greeks strike against EU-IMF reform push

Bigger buffers for US banks

Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia

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:info@gmac-cambodia.org

Markets11the phnoM penh post april 10, 2014

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Nikkei 225, Apr 8 Taiwan Taiex Index, Apr 8

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S&P/ASX 200 Index, Apr 8 NZX 50 Index, Apr 8

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28,941.0122,702.34

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Item Unit Base Average (%)

Gasoline R 5250 5450 3.81 %

Diesel R 5100 5200 1.96 %

Petroleum R 5500 5500 0.00 %

Gas Chi 86000 76000 -11.63 %

Charcoal Baht 1200 1300 8.33 %

Energy

Construction equipmentItem Unit Base Average (%)

Rice 1 R/Kg 2800 2780 -0.71 %Rice 2 R/Kg 2200 2280 3.64 %Paddy R/Kg 1800 1840 2.22 %Peanuts R/Kg 8000 8100 1.25 %Maize 2 R/Kg 2000 2080 4.00 %Cashew nut R/Kg 4000 4220 5.50 %Pepper R/Kg 40000 24000 -40.00 %Beef R/Kg 33000 33600 1.82 %Pork R/Kg 17000 18200 7.06 %Mud Fish R/Kg 12000 12400 3.33 %Chicken R/Kg 18000 20800 15.56 %Duck R/Kg 13000 13100 0.77 %

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Steel 12 R/Kg 3000 3100 3.33 %

Cement R/Sac 19000 19500 2.63 %

Food -Cereals -Vegetables - Fruits

Cambodian commodities(Base rate taken on January 1, 2012)

CommodIty UnIts PrICE ChAngE % ChAngE tImE(Et)

Crude Oil (WTI) USD/bbl. 102.63 0.07 0.07% 8:39:41

Crude Oil (Brent) USD/bbl. 107.82 0.15 0.14% 8:39:51

NYMEX Natural Gas USD/MMBtu 4.58 0.04 0.90% 8:39:56

RBOB Gasoline USd/gal. 298.42 0.41 0.14% 8:40:03

NYMEX Heating Oil USd/gal. 293.94 0.5 0.17% 8:40:06

ICE Gasoil USD/MT 903.5 11.75 1.32% 8:39:26

CommodIty UnIts PrICE ChAngE % ChAngE tImE(Et)

CBOT Rough Rice USD/cwt 15.62 0.04 0.26% 8:09:01

CME Lumber USD/tbf 328.8 -1.9 -0.57% 8:32:58

Disney makes pixar perfect Christopher Palmeri

SEVEN years after its acqui-sition by Walt Disney Co, pixar, the studio known for producing ground-breaking

films such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, was facing three crises, ac-cording to a new book by its presi-dent, Ed Catmull.

Following Disneys purchase of the film company, several crises were threatening to derail the com-pany; the cost of making animated films was rising, the DVD market was on the decline and there was a feeling among management that a tenet of the pixar culture, employ-ees freedom to speak their minds, was faltering, Catmull says in Cre-ativity, Inc., released yesterday by random House.

after buying pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006, Walt Disney chief executive officer Bob iger put Catmull and chief creative officer John lasseter at the helm of both their studio and Disneys animation unit.

The wisdom of that decision has been evident in the units success, including with the Oscar-winner Frozen, the top-grossing animated film of all time.

less well-known are what Cat-mull, 69, says were growing pains and soul-searching at pixar.

How, we all wondered, could we maintain pixars sense of intensity and playfulness, beating back the creeping conservatism that often accompanies success while also getting leaner and more nimble? Catmull writes.

Catmull also quotes lasseter in his book as saying: Theres a light-ness and a speed at Disney that i want to see more of at pixar.

Catmull and others in manage-ment assembled more than 1,000 employees in the atrium of its head-quarters in Emeryville, California, for an event that it called Notes Day in March 2013.

Employees were asked in advance to share some of their suggestions for topics, their complaints and ways for the company to improve and move forward. lasseter re-ceived two-and-a-half pages of crit-

icism. among them were concerns he was so tightly scheduled that people wasted time over-preparing for meetings and that he carried his emotions from one meeting to the next, leaving some people thinking that he was mad at them when he wasnt, according to the book.

Those two-and-a-half pages were really tough to read, lasseter told employees that day, according to the book. But it was so valu-able for me to hear, and im already working to correct those things.

Brian Ferguson, a former Disney animator who left last year and now

teaches at the California institute for the arts in Valencia, said competi-tion for lasseters attention was al-ways an issue at the studio because he was so busy.

its like children fighting over their parents, Ferguson said in an inter-view. He was being spread awfully thin. any time anybody had with him was precious.

Catmull says in the book that one of the goals of having the Notes Day was figuring out how to cut costs by 10 per cent.

in November, pixar fired about 5 per cent of its 1,200 workers and closed a Vancouver, Canada, facil-ity. The studio said at the time that it would delay the release of the film The Good Dinosaur until No-vember 2015, making this the first year since 2005 that pixar isnt put-ting out a movie.

its last film, 2013s Monsters Uni-versity, grossed $738 million in theaters worldwide; its budget was $270 million, including the cost of distributing and marketing the film, according to Boxoffice.com.

Employees discussed 106 topics in 171 sessions during the Notes Day event, according to the book. afterward, they were treated to beer and hot dogs.

i believe the biggest payoff of Notes Day was that we made it safer for people to say what they thought, Catmull said in his book. Notes Day made it OK to disagree.

Disney fell 0.3 per cent to $78.88 at 11:46am in New York on april 8. The stock had gained 3.6 per cent this year as of yesterday. BLOOMBERG

the Incredibles is one of many films that has Pixar the powerhouse it is today, but the studios road to success was not a smooth one. BLOOMBERG

12 the phnom penh post april 10, 2014

WorldDifferences narrowing in nuclear talks: iraniraNS lead negotiator in nucle-ar talks with world powers said both sides were inching closer on some issues as they sought yesterday to intensify discus-sions on reaching a definitive deal before a July deadline.

On certain questions we have narrowed our differenc-es, abbas araqchi said late on Tuesday after a first day of talks in Vienna that were expected to wrap up later yesterday.

The negotiations, aiming to settle a decade-old standoff and so avert a dangerous escalation, remained however difficult and complicated, Mehr news agen-cy quoted araqchi as saying.

He gave no details. He said the next round between iran and five permanent UN Secu-rity Council members plus Ger-many the fourth this year would take place in mid-May.

a senior US administration official involved in the talks said last week that the negotia-tors hoped to make enough progress in this round to begin drafting a deal in May.

Other factors, however, are threatening to derail the talks, with iran on Tuesday defending its nomination for ambassador to the UN after hawks in the US Senate passed legislation to ban the official from entering the country over his alleged role in the 1979 hostage crisis.

aboutalebi, a close political adviser to iranian president Hassan rouhani, has denied direct participation in the sei-zure of the US Embassy in Tehran more than three dec-ades ago, which resulted in 52 americans being held hostage for 444 days. He has reportedly insisted that his involvement in the group that occupied the embassy was limited to transla-tion and negotiation.

Iran cited to North KoreaThe US on Tuesday asked

North Korea to look at irans example, saying it was willing to negotiate with a hostile nation when it is serious about its promises.

amid high tensions between North Korea and its neigh-bours, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said that the US remained firmly opposed to North Koreas nuclear weapons program but was open to diplomacy.

We have consistently said we are willing to engage when countries show a credible and serious interest in abiding by their obligations. This was true in Burma, its the case with iran, and it can be the case with North Korea as well, Burns said.

North Korea has called on the US to resume six-nation talks that involve its ally China, but leader Kim Jong-un has refused commitments from past deals to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and security guarantees. AFP/THE GUARDIAN

People gather outside the regional security service building taken by pro-Russian activists following the release of 56 hostages yesterday in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Ukrainian hostages walk free

Hunt for plane homes in after fresh signals

Dmitry Zaks

UKraiNE said yester-day that pro-rus-sian militants had freed 56 hostages

after US and EU diplomats set up their first direct talks with Moscow and Kiev aimed at resolving the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.

Ukraines SBU security ser-vice said the group walked free from its headquarters in lugansk after separatists seized the building and other key government offices at the weekend in the mainly rus-sian-speaking eastern indus-trial heartland.

The separatist raids have drawn Western charges that russia its troops already massed along Ukraines border following its ouster of a Mos-cow-backed regime is back-ing the separatists and plotting

to grab more territory after an-nexing Crimea last month.

But US and EU diplomats also crucially agreed with Moscow that it was time to de-escalate the worst European security crisis in decades by setting up a four-way round of negotiations involving Kiev next week.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine ashtons office con-firmed she would meet US Secretary of State John Kerry and russian Foreign Minister Sergei lavrov along with his Ukrainian counterpart andriy Deshchytsya in one of the Eu-ropean capitals.

a russian foreign ministry source told Moscows state-run ria Novosti news agency the talks would probably be held at the end of the week.

The breakthrough agree-ment was reached after hun-dreds of irate activists oc-

cupied a series of strategic buildings in the east at the weekend and declared inde-pendence for the bustling re-gion of Donetsk.

Ukraines embattled leaders poured extra security forces into the flash-point regions and regained control of the government seat in Kharkiv on Tuesday after a night of violence that included petrol bombs and stun grenades be-ing hurled at police.

But the militants remain holed up behind barricades of razor wire and old tyres in the administration building in Donetsk and the SBU head-quarters in lugansk the site of the alleged hostage taking.

The SBU had accused the Kalashnikov-wielding sepa-ratists of rigging the building with explosives and refusing to let 60 people already inside leave the building.

The claim sparked fears that Kievs Western-backed leaders had run out of patience and were preparing to storm the occupied offices after labelling the separatists terrorists.

But the SBU said yesterday that 56 people had walked free thanks to two rounds of ne-gotiations led by unidentified Ukrainian lawmakers.

The agency did not specify how many people were still allegedly being held against their will.

No one was injured, the SBU said in a statement.

in order to minimise the risks to the lives and safety of citizens, the negotiations pro-cess is continuing.

However, Ukrainian inte-rior Minister arsen avakov stressed that the anti-terror-ist operation in cities along russias border continued.

We have two options: po-

litical in other words, nego-tiations or the use of force, avakov told reporters.

i think that a resolution to this crisis will be found within the next 48 hours.

Months of deadly political turmoil threaten not only to break up the vast nation on the European Unions eastern fron-tier along its ethnic divisions but also plunge Moscows rela-tions with the West to a low that may take decades to repair.

Kerry appeared to cast aside the last vestiges of diplomatic decorum on Tuesday by ex-plicitly accusing the Kremlin of sending operatives into eastern Ukraine to foment unrest.

Everything that weve seen in the last 48 hours, from rus-sian provocateurs and agents operating in eastern Ukraine, tells us that theyve been sent there determined to create chaos, Kerry said. AFP

TWO fresh signals have been picked up in the search for missing Malaysian flight MH370, raising hopes yesterday that wreckage will be found within days even as black box batteries run dry.

australian ship Ocean Shield detected the signals on Tuesday to match a pair of transmissions picked up over the weekend that have been analysed as consistent with signals from the planes flight data recorder, the head of the search said.

Ocean Shield has been able to reac-quire the signals on two more occa-sions, late yesterday afternoon and later last night, angus Houston, head of the Joint agency Coordination Cen-

tre, said. The australian ship has now picked up four transmissions, crucial information as searchers try to pinpoint the crash zone for the Malaysia airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Officials had feared that the signals that were initially picked up might not be detected again, particularly since the batteries on the black box tracking beacons have a normal life span of about 30 days.

The new transmissions, found in the same broad area as the previous two, lasted for five minutes and 32 seconds and about seven minutes respectively, Houston said.

Yesterdays signals will assist in better defining a reduced and much more manageable search area on the ocean floor, Houston said.

i believe we are searching in the right area but we need to visually identify the aircraft before we can confirm with cer-tainty that this is the final resting place of MH370.

Houston, however, again urged cau-tion for the sake of the families of those aboard the flight which mysteriously vanished en route from Kuala lumpur to Beijing, and said the search for more signals would go on.

Hopefully with lots of transmissions well have a tight, small area and . dd. . in a

matter of days well be able to find something on the bottom that might confirm that this is the last resting place of MH370, Houston told reporters.

For families of MH370 passengers, who marked the one-month anniver-sary of the planes disappearance on Tuesday, the suspense has been excru-ciating. lets wait and see. i want to see the evidence that the plane is at the bot-tom of the sea, said Malaysian Tan Tuan lay, whose daughter, 31-year-old bank employee Chew Kar Mooi, was one of the passengers on board.

i am really sad [about] what has hap-pened but i am prepared to accept what ever comes, Tan said. AFP

World13the phnom penh post april 10, 2014

a lEaDiNG international aid agency yesterday issued a stinging attack on the United Nations mission in South Su-dan, accusing it of a shameful attitude and leaving thou-sands of displaced people liv-ing in squalor.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) said UN officials had left terrified civilians sheltering in a flood-prone part of a UN base exposed to waterborne diseases and potential epidem-ics, even while acknowledging the camp was a death trap.

in a shocking display of indifference, senior United Nations Mission in South Su-dan (UNMiSS) officials have refused to improve living con-ditions for 21,000 displaced people, MSF said.

The UNMiSS decision not to improve conditions in Tomping is shameful, MSF emergency coordinator Caro-lina lopez added, referring to the UN base in South Sudans capital Juba were thousands have sought refuge from a wave of ethnic violence.

if nothing is done right now, the consequences, already hor-rific, could become fatal, she said, as the onset of the rainy season as seen bases flooded,

latrines collapse and appalling public health conditions.

The fierce criticism came just days after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised operations in South Sudan as an example of how lessons had been learned after the genocide in rwanda. Ban said UN was still living with the shame of having failed to protect rwandan civilians.

recently in South Sudan . . . thousands were fleeing for their lives in the latest round of fighting. The UN opened the gates of its peacekeeping bases to shelter them, Ban had said in Kigali on Mon-day during commemorations marking the 20th anniversary of the genocide.

But MSF argued that the UN was failing to do enough in South Sudan, which has been in conflict since mid-December when troops loyal to president Salva Kiir clashed with supporters of his former deputy riek Machar.

The war has since spread across the worlds newest nation, with thousands seek-ing UN protection from eth-nic massacres by security forces from Kiirs Dinka tribe or rebels from Machars Nuer people. afp

Shameful: UN under fire for S Sudan camp pakistan market blast kills 22

Khurram Shahzad

a BOMB tore through a bustling fruit and vegetable market in islamabad yester-

day, killing at least 22 people, police said, the latest violence amid government peace talks with the Taliban.

The blast took place around 8:00am at the wholesale mar-ket close to the pakistani capitals twin city rawalpindi, as hundreds of grocers and sellers gathered to trade.

The bombing the deadli-est to hit islamabad since a huge truck bomb at the Mar-riott Hotel in 2008 left a 1.5-metre-wide crater and lit-tered the site with body parts and guava fruits drenched in blood, an aFp reporter at the scene said.

The attack comes as the gov-ernment tries to negotiate an end to the Tehreek-e-Taliban pakistans (TTp) campaign of violence. Talks started in February, but more than 160 people have been killed in at-tacks since the beginning of the process, leading many to question its worth.

Javaid Qazi, the vice chan-cellor of the pakistan institute of Medical Sciences (piMS) hospital, said 22 people had

been killed and 96 wounded in the blast.

The TTps main spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said the group had nothing to do with the attack and urged authori-ties to find the culprits.

Eyewitness Muhammad Ta-hir described the bloody car-nage as the bomb detonated.

The blast took place around 8 oclock, when we were standing there bodies were flying ev-erywhere, bodies were flying at the height of [about seven me-tres], he said. ambulances were rushing in and out carrying the wounded and dead bodies.

Senior local administration official Nauman Yousuf told aFp it was a planted bomb.

a bomb disposal official said on condition of anonym-ity that the device hidden in a fruit box weighed five to six ki-lograms and was packed with nuts and bolts to cause maxi-mum carnage.

Thousands have been killed in militant violence since the TTp rose up against the paki-stani state in 2007. But attacks on the capital, much of which is heavily guarded, have been rare in recent years.

Yesterdays blast came a little

over a month after a gun and suicide bomb attack on a court complex in islamabad killed 11 people, including a judge.

The TTp also denied respon-sibility for that attack, which was claimed by the ahrar-ul-Hind splinter group which re-jects the peace process.

Fighting has erupted be-tween rival TTp factions since Sunday and four more people were killed in the South Wa-ziristan tribal area yesterday.

The clashes pit supporters of Khan Said Sajna against fol-lowers of the late Hakimullah Mehsud, the TTp commander killed by a US drone in No-vember last year.

The government has freed more than 30 Taliban prison-ers in the past week to try to spur talks with the militants and on Friday the TTp said they would extend a ceasefire begun on March 1.

On March 26 a four-member government committee held their first direct meeting with members of the TTps political council in North Waziristan tribal district.

There have been suggestions that high-profile figures held by the militants, including the son of former prime minister Yousuf raza Gilani, could be freed in return. afp

A bomb disposal expert searches a fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad yesterday after a blast that killed at least 22 people. afp

World14 the phnom penh post april 10, 2014

Bangladeshi authorities have closed four garment factories and partially shut down two others after engi-neers hired by Western retail-ers detected major structural flaws in the plants, an official said yesterday.

The move came amid in-creased inspections from re-tailers who are checking 1,500 factories in an effort to pre-vent a repeat of the disasters that have killed thousands of workers in recent years.

a top government official said that a government panel ordered the closure of four factories in a multi-storeyed

complex in the port city of Chittagong and two floors of separate factories in the capi-tal dhaka.

We have found serious structural flaws in the Chit-tagong building complex. it was too risky. so we have shut down the building, said syed ahmed, head of the department in charge of factory inspections.

The factories are the latest to have been shut down after three dhaka factories were closed under similar circum-stances last month, leaving at least 4,000 workers job-less. AFP

More risky Bangladesh garment factories shut

Opposition takes an early leadindOnesias main opposi-tion party took an early lead yesterday in parliamentary elections that it hopes will strengthen the chances of its popular candidate, Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, in an upcoming presidential poll.

The indonesian democratic party of struggle (pdi-p) had around 19 per cent of the national vote, according to unofficial tallies, with about 50 per cent of a sample of votes counted.

however that figure is lower than surveys had predicted. if confirmed, could make it harder for Widodo seen as a fresh face in a country domi-nated by figures from the auto-cratic suharto era to become

president. The democratic party of president susilo Bam-bang Yudhoyono looked on course for a huge loss, with tal-lies giving it around 10 per cent, half its share in the 2009 legislative elections.

Millions earlier streamed to polling stations across the archipelago, which stretches across three time zones from remote and mountainous papua in the east to the crowd-ed main island of Java and to sumatra in the west.

We hope for representatives who care about our interests rather than their own. ive picked the most honest and fair candidates, ilyas hasan, 43, said in Jayapura, the capital of very poor papua province.

some 186 million people were eligible to vote for around 230,000 candidates competing for about 20,000 seats in national and regional legisla-tures, although the most important vote is for the lower house of the national parlia-ment. Yesterdays polls deter-mine who can run in presi-dential elections in July and all eyes are on frontrunner Widodo and the pdi-p, which has long been tipped to win the biggest share of the vote.

im very confident my party will do very well, said the 52-year-old governor, smiling broadly after voting near his official residence in Jakarta, as he was mobbed by a scrum of about 200 journalists. AFP

a MYanMar reporter has been handed a one year prison term for trying to in-terview an education official, his lawyer said on Tuesday, in the latest prosecution to raise fears over press freedom in the former junta-run nation.

Zaw pe, a journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) news website, was convicted of trespassing and disturbing a civil servant by a court on Monday, lawyer Thein Tun said.

he was jailed along with Win Myint hlaing, the father of a student who accompa-nied him during a visit to the education department in Magway region to follow up a story about a scholarship program in august 2012.

They went into the educa-tional office with a simple in-tention. The students father went there because he want-ed to know more information [about the program] and Zaw pe went in to report back to the people, Thein Tun said.

he said both men were ap-pealing their sentences.

DVB was a prominent source of independent in-formation during Myanmars

long years of junta rule, when it operated from norway and Thailand, and several of its journalists were given lengthy prison sentences for covertly reporting within the country.

But reforms implemented by a new quasicivilian gov-ernment, including the re-lease of political prisoners and increased press free-doms, have seen former exile publications operate legally from within the country.

in 2012, Myanmar abol-ished pre-publication cen-sorship that stifled everything from song lyrics to books and newspapers. The country has since come under criticism for creating a number of laws observers fear have created an opaque legal atmosphere for journalists to work in.

Myanmar ranked 145th of 180 countries in the 2014 re-porters Without Borders press freedom index.

in February, four journal-ists and the chief executive of the Unity Weekly News were arrested and charged under the official secrets act after they published allegations of a military facility producing chemical weapons. AFP

Journalist in Myanmar given one year jail term

Hot lipsAn Indian artist dressed as the Hindu goddess Kali participates in a procession to celebrate the Ram Navami festival in Allahabad on Tuesday. Hindu devotees celebrate the festival of Ram Navami, the birth anniversary of Lord Rama, across India, which also marks the end of nine days of fasting and the Navaratri festival. AFP

Thai tanker sinks, spill affecting fishermenAn oil tanker capsized and sank just offshore near Samut Sakhon in southern Thailand. oil has already affected coastal fishermen in the area. The tanker sank about three to four kilometres off the coastal fishing area of Phantai norasingh. officials from the Marine Department on patrol boats sprayed oil dispersant to stop the slick from spreadin