Saturday, September 17, 2016

Cambodia's Daily News Brief: Sep 16, 2016


History of crimes, ineptitude for Cambodia’s flag of convenience scheme
The Cambodian shipping register rescinded hundreds of so-called flags of convenience last month. In doing so, it began to draw the curtains on 22 years of the Kingdom’s banner flying over arms trading, drug smuggling, human trafficking, sanctions violations, embargo busting and unsafe practices.

Production confronts complexities of forced marriage through classical dance
In an airy theatre in Kandal province, nuptials take place on weekday mornings. Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro officiates – a hand on a hip, an adjustment to a shaky finger formation – as her dancers re-enact a traditional ceremony in the opening scene from her next project, Pka Sla (“betel flowers”). But the happy scene elicits a flashback.

Forced pregnancy: crime but no punishment?
When she was six months pregnant, Srey Neang* pressed the palm of her hand to her navel and felt her unborn child stop moving. It was 1976 and she had been struck down with malaria. Three months later, she gave birth, but her daughter had already died. 

Cintri says it is owed up to $20M by Phnom Penh residents
Phnom Penh’s much-maligned waste-collection firm Cintri yesterday used a meeting with City Hall to ask for help in collecting between $10 million and $20 million in unpaid fees it says it’s owed by residents in the capital.

Official silence as City Hall rumours circulate
Rumours circulating in local media that Environment Minister Say Sam Al will replace Pa Socheatvong as Phnom Penh municipal governor were met yesterday with coy non-denials from officials, including Sam Al himself.

More Chinese FDI on the horizon
China has pledged to increase its investment in Cambodia in return for the Kingdom’s commitment to its regional policies and economic initiatives in Southeast Asia.

Rapporteur report lacks ‘urgency’, observers say
Right groups and experts yesterday welcomed a report by UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith, but criticised it for failing to adequately address the recent jailing of five human rights staffers and the killing of political analyst Kem Ley.

Plan to certify organic quality
GIZ Cambodia, a branch of Germany’s international development agency, signed an agreement yesterday with local organic food retailer Khmer Organic Cooperative to provide technical support to develop organic vegetable production and to assist the firm in obtaining certification for its products.

For ‘police’ vehicles, no tax, no problem
Prime Minister Hun Sen has quashed an attempt by the Ministry of Finance to collect back taxes owed on 470 police vehicles, granting them tax-exempt status after a request from the Ministry of Interior. The request, dated September 8, was approved on Tuesday.

Embassy in South Korea seeks action on assault
The Cambodian Embassy in South Korea requested yesterday that Korean police arrest a Chinese man accused of violently attempting to rape a Cambodian worker, read a post on the Facebook page of Cambodian Ambassador Long Dimanche. 

Report examines risks to migrant workers
A new report has found nearly three-quarters of people who migrate to work internally in Cambodia leave home with no idea of what kind of job, if any, they will get – increasing the chance they could become victims of human trafficking.

Activists tell US to step up forest protection efforts
Conservationist Marcus Hardtke yesterday blasted USAID and Winrock for “four years of mismanagement” as the Forest Monitoring Working Group put out a call for “urgent action” from the American bodies.

Unions’ wage demand inches down on Day 2 of meet
Trade unions yesterday agreed to lower their $179.60 demand for next year’s garment sector minimum wage by $2, attributing the small concession to a similarly modest increase proposed by employer representatives to their own $144 counter-proposal on Wednesday.

Buffalo gores owner to death in Pursat province
A Pursat man was gored to death by a newly purchased buffalo as he transported it home on Wednesday night, police said. 

Reptile caper in the bag for border cops
A car filled with a slithering menagerie of reptiles destined to be sold at market in Vietnam was seized by Cambodia-Vietnam border officials in Kandal province on Wednesday night, according to Koh Thom district police.

S-21 photographer called an ‘imposter’ by witness
A witness at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday undercut the testimony of fellow S-21 prison photographer-turned-politician Nhem En, with Nuon Chea’s defence team declaring En “an imposter”. 

Khmer-American group protests fresh deportations
A coalition of Khmer-American and immigration groups staged a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this week to protest the pending deportations of several Cambodian-Americans to the Kingdom.

Meet on freedom of information law as due date nears
Representatives of around 20 civil society organisations (CSOs) will meet today to discuss key chapters of Cambodia’s long-gestating freedom of information law, which is meant to be completed by late December. 

Cambodian producers urged to build effective brands
Better branding of Cambodian products is essential as major global brands inundate the domestic market and local producers look to compete in international markets, panellists said Wednesday evening during an industry forum in Phnom Penh.

No sign of relief for rice industry
As the harvest season of Cambodia’s most important crop kicks off, a crisis is looming as both rice farmers and millers face crippling capital shortages and a promised industry lifeline has yet to materialise.

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