Cambodian opposition parties' boycott in 2013 election good for other parties: PM

English.news.cn   2012-09-25 19:47:07

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that the country's two major opposition parties' threats to boycott a general election in July next year would give chance to other parties to win seats in the parliament.
"It (boycott) is good, other political parties can prepare themselves. Voters can cast their ballots for the Cambodian People ' s Party (CPP) or other participating parties," he told a graduation ceremony at the National University of Management.
The remarks were made after the two parties--the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party--said Monday that they are considering boycotting next year's general election, accusing the National Election Committee of linking to the ruling CPP of Prime Minister Hun Sen. "You lose by yourselves, you should not get angry with the referees,"he said, referring to the two opposition parties' request to the Ministry of Interior last week to change the components of the National Election Committee (NEC), but the request was rejected.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for 27 years.
Cambodia holds general elections every five years. During last election in July 2008, the CPP won 90 seats out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the Sam Rainsy Party with 26 seats, the Human Rights Party three seats, the Norodom Ranariddh Party two seats and the Funcinpec Party two seats.

Lightning kills 91 Cambodians in 8 months, down 37 pct

English.news.cn   2012-09-25 12:16:11

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lightning strikes had killed 91 Cambodian people in the first eight months of this year, down 37 percent compared with 146 deaths at the same period last year, a senior disaster official said Tuesday.
Keo Vy, chief of the Cabinet of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said that 19 out of the dead persons were female and most of them lived in rural areas.
In addition, the lighting strikes had injured 69 others and killed 32 heads of cattle, he said.
The decrease in death toll this year is thanks to the government's efforts in educating people about how to keep themselves safe from lightning strikes, he said.
"Also, rural people themselves are very careful and stay in their houses when there are heavy rains and lightning," he said.
Lightning happens every year in Cambodia, especially in rainy season, which begins from May through October.
In 2011, lightning strikes killed 165 people and injured 139 others.

PM: Japan to build 200 mln USD shopping mall in Cambodia

English.news.cn   2012-09-25 14:10:08

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- AEON Mall, a Japan's single- largest shopping mall developer and the largest retailing operator, will invest 200 million U.S. dollars to build a four-storey shopping mall here in December, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday.
"It will be the country's largest modern market and the investment will cost more than 200 million U.S. dollars," he said during a graduation ceremony of students at the National University of Management.
The construction will be begun on December 10, 2012 on the land area of more than 100,000 square meters along the river in the capital's Chamkamon district, he said.
The mall will create between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs.
The premier said the investment reflected Japanese investors' confidence in Cambodia and it will also contribute to promoting the country's tourism sector.
A Japanese senior officer at the AEON Mall-Phnom Penh Branch confirmed Tuesday in a condition of anonymity that the construction will be completed in 2014.

Cambodia's flash floods kill 5, affect 15,510 families in NW province

English.news.cn   2012-09-25 15:37:49

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and some 15,510 families have been affected by flash floods that have been hitting the country's Banteay Meanchey province since earlier this month, the latest report of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) showed Tuesday.
Some 14,300 houses have been inundated and 29,120 hectares of rice seedlings and 2,000 hectares of cassava have been submerged, the report said.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony at the National University of Management on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that more than 5,000 families have been evacuated to higher grounds. "Besides heavy rains, the province is suffering from the floods flowing from Thailand,"he said, adding that Cambodian Red Cross, the NCDM and local authorities have been working together to rescue and provide emergency reliefs to those affected.
The premier appealed to people to continue to be vigilant over more serious flash floods as a low pressure system was still impacting the country.
Keo Vy, chief of the NCDM's cabinet, said that so far, the Cambodian Red Cross and charitable organizations have distributed emergency reliefs to more than 2,400 families in the province.
Floods usually hit Cambodia between August and October. Last year, the floods killed at least 250 Cambodian people and affected some 1.4 million others in the country, according to the NCDM.
Moreover, nearly 3,000 kilometers of gravel roads and some 180 kilometers of national roads had been damaged.
Last year's floods cost the country about 521 million U.S. dollars.

UN's Under-Secretary-General Heyzer to visit Cambodia

English.news.cn   2012-08-20 12:22:05

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) , will make her first official visit to Cambodia from Aug. 21-24 to further enhance ties between the UN and Cambodia.
The visit is aimed at discussing topics and issues regarding to sustainable development, regional integration, and Cambodia's achievements and challenges towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, according to a press release from the National Committee for the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (NC-ESCAP) on Monday.
During the visit, Dr. Heyzer will hold meetings with other key senior government officials and will also pay a courtesy call on Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, said the press release.
Heyzer is the ninth Executive Secretary of the UN-ESCAP, she was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the position in August 2007.
Her visit to Cambodia is made at the invitation of Cambodia's senior minister Ly Thuch, the NC-ESCAP's Chairman.

Cambodia's 2 major oppositions submit application to form a new party

English.news.cn   2012-08-20 16:55:54

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Sam Rainsy Party, which is the country's main opposition party, and the Human Rights Party on Monday submitted an application to the Ministry of Interior to form a new party called "Cambodia National Rescue Party" in order to compete in the general election in July next year.
"We had submitted documents to the Ministry of Interior this morning to establish a new party party," Pol Horm, spokesman for the Human Rights Party and vice-president of the yet-to-form party, told reporters in a press briefing.
According to Pol Horm, the proposed party will be led by self- exiled Sam Rainsy, president of the Sam Rainsy Party.
"Under to the law on political parties, the Ministry of Interior has 15 days to examine and decide if the proposed party is qualified enough for registration," he said.
The two opposition parties announced to form the new party on July 17 in order to gain stronger support from voters in the general election next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Aug. 1 that his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has "no fear or concern" over the merger plan of the two opposition parties, adding that the move has no even slight impact on the CPP.
Cambodia sets to hold the general election in July 2013.
The last election was held in July 2008. As a result, the Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen won 90 seats out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the Sam Rainsy Party with 26 seats, the Human Rights Party 3 seats, the Norodom Ranariddh Party 2 seats and the Funcinpec Party 2 seats.

Obama's chief trade advisor to visit Cambodia, meet ASEAN ministers

English.news.cn   2012-08-20 21:14:34

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, President Obama's Chief Trade Advisor, will be visiting Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Aug. 30-31 to participate in the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers' meetings and the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit, according to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia on Monday.
"The ten ASEAN countries are key economic and strategic partners for the United States, and Ambassador Kirk's visit to Cambodia will demonstrate the United States' support for ASEAN integration and desire to deepen economic engagement with the region, as well as highlight broader U.S. goals for economic relations in the Asia-Pacific," said the press release.
Kirk's schedule will include a meeting of the ASEAN-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) Council, an informal meeting of the East Asia Summit Economic Ministers, and the first ever ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit.
The press release said that the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit provides an opportunity for business representatives from the United States and ASEAN to exchange views on promoting economic growth and innovation, and to convey their shared recommendations in direct dialogue with the ASEAN trade ministers.
With a theme of innovation and the digital economy, it will focus on topics such as cloud computing, innovations in the food industry, and the use of technology to enhance business competitiveness, trade, and economic growth, it added.
On the margins of the Ministers' meetings, Kirk will also meet separately with Cambodian leaders and other participating ministers to discuss bilateral trade issues and objectives for regional partnerships, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and related meetings will be held in Siem Reap, the cultural province of Cambodia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, according to a press release from Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will open the 44th meeting on Aug. 27.
The meeting will discuss topics relevant to trade liberalization and economic cooperation among the ten ASEAN countries and the meetings between ASEAN economic ministers and dialogue countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States, Canada and Russia.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.