Update on Swine influenza

This is an update information from World Health Organization (WHO) regarding Swine Influenza. To check WHO website for a regular update and latest information on this topic, click here. 

28 April 2009 

Swine influenza - update 4

28 April 2009--The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 19:15 GMT, 28 April 2009, seven countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 64 laboratory confirmed human cases, with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Canada (6), New Zealand (3), the United Kingdom (2), Israel (2) and Spain (2).

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

Related links

Swine influenza web site
Daily updates will be posted on this site.

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Source: WHO: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

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Swine flu Q and A: What the CDC advises

Mercury News

Posted: 04/27/2009 01:02:51 PM PDT

Updated: 04/27/2009 07:32:23 PM PDT

A swine flu outbreak has infected more than a thousand people in Mexico, where scores have died from the disease. The United States has seen milder cases, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the number of people sickened to increase. Here are some answers to questions about swine flu.

Q What is swine flu?

A Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Until recently, the disease very rarely spread to humans. In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were reported in Mexico and then in Southern California and near San Antonio, Texas. Since then, 40 confirmed cases have been reported in the United States in California, Kansas, New York City, Ohio and Texas. An updated case count is available on the cdc Web site at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm .

Q Is this swine flu virus contagious?

A CDC has determined that this swine flu virus is spreading from person to person, but it is unknown how easily it spreads.

Q What are the symptoms of swine flu in people?

A The symptoms of swine flu, which are similar to symptoms of regular flu, include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated

 

with swine flu. In the past, pneumonia and respiratory failure and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause chronic medical conditions to worsen.

Q How does swine flu spread?

A This swine flu virus is thought to spread mainly by coughing or sneezing of people with the illness. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Infected people may be able to infect others one day before symptoms develop and up to seven or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu germs before you know you're sick as well as while you're not feeling well.

Q What should I do to keep from getting the flu?

A Most important for preventing the spread of flu is washing your hands. Also, try to stay in good general health. That means get plenty of sleep, be physically active, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods and manage your stress. Also, try to avoid contact with people who are sick.

Q What is the best technique for washing my hands to avoid getting the flu?

A Wash with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner, rubbing your hands until the gel is dry. The alcohol kills the germs on your hands without water.

Q How long can viruses live outside the body?

A Some germs can live for two hours or longer on surfaces such as doorknobs, desks, cafeteria tables. Washing your hands frequently can reduce your chances of getting sick after touching these common surfaces.

Q How does a doctor test for swine flu?

A A health care provider takes a nasal swab, which is then used to test for the disease.

Q Are there medicines to treat swine flu?

A Yes. CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir (sold as Tamiflu) or zanamivir (sold as Relenza) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine flu viruses. These antiviral drugs are prescription medicine that keep the flu viruses from reproducing in your body, thus helping you feel better quicker. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started within two days of symptoms first developing.

Q Is there a vaccine available to prevent swine flu?

A No. There is no available vaccine for this swine flu at this time.

Q What should I do if I get sick?

A If you live in an area where swine flu cases have been identified and become ill with symptoms including fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea, you may want to contact your doctor, who will determine whether you need to be tested or treated for the illness. While you are sick, you should stay home and avoid contact with people as much as possible.

Q Is it safe to travel to Mexico, where more than 1,600 people have been sickened and 149 people have died from swine flu?

A Government officials have issued a travel advisory suggesting "non-essential travel to Mexico be avoided.'' In addition, several airlines including American, United, Continental, US Airways, Mexicana and Air Canada, have waived the usual penalties for changing reservations for anyone traveling to, from, or through Mexico, but had not canceled flights.

Q What are public health officials doing to inhibit the disease's spread?

A U.S. customs officers at airports, seaports and border crossing have begun watching for signs of illness, according to Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling. If a traveler appears to be ill or reports not feeling well, the person will be questioned about symptoms and, if necessary, referred to a CDC official for additional screening, Easterling said. The CDC can send someone to the hospital if they suspect a case, but no one is being refused entry. Also, the CDC is readying "yellow cards" with disease information for travelers, in case they later experience symptoms.

Q Can I get swine flu from eating or preparing pork?

A No. You can not get swine flu from pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.

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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Associated Press, Mercury News

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12238623?nclick_check=1

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Assessing the Danger of New Flu

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: April 27, 2009

HONG KONG — Sorting through the “marquee flus” of recent years — SARS, avian flu and now swine flu — is complicated.

The three come from different viruses and carry different kinds of danger, depending on ease of transmission and virulence. As a benchmark, the deadliest influenza pandemic in the past century, the Spanish influenza of 1918 to 1919, had an estimated mortality rate of around 2.5 percent but killed tens of millions of people because it spread so widely.

The new swine flu cases are caused by an influenza strain called H1N1, which appears to be easily passed from person to person. Mexican health authorities have confirmed 149 deaths from that flu and are investigating the illnesses of 1,600 people, and the United States, Canada, Spain and other countries have confirmed or are investigating cases.

But doctors have little information yet on the mortality rate, as there is no reliable data on the total number of people infected. Reports from the United States suggest that some cases may be mild and therefore may go undetected — allowing the disease to spread further. Flu experts are trying to determine if this year’s flu shots, which contain H1N1 strain, offer any protection.

In contrast, the lethal avian flu that has kept world health authorities anxious for years is caused by H5N1 influenza virus. It has killed 257 of the 421 people who have contracted it, or 61 percent. But it has shown very little ability to pass from person to person, mainly infecting poultry, and some experts have suggested that there may be something about the H5N1 virus that makes it inherently less transmissible among people.

SARS — severe acute respiratory syndrome — is both easily spread and virulent. In the 2003 outbreak in Hong Kong, it killed 299 of the 1,755 people it infected there, or 17 percent.

The lessons learned from SARS did not go to waste in Hong Kong. While Mexico struggles to confirm cases of swine flu and sends samples to the United States, Hong Kong is already performing swift genetic tests on patient samples and will have laboratories doing so at six local hospitals by Thursday. Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses, including retirees and those with medical training who have moved to other occupations, are tracked on databases and ready to be mobilized.

Contingency plans are ready to keep public transport, electricity, food supplies, telecommunications and other vital services running even if large numbers of people fall ill. And at a time when many hospitals in the United States are already at full capacity and keep few extra beds in reserve, Hong Kong has 1,400 beds in respiratory isolation units, mostly built over the past six years for fear that bird flu or SARS would become a serious problem, and 15 times as many beds as the territory needs on an everyday basis.

For a population of seven million people, Hong Kong has stockpiled 20 million treatment courses of Tamiflu, a medicine to which the new swine flu virus has not yet developed resistance. Hong Kong also has Asia’s best-known flu specialists and extensive research labs that were expanded in response to fears of SARS or a long-feared pandemic of bird flu, which is caused by a different influenza virus from swine flu.

Government lawyers are also moving quickly, carrying out all the procedures on Monday to make swine flu a disease for which health professionals are required by law to notify the authorities of any suspected case. The Hong Kong government also has broad and detailed legal powers to quarantine possible cases and suspend a range of civil liberties in order to track down anyone who has been in contact with a carrier of a communicable disease; many other countries, including the United States, are still debating how to handle legal issues during a possible pandemic.

SARS “gave us a lot of valuable insights and practical experience in managing a large outbreak,” said Gabriel Matthew Leung, Hong Kong’s under secretary for food and health.

Hong Kong is unusually vulnerable to flu. World Health Organization officials describe Hong Kong and its labs as their sentry for flu in Asia, because the territory’s tests may uncover infected people arriving from other places that are either unequipped to identify influenza or have a habit of keeping medical problems a secret.

Still, in a measure of the terror that SARS has left, the territory’s stock market suffered some of the heaviest losses in Asia on Monday on swine flu fears. The Hang Seng Index fell 2.74 percent. Shares of Cathay Pacific, the dominant airline here, dropped 8 percent and shares of mainland China’s Air China fell 12.8 percent on fears that many passengers will stop flying.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28hong.html?hpw

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Cambodia on alert for swine flu

www.chinaview.cn  2009-04-28 09:27:53                                                             

 

 

Special Report:  World Tackles Swine Flu 　

    PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Health Ministry of Cambodia on Tuesday will equip scanners at the Phnom Penh and the Siem Reap international airports to check travelers' body temperature against possible entry of swine flu, said an official.

    "We will equip scanners to target people who have temperature and breath problems related with the deadly swine flu," said Sok Touch, director of the Anti-communicable Disease Department of the ministry.

    "We also observe all the people who once traveled to the infected areas of this outbreak," he added.

    In addition, "we appeal to the people who catch (traditional) flu to go to hospital for diagnosis and treatment," he said.

    Cambodia has noted that swine flu is danger for all of us, as it can be transmitted from human being to human being now, he said.

    Meanwhile, the Health Ministry of Cambodia will use the existing equipment and system for combating bird flu to monitor swine flu, he said.

    The ministry will cooperate with the World Health Organization to take actions on the pig-farming industry if necessary, but the very next step will focus on travelers from the infected areas, he said.

    So far, there has been no sign of swine flu contamination on human and pigs in the kingdom, he added.

 

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Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/content_11271178.htm

 

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Veterans, rural poor in line for social land concessions: officials

Written by Chun Sophal   

MONDAY, 27 APRIL 2009

The Ministry of Land Management says it will distribute over 16,000 hectares of land to landless peasants and disabled army veterans

THE government plans to distribute over US$50 million worth of social land concessions to about 10,000 landless families across nine provinces, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction said at its annual conference Thursday.

Sareth Boramy, president of the ministry's land distribution and economic development project, said Sunday that the ministry would distribute land to families and disabled veterans in nine target provinces. 

"Poor disabled soldiers and widows are given priority in the distribution of land, but they will not be given land ownership certificates until they have lived there for five years," he said. 

According to a report released at last week's conference, 16,097 hectares of land concessions will be granted to families in Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng, Kampot, Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu. 

All people will receive a plot of land measuring 20 metres by 40 metres, or a cultivation plot of between 1 and 2 hectares, depending on the size of their family. 

"We want people to have their own land so that they are able to earn a living and get themselves out of poverty," he added.

Tackling landlessness
The first stage in this project was launched in November 2008, when the government distributed concession land to 3,000 poor families in Kampong Cham, Kratie and Kampong Thom provinces with support from the World Bank and German development agency GTZ. 

Thun Saray, president of local rights group Adhoc, said Sunday that the plan to distribute social land concessions was to be applauded, but the government should be encouraged to take further action to resolve the problem of rural landlessness. 

"The government should stop giving economic concession land to private companies, and then it must implement the distribution of social concession land to more poor families," he said. 

According to a 2006 Oxfam study, 24 percent of the rural population does not own land.

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This news article is from The Phnom Penh Post:

 

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009042725527/National-news/Veterans-rural-poor-in-line-for-social-land-concessions-officials.html

 

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Convicted Thaksin holds Montenegro passport

By The Nation

Mon, April 27, 2009 : Last updated 14:04 hour

His passport number is I38kd3695, the source said.

According to his Montenegro passport, Thaksin who has been running away from a two-year jail term in Thailand, arrived in Monrovia, capital of Liberia on April 20 and departed it on April 23.

Earlier reports confirmed that he is also holding a Nicaraguan passport as he is appointed as "special ambassador" by Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega.

Thai government has revoked all his passports, including diplomatic and ordinary passports, after he became fugitive.

 

Runaway ex-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra used his Montenegro passport to travel to Liberia last week, a source said.

 

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From The Nation: http://nationmultimedia.com/2009/04/27/politics/politics_30101407.php

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Thaksin "red shirts" gather again in Bangkok

Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:41pm BST

**  

* 12-day state of emergency lifted on Friday

* Protesters want government to quit


(Recasts with protest)

By Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, April 25 (Reuters) - About 3,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gathered in Bangkok on Saturday for their first rally in the capital since violent street clashes two weeks ago.

Security was tight with 450 police monitoring the crowd of red-shirted protesters at Sanam Luang, a public square near Bangkok's Grand Palace.

"The protest is going well so far. No violence," Police Major General Suporn Pansuea told Reuters.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ended a 12-day state of emergency in the capital on Friday, saying he wanted to foster reconciliation after the street clashes which killed two people and dented investor confidence.

"Lifting emergency rule doesn't mean the government will give up monitoring the situation," Abhisit told reporters on Saturday.

A leader of the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) said the rally would be peaceful and end around midnight.

"Our request is the same. We want the Prime Minister to quit," Somyos Prueksakasemsuk said.

The UDD plan more rallies in the provinces before returning to Bangkok for a large demonstration in May, he said.

Abhisit, who was elected in a December parliamentary vote with the help of former Thaksin allies, has refused to call an election analysts say his Democrat party would likely lose.

Instead, he has promised constitutional reforms as a way out of the political crisis, but there are doubts it will be enough to heal the deep political rifts in Thai society.

The crisis is a battle between the "yellow shirts" -- royalists, the military and urban, middle-class Thais who back Abhisit -- and the "red shirt" supporters of Thaksin, whose power base is mainly drawn from millions of rural and urban poor who loved his populist policies.



BOTCHED ASSASSINATION

The street violence two weeks ago was the worst Thailand had seen in 16 years, forcing the cancellation of a summit of Asian leaders. The volatile situation was compounded by an attempted assassination of "yellow shirt" leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

Thai media reported on Saturday police want to question five soldiers over a possible connection to the attack on Sondhi.

A senior police official denied the reports, which followed last week's confirmation by Thailand's army chief that some of the bullets used in the April 17 attack were from the military.

Sondhi, who was wounded in the head after gunmen riddled his car with automatic rifle fire, did not speak to reporters as he left hospital on Saturday.

Army chief Anupong Paochinda has denied speculation by Sondhi's colleagues that military personnel may have been involved in the assassination attempt.

Bangkok's deputy police chief, Major General Pongsan Jaimon, rejected the reports that police were looking for five soldiers.

"How do you know this when I don't know?," he asked reporters. "We have to suspect all related people, including influential people, soldiers or whoever".

Sondhi is a co-founder of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which led a street campaign against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra before he was ousted in a 2006 coup. The PAD occupied Bangkok's airports last year to protest a pro-Thaksin government that was later dissolved by the courts. (Additional reporting by Arada Therdthammakun and Sinthana Kosopradit; Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Matthew Jones)

 

 

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Article from REUTERS UK: http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLP235029

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Cambodian, Thai defense ministers to meet for easing border tension

www.chinaview.cn  2009-04-23 19:58:58                                                                    

 

 

    PHNOM PENH, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Tea Banh, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, said here on Thursday that he and his Thai counterpart will hold a meeting to find a solution to the border tension between the two countries.

    "I and my Thai counterpart will meet with each other in Siem Reap province on April 27 and 28 in order to find ways to ease the border tension, and avoid new armed clash near the Preah Vihear temple and other places along our border," he said.

    The meeting has been delayed twice since February, and "we are waiting for the Thai side to deal with the issue peacefully and without military confrontation," he added.

    Tea Banh was unsure whether the next meeting will be conducted as scheduled, as Thailand is still obsessed with internal instability.

    On April 3, Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, killing two Thai soldiers.

    Since July 2008, troops from both sides have stationed near the temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and two armed confrontations last year sparked brief concerns of war.

    The two neighboring countries have never fully demarcated their disputed 800-km-long border, mainly due to their different interpretation of historical maps and the landmines left over from decades of civil war in Cambodia.

 

 

Editor: Wang Guanqun

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Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/23/content_11245079.htm

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Petrodollars v smallholders

Apr 23rd 2009 | BATTAMBANG
From The Economist print edition

 

Disputes erupt over plans to invest millions in rice farming

 

IT SEEMED like the perfect match. Kuwait has a lot of money and needs to import food. Cambodia has a lot of fertile land and wants to attract foreign capital. So, as has been happening around the world since the food-price spike of 2007-08, the government of a poor farming country is planning to hand over vast tracts of land to a richer, oil-producing one.

In a whirlwind courtship, Cambodia and Kuwait have exchanged prime ministerial visits and initialled deals on everything from opening embassies and boosting energy co-operation to opening direct flights and holding football friendlies. Kuwait has now reportedly agreed to offer loans totalling $546m to finance a dam on the Stueng Sen river for irrigation and hydropower and to build a road to the Thai border. The Cambodian government says it has not yet decided what exactly the Kuwaitis will get in return but the speculation in Phnom Penh is that they may be offered 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres) of farmland, possibly on 99-year leases. Kuwait is not alone. Last year the prime minister of another rich Gulf statelet, Qatar, also visited Phnom Penh, with plans to invest $200m in Cambodian agriculture.

Such deals have a way of turning sour because of disputes over details. The Cambodian one seems to be conforming to type. Agreements ratified by the rubber-stamp parliament contain sweeping generalities and less detail than most people would expect when they rent an apartment. Son Chhay, an opposition MP and chairman of the National Assembly’s foreign-affairs committee when the deals were initialled, said he could not now obtain copies. But if foreigners want Cambodian rice, he says, they should buy it, not seek to control vast tracts of land.

The other problem with such deals is that they are made in national capitals and often run into opposition on the ground. Cambodia’s rice-farmers are suspicious enough because the government has a record of throwing them off their land in opaque deals involving rich cronies. Villagers in Battambang province, where the Kuwaiti road will run, say they know almost nothing about the scheme. They concede that a new road, built on what is currently a dirt track being measured by surveyors, would help them get crops to market. And according to one happy rumour, Kuwait has agreed to buy all their produce. But they are worried that their land will be confiscated—as has happened before.

The government insists the deal would be good for the country and for economic growth. Cheam Yeap, the chairman of the parliamentary economics and finance committee, says that “somehow we have to attract investors for national development.” He argues that land conflict is the fault of farmers as well as the government and that farmers have to be realistic.

This is not merely self-serving. Cambodia’s rice yields are about half those in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam. Many people—not just the Kuwaitis—are seeking to modernise farming, which is the largest employer in Cambodia.

International donors are hoping to improve the lot of small-scale farmers by helping them take advantage of world markets by investing in productivity, food processing and transport infrastructure. Other international businessmen, including some from Israel, are seeking to bring foreign technology and capital into Cambodia’s fledgling agri-business sector.

So the question is not whether investment by Kuwait or anyone else is in Cambodia’s long-term interest. It is whether the terms of the particular deal are beneficial. Alas, it is far from clear in this case whether Cambodia’s rulers have been influenced by economic development—or by the prospect of another quick payday.

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Link: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527987

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Canada closes embassies in Cambodia, Bosnia

Apr 23, 2009 05:44 PM

 JENNIFER DITCHBURN 

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – The Harper government is closing Canada's embassies in Cambodia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, countries still struggling to recover from a violent past.

The announcements were made on the websites of embassies, with the same explanation on both: "The government of Canada continually monitors its representation abroad and periodically shifts resources to meet Canada's needs in an ever-changing world."

The government said the decision was taken "following a serious examination of Canada's current diplomatic representation abroad."

Four other missions have been closed since the Conservatives came to power, in Milan, Italy, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Fukuoka and Osaka, Japan.

The government noted that there has actually been a net increase of 25 missions in the past 15 years – most of them in the United States.

The Foreign Affairs Department said it will keep a humanitarian assistance office open in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

The country still has serious problems with crime, drugs and human rights violations. A UN-backed war crimes commission is grilling members of the Khmer Rouge regime for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.

Canada sent peacekeepers to the region for a period in the early 1990s.

Sambo Chhom, executive director of the Canadian Cambodian Association of Ontario, said closing the embassy will have an adverse affect on the lives of Cambodians.

"The Cambodian government feels its being watched by the Canadian government. They wouldn't do anything harsh while they're there because they fear an international outcry," Chhom said.

"Without the Canadian government there, the NGOs will have less contact with outside countries."

Canadians travelling in Cambodia who need consular assistance will be directed to the Australian embassy.

Those who need help in Bosnia-Herzegovina are being directed to an Ottawa-based emergency number, or an office in Budapest, Hungary. A consulate is scheduled to be opened in Sarajevo in the future.

Canada set up an embassy in Sarajevo in 1996 after the bloody civil war there ended. About 40,000 Canadian troops served in the peacekeeping mission there between 1992-2004.

The government will remain a member of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which monitors the country's progress at reaching some of the security and governance goals outlined in the peace agreement reached in 1995.

Some retired diplomats and other observers have criticized budget cuts to the Department of Foreign Affairs that began under the Liberals and continued under the Conservatives.

On Thursday, provincial trade ministers urged the federal government to increase its international profile in order to stimulate more trade and investment with Canada.

One of the Conservative government's first acts in 2006 was to slash $11 million from the diplomacy budget, cash that allows representatives abroad to promote Canada.

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From: http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/623447

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Opposition MP to sue Hun Sen for defamation

Updated April 24, 2009 12:52:53

In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen is set to be sued for defamation by one of the Kingdom's leading female opposition politicians.

Mu Suchua wants little more than an apology but the move to challenge Cambodia's "Strong Man" in the courts is seen as unprecedented.

Presenter: Robert Carmichael 
Speaker: Mu Suchua, Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian

 ·                                 Listen:

 ·                                 Windows Media

CARMICHAEL: Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen is not a man to be taken lightly. He takes pride in his reputation as a strong man, and is regarded here with a mixture of fear and respect. He has also reportedly never been sued.

But that could soon change. Unless Hun Sen retracts recent comments, a female opposition MP will begin a court action against him before the end of April. Mu Sochua is a senior MP in the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, or SRP, the largest opposition party. Before she joined the SRP she was the minister for women's affairs in the coalition government.

The SRP is a constant thorn in the prime minister's side, regularly criticizing him and his ruling Cambodian People's Party for not cracking down on corruption and abuses of the law. The comments made by the prime minister and broadcast nationally didn't use Mu Sochua's name directly, but she says she was clearly the target. Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith says the prime minister is not concerned about the case, and says Mu Sochua is simply presenting herself as a victim and trying to discredit Hun Sen. Khieu Kanharith says the MP is simply trying to get noticed by the media, and stresses that Hun Sen did not actually name anyone in his speech. But, he adds, if Mu Sochua feels she has been insulted, she is entitled to seek remedy through the courts.

So what actually happened? Referring to a land grab case in the southern province of Kampot - which Mu Sochua represents - Hun Sen said that those villagers who wanted their case resolved by him ought not to go to 'the opposition female MP'. Five villagers were injured when the army threw them off their land and burned down their homes - another reminder of the ongoing problem of impunity and land rights in Cambodia.

During his speech, says Mu Sochua, Hun Sen referred to her as 'cheung chat' - a derogatory term that she says conveys the meaning of a hustler, somewhere between a gangster and a prostitute. 

That, she claims, was in response to an event during last year's general election when she was campaigning for the SRP and was allegedly assaulted by an army general, losing buttons off her shirt. She sued the general, and that case is now headed for the Appeal Court.

Mu Sochua says that the prime minister ought not to have said anything that could influence the judges in that case. Her chances of getting justice now, she says, are ruined.

Which is why MPs from the two opposition parties sent a letter to the president of parliament demanding that Hun Sen either provide proof for his words or retract his statements.

Mu Sochua admits that a retraction and apology are unlikely. So next week her lawyer will file the case in the municipal court in Phnom Penh. 

So why is she taking on the prime minister?

MU SOCHUA: This is the first time, and I do this on behalf of Cambodian women. I do it on behalf of women in general, because women who are raped, who are assaulted - verbally, sexually, physically and so on - who don't have a voice, cry in silence, are ruined inside. This is a symbolic case and also an unprecedented case.

ROBERT CARMICHAEL: Mu Sochua says she is concerned that her move could prove dangerous. To offset the perceived dangers she has lined up some influential friends. Her office features a photograph of her with US secretary of state for foreign affairs, Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

Mrs Clinton is also linked with US organisations that have pledged Mu Sochua their support in this matter, as are a number of other US politicians and celebrities. 

MU SOCHUA: It is dangerous - if you consider all the killings that have taken place of people who are strong activists, who are human rights activists, and members of the opposition. 

ROBERT CARMICHAEL: So what does she want out of the case? Simply an apology and 500 riel in damages - a symbolic sum of around fifteen Australian cents.

Mu Sochua admits it is unlikely that she will win her case, but says if she does she will frame the red 500 riel banknote and hang it in her office in honour of women around the world who are exploited.

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The article can be found at the following link:

 http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/200904/s2551808.htm

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Inferno destroys 1,000 hectares of forest; wildlife in danger

Written by Thet Sambath   

THURSDAY, 23 APRIL 2009

A weekend fire in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey still blazed Wednesday, putting the area's flooded forests and fish refuges at risk.

FIRES have burned through more than 1,000 hectares of the Tonle Sap's flooded forests, and the inferno was still spreading, according to Chet Sameth, Ek Phnom's district police chief.

"We don't know the cause of the fire, but we suspect it was caused by people looking for honey," he said, explaining that people in the area often light fires to smoke bees out of their hives to gain access to their honeycombs.

The forest fire started in Preah Net Preah in Banteay Meanchey but spread into Ek Phnom district in Battambang on Saturday, where the fire detonated at least seven unexploded artillery shells in the forest, accelerating the fire's spread.

"It [the forest] is too dry and we had no rain for two weeks, so it is burning very fast, [and] no one can stop it," Chet Sameth said.

The fire was hitting a wilderness area that is vaunted for its biodiversity, according to Chet Sameth, and the fire was putting animals at risk.

"Turtles and snakes are easily killed by the fire. We are losing wildlife from this fire, and we are losing fish refuges," Chet Sameth said.

The area is also an important fish breeding ground, said Heng Pisith, chief of the Fisheries Administration in Battambang province.

"It affects the fish because they lose their places [to spawn]," said Heng Pisith, adding, "Every year, we always ask during the dry season on the radio for people not to burn the forest to try and prevent any big fires."

Chet Sameth said the fire damaged one house but was extinguished, and no casualties have been reported due to preventive measures taken by villagers. In Bak Prea village, people have already moved their cows and buffaloes to safer places to avoid the fire.

"Fires happen every year," he said. "Normally, they are much smaller, but this year it is a big one."

Cheam Chan Saphon, the director of Battambang's Agriculture Department, expressed his regrets and said agriculture had "nothing to do with [worsening the fire] because it is nature."

 

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This text is from The Phnom Penh Post. It can be found here:

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009042325471/National-news/Inferno-destroys-1000-hectares-of-forest-wildlife-in-danger.html

Shared by: BT

PVihear damages estimated

Written by Thet Sambath   

WEDNESDAY, 22 APRIL 2009

Residents around the market at Preah Vihear temple say they want compensation from Thailand for what they estimate is about US$9 million in damages.

 

RESIDENTS near the Preah Vhear temple complex where a  market was destroyed by Thai rocket fire in early April have calculated damages in excess of US$9 million, a representative announced Tuesday. 

Some 260 property owners have submitted thumbprints to documents requesting compensation from the Thai government for losses incurred when Thai soldiers opened fire on the market April 3. 

"We've calculated the value of properties destroyed by Thai soldiers at $1.2 million", president of the Khmer CiviliSation Foundation, Moeung Sonn, reported Tuesday. "However, we've submitted a claim for $9.2 million to the Thai government to compensate people's properties, businesses and mental health," he explained. 

Moeung Soun said many victims of property damage have also suffered serious mental health repercussions. "One of the victims has been out of control since her property was burned down by Thai soldiers' rockets," he said. "She's now seriously ill and is being treated in Battambang hospital. Other victims are also experiencing mental health problems."

Moeung Sonn said the complaint will be sent to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and copies are to be sent to King Norodom Sihamoni, the King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Thai embassy. 

He added, however, that compensation will ultimately be determined by the Cambodian government's willingness to confront Thai authorities. 

"Our government has evidence of Thai rocket debris and has a duty to serve Cambodians and resolve the problem for them," he said. 

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Post Tuesday that the ministry had not yet received the complaint and would meet to determine measures after its receipt. 

Meanwhile, commune officials are working to independently calculate property damages and address losses. 

"Our officials have registered people's property damages, but totals have not yet been calculated", Kao Long, governor of Choam Ksan district, said Tuesday. 

 

 

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This is an article from The Phnom Penh Post.

Original text with photo can be found here: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009042225438/National-news/PVihear-damages-estimated.html