VJ Ano appeared on local TV to clear the rumours

VJ Ano pictured on 10th November, 2008.

VJ Ano has appeared for the first time on a local TV on Wednesday at 6pm local time to show her face to the public and she denied the rumours that she was attacked by razor blades as reported by local media. VJ Ano’s face, as seen through her appearance on TV3, has not shown any wounds. At the same time, VJ Ano has appealed to the police to investige and punish those who spread the rumours that she was involved in a triangle love affair and that she was attacked with 80 razor blade cuts to her body and face.//

Night of music at Wat Botum to shake crowd

French band CQMD will wake the neighbours at Wat Botum this Friday.

Wednesday, 19 November 2008 Performance by the French brass band funksters CQMD and Phnom Penh's Mekong Pirates set to bring blend of musical styles to Wat Botum this Friday CQMD French band CQMD will wake the neighbours at Wat Botum this Friday. EVERY music fan in Phnom Penh should mark their calendar for Friday at 6pm, when the French Cultural Centre will shake up the crowds at Wat Botum with a concert by the celebrated French band CQMD, or Ceux qui marchent debout, which translates roughly as "Those who walk standing up".The brass band, which sings in English, has for more than a decade played venues throughout Europe and will be introducing their seventh album, titled Check that Funk, during Friday's concert.Funk and soul music aficionados will recognise the influences of James Brown, George Clinton, Maceo Parker and Prince on many of CQMD's tracks, while others are more reminiscent of the earlier swing era. But this pioneering band also brings its own funk sensibilities to the mix, with a blend of styles and instrumentation that is guaranteed to set toes tapping and bodies in motion.Brass band revival There are no leaders in this six-member group, just talented players who have almost single-handedly revived the brass band style in France, which thrives on collaboration. "THE MEKONG PIRATES refuse to be pigeonholed, incorporating everything from funk and zouk to SKA. They write together, sing together and groove together, and their close musical kinship and cooperation shows through in every performance."

Phnom Penh based band the Mekong Pirates will open the event.

The band's unique instrumentation includes a trumpet, soubassophone, banjo, snare and bass drum, and trombone ... not to mention loads of inspiration.On their Cambodian debut, CQMD will be joined by local band the Mekong Pirates, who will kick off Friday night's concert. Formed last April, the Pirates feature 10 musicians firmly rooted in the classic rock tradition but tempered by many other styles and influences. The band refuses to be pigeon-holed, however, and thinks of themselves as something of a fusion band, incorporating everything from funk and zouk to ska.CollaborationThe Mekong Pirates are driven by a similar need for collaboration. Their identity as a band is reflected in their inspirations and approach to new material. When a bandmate brings in a new melody or lyric, the group first agrees communally on the spirit, or "colour", of the song. Next comes the process of experimentation, as the band members try different approaches to the song until they all feel good about the direction that the particular piece is taking.The energy generated by these two bands will appeal to all music lovers, so be prepared to dance the night away and wake the neighbours at beautiful and historic Wat Botum.

The Thai asked the Cambodian authority to evict the Cambodian people from the Preah Vihear areas

In mid June, 2008 a group of Thai nationalists staged a protest in front of the Preah Vihear temple asking the Thai army to evict the Cambodians from their village near the Preah Vihear temple. On the 15th of July, 2008, three Thai protesters jumped fence into Cambodian territories and were arrested by the Khmer border guards which culminated into the Thai invasion of the Preah Vihear areas where Thailand maintained their troops until today.

The Social and Economic Advisory Council of Thailand has appealed to the Thai government to take firm actions against Cambodia which this council accused of allowing its citizens to live on Thai territories.Mr.Suwanchai Saengsuk-iam, secretary of the Preah Vihear Task Force of the above council, has told a Thai newspaper that the Thai government must pressure the Cambodian government to evict the Cambodian people from the Thai territories immediately and unconditionally.The evictions are aimed at those Cambodian citizens who set up stalls and shops along the road leading to the Preah Vihear temple and those Cambodians who live in the areas surrounding the Preah Vihear temple. This council has asked the Thai government to put further pressures on Cambodia to evict those Cambodian people who live in the areas they considered as “disputed”. This council wants Thailand to maintain troops in the Preah Vihear areas and it asked Thailand not to reduce the numbers of troops in the areas.Please not that, the area where the Cambodian people set up stalls and shops to sell souvenirs near the staircase of the Preah Vihear temple is a Cambodian territory, so the above council’s ignorant claims and its request for Cambodia to evict Cambodians from the Khmer territory is shameless.

Hor Namhong’s law suit against Sam Rainsy in a Cambodian court has been temporarily shelved awaiting the verdict of the French court

Mr. Hor Namhong (L) and Mr. Sam Rainsy (R).

The seven month-old defamation and disinformation law suit, derived from an article published by the opposition newspaper the Khmer Conscience and which was lodged by Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong against Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy, has been temporarily shelved by a prosecutor attached to the court, awaiting for the verdict of the French court first which will be decided on the 9th of December, 2008.Please note that on the 22nd of April, 2008, Mr. Ka Savuth, lawyer representing Mr. Hor Namhong, lodged a defamation and disinformation law suit with the prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Magistrate Court due attached with the article published in the Khmer Conscience on 18th of April, 2008.Mr. Ek Chheng Huort, deputy prosecutor attached to the court, has followed the judicial procedures regarding the case. But Mr. Sam Rainsy has always asked for a delay whenever the court summons him to appear. So, due to Mr. Sam Rainsy has parliamentary immunity, the court cannot proceed with this case.In the meantime, the court has separated the suit against editor of the Khmer Conscience newspaper, Mr. Dam Sith (from Mr. Sam Rainsy‘s case), and Mr. Dam Sith’s case was sent to the investigating judge to proceed with the court case.In June, 2008, Mr. Dam Sith was ordered by the court to be detained in Preysor Prison, awaiting for the results of the investigations. Shortly after, the court has decided to set Mr. Dam Sith free.Afterward, the court, through the Ministry of Justice, has written a letter to President of the National Assembly requesting the suspension of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity in order to make ways for the court to proceed with the suit. But up until now, even after the third parliamentary term has ended, there is no sign of the National Assembly debating this (the suspension of Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity) issue.Afterward, in order to provide full justice to Mr. Sam Rainsy, Mr. Hor Namhong has decided to lodge another law suit in the French court because Mr. Sam Rainsy is a French citizen.According to a reliable source, this new suit will be heard in the French court on the 9th of December, 2008. So, Mr. Hor Namhong’s suit in the Cambodia court has to be temporarily shelved, awaiting for the verdict of the French court first before it can proceed.

Russey Keo floods halt lake reclamation

Teacher Chea Meng, 47, checks his fishing nets in the flooded courtyard of Russey Keo district's Chea Sim Chamreoun Rath High School.

THE filling in of Boeung Kak lake has been suspended until flooding in the capital's Russey Keo district is under control, putting a temporary halt to one of Phnom Penh's biggest development projects, city officials said Tuesday."We have stopped [pumping sand into the lake] for a while, and when the flooding in Russey Keo has gone down, we will have a discussion with the company about pumping or not pumping," said Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheatvong.He added, however, that a "technical problem" had also halted the pumping, which he did not believe was directly responsible for the flooding that has left large swaths of Russey Keo under water for weeks."Heavy rain is the main source" of the flooding, he told the Post.Boeung Kak residents have been engaged in a drawn-out fight with City Hall over compensation since a private company began reclaiming the lake in August, protesting several times for fair-market value for the homes they are losing.Some 4,000 families will eventually be affected by the project.An official with HSC, the company behind the pumping, said it had only stopped operations for last week's Water Festival but declined to comment further.Several residents in the lake's Village 22 said that since the pumping stopped earlier this month, the water levels in their flooded homes have gone down significantly. "Before, when they were pumping, the water was almost one metre deep in my house, but now it is gone," one villager told the Post.Officials at the Boeung Kak Development Committee's offices said Tuesday that they did not want to comment on the situation.The 133-hectare Boeung Kak development will feature residential and commercial facilities.But it has come under fire for its impact on the surrounding area, from expected flooding to the mass evictions.City Hall has long maintained the land surrounding the lake - parts of which were a former Sihanouk-era park - is state land and could not be claimed by squatters under the Land Law.