Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin

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EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions.

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Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3.

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While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures.

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NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said.

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The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission.

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Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25.

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:Victims of the Cambodia accident were sucked under a pontoon by undercurrents. Still the fact that they were not wearing life jackets came under the spotlight at the time.

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Safety recommendations expected from the inquiry panel’s report include the compulsory donning of life jackets in all competitions. While vests are mandated for meets held here, this is not necessarily the case overseas :— even in some events conducted to the International Dragon Boat Federation’s standards.

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But the schools are not taking chances. The NUS advises its paddlers to wear life jackets, while the NTU team wears them during all training sessions and competitions.

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The Singapore Dragon Boat Association said its affiliates should consult the association prior to any overseas races.

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“We will draw their attention to anything that is unusual, for example, fast currents (at the race venue) or unusual equipment required,” said its president Rear-Admiral (Ret) Kwek Siew Jin.

Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin

Neo Chai Chin

chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

.

EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions.

.

Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3.

.

While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures.

.

NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said.

.

The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission.

.

Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25.

.

:Victims of the Cambodia accident were sucked under a pontoon by undercurrents. Still the fact that they were not wearing life jackets came under the spotlight at the time.

.

Safety recommendations expected from the inquiry panel’s report include the compulsory donning of life jackets in all competitions. While vests are mandated for meets held here, this is not necessarily the case overseas :— even in some events conducted to the International Dragon Boat Federation’s standards.

.

But the schools are not taking chances. The NUS advises its paddlers to wear life jackets, while the NTU team wears them during all training sessions and competitions.

.

The Singapore Dragon Boat Association said its affiliates should consult the association prior to any overseas races.

.

“We will draw their attention to anything that is unusual, for example, fast currents (at the race venue) or unusual equipment required,” said its president Rear-Admiral (Ret) Kwek Siew Jin.

Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin

Neo Chai Chin

chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

.

EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions.

.

Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3.

.

While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures.

.

NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said.

.

The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission.

.

Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25.

.

:Victims of the Cambodia accident

by Neo Chai Chin
http://www.todayonline.com

Cambodia provides $250,000 to help cyclone-hit Myanmar

PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will provide additional 250,000 U.S. dollars to help Myanmar after the cyclone disaster, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced here on Monday.
"Including the 50,000 U.S. dollars that Cambodia has already provided, we will provide up to 300,000 U.S. dollars to Myanmar," Hun Sen said while addressing an inauguration ceremony at the National Institute of Education.
"The amount of money is from our honest heart to help Myanmar but it is still little because we are also poor," he said.
He added that Myanmar used to help Cambodia with 500 tons of rice seeds in 2000 when Cambodia suffered from floods.

by Editor: Bi Mingxin
China view
http://news.xinhuanet.com

Cambodia frees up vital rice surplus

Cambodia has lifted a ban on rice exports to reduce global concerns over supplies of the grain.The prime minister, Hun Sen, imposed the ban in late March in a bid to halt the staple food's spiraling prices.Saying the country has enough rice for its own needs, the premier says the lifting of the ban would also help reduce global concerns over supplies of rice.But to maintain the nation's reserves, he says exports must go through the government system and will be limited to 1.6 million tonnes.

by ABC
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au

Ex-Thai PM Thaksin plans 'modern city' in Cambodia: official

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is planning to build a "modern city" in neighbouring Cambodia, replete with a financial district and port, an official said Monday.
The businessman, who owns English football club Manchester City, told Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen of his plans for Koh Kong province, near the Thai border, during a meeting on Friday in the capital Phnom Penh.
"He did not say how much money will be invested, he just told Prime Minister Hun Sen about his plan," Hun Sen's spokesman, Eang Sophalleth, told AFP.
Thaksin, joined by other Thai investors, told Hun Sen that the planned city would include a financial centre, hospital, schools and housing, he said.
A port to be used for fixing broken ships would also be included, he said.
Eang Sophalleth said Hun Sen welcomed the plan, asking Thaksin to work on his project with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
Thaksin was toppled in a military coup in September 2006 and went into self-imposed exile in Britain.
The 58-year-old former Thai premier returned to Bangkok in late February after his allies swept back into power in elections late last year.

by AFP
http://afp.google.com

Children not getting breakfast because of aid cuts

KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia (AP) - At dawn in a ramshackle elementary school in rural Cambodia, the children think of only one thing: their stomachs. They anxiously await the steaming buckets of free rice delivered to their desks.
But by the end of the month, they will no longer get free breakfast from the U.N. World Food Program. About 450,000 Cambodian students will become the latest victims of soaring global food prices.
Five local suppliers have defaulted on contracts to provide rice because they can get a higher price elsewhere, program officials say. Prices of rice have tripled on the global market since December.
Faced with a shortfall of more than 14,000 tons of rice, and with more pressing needs to meet, the World Food Program stopped the free breakfasts in March. The schools' remaining stocks are expected to run out in the coming days.
That will leave students without what was often the best meal they got all day.
``I feel hopeless,'' said Boeurn Srey Leak, a 15-year-old in sixth grade.
Rich countries have pledged $469 million for food aid to address what is expected to be a $755 million deficit, due to food prices that have risen 76 percent since December. The U.S., already the largest provider of food aid, is expected to contribute almost a third of that money. If Congress approves, the U.S. will contribute $770 million more to be available after Oct. 1.
But the money will not arrive in time to save some food programs from being cut or ended.
``I don't think there is a single program that doesn't have some kind of concerns because they have to scale down,'' said Susana Rico, an official of the World Food Program which feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children. ``The majority of countries will suffer some kind of cutbacks in rations or programs in the next three to five months.''
The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.
Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.
Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people - nearly a quarter of the number it serves - because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.
In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 40 miles west of the capital, Phnom Penh.
``They are more focused on lessons, and their reading ability has improved subsequently,'' he noted.
But principals at many such rural schools don't have the money to replace the breakfast program. Girls in particular will be at risk of dropping out because families need them at home to work in the fields or help raise siblings, said Thomas Keusters, the World Food Program's Cambodia director. Children in Cambodia often start school late and repeat grades a lot, he said.
``It's not uncommon to have a girl in grade five or six who is already 15 or 16 years old,'' Keusters said. ``We are paying them to come to school. I'm very concerned about them because I have no rice.''
About six miles away from Choumpou Proek school, the students of Sangkum Seksa school devour hearty portions of rice, peas and sardines in the morning. The school has only 10 rooms, housed in two faded yellow concrete buildings. Some students go barefoot.
``I can only feel pity for them,'' said the principal, Tan Sak. ``I have no solution for them after the current stock is used up.''
Before the free breakfasts, many students left school before noon so they could eat lunch at home.
``I had difficulty sitting in the class because my stomach was growling,'' Rim Channa, a 13-year-old fifth-grader.
Now, once again, all they will have for breakfast is the tart fruit from the nearby tamarind trees.
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Associated Press Environmental Writer Michael Casey contributed to this report from Bangkok, Thailand.
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On the Net:
World Food Program: http://www.wfp.org/english/

By KER MUNTHIT and MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press Writers

Cambodian orphans melt ex-pat

Donelle McLeod tries not to get too attached to the children at the Rainbow Bridge Happy Tree Aids orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, but says it is difficult not to.
Ms McLeod, formerly of Cambridge and with family still in Waikato, is based in the Cambodian capital working for ANZ, and is a regular visitor to Rainbow Bridge, an orphanage specifically for children with HIV/Aids.
She was back in Hamilton for a short stay last week, and spoke to members of Hamilton's Wesley Methodist Church about her connection to the orphanage and how donations from parishioners had helped the facility.
"You can't get too connected to them (the children) or you just want to take them all home. They certainly get connected to you," said Ms McLeod, who plays with the children for a few hours each week.
"But you have fun you make water bombs, kick a ball around, read books, that sort of stuff."
The orphanage is home to more than 60 children.
Ms McLeod regularly donates clothing, toys and linen to the orphanage, and insists any friends coming to Phnom Penh to stay with her do the same as payment for their stay with her.
Food, shelter and clothing are covered by government grants, but all other goods and services are paid for with donations.
Donations from Hamilton people have enabled orphanage staff to vaccinate the children, who range in age from babies to 19-year-olds.
While she had been a little sceptical of what percentage of charity donations actually reached the communities they're intended for, Ms McLeod said having direct contact with Rainbow Bridge staff reassured her donations were definitely being used to benefit the children. Ms McLeod added her own money to make up the donations to US dollar value, a popular currency in Cambodia.
Ms McLeod was introduced to the orphanage through a work colleague and said her involvement over the past 12 months "has become bigger than Ben Hur".
She is contracted to work in Cambodia until next May.
Her role involves bringing Cambodian banks up to international standards.

By JEFF NEEMS - Waikato Times

Cambodian gov't warns island developers over breaches of contract

PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Cambodian official has told investors developing islands to speed up their projects, warning that they must not divide their land concessions into plots for resale, local media reported Monday.
"Investors should not construct houses or villas for sale. They have to establish hotels or resorts to attract tourists to Cambodia," Keat Chhon, Cambodian Minister of Economics and Finance, was quoted by the Mekong Times as saying.
"We will not allow companies to violate their contracts," he warned.
The Cambodian government has granted permission for private firms to construct resorts worth billions of dollars on 10 islands off the coast of Sihanoukville and Kampot.
However, only a few sites are currently under construction, with rumors that companies are violating their contracts to build luxury residences for sale.
Sihanoukville governor Say Hak has previously warned that investors will lose their deposit and have their islands confiscated if development is too slow.

by
www.chinaview.cn