Thai-ASEAN News Network

The situation along the Thai-Cambodian border is still calm without fresh military movements after the Cambodian leader's aggressive remark against Thailand on the border dispute issue.

Thailand and Cambodia have not deployed more troops around the Preah Vihear Temple yet despite the reported aggressive statement made by Cambodian PM Hun Sen that he will order his troops to shoot whoever trespasses on Cambodian land. The atmosphere at the border area in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district is still quiet with Thai troops keeping security there.

Meanwhile, residents of Kantharalak's Phumisarol village close to the Thai-Camobdian carry on with their daily activities as usual without concern over a possible clash between Thai and Cambodian troops.

At the border area of Tamuen Thom and Tamuen Kwai temples in Surin province, Thai and Cambodian security forces still carry out their regular patrols along the border. No sign of tension has been seen so far.

The miserable situation of neglected renters in Dey Kraham area

Phnom Penh (KI-Media) - Recently, the Phnom Penh municipality has decided to sell to the private company 7NG about 4.7 hectares of land in Phnom Penh, in an area know as Dey Kraham (Red Earth), located near the newly built National Assembly buildings. Almost 1,500 families are calling this area their homes. Most of them have been living here for ten years or more. Almost 1,200 houses have already been demolished. The owners of the demolished houses are usually well off and do not even live there, these houses were in fact mainly rented out to poor urban working class of Phnom Penh.

While the homeowners are compensated by the private company which bought the land, the renters are faced with serious hardship. As can be seen in the photos below, these renters who already faced miserable living conditions under the opulence of the “rich” and “super-rich” society of Phnom Penh, saw themselves thrown out, quite literally, on the street following the demolition of the houses they rented a few days earlier. Having nowhere to go, they live on the streets, or any unoccupied spots they can get a hold of. Some more fortunate ones still have a bed made out of scrap wood and some plastic tarps to cover what they call their new homes. Others, less fortunate, are lucky enough to have a scrap of wood to cover the dirt they sleep on. If the living condition was miserable before, their current condition is plainly unhealthy: they are forced to live outdoor under the rain, the wind, and the scorching sun. As can be seen on these photos, several of them are old and sick, a majority of them are women and young children, some of whom are already lacking food.

Unlike the renters of the Sambok Chap area who were offered a small plot of land outside of the city, renters in the Dey Kraham area were simply told by the authority to vacate the area. No alternative options have been offered by the municipality of Phnom Penh to these people thrown out in the street. In the name of development, a large number of poor people are forced to face very serious hardship while the authorities are turning a neglectful blind eye to their misery.

The following photos speak for themselves.

Cheam Adam outpointed Phan Sothy and Sok Ratha won by second-round disqualification Saturday to advance into the semifinals of CTN’s Kun Khmer Tournament of Champions. Phan Sothy (8-3-0) cut Cheam Adam (29-7-2) early with elbows, on the left temple in the first round and across the nose in the second, but a bloody Cheam Adam battled back, hurting Phan Sothy in the later rounds with kicks to the body and nearly putting him down in the fourth round. In the co-feature, Sok Ratha (6-3) could not recover from a low blow, prompting referee The Sarin to disqualify Seung Kangsan (24-3-9). Semifinals are scheduled for October 10 at the CTN boxing arena. Khun Makara will face Cheam Adam, and Sok Ratha will go against Poy Neurn.

In Brief: New ADB country head

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced a new Cambodia country head following the appointment of the previous director, Arjun Goswami, to Manila in the role of head of regional integration for Southeast Asia. Putu M Kamayana has already started as the replacement for Goswami in Phnom Penh, an ADB statement said Friday. Kamayana, an Indonesian, has worked for the bank since 1995 in the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, the announcement added.

In Brief: Rattan firms to unite

RATTAN suppliers and processors are due to meet today in Phnom Penh to form the country’s first rattan association with support from the global conservation group WWF and the European Union. It would aim to provide Cambodian producers with new knowledge and experience related to rattan, processing techniques, trade and markets, according to a joint press release. “The project identified that processors and exporters are not familiar with using the environmentally friendly production techniques and that there is lack of understanding about international market requirements,” WWF Rattan Project Manager Ou Ratanak said in the statement.

CAAI News Media; South Thailand

Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants at a Muslim cemetery in southern Thailand's Yala province, about 1,084 km (674 miles) south of Bangkok, September 27, 2009. The bomb attack killed one civil defence volunteer as he was cleaning the grave of his elder brother, police said. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants at a Muslim cemetery in southern Thailand's Yala province, about 1,084 km (674 miles) south of Bangkok, September 27, 2009. The bomb attack killed one civil defence volunteer as he was cleaning the grave of his elder brother, police said. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants at a Muslim cemetery in southern Thailand's Yala province, about 1,084 km (674 miles) south of Bangkok, September 27, 2009. The bomb attack killed one civil defence volunteer as he was cleaning the grave of his elder brother, police said. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

A Thai soldier stands guard in Thailand's restive southern province of Yala. Suspected Islamic militants have shot dead three Muslims in separate attacks in Thailand's troubled south this weekend