August 27, 2008, Rat Meat In Demand

PHNOM PENH - The price of rat meat has increased in Cambodia this year as increased costs has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people.

With consumer price inflation at 37 percent according to the latest central bank estimate, demand has pushed a kilogram of rat meat up to around $1.28.

Spicy field rat dishes with garlic thrown in have become particularly popular at a time when beef costs are high.

Officials said rats were fleeing to higher ground from flooded areas of the lower Mekong Delta, making it easier for villagers to catch them.

"Many children are happy making some money from selling the animals to the markets, but they keep some for their family," Ly Marong, an agriculture official said.

"Not only are our poor eating it, but there is also demand from Vietnamese living on the border with us."

He estimated that Cambodia supplied more than a tonne of live rats a day to Vietnam.

Rats are also eaten in Thailand, while a state government in eastern India this month encouraged its people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.

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T V - August 24, 2008, Olympics to London

The Olympic flag has been turned over to London after a spectacular ceremony ended the Beijing Games.

T V - August 24, 2008, Olympics close

China closed the summer Olympic games with a dazzling display of fireworks shooting across the city. The host nation China hands the Olympics baton to London safe in the knowledge the games have been a big success.

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T V - August 24, 2008, Celebrations in Beijing

Thousands of people pack into Beijing's Tianamen Square to celebrate a successful Olympic.

T V - August 24, 2008, U.S warship arrives in Georgian port

An American warship has arrived in Georgia's main Black Sea port of Batumi to deliver aid supplies. The USS McFaul is loaded with humanitarian aid for the tens of thousands of people who have been displaced during the conflict over the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia. The arrival of a U.S. warship is seen as a gesture of support for the former Soviet republic which has been fighting against Russian forces.

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August 22, 2008, Kuwait loans Cambodia $546 millon, plans embassy

PHNOM PENH - Kuwait has agreed to give Cambodia loans totalling $546 million to develop agriculture, build hydro-power facilities and construct roads, a Cambodian foreign ministry official said.

This is the second-biggest aid pledge ever received by Cambodia, after aid and loans totalling $601 million offered by China last year.

"This is showing a stronger relationship between Kuwait and Cambodia, both political and economic," Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Sin Bunthoeurn stated.

He said they planned to open embassies early next year.

Titlinda Sou of Cambodia

Fathia Ali Bourrale of Djibouti (front) and Titlinda Sou of Cambodia look at the scoreboard after the women's 100m heat in the athletics competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium.

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August 19, 2008; Rising Mekong Floods

August 19, 2008 - Rising Mekong floods upstream may cause landslides and deep spread in Cambodia and southern Vietnam but the seasonal floodwater would also bring farmers good crops of rice and fish, officials said on Tuesday.

Cambodia has alerted villagers of rising waters and the authorities have prepared 4,000 boats and life-jackets for the vulnerable areas in the eastern provinces of Kampong Cham and Kratie, the national disaster management committee said.

The Mekong River Commission said the river from northern Thailand to central Cambodia was higher than it was in 2000, when the worst floods in four decades struck southern Vietnam.


RICE FIELD CLEANING

Rice growers say they will get extra income from fishing when flooding is high and after they end the summer rice harvest. Flood waters also clean up alum, pests and rats from fields while bringing more fertile soil.

The winter-spring crop, the Delta's top yielding, produced 10 million tonnes of paddy in April with a yield of 6.2 tonnes per hectare, prompting the government to raise Vietnam's annual rice exports by 13 percent from earlier targets.

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T V-Medvedev: troops pulling out Monday

Aug. 17 - In a phone call, the Russian president has told his French counterpart Russian troops will start withdrawing from Georgia midday August 18th.

The Russian president's declaration comes after a period of confusion on the ground in Georgia on Sunday (August 17).

Much of the confusion stemmed from the remarks of Russia's frontline commander in Georgia, who said peacekeepers were moving in to replace Russian soldiers.



SOUNDBITES:
# Russian Major-General Vyacheslav Borisov.
"Stay here and you'll hear some sensational news: peacekeepers are moving in to replace us - with badges on their sleeves. These are the peacekeepers who've been here for 12 years. They'll replace the troops step-by-step and troops will be withdrawing."
# Head Of Civil Registration, Georgi Vashadze.

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T V Aug 16- War of words over bridge

Aug. 16 - Georgia accuses Russia of destroying a railway bridge on Saturday - which Russia flatly denies.

Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told reporters that Russian soldiers had destroyed a key railway bridge on Saturday.

He said destruction of the bridge resulted in the country losing east-west railway communications.


Soundbites:
# Georgia's Reintegration Minister Temur Iakobashvili.
# Anatoly Nagovitsyn, Colonel-General, Deputy Chief Of The General Staff, saying (Russian):
"When we were in a fighting phase of the peacekeeping operation, yes, bridges were our objectives, and we've shared this information, because this way we could block troop movements and reinforcements. That's a common military practice. But now, when we are in peace time why should we be blowing up bridges when we will have to restore them afterwards? We are already working hard restoring things, so I think it is just another unverified statement. We are not conducting bombardments, because we are now involved in humanitarian activity along with the peacekeeping one. I can say with full responsibility that this cannot be the case.

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T V Aug 15 -War footing amid peace talk

Aug 15 - While a ceasefire has been signed between Tbilisi and Moscow, Russian tanks continue on the move in Georgia.

The simmering crisis over the rebel Georgian region of South Ossetia exploded last week when Georgia sent forces to try to retake the Russian-backed province, provoking a massive counter-attack by Moscow.

T V Aug 16,2008 children's swimming

photo

Cambodia children play in front of their house near the Mekong river during floods in Kampong Cham province, 130 km (80 miles) east of Phnom Penh, August 16, 2008 .The Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said on Friday.

August 14; 2008, Ponloeu Hemthon of Team Cambodia in the Beijing Olympics 2008

Ponloeu Hemthon of Cambodia in the men's 50m heat at the National Aquatics Center during the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games.

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T V Aug 13-Israel clears troops in TV killing

Aug 13 - Israeli soldiers who fired on Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana will not face legal action after an investigation found their actions were justified.

An investigation into the death of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana has concluded that Israeli troops could not see whether he was holding a camera or a weapon when they fired a shell that killed him.

The 24-year-old came under fire while filming tanks in the Gaza Strip four months ago.

Reuters has said it is disappointed with the decision and will be considering legal action.

T V Aug 13- Russian moves still seen in Georgia

Aug 13 (1315 EDT/1815 BST) - The Georgian president claims Russia has not been sticking to its ceasefire agreement after days of heavy fighting.

* Georgia accuses Russia of breaking truce
# Moscow strongly denies troop advance in Gori.
# EU ministers back sending peacekeepers to South Ossetia
# U.S. requests meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Georgia.

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T V Aug 12- Armed forces attacked in Pakistan

Aug 12 - At least thirteen people are killed as a bomb explodes under an air force bus in Pakistan.

Those injured in the blast in the northwestern city of Peshawar were taken by ambulances to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital and the Hayatabad Medical Centre for treatment.

Police also transferred the dead to the mortuary as relatives turned up to seek news of those injured or killed in the blast.

T V- Aug 12-Russia moves to end Georgia fighting

Russia moves to end Georgia fighting

Aug 12 (0635 EDT/1135 BST) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia after five days of fighting.

# Russia's conditional peace
# Sarkozy in Moscow
# Georgia retreats from Gori
# Tbilisi under guard

TV - Tourists in China after attacks

Beijing authorities have tightened already thick security after a bomb explosion in West China and the fatal stabbing of an American tourist on Saturday.

Visitors can be seen wandering through many of the city's famous sights in between watching Olympic competition on day two of the Olympic Games.

TV August 8, 2008 Beijing Celebrates

An explosion of excitement and patriotism in China as the Olympic Games get underway.

Beijing residents and tourists take to the street in celebration. But a heavy security presence also looms across town with about 100,000 police in the street.

August 8, 2008, King of Cambodia Attend Beijing Olympics Ceremony

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni attends the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium. The stadium is also known as the Bird's Nest.

Cambodian marathoner running through poverty to attend Olympics in China 2008

Hem Bun Ting on left, and Sou Titlinda on Right.

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia's Hem Bunting is certain his rivals' preparations for the Beijing Olympics marathon would have been a lot different to his.

Unlike his fellow athletes, Bunting has no coach and trains on the busy potholed streets of the impoverished nation's capital Phnom Penh.

He accepts he has to do it all by himself.

"I have been mostly training alone," Bunting told Reporters after a hazardous jog dodging potholes and motorcycles.

"I sometimes can't find a good place to practice because our national stadium is always being used by footballers.

"I've been doing this four years, but I do it because I love to run," added Bunting, whose best time is 24 minutes shy of the marathon world record.

Born to a peasant family in a remote province of northeastern Cambodia 23 years ago, Bunting is one of only four athletes representing the war-scarred Southeast Asian nation in Beijing.

He lives off just $30 a month and the $10 running shoes which helped him win two Southeast Asian Games medals last year have seen better days.

LONELY RUNS

"I think the one that costs $200 would be more suitable for an Olympic marathon," added Bunting, who said his energetic puppy sometimes joins him on his otherwise lonely runs.

"I have no money, what can I do?"

Cambodia has never won an Olympic medal and its greatest sporting success came in 1970 when its athletes won two silvers and three bronzes at the Asian Games in Bangkok.

A brutal civil war and a subsequent Olympic ban ensured there were no more after that.

Although a generous gesture, it is unlikely long-serving Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will have to pay athletes for a Beijing podium finish.

The International Olympic Committee ensured 14 officials accompany its Cambodia's two swimmers and two runners into the Beijing Olympics 2008.

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August 6, 2008; Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen visits rice field in Samrong Toug district in Kampong Spue province

Hun Sen said that extremists from Thailand and Cambodia are to be blamed for inflaming the border dispute between the nations.



August 6, 3008 - Pictures of Hun Sen during his visit to Samrong Toug district in Kampong Spue province.

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T V -Olympic Torch at earthquake zone

Emotions run high as Olympic torch tours Chengdu, the capital of China's quake-hit Sichuan province.

The relay through Chengdu marks the end of the torch's journey across five continents and every corner of China on its way to Beijing, where it will parade through the city before lighting the cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony on Friday (August 8).

T V -Olympic Torch at earthquake zone

Emotions run high as Olympic torch tours Chengdu, the capital of China's quake-hit Sichuan province.

The relay through Chengdu marks the end of the torch's journey across five continents and every corner of China on its way to Beijing, where it will parade through the city before lighting the cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony on Friday (August 8).

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T V-Tight security in Beijing

Authorities tighten already heavy security ahead of the Olympics the day after a deadly attack in the country's northwest.


Bomb attack in China's restive Xinjiang region on Monday further worries authorities already on alert for any signs of trouble.

T V Aug 4 - Beijing's Olympic tourists

Aug 4 - Visiters from around the world are arriving in Beijing several days ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games.

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T V Aug 3 - Olympic fireworks in Beijing

Aug. 03 - Fireworks light the Beijing sky as China prepares for the start of the Olympics.

As well as the opening ceremony to be held at the Bird's Nest National Stadium, a huge fireworks display will also be held on Tiananmen square on August 8 to mark the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

T V Aug 4 - Mini-tornado kills 3 in N France

Aug 4 - Three people have been killed and nine more injured after a freak tonado ripped through Hautmont, a small town in northern France.

The storm smashed through dozens of houses and tossed cars into the air as it cut a 10 kilometre wide path of destruction through the town.