A short Summary of the week's opinions

Saving the environment,Teachers speak quietly

and a Cambodian diplomat goes off in a spacy email.

I dare not raise my face when I am walking through the village because I am ashamed that I cannot help them.”

- Var Savoeun, chief of the Dey Krahorm community, addressing the pawning of land documents by evictees that could leave them landless yet again.

For Cambodia, our priority sectors are still education, health, rural development, agriculture, women’s affairs, social affairs and physical infrastructure.”

- A Cheam Yeap, government spokesman, talking about the Kingdom’s proposed US$2.4 billion national budget for 2011.

If the Thai media is correct, it proves by this fact that Mr Abhisit is a liar, a rogue with a very sophisticated manipulative mind.”

-Press and Quick Reaction Unit, commenting on Thai claims that Red Shirts trained in Cambodia were planning to assassinate the Thai prime minister.

Chomsky expressed na?ve sympathy for the Khmer Rouge revolution based on his selective use of “evidence” and ignorant disregard for the plight of refugees.”

-Sophal Ear and Geoffrey Caindy

Complete justice after genocide is never possible. Without such justice, people are forced to live with … grudges, anger and frustration.

-Kok-Thay Eng, DC-Cam

In the past decade … the ruling Cambodian People’s Party has dismantled the fundamental pillars of democracy.

-Ou Virak, CCHR

Quote of the week

Liu Xiabao is a convicted criminal. Awarding the Nobel prize to him is equivalent to encouraging crime.”

- Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, commenting on dissident Liu Xiabao’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Flooding

BY THE NUMBER

50

Percent of the costs of Typhoon Ketsana that have been incurred by recent flooding

132 million

The amount of damage caused by Typhoon Ketsana

4

Number of people dead by drowning since heavy rains began

1,021

Number of families evacuated on Sunday from Dangkor district

6,242

Number of hectares of rice paddy destroyed by recent storms and flooding in Pursat province

10

Number of bridges damaged by storms in Pursat province

2,500

Number of litres of petrol used to fuel water-pumping machines in Pursat province

400,000

Number of sandbags used to prevent flooding in Pursat province

43

Number of kilometres of road damaged by flooding in Pursat province

News Trends, coincidences, or similarities

KRT GRAFT REPORT TO BE PUBLIC

A STEP FORWARD

Uth Chhorn, the head of the National Audit Authority who was appointed Independent Counsellor for the tribunal last year, said in June that he expected a report of his office’s investigations to be made public by the following month.

KRT GRAFT REPORT TO BE CONFIDENTIAL

AND BACK AGAIN

The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in New York says a report from the anti-graft monitor at the Khmer Rouge tribunal is “confidential”, despite a pledge from the monitor earlier this year to release the report publicly.

ANGKOR WAT VISITOR NUMBER RISE

Angkor Wat has seen a 24 percent increasein visits by foreign tourists over the first nine months of 2010, compared with the same period last year. Some 804,170 foreign tourists visited the temple complex during the period.

TOURISTS DESTROING ANGKOR WAT

An international heritage conservancy has warned that the Angkor Wat temple complex faces “critical” threats in the form of heavy traffic and inefficient conservation techniques. “Mass tourism is overrunning the fragile archaeology site,” said a conservation official.

Big Stories

This year’s termination of salary supplement programmes in the civil service sector could exacerbate the outflow of staff from government positions to more lucrative donor-funded positions, according to a new country audit from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The authors of the audit … warned that the end of salary supplements could cause “low morale … and an increase in corruption.”

An international heritage conservancy has warned that the Angkor Wat temple complex faces “critical” threats in the form of heavy traffic and inefficient conservation techniques.

Calmly stepping out of the rescue cage, Florencio Avalos embraced his 7-year-old son as he tasted freedom after 10 long weeks, and Chile erupted in joy. The return to the surface of the trapped miners drew international acclaim. AFP

What's the biggest story? Have your say at angkorone.com/lift

Laugh a little

A state in southern India is running a competition for designers to produce an “air-conditioned” jacket for outdoor labourers with prize money of more than US$20,000. Local authorities in Kerala have challenged individuals and research organisations to produce a prototype cooling jacket that could be used by workers who toil in hot weather. AFP