Showing posts with label Jewelry fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewelry fashion. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Stampede evacuations discussed
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Tep Nimol and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
Doctors at Calmette Hospital met on Tuesday to discuss the evacuation of patients severely injured in last week’s deadly Diamond Island stampede to hospitals in neighbouring countries.
The meeting followed an announcement on Monday by Prime Minister Hun Sen that the government would pay evacuation and hospital costs for any patient requiring treatment not available locally.
Sok Khon, director of administration at Calmette, said that no patients had yet been evacuated, but that staff were preparing for that possibility.
“Our top doctors met on Tuesday and carefully checked the status of the victims to determine whether they need to be sent out of the country for further treatment,” he said.
Hun Sen said on Monday that any victim of the bridge stampede who had sustained injuries “beyond our ability to cure” would be sent abroad for treatment and that the government would be “responsible for local and international treatment”.
“We are discussing the matter in accordance with the prime minister’s announcement. We have not yet sent anyone, but are checking their condition,” Sok Khon said.
Som Sophorn, deputy director of Preah Ketomealea hospital, said on Tuesday that a 32-year-old patient being treated for a cerebral hemorrhage was transferred to Calmette Hospital in accordance with policy established by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
“The ministry has ordered that all seriously injured patients be sent to Calmette in order to be evaluated for possible evacuation,” he said.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng and Social Affairs Minister Ith Sam Heng were unavailable for comment.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
First Vietnamese supermarket to open in Cambodia
A corner of the first Vietnam Supermarket in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which will open in the end of December
via CAAI
Saturday ,Nov 27,2010
The first Vietnam Supermarket in Cambodia will open on December 29, creating advantageous condition for domestic businesses to sell and advertise Vietnamese goods to people in this neighboring country.
Construction of the Vietnam Supermarket, in Monivong Street, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has a total capital of US$3 million, invested by Z38 Company, a member of Vietnamese Business Association in Cambodia.
Located on 3,300 square meters, the supermarket will sell goods for Vietnamese companies with the prices set by themselves. Payment would be conducted through Agribank, BIDC Bank and Sacombank.
Seng Meng, the supermarket chairman and the association deputy chairman, said that the Vietnam Supermarket will meet demand of oversea Vietnamese living in Cambodia and the rising number of Cambodian who have loved Vietnamese goods.
In addition, the facility will help those who want to but yet expand business to Cambodia as they have been afraid of language difference and procedures, he said.
Besides having his supermarket to sell their goods, Vietnamese companies could hire stalls to do that themselves. The Vietnam Supermarket will assist them with export-import procedures and selling staff, who are oversea Vietnamese being able to speak both Vietnamese and Cambodian.
The Z38 Company has planned to open another three Vietnam Supermarkets in other Cambodian provinces including the famous tourist destination Siem Reap.
By Hai Mien
Survivors Recall Horrifying Hours on Bridge
Photo: by Heng Reaksmey
From left to right: Ros Kong, Bun Sophal, and Math Seila. The Diamond Bridge survivors were guests on Hello VOA, on Thursday.
"The whole crowd became like trees bent in a gust of wind, to the left or right, as the wave of pushing surged.”
On Monday night, there were sounds of joy, as revelers spent the last few hours of the three-day Water Festival on Diamond Island. But as they crossed the bridge, those sounds were replaced by groans, as more and more people packed onto the structure.
People were pressed from all sides, three survivors of the tragedy, which claimed 347 lives, told “Hello VOA” on Thursday.
“When the crowd became more and more narrow, with people pushing in, it was hard to breathe,” said Ros Kong, who was stuck among the mass of people that would eventually panic and stampede. “People then tried to push upwards to breathe. The whole crowd became like trees bent in a gust of wind, to the left or right, as the wave of pushing surged.”
Authorities have not found a definitive moment when the overcrowding devolved into something more dangerous, but an investigative committee official said Wednesday he suspected people thought the swaying suspension bridge was close to collapse.
As panic ensued, people began to climb over each other. Those who could not stand fell beneath the feet of the others. Health officials say most of the casualties were crushed or suffocated.
For survivor Bun Sophal, the stampede led to an arduous wait on the bridge, as police and medical responders fought a heavy crowd to reach the bridge.
“I almost made it to the end of the bridge,” Bun Sophal said. “But because it was too narrow, I got stuck right there. I had to wait until I almost died for police to come.”
The survivors spoke live following a national day of mourning that brought some comfort to relatives of the victims. But serious questions remain as to who was responsible for allowing thousands of people to crowd onto the bridge.
Callers to “Hello VOA” said they wanted to know what caused the panic and who was to blame for the deaths. So far there have been few answers. The government’s inquiry is expected to issue results next week.
“I don’t know if there were police at both ends, because I was trapped in the middle of the bridge,” Math Seila, a third survivor said. “Had there been, they would have been able to save us on time.”
She eventually jumped from the bridge, escaping the crush of people but injuring herself in the process.
Ros Kong said it took almost two hours for police to reach the bridge.
“I could only see the authorities coming to help us after people started fainting and died,” Math Seila said. “Had there been security forces close by, they would have helped us long before. I just wonder why.”
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Opposition: Kep Chuktema and Touch Naroth must resign
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| Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman |
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Soy
On Wednesday, the opposition party and civil society organizations called on Kep Chuktema, the governor of the city of Phnom Penh, and Touch Naroth, the Phnom Penh city police commissioner, to resign from their position because they were involved in the Koh Pich bridge tragedy. Kem Sokha, HRP president, said: “The government must punish high-ranking officials who are responsible in the administration, otherwise, they have to be removed from their position.” Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman, said: “I am calling on the government to suspend officials responsible for this tragedy in order to perform the investigation. We call on the Phnom Penh city governor [Kep Chuktema] and the Phnom Penh city police commissioner [Touch Naroth] to resign from their position also.”
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Families of victims would receive 5 million riels ($US1, 230) in compensation: Hun Xen
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A soldier carries discarded sandals after a stampede that killed hundreds on the northen Koh Pich bridge late last night during the water festival. (Photo by: Rick Valenzuela) |
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
The Phnom Penh Post STAFF
Cambodian officials today were struggling to cope with the aftermath of last night’s tragic stampede on Koh Pich bridge in Phnom Penh that left more than 300 people dead and several hundreds more injured.
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced early this morning via video conference that 339 were confirmed dead.
Nhim Vanda, deputy director of the Department of Disaster Management put the figure today at 349, while unconfirmed reports from police officials said 375 had been killed.
The Prime Minister also pledged that the families of victims would receive 5 million riels ($US1, 230) in compensation.
City hospitals have begun posting photographs to help identify the dead, while government trucks have been tasked with returning identified victims to their home provinces.
A press conference has been scheduled for later this afternoon, during which officials are expected to announce details of their investigation into the cause of the stampede and ongoing efforts to care for survivors and the families of those who lost relatives in the stampede.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Equality: entrepreneur style
Photo by: Pha Lina
Photo by: Pha Lina
Anita Lam has made croquettes all over the world.
From an initiative she set up to help women gain literacy skills, Nguon Chantha, co-director of Mekong Blue and the Stung Treng Women's Development Centre, now employs 77 people, helping them earn a sustainable living while furthering their education.
Sunday, 21 November 2010 21:09 Matthew Backhouse
Setting up and growing a business can be a challenge for many women in Cambodia. 
Photo by: Pha Lina
The travel agency started by Sreat Mom Sophear’s is worth $100,000 and has thousands of clients.
Sreat Mom Sophear, general manager of Sophiya Travel and Tours
FRESH out of university, Sreat Mom Sophear struggled to find a job that matched her skills. Undeterred, the 28-year-old decided to work her way up from the bottom until she had enough money to set up her own tourism business.
She launched Sophiya Travel and Tours five years ago with US$2,000 and a lot of determination. The effort paid off, and the company is now worth $100,000 with thousands of clients a year. She decided to start the company after becoming disillusioned with the entry-level jobs on offer for finance and banking graduates. The first few years were the most difficult, as she had to divide her time between the business and a second job as a flight attendant.
“It was very hard. Sometimes I woke up at 4am [to go to work].”
Investing profits back into the company had been crucial to growing the business. She relocated the company last year to a newly-renovated office in Phnom Penh’s upmarket Boeung Keng Kang district and opened a cosy café next door. She has also established a second branch of the travel agency in Siem Reap and invested in several properties.
“Sometimes families think the ladies should not be strong or independent – we should just stay at home or just be employees working for somewhere, or taking care of babies or children,” she said.
“That is one thing I want to share with the ladies – that not only men can do it, women can also.”
Sok Channda, president and chief executive of Angkor Data Communication Group
Sok Channda admits she is “a special case”. From her humble beginnings as a plastic flower vendor with no university education, she now runs several of Cambodia’s leading information technology companies.
She founded Anana Computers more than 15 years ago importing components from Vietnam one piece at a time, until the company had everything it needed to build its first computer.
“In the beginning we didn’t have a lot of money to increase business. We only bought one CPU, one hard disk, one motherboard, one monitor, one VGA card,” she said.
Over time, the company built relationships with key players overseas including Intel, Dell, Hewlett Packard and IBM. The business diversified in 2005 with the establishment of internet service providers MekongNet and AngkorNet, which together are the second biggest players in the market.
Although she had learned from experience in the job, she said education would be vital for the next generation of entrepreneurs. She meets regularly with other businesswomen to share knowledge, and offers discounts on internet services for schools. She also employs a number of women in senior management positions, including the group’s sales and marketing director.
“[If] you do good, somebody will look for you and follow,” she said.
Nguon Chantha, co-director of Mekong Blue and the Stung Treng Women’s Development Centre
FORMER nurse Nguon Chantha wanted to help impoverished women empower themselves – and became an accidental entrepreneur along the way.
Nine years ago, together with her husband, she founded the Stung Treng Women’s Development Centre at Sre Po village, in a remote part of Stung Treng province, to teach local women to read and write.
She soon realised the women wanted literacy skills to find employment, so she set up two looms where six of them could produce traditional silk products.
The enterprise has since grown to 35 looms and 77 employees, making it one of the largest employers in the province.
Nguon Chantha said it had been “really, really difficult” to get the business off the ground, with some people calling her crazy or stupid.
“I don’t know many women doing something like this,” she said.
Although she has no business background, she has already set up a shop in Phnom Penh called Mekong Blue, established an online store, and made distribution deals with top-end hotels in Siem Reap. Her aim is for the donor-supported centre to become completely self-sufficient, with sales of high-end silk supporting the centre’s numerous local social programmes.
“We realised if you don’t do business, you don’t make money, and that’s how we started the business. The more we sell, the more women get better jobs – that’s the whole idea.”
The centre started with a budget of US$3,000, but last year total sales reached $120,000 – the highest revenue since they began. She hoped to see more Cambodian-driven social enterprises like hers in the future, and for donors to offer greater support for marketing and distribution.
Isabelle Duzer, owner of Le Sauvignon wine bar and restaurant in Phnom Penh
PARIS-born Isabelle Duzer wouldn’t have dreamed of quitting her job to open a wine bar in her native France, but there was nothing stopping her in Cambodia.
The former human resources consultant had lived in Phnom Penh for several years before she decided to leave her job and open Le Sauvignon earlier this year.
Duzer said she had never started her own business before, but had relished the opportunity.
“It’s exciting to have your own business and to work on something you like,” she said.
Not one to take the back seat, Duzer has made decisions on every aspect of the business – from the décor in the newly-renovated Boeung Keng Kang restaurant, through to the wine list, which she selected herself from five suppliers.
“I wanted to have nice wine – not the wine you can find in every bar,” she said. “I’m not a professional, but I like good wines.”
She said it had been challenging to set up the business on her own, with marketing and communications proving particularly difficult. But she was coming up with new ways to attract customers, such as wine tastings, gourmet dinners, specialist tea tastings and afternoon teas with cakes and sandwiches.
She has also set up a website and used the social networking site Facebook to spread the word. But Duzer said she had found it no more difficult to start a business in Cambodia as a woman.
“Maybe it’s different if you’re Khmer or expatriate, I don’t know – but for myself I didn’t see any challenges because I’m a woman,” she said.
Anita Lam has made croquettes all over the world.
Anita Lam, owner of Dutch Croquette in Cambodia
FROM the plains of the Kalahari to the mountains of Nepal, Anita Lam has made Dutch bar snacks wherever she has lived.
Now she’s started a small business selling them in Phnom Penh.
Born in Rwanda, Lam later moved to the Netherlands with her Dutch husband, where she learned how to cook traditional croquettes from her mother-in-law. The snacks are made from a meat or vegetable ragout that is rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried. They are often served with mustard and bread as an accompaniment to beer.
Lam said she made the croquettes as a hobby wherever she and her husband lived, in countries as diverse as Botswana, Mali and Nepal.
“When I was in Botswana, in the middle of the Kalahari, I used to work with the bushmen, but later on when there was no more work I had nothing to do. So I started making the croquettes and called all the Dutch neighbours to come to our home on a Saturday.”
Lam moved to Cambodia five years ago and recently decided to turn her hobby into a small business. She has been making croquettes in her kitchen and selling them to friends, families and a local German bakery for the last two months. She has even been making croquettes with a Cambodian twist. “Local people like it when I put in chilli and garlic,” she said.
The business is already making a small profit and Lam hopes it will continue to grow. Lam said networking with other businesswomen through the Women’s International Group had been encouraging. “They are very powerful, they know what they are talking about,” she said.
CIMB celebrates Cambodian future
Photo by: Pha Lina
Officials open the first branch of Malaysian Bank CIMB, in Phnom Penh, on Friday. During the opening, National Bank of Cambodia governor Chea Chanto said he expected deposits and credit to grow from between 20 to 25 percent this year, compared to 2009. Credit could reach US$3.01 billion this year, from $2.51 billion last year, while deposits could increase to $4.12 billion from $3.3 billion in 2009.
Cambodian beauty pageant for disabled full of land mines
Morten Traavik knew the idea of a beauty pageant for Cambodian land-mine victims was testing taboos: 20 women scarred by the country’s decades of war parading their amputated bodies for the chance at a new prosthetic limb.
“I wanted to see if I could apply my skills as an artist … to this reality and draw attention to the issues at hand in a new way that didn’t just confirm already established preconceptions of the land-mine survivors as pitiable abominations,” the Norwegian theatre director said.
He might even have expected the backlash that soon followed from some local charities, as happened with his first pageant for land-mine victims in Angola the year before. What he did not expect was the government’s about-face in August, 2009.
Days before a photo exhibit of the contestants was set to debut in the capital of Phnom Penh, a lead-up to the live pageant being planned for December, the Ministry of Social Affairs pulled the plug. Calling the affair an affront to Cambodian tradition, it ordered the project shuttered “immediately” and asked Mr. Traavik to leave the country. The local support he had dried up.
“When the Minister of Social Affairs himself started his own campaign against Miss Landmine,” he said, “everybody ran for cover.”
Miss Landmine, a new Canadian documentary that follows the project from start to finish, premiers Monday on CBC.
By the Cambodian government’s best estimates, land mines still litter some 650 square kilometres of the country, a legacy of the Khmer Rouge and their fanatic efforts to keep their neighbours and enemies at bay. In its pursuit of North Vietnamese forces crossing into Cambodia, the United States dropped another 2.75 million tons of bombs on the country during the Vietnam War, many of which failed to explode on impact and remain active to this day.
Together, land mines and other old ordnance have killed or maimed some 63,000 Cambodians since the 1979 fall of the Khmer Rouge and continue to claim more than 200 victims a year.
In moving the pageant from Angola to Cambodia, Mr. Traavik knew he had to make a few changes. In a culture where modesty trumps most other virtues, the swimsuits had to go. Soft, candy-coloured gowns took their place.
With support from the relevant ministries and the government’s mine-action agency, Mr. Traavik and his team set to work, scouring the country for contestants. With tens of thousands of land-mine victims across Cambodia, the women weren’t hard to find. They also found some critics.
“I have the same feelings now as then,” said Punk Chhiv Kek, the president of a leading local human rights group who called the pageant “a contest of suffering.”
“In my personal opinion, the project is in poor taste,” she said. “But at the end of the day, whether to appear or not is a decision for each contestant to make. They are, or should be, free to choose what they want.”
Others were more adamant. Chris Minko, an Australian national who heads Cambodia’s disabled volleyball league, took his complaint straight to the Minister of Social Affairs, suggesting Mr. Traavik be asked to leave.
“There are more dignified ways of showcasing the ability of Cambodian women land-mine survivors, such as through the many high[ly] successful and internationally recognized Cambodian programs of sport and disability,” he said.
The ministry agreed. NGOs that had supported the project fell silent. A letter Mr. Traavik sent to about 20 non-government groups asking for their support also went ignored. More than a year on, local NGOs active in mine clearance and victim assistance were still reluctant to talk about the pageant for the record.
Lim El Djurado, a spokesman for the Social Affairs Ministry, said the government banned the project to protect the country’s customs.
“We did not allow the contest to take place because it degrades Cambodian tradition,” he said. “When you make disabled people do this kind of thing, it looks like you mock them.
“If they really want to help, they can come and provide artificial limbs and give them skills to improve their lives.”
Mr. Traavik believes he was offering the women something just as valuable. By giving them a chance to be part of something typically reserved for the able bodied, he believes he gave them a chance to reclaim their pride and self-respect. For proof, he offers the women themselves.
“If they had felt the same way as the government,” he said, “they would never have taken part.”
Among the women who did was Dos Sopheap, who posed for her photo shoot with a toy machine gun.
From a soft black gown cut just below the knee, a single leg runs to the floor. She balances herself against a whitewashed wall with one arm and holds the gun in the other. Composed and confident, she offers up only the slightest smile, an image of playfulness and power all at once.
Fourteen years ago, at the age of six, Ms. Dos was headed fishing with some neighbours when they ran into a Khmer Rouge soldier, one of a band still holding out in a few remote pockets of western Cambodia. When the soldier tossed a grenade their way, she recalled, the group ran for cover. Someone stepped on a land mine. Her father lost a hand. Ms. Dos lost her left leg.
As that young girl grew older, she learned to hide.
“I didn’t want to go to school. When I saw other kinds wearing shorts, I really wanted to but couldn’t. … All I could do was cry,” she said. “I felt like I should not have been born.”
Now, she said, “I have hope about going back to school. I believe I can do things like the others.”
In December, the Miss Landmine team slipped back into Cambodia unannounced to officially crown Ms. Dos and present her with a new, custom-fitted prosthetic leg. When the government threw the project out of the country, Mr. Traavik simply moved the pageant online. Some 2,300 votes came in from more than 30 countries.
Miss Landmine captures the trip on film. As with the pageant, though, the government has vowed to bar any attempt to screen it in Cambodia.
Stan Feingold, the movie’s director, finds the government’s stand hard to fathom.
“The Miss Landmine project has a very positive message,” he said. “Disabled people don’t have to hide in their homes and be ashamed of their injuries. Disabled people can contribute in many positive ways to Cambodian society. I don’t understand how the Cambodian government could disagree with that.”
Special to The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
How to find low cost wedding rings
Wearing something that signifies the loving bond between the bride and the groom is an age-old tradition that still continues and wedding rings, apart from delivering the message, also marks a special union besides symbolizing the commitment a couple gets into with each other. But people often land up in bizarre situations since it becomes a matter of prestige to bargain for wedding rings; however, with adequate information on low cost wedding rings, you can save a lot of money without compromising on the quality, the elegance and the style. The money saved can thus be utilized for a better wedding reception, a better wedding venue and even, a much better wedding gift
The quality of a wedding ring reflects both from the metal and the gem; therefore, it is paramount that the choice should be based on a careful scrutiny. It’s not tough to find affordable metals of high quality unless you are dead set on precious metals like gold or platinum. The platinum appearance can be well achieved with white gold and the price becomes just half; still cheaper are yellow gold wedding rings or rose-gold wedding rings. However, there are many who are using these only for the ceremony, while for a regular usage, they are opting for high-quality silver or titanium wedding rings
Low priced rings
But how would you know if a wedding ring is rightly priced? By its weight and size – the weight of a piece of metal reflects the quality while size determines the quantity that’s been put into it. The thickness of a wedding ring is therefore, the determinant of its price. Thus, go for the thinner ones if you are on a budget and remember that both the wedding rings should be of equal thickness.
Another point that should be mentioned here is: affordability is proportional to the brand name and the grandness of a jewelry store. A silver wedding ring from Cartier is definitely going to cost more than a diamond wedding ring from the local seller, but you need to have an eye for detail if buying it from him. Else, you may also find discounted wedding rings (single pieces or by pairs) in the departmental stores during the off-wedding seasons or in the websites that sell stuff online. Sometimes, they belong to direct manufacturers; in that case, you may make a deal that can save a lot of money.
1840s Banded Agate Signet Ring, 18K, Inscribed “Beloved”
This is a beautiful ring from the Victorian-era. It has the word ‘beloved’ inscribed on the inside – which I think is more romantic than ‘love’. Made of 18k gold.
1 Carat Pink Sapphire and Diamond 14K White Gold Ring
Delicate rose pink sapphire adds a colorful glow to this elegant and very feminine ring. An oval pink sapphire take center stage in this beautiful ring, surrounded by dazzling diamonds. Crafted in 14K white gold, a lovely everyday look.
