DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Cambodia's flash floods kill 5, affect 15,510 families in NW province” plus 5 more

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and some 15,510 families have been affected by flash floods that have been hitting the country's Banteay Meanchey province since earlier this month, the latest report of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) showed Tuesday.

Some 14,300 houses have been inundated and 29,120 hectares of rice seedlings and 2,000 hectares of cassava have been submerged, the report said.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony at the National University of Management on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that more than 5,000 families have been evacuated to higher grounds. "Besides heavy rains, the province is suffering from the floods flowing from Thailand,"he said, adding that Cambodian Red Cross, the NCDM and local authorities have been working together to rescue and provide emergency reliefs to those affected.

The premier appealed to people to continue to be vigilant over more serious flash floods as a low pressure system was still impacting the country.

Keo Vy, chief of the NCDM's cabinet, said that so far, the Cambodian Red Cross and charitable organizations have distributed emergency reliefs to more than 2,400 families in the province.

Floods usually hit Cambodia between August and October. Last year, the floods killed at least 250 Cambodian people and affected some 1.4 million others in the country, according to the NCDM.

Moreover, nearly 3,000 kilometers of gravel roads and some 180 kilometers of national roads had been damaged.

Last year's floods cost the country about 521 million U.S. dollars.

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- AEON Mall, a Japan's single- largest shopping mall developer and the largest retailing operator, will invest 200 million U.S. dollars to build a four-storey shopping mall here in December, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday.

"It will be the country's largest modern market and the investment will cost more than 200 million U.S. dollars," he said during a graduation ceremony of students at the National University of Management.

The construction will be begun on December 10, 2012 on the land area of more than 100,000 square meters along the river in the capital's Chamkamon district, he said.

The mall will create between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs.

The premier said the investment reflected Japanese investors' confidence in Cambodia and it will also contribute to promoting the country's tourism sector.

A Japanese senior officer at the AEON Mall-Phnom Penh Branch confirmed Tuesday in a condition of anonymity that the construction will be completed in 2014.

YANGON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar marionette troupe in cooperation with double Academy award winner Sein Mutta orchestra will jointly present performance at ASEAN Marionette Festival in Santosa Island of Singapore in November, according to official media Tuesday.

Myanmar citizens in Singapore invited the orchestra troupe to enjoy the entertainments, said the New Light of Myanmar.

The troupe plans to present 11 kinds of dancing with the use of marionette in 45 minutes.

The orchestra will play the music to contribute to the marionette troupe in addition to solo special performances.

Htwe Oo (Myanmar) marionette troupe had experiences in performing the entertainment in the international marionette festival and won the applause of the audiences.

Htwe Oo had shown off performances in Thailand, Cambodia, Dubai, Sweden, France, Germany, Australia, Holland and Japan as well as participated in the world marionette festival in France.

Puppet play is integral to the Myanmar culture since ancient times and the puppet shows were very popular during the 18th century and their popularity even exceeded human performers.

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lightning strikes had killed 91 Cambodian people in the first eight months of this year, down 37 percent compared with 146 deaths at the same period last year, a senior disaster official said Tuesday.

Keo Vy, chief of the Cabinet of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said that 19 out of the dead persons were female and most of them lived in rural areas.

In addition, the lighting strikes had injured 69 others and killed 32 heads of cattle, he said.

The decrease in death toll this year is thanks to the government's efforts in educating people about how to keep themselves safe from lightning strikes, he said.

"Also, rural people themselves are very careful and stay in their houses when there are heavy rains and lightning," he said.

Lightning happens every year in Cambodia, especially in rainy season, which begins from May through October.

In 2011, lightning strikes killed 165 people and injured 139 others.

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1,000 prisoners and culprits detained in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey Provincial Prison are facing floodwaters after heavy rains in recent weeks, according to the website of the National Police on Monday.

The prison, situated nearby Sirisophorn River, has been submerged by flash floods since last Friday, said Prison's Chief Col. Hin Sophal, adding that as of Sunday, the floodwaters in the vicinity of the prison have risen as high as 0.8 meters.

"The water has not flown into the prisoners' cells yet because we have used 2 pumping machines to pump out the water 24 hours on 24 hours," the website quoted Hin Sophal as saying on Sunday.

"We also prepare some 10,000 sandbags to place in front of waterways to prevent the prison from more serious flooding," he said.

The prison has been hit by floods in three consecutive years since 2010, he said.

Flash floods have hit Banteay Meanchey province bordering Thailand since last Monday, forcing nearly 4,000 families to evacuate to higher ground, according to the report of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).

It said that some 8,033 hectares of rice paddy and 1,530 hectares of cassava crops have also inundated.

Floods usually hit the country between August and October. Last year, the floods killed at least 250 Cambodian people and affected some 1.4 million people in the country, the NCDM said.