Cambodian boy suckles from cow after parents leave

Associated Press

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Tha Sophat, a 20-month-old boy, suckles from a cow in Koak Roka village, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Friday. Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same since his parents moved to Thailand in search of work. AP

KOAK ROKA, Cambodia— A Cambodian man says his young grandson has lived partly on milk he suckles directly from a cow since the boy’s parents left their rural village in search of work.

Um Oeung says 20-month-old Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same.

Um Oeung told The Associated Press he pulled the boy away at first. He relented after his grandson protested loudly and the boy has suckled the cow’s milk once or twice a day since then.

Tha Sophat has lived with his grandparents in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia since his parents moved to Thailand looking for work.

Um Oeung said Friday the cow doesn’t mind the boy suckling but he is worried about his grandson’s health if he continues.

‘Hapinoy’ gets US$25,000 grant from Projectinspire

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MANILA, Philippines—Further boosting the Philippines reputation as a hothouse of sound and innovative micro-venture ideas, the Hapinoy Program by MicroVentures Philippines Inc. bested nine other finalists to win the top grant of US$25,000 in the ProjectInspire’s “5 Minutes to Change the World.”

MicroVentures president Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV made his winning pitch at the ProjectInspire finals held on August 24 at INSEAD’s Singapore campus, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore reported.

The finals saw the field whittled down to 10 from out of 450 entries from more than 50 countries all over the world in the form of a five-minute video or written pitch posted online between March and June 2011.

Hapinoy, which was submitted by Aquino together with Michelle Pabalan and Mark Ruiz, aims to empower women micro-entrepreneurs in Southern Luzon by helping existing variety store owners by linking them up to a unified retail network.

This enables the stores to operate more efficiently and sell products more cheaply, while also creating a market for local producers who would otherwise find it difficult to sell their goods in larger retail platforms.

Aquino and the other finalists delivered their final pitches before a seven-member panel of judges, headed by INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship Patrick Turner, and included MasterCard Worldwide President for Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa Vicky Bindra, and UN Women East and Southeast Asia Regional Office Representative and Regional Programme Director Moni Pizani, among others.

Ambassador Minda Calaguian-Cruz attended the finals to support Aquino’s team and another finalist from the Philippines, Back to the Roots: Women’s Empowerment through Community Farming, by Erika Rey Saturay.

The Hapinoy team will now have the opportunity to expand their project using the US$25,000 grant, and will be monitored on their progress.

Two other projects, the UPLift Initiative from Thailand and Painting the Road to Empowerment from India, won US$10,000 each for being the Best Financial Literacy/Livelihood proposal and the Most Creative Community Outreach proposal, respectively.

The initiative was sponsored by UN Women’s National Committee Singapore and MasterCard.

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Giant croc captured in Agusan Sur creek

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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MONSTER CROC In this photo taken on Sunday, Mayor Cox Elorde of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur province, shows how huge was the 1,075-kg crocodile captured by residents and crocodile farm staff along a creek late Saturday. The 6.4-meter (21-foot) male crocodile is bigger than the 5.5 meter saltwater crocodile in Cairns, Australia, that the Guinness Book of Records says is the biggest captive crocodile in the world. AP

Villagers and experts have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in Agusan del Sur province.

The male crocodile was described in an Associated Press report as 6.4 meters (21 feet) long which, if confirmed, would make it bigger than the 5.5-meter saltwater crocodile in Cairns, Australia.

The Australian crocodile has been cited by the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest captive crocodile in the world.

Mayor Cox Elorde on Monday said that dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the crocodile along a creek in Bunawan town, Agusan del Sur, after a three-week hunt. It was captured by villagers using a trap.

Elorde said the crocodile killed a carabao in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and is also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.

Elorde said putting the huge crocodile in a tourism park would turn it “from a threat into an asset.”

The Australian crococile, named Cassius, is believed to be at least 100 years old. Reports from AP and Inquirer Research