Tag: Cambodia

Cambodia’s famed Kampot pepper withers in scorching heatwave

By Suy SE KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 13, 2024 (AFP) – Farmer Chhim Laem shakes his head as he walks between long rows of dead bushes, their brown leaves scorched by heat and drought that have devastated Cambodia’s famed Kampot pepper crop. Known for its intense floral flavour, Kampot pepper is prized by top chefs around the world and sells for up to $200 per kilo. Nurtured for generations in two provinces in southwest Cambodia, the […]

20 Cambodian soldiers killed in ammunition base explosion: PM

PHNOM PENH, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Twenty Cambodian soldiers have been killed in an ammunition explosion at an army base in the country’s west, Prime Minister Hun Manet said Saturday. The blast, which also wounded several soldiers, occurred Saturday afternoon at the army base in Kampong Speu province, Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, without giving more details. “I am deeply shocked to receive the news of the ammunition explosion incident,” Hun […]

Cambodia ex-PM Hun Sen returns to frontline politics for senate seat

Cambodia’s ruling party claimed a landslide victory in Senate elections on Sunday, setting the stage for ex-PM Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down last year. After nearly four decades of hardline rule, Hun Sen handed power to his eldest son Hun Manet after national polls last July held without any significant opposition. Hun Sen at the time made it clear that despite his resignation, he still intended to wield influence. […]

Cambodia looks to import Indian tigers to revive big cat population

Cambodia hopes to import four tigers from India this year under an agreement signed with New Delhi aimed at reviving the population of big cats in the kingdom, an environmental official said Monday. Cambodia’s dry forests were once home to scores of Indochinese tigers but conservationists say intensive poaching of both tigers and their prey has devastated their numbers. The last sighting of a tiger in the Southeast Asian kingdom was from a camera trap […]

Taiwanese streamers jailed for faking kidnapping in Cambodia

  PHNOM PENH, Feb 16, 2024 (AFP) – Two Taiwanese men have been sentenced to two years in jail each after they staged a fake kidnapping from a Cambodian seaside resort and posted video of it online, a court said on Friday. Chen Neng-chuan, 31, and Lu Tsu-hsien, 34, were arrested after they posted a video of themselves being detained and beaten up by security guards at a building in Sihanoukville on Facebook earlier this […]

Southeast Asia banks on aviation boom

By Alexis Hontang with Suy Se in Siem Reap BANGKOK, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – Major airport expansion projects are taking off across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and a new airline is set to launch next year — all banking on an expected boom in air travel in Southeast Asia, fuelled by Chinese and Indian tourists. But there are doubts about whether it will materialise in an uncertain economic environment and as worries about the […]

Chinese FM Wang Yi to embark on Southeast Asia tour

BEIJING, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia this week, Beijing said on Wednesday as it seeks to build ties in the region. Wang, who returned to the post last month after the unexplained disappearance of predecessor Qin Gang, will travel to the three countries from Thursday to Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. “China hopes to strengthen strategic communication with the three […]

Cambodian king to appoint Hun Sen’s son as new PM

PHNOM PENH, Aug 6, 2023 (AFP) – Cambodia’s king on Monday will appoint Hun Manet the country’s new leader after his father Hun Sen calls time on nearly four decades of hardline rule. Days after a landslide victory in July’s election, Hun Sen — one of the world’s longest-serving leaders — announced he was stepping down as prime minister and handing power to his eldest son. The polls were widely decried as a sham after […]

Three Bali immigration officers arrested over Cambodia organ ring

JAKARTA, July 29, 2023 (AFP) – Three Bali immigration officers have been arrested for their alleged role in an illegal organ trafficking syndicate that ferried dozens of victims to Cambodia to sell their kidneys, Indonesian police said Saturday. The move comes as authorities crack down on the suspected illegal organ trade ring, arresting 12 members last week — including a police officer and an immigration officer identified as AH — accused of smuggling 122 victims […]

UN criticises Cambodia election restrictions, threats

GENEVA, July 26, 2023 (AFP) – The United Nations on Wednesday said Cambodia’s general elections were held in a severely restricted environment surrounded by threats and intimidation that created a chilling effect. UN human rights chief Volker Turk slammed the circumstances behind Sunday’s vote as the victor, Prime Minister Hun Sen, announced he would resign and hand power to his eldest son after almost four decades of hardline rule. Turk said the elections were conducted […]

Hardline Cambodian PM Hun Sen to step down after four decades

PHNOM PENH, July 26, 2023 (AFP) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, said Wednesday he will resign and hand power to his eldest son after almost four decades of hardline rule. The former Khmer Rouge cadre has run the kingdom since 1985, eliminating all opposition to his power, with rival parties banned, challengers forced to flee and freedom of expression stifled. His Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won a landslide […]

Cambodian heir apparent hails poll victory, defying international criticism

PHNOM PENH, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s heir apparent insisted Monday on the legitimacy of elections his party won against no meaningful opposition, defying international criticism that the polls were neither free nor fair. Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for nearly 40 years — stifling all real opposition, freedom of speech and democratic reform — but has indicated recently that he will soon hand power to his eldest son Hun […]