The National Assembly approved a bill that provides for up to five years in prison for anyone who questions the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime. The measure comes a few months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge seizure of power. For observers, the law could also be used to repress political dissent.
The charity, which has had a long and close connection with the Cambodian government, has received millions of dollars from entrepreneurs linked to online scam centres in Southeast Asia, some of whom sanctioned by Western governments. In the meantime, Myanmar and Thailand continue operations against online scams and human trafficking under pressure from China.
Southeast Asia expert Bridget Welsh analyses Kuala Lumpur's first steps at the helm of the bloc: the leadership will be successful if it puts ‘the interests of those who live in the region above those of its leaders’. ‘Calling for “inclusive elections” in Myanmar contradicts the real situation on the ground’.
A member of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, the clergyman died in France at the age of 85. In 1975, he was among the last foreigners to leave the country whose ideological shift he later recounted in "Cambodia: Year Zero", a book that became a point of reference for Pol Pot's regime. Back in Cambodia in 1993, he accompanied the rebirth of the Cambodian Church, also thanks to his translations of the Bible and catechisms in the local language.
A report by UNICEF and Cambodia’s Ministry of the Environment was published yesterday highlighting the issue. According to the Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI), children in Cambodia are most exposed to extreme heat and flooding in rural areas. For the authorities, the findings will provide guidelines for government action.
On the anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, the former prime minister, who has transferred power to his son Hun Manet, calls for new law against those who undermine the country’s stability. Meanwhile, a former MP from a disbanded opposition party was killed in a mysterious ambush in the Thai capital, a few hours after crossing the border by bus.
